Shark
Vertex (IZ462H) Cordless Stick Vacuum for Pet Hair
About the product
With 60 minutes of charge, does the Shark Vertex Cordless have what it takes to keep up with your standards of cleanliness?
The Shark Vertex Cordless Ultralight Stick Vacuum sits between the slightly more affordable Cordless Pro and the high-end Stratos models in Shark’s cordless stick vacuum lineup. Although it lacks some of the smarts of the other two models, it offers strong suction for everyday cleaning and solid battery life.
To see how it performed, the BestReviews Testing Lab did a thorough evaluation of the Vertex Cordless, from setting it up and exploring its overall design to tracking its battery life and testing its suction. We’ve concluded that the Vertex Cordless is a simple but appealing cordless option for most people’s everyday cleaning tasks.
Why we like it
- Maneuverability: The Vertex Cordless’ floor nozzle changes direction with a twist of a wrist and gets at corners under furniture.
- Battery life: We obtained almost the full 60 minutes promised by Shark from a single charge, enough to thoroughly cover an 800-square-foot space.
- Suction: The Vertex Cordless’ 300-watt motor handled all our suction tests without any issues.
- Sound level: At typical settings, the Vertex Cordless was quieter than a standard hair dryer, never exceeding 80 decibels except at maximum power.
- Convenient features: We appreciated that the dust cup of the Vertex Cordless can be emptied with the pull of a latch without having to remove it from the unit and how the flexible wand folds over for compact storage.
What we don’t like
- Lacks auto-sensing: Unlike other tested Shark cordless vacuums, the Vertex Cordless lacks an auto-sensing feature that detects dirt and adjusts suction power automatically. Instead, it has only three options you need to select manually: Bare Floor, Carpet and Maximum Power. It doesn’t adjust its settings when moving between bare floor and carpet either.
- Long recharge time: The Vertex Cordless takes more than three hours to recharge from empty, which can be a hassle if it runs out of power during an intensive cleaning session.
The 60-second scoop
Product specifications
Dustbin Capacity: 0.34 qt | Dimensions: 10.24" L x 9.65" W x 46.46" H | Battery Life: 58 minutes (tested) | Cleaning Path Width: 10.63” | Weight: 9.04 lb
The Shark Vertex Cordless Ultralight Stick Vacuum is a rechargeable handheld/floor vacuum from Shark. It offers two main power settings for bare floor and carpet and a trigger to activate a Max Power mode for extra suction strength. It comes with a jointed wand and an easy-to-turn floor nozzle with dual tangle-resistant rollers and bright LED lights. It also comes with a crevice tool and a pet multitool with dusting brush. The Vertex Cordless has an easy-empty 0.34-quart dust cup and a washable HEPA filter. Its battery is removable for charging convenience.
See how it compares to other products in its space — check out our reviews of the best cordless vacuums.
Price and where to buy
The Shark Vertex Cordless Stick Vacuum costs $429.99 and is available from Amazon and other major retailers.
Setup
The Shark Vertex Cordless was easy to set up, although the process was a little tedious due to all the cardboard inserts and plastic bags Shark packs into the product box. After digging down to remove the floor nozzle, power adapter and attachments, you pull out the main vacuum unit and the MultiFlex wand. The wand and floor nozzle feature connectors that click into place for convenience, as do the crevice tool and pet multitool. The battery of the Vertex Cordless comes only partially charged. We needed to plug it into its power adapter and charge it for almost three hours before its first use.
Design and DuoClean brush rollers
The design of the Shark Vertex Cordless is less flashy and more utilitarian than other Shark cordless vacuums we tested, with its round dust cup influencing the overall shape of the main unit. It’s bulkier than other Shark cordless units we tested, too. The build is plastic in metallic blue with plastic accessories in black and silver. At just over 9 pounds, we found the unit a little heavy for above-floor cleaning, particularly when we needed to reach high spots.
The floor nozzle features DuoClean brush rollers with PowerFins technology. These rollers and fins are said by Shark to keep constant contact with the floor surface while resisting hair and fur tangles. One roller has a soft polishing surface that dusts and buffs hard floors, while another roller digs into carpet with its PowerFins.
Battery life and recharge time
The battery of the Shark Vertex Cordless lasted 58 minutes during testing. Cleaning carpet seemed to use the most power, due not only to running the DuoClean brush rollers but also the lights on the DuoClean floor nozzle. Max mode also seemed to draw significant power when activated, but it wasn’t necessary to run it extensively during normal cleaning.
The battery of the Vertex Cordless took three hours to recharge fully from empty. For convenience, the battery can be detached from the main unit.
Shark Vertex Cordless Stick Vacuum suction power
We tested the Shark Vertex Cordless’ suction power with several kinds of particles and debris during both carpet cleaning and hard floor cleaning.
Carpets
The suction of the Vertex Cordless had no problems with any of our carpet-cleaning tests. On short-pile carpet, it removed 100% of half a teaspoon of granulated sugar, more than 95% of 1 tablespoon of cereal pieces and 100% of a 2-inch length of faux fur fibers all in a single pass. Its sound levels when using its carpet setting varied from 75 to 79 dB, which is about the same noise level as a dishwasher, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hard floors
The Vertex Cordless also did well in hard-floor cleaning. On smooth vinyl tile, it removed 100% of half a teaspoon of ground coffee, around 95% of 1 tablespoon of cereal pieces and 100% of a 2-inch length of faux fur in a single pass. As with other vacuums we’ve tested, the movement of the floor nozzle on smooth hard flooring can scatter cereal pieces out of immediate reach, but the Vertex Cordless didn’t scatter much of the cereal very far. With its suction power set for bare floors, the Vertex Cordless registered between 72 to 75 dB in sound level.
Features and accessories
The Shark Vertex Cordless came with several accessories and attachments we found useful, although each had their limitations.
Flexible wand
The MultiFLEX wand was a novelty for us during testing. We liked the way the wand could bend forward to make reaching under low furniture more comfortable. We also liked the way it could store the main unit compactly by folding completely over when not in use. We tended to press the wrong latch, however, when trying to use it, releasing the wand from the main vacuum instead. It also made cleaning a little unwieldy when attached to the main unit for cleaning shelves, windows and ceilings.
Floor nozzle
The floor nozzle of the Vertex Cordless holds its DuoClean rollers with PowerFins and was very easy to change direction — although it wasn’t quite thin enough to slip under low-profile furniture. It’s equipped with lights that we found bright enough to be useful, however, they do eat into the battery life.
Crevice tool
The crevice tool that comes with the Vertex Cordless lacked a brush head, so it worked best for edge cleaning and pinpoint spot jobs. It was comfortable to use plugged directly into the main unit but became unwieldy when attached to the MultiFLEX wand.
Pet multitool
The pet multitool proved satisfactory as an all-around cleaning attachment. We used it to clean upholstery both with and without its brush. We found that the dusting brush clips onto the multitool in two positions but is secure only in one.
How does it compare to other stick vacuums we tested?
The Shark Vertex Cordless seems slated for a middle spot in features and performance between the Shark Cordless Pro and the Shark Stratos Cordless. While it lacks the CleanSense IQ features of both more advanced models, it has more pure suction power than the Cordless Pro, with a bigger dust cup and longer battery life. Like the high-end Stratos, it sports a DualClean floor nozzle with two brush rollers compared to the Cordless Pro’s single combined roller. The Vertex Cordless is also slightly louder than the Cordless Pro and about as loud as the Stratos Cordless, and it takes slightly longer to charge.
How we tested the Shark Vertex Cordless Stick Vacuum
In testing the Shark Vertex Cordless, we looked for ease of setup, ease of use, suction power, battery life and build quality and design. We also compared it to other Shark cordless vacuums and corded vacuum rivals.
Setup
We took note of how long it took for us to unbox and set up the Vertex Cordless, starting from opening the box all the way through first usage, including how long it took to charge the battery and how easy or difficult it was to assemble the attachments. We also noted its size, weight, balance and comfort in hand.
Suction
We used particles and debris of different sizes, including sugar, ground coffee and Cheerios cereal to test the suction power of the Vertex Cordless on both carpeted and bare flooring. We also used a 2-inch length of faux fur as part of our hair-wrap test.
Battery life
We tracked how long the battery life of the Vertex Cordless lasted over the course of testing, noting any activities or settings that seemed to draw more or less power, and how long it took to recharge the battery from 0% to 100%.
Ease of use
During testing, we observed how easy it was to hold, carry and maneuver the Vertex Cordless, both as a floor vacuum with its floor nozzle, as a handheld vacuum and as a handheld stick vacuum for above-floor cleaning.
Noise level
We used the noise-measurement feature on our cellphones to track the sound level of the Vertex Cordless during all testing activities, including sound level changes relating to different power or suction settings and different surfaces being vacuumed.
Maintenance
It was important for us to see how easy or complicated it was to empty the dust cup of the Vertex Cordless, and if the dust cup was easy to remove for rinsing. We also took note of any tangles in its floor nozzle, wear on its attachments and maintenance of its HEPA filter and other filters.
The final verdict
The Shark Vertex Cordless Stick Vacuum is a solid product that can replace a corded upright vacuum cleaner in most homes. Its suction is powerful enough for most cleaning tasks, and its battery life is adequate for multiple rooms or a small home. While it lacks some of the intelligence of other cordless vacuums, its straightforward design and simple features make it an appealing alternative to corded vacuum cleaners.