Shark LZ601 Apex Uplight Lift-Away DuoClean with Self-Cleaning Brushroll Vacuum

This little beast does an amazing job of cleaning, but has a couple things that could be designed better. Setup is simple and straightforward – I’m blind and can’t read print, so I didn’t have the benefit of a manual. But one wasn’t needed, I was able to easily understand how the parts went together and they snapped right in. Then of course I had to try it out! I have a small one bedroom apartment and a huge German Shepherd service dog who sheds as if his life depended on leaving a carpet of fur everywhere. The self-cleaning brushroll apparently works – no stopping every now and again to unclog the hose and brushes of hair. And it left my linoleum kitchen floor with a nice buffed feeling underfoot. Very nice suction Power. Also I find it gets right up to the walls. Most vacuum cleaners I’ve owned I have to go around the edges along walls with the wand after finishing the main areas. This one though, there is no cover over the brushroll and if you steer it head-on up to the walls it will clean the edges nicely. This in itself means I finish vacuuming in half the time I used to. I then proceeded to lift it off the base and use the wand and brush to vacuum small rugs and do some dusting. The dust cup appears tiny at first glance, but after actually doing a vacuum job it is quite adequate. I had a Hoover T-series WindTunnel before which seems to have a huge dust cup by comparison that I was forever pulling wad after wad of hair out of. This one somehow seems to pack all that hair into one tight ball that doesn’t fill the small dust cup and it came right out into the trash. Jt make sure you empty it both from the top and bottom – seems all the hair goes into the round top cupand dirt goes into the vertical cup. OK, now for my complaints. First, for those complaining that this vacuum is heavy and those saying it’s light. Both are correct. By weight, this is probably the lightest upright vacuum I’ve ever seen. However, its design puts the motor near the top of the stick right under the handle, combined with a very light base. So all the weight is at the top right in your hands. Also the point where the stick joins the base has some rotation rather than the standard hinge. So you turn your wrist to “steer” the base rather than using force to make a turn. So once I got used to it, I found this one easier to maneuver and get into tight spaces. There’s definitely a learning curve, it’s quite different than what you’re used to. But, wow, it gets in between chair legs, under coffee tables, in corners. I love it! However, you are definitely going to be using different muscles. Instead of using your shoulder and pectoral muscles for the back-and-forth push-pull, you are going to be using your forearm muscles to carry the weight and also to steer the thing. I wish that Shark had placed the motor near the bottom of the stick, placing the weight lower down so I don’t have to carry it the whole time I’m actively vacuuming. However, I love the new steering design. Second, this thing blows air into your face. Since it has a HEPA filter, this theoretically should be okay as it’s “clean” air. But if you’re sensitive, it’s still a problem. Plus I just don’t like it. Putting the motor lower on the stick closer to the base and further away from me would also solve this problem. Lastly, you have to lift the vacuum off the base to use the wand. But 1) there is no way to carry it over your shoulder – you must hold it in one hand while you maneuver the wand with the other. That’s just not possible if you’re blind – I need my other hand to feel what I’m doing; 2) Sometimes I don’t want to carry it away, I want the stand to hold the unit in one place for me while I use the wand, say, to vacuum my dog or curtains. You can’t do that, as the hose is part of what holds it onto the base. I think this could easily be designed better to grant us access to the hose any time we want it. So these design flukes are why I give it a lower-than five-star rating, but all in all it is a good vacuum. The self-cleaning brushroll design is brilliant and coupled with its strong suction makes it a keeper.

I’ve never owned a shark or a expensive vacuum, so this vacuum was nothing like the ones I ever used before. First, putting it together was very easy. Took about 5 minutes tops. You don’t need any tools, everything snaps into place. It does have some weight to it, but that could be because everything is compacted into the smaller removable pod. The suction on this vacuum blew my mind. When it arrived, I wasn’t sure about when to use it because we had just vacuumed with our upright Bissell. But after putting it together, I figured why not give it a test run, make sure I put it together right at least. I was not ready!! It picked up so much dirt, lint, dust and hair I had no idea that was even there. Im not even sure where it came from. It was like it was appearing out of thin air because I was so sure the floor was clean. After I did a small area, I had to do the entire house. I kept thinking, what have I been doing my entire life, what dirt have I been missing all this time, my house was dirty and I needed to vacuum it all now. I was able to maneuver around the dinning table and chair legs without moving them out the way. There is a nice swivel action in the “neck” of the vacuum I’ve never experienced with an upright vacuum. The reach it gives under the couch is about 2-3″ about right where the dirt gets. Vacuuming the steps was easy as well. The pod comes detached with a simple press of a button and snaps right back on when you’re done. The canister did not hold as much as I though it would, but emptying was simple so it was easy to dump and start again. There are no settings or adjustments, so you get what you get: a strong vacuum. You can not lower or raise the brushes, so it will be difficult to vacuum shag carpets or rugs. The power button seems to be in an odd place, but that may be to prevent accidentally turning it off. Defiantly in love with this vacuum.

Finding a great vacuum is a real headache. This is long – kind of like the time it takes to find a decent vacuum!My research narrowed my choice to two Shark vacuums to replace my second Rocket which, like the first, has lost a lot of its suction power after about a year and a half of heavy use. My 3,000 sq ft house has thick shag rug and carpet, thick low-to-medium pile rug and carpet, indoor-outdoor mats, coco-brush mats and of course, bare floors plus a dog and cat. I decided against getting another Rocket since they don’t last as long as I’d like. So I put two new vacuums to work on all surfaces to see how they compared.1. Shark LZ601, APEX UpLight Lift-Away DuoClean with Self-Cleaning Brushroll Stick Vacuum 0.66 qt, Forest Mist Blue2. Shark ZU560C Navigator Lift-Away Speed Self-Cleaning Brushroll Upright Vacuum Self Clean, Blue(and 3. Shark LZ602C Apex Uplight Lift-Away Duoclean with Self-Cleaning Brushroll Vacuum, Orange)The Apex Uplight has more suction, is lighter than the Navigator and is easier to maneuvre around furniture. It’s every bit as good as a Rocket with the added benefit of the liftaway option and because it stands up by itself!The Navigator has the best suction at edges where floor meets wall but on the indoor-outdoor carpet only the Apex picked up everything in just one or two passes and only the Apex handled the coco mat. Both vacuums feel heavier than the Rocket but the Navigator is by far the heaviest. Its fat bottom is not as agile so requires more effort to maneuvre around stuff. The Apex is actually quite light but it feels heavier than the Rocket at the handle – that can put a little more strain on the wrist.The Apex’s Liftaway design is compact and clever, but the hose resists being stretched which makes it extremely awkward to use. The Navigator liftaway hose stretches effortlessly.In the end I chose the Apex because of the suction and maneuvrability. And then I found a different model, the Shark LZ602C Apex which is orange and which comes with a power pet attachment. I thought I was getting the same power pet attachment that comes with the Shark Power Pet II handvac, but sadly, it is only powered by wind and is not that effective.The self-cleaning brushroll feature is new to me and it really works. Same with the “duo clean” second brush roll. I like it!Compared to my old Rocket the Apex is every bit as good and better because it stands up on its own, it has the self-cleaning brushroll, the liftaway design and it’s significantly easier to clean.I’m happy with my purchase but not completely happy. What Shark needs to do is add three more strengths to the Apex and then it would a dead ringer. 1. Better edge suction, 2. Power pet attachment that works and 3. Liftaway hose that expands without resistance.I hope this was helpful. Good luck finding your new vacuum!

I ordered this cuz it was rated number 1 by consumer reports.Guess I didn’t read the description and I was a little disappointed it has a power cord but my wife says it’s way easier than dragging around the 30 foot hose our built in vacuum has, she really likes it.Picks up dog hair way better than our built in.

Doesn’t manoeuvre as well as Rocket.. Heavier at handle, no light when powerhead is disconnected and now, after just 3 weeks powerhead is leaving black streaks on vinyl floor and is extremely difficult to push thru carpet… Not happy considering what it cost.

This is a great little vacuum. The first time I used it I realized how dirty and dusty my carpets were. I filled it cleaning a 8’x10′ area rug. The only detractor is the canister fills quickly, but that is the price to pay for the lightness.