If you’ve used a cordless vacuum before, you might have noticed that you can end up pushing around larger clumps of dirt rather than vacuuming them up. We’ve used the V8 and we think the Shark is a bit more versatile. The anti hair wrap technology is something Dyson has yet to match. Plus the open face on the Shark ensures you push dirt around the room less than the Dyson. At 4.1kg it’s fairly weighty for a cordless vacuum, with the weight split more or less evenly between the floor head and the vacuum engine, which is located up near the handle.

Shark Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner [IZ201UKT] 40 Minute Run

You don't have permission to access "http://sharkclean.co.uk/product/shark-replacement-handheld-vacuum-iz201ukt-zid3734FFJ201UKT" on this server. Plus we really rate the open face and it means we spent less time chasing a stubborn piece of dirt around the carpet. Flexology in action: a bendable tube for flexible cleaning and easy folding when not in use (Image credit: TechRadar) Design and features READ NEXT: The best cordless vacuum cleaners to buy today Shark Anti Hair Wrap with Flexology IZ201UKC review: How well does it clean? You don't have permission to access "http://sharkclean.co.uk/product/shark-classic-anti-hair-wrap-cordless-vacuum-iz201uk-zidIZ201UK" on this server.In terms of suction it’s hard to compare two vacuums outside of a lab. You get a range of three suction options with the Shark rather than the two of the Dyson, but does this equate to better cleaning? Who knows?! We will say we never felt like either vacuum let us down in testing, so we don’t think you’ll go too far wrong either way in terms of performance. One final point in the Dyson’s favour is that it doesn’t rely on a filter that you have to clean (albeit, very infrequently) which the Shark does. The Shark cordless did a fair job in our standard cleaning tests. On hard floor, it collected 24g of a 26g spillage of Cheerios. The missing Cheerios were sent flying across the room by the enthusiastic soft roller, but that was nothing that couldn’t be sorted out by hunting them down afterwards. The Shark Anti Hair Wrap with Flexology cordless vacuum cleaner is a good option for houses with mixed floor types. It uses Shark’s DuoClean motorised floor head, which has both a standard carpet brush and a soft roller (for hard floors) built into the same unit, so you don’t have to keep switching the floor head as you move from one surface type to another.

Shark DuoClean IZ201UKT user manual (English - 2 pages) Shark DuoClean IZ201UKT user manual (English - 2 pages)

While we won’t claim that there’s zero hairs wrapped around the roller, there are far, far fewer than before and they’re much easier to remove. If manoeuvrability is key for you, the Eufy HomeVac S11 Infinityand Dyson Micro 1.5kgare both much easier to handle. It’s worth noting how good the anti-hair wrap technology is, too. The soft roller has a comb that cleans itself as it goes, catching long hairs and sending them into the vacuum before they can wrap around the roller. Despite being tested in areas that collect a lot of hair, such as around dressing tables, the rollers on our test unit stayed tangle-free. However, the battery life isn’t anything particularly out of the ordinary. Shark quotes it at 40 minutes, although this is without the motorised floor head attached. In our tests, we found it lasted 22mins 34secs when tested on carpet with the motorised head attached, falling to 16mins 10secs in Boost mode.

Trigger-happy cleaning from the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Flexology Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

After a few days testing this out in a fairly hairy household, we’ve found the new technology works well and it’s saved us having to break out the scissors ever since. Most people who’ve owned a cordless vacuum cleaner with a dust roller have probably run into the same problem at one time or another: after a few hours of cleaning, the roller is wrapped tightly with hair. Running a similar test, but this time with a 50g spillage of flour, the vacuum did well on hard floor again, collecting 49g of the 50g in a single pass. Again, it wasn’t as good on carpet, collecting 42g in a single pass and leaving visible traces behind. In the box there’s a good assortment of accessories, including a crevice tool, a dusting brush and an upholstery tool. The supplied charger plugs directly into the battery unit, which is easily removed so you can choose whether to charge it in situ or separately from the cleaner. Instead of rolling tighter and tighter around your roller, Shark’s new vacuum cleaners use technological wizardry to gather hair at the base of the vacuum which is eventually drawn up the nozzle and into the cylinder without you having to get involved at all.

Shark IZ201UK, IZ201UKT 3Pcs Filter Replacement For Shark IZ201UK, IZ201UKT

The Shark IZ201UK comes with three attachments as standard, one of which you can use to vacuum your furniture Credit: SHARK How does it compare to a Dyson? The washable filter feature ensures convenience and helps maintain the vacuum's performance over time. Powered by a battery, the Shark DuoClean IZ201UKT offers a runtime of approximately 40 minutes, allowing for extended cleaning sessions without the need for recharging. When it does require charging, the vacuum typically takes around 3.5 hours to reach its full capacity.

Flexible stick

The device has a couple of main controls. A thumb switch on the top is used to turn the vacuum on and off and swap between hard floor and carpet modes. With carpet mode selected, the rollers spin faster to agitate the fibres more and clean deeper into the carpet. This doesn’t alter the suction, but you can give it a boost by pulling the trigger that sits just in front of your forefinger as you hold the handle. A unique design to prevent allergen leaking, or the clogging of hair (Image credit: TechRadar) Performance

Shark Replacement Handheld Vacuum - IZ201UKT - Shark UK Official Shark Replacement Handheld Vacuum - IZ201UKT - Shark UK Official

READ NEXT: The best robot vacuum cleaners to buy today Shark Anti Hair Wrap with Flexology IZ201UKC review: Should you buy it? SHARK'S latest vacuum cleaners come with a revolutionary technology that promises to free you from tangled hair clogging up your vacuum cleaner. While that’s not a huge problem in the short term, eventually you have to take out a pair of scissors or a knife to cut free your vacuuming head, which is up there with unclogging a plug hole in terms of undesirable cleaning tasks.

It might not beat our favorite Dyson cleaners, but the slight drop in price compared to the V15 may push it just ahead in your eyes. As with other Shark Flexology vacuums, the extension wand has a bend in it, which serves two purposes. Release the clasp on the wand and you can clean under low-lying furniture without having to get on your hands and knees. The bright LED headlamps on the front help you see what you’re doing. Second, fold the wand all the way over and, cleverly, the vacuum supports its own weight, allowing it to be stored temporarily in a corner without you having to lean it against a wall. The IZ201UK comes with various attachments as standard for narrow spaces, furniture, and dusting (Image credit: TechRadar)