Shark Navigator Deluxe Upright Corded Bagless Vacuum for Carpet and Hard Floor with Anti-Allergy Seal (NV42), Champagne

First off, I want to say that even though some of you people may think I'm kidding, I am most certainly not. This is as honest a review as I could think of, hand to god, scouts honor.Let me just start by saying that if there was an option for 12 stars, I would select it.Setting, 6 months ago: Very recent college graduates apartment, housing four hairy 23-24 year old young men and dogs (we dog-sit a lot). 4 bedroom/2 bath duplex, with finished basement/man cave on the edge of Boston. Hardwood floors, hallway runner rugs, area rugs, bath mats (eww), door mats, etc. etc. etc. To put this apartment into perspective, imagine a 2000 sq. foot freshly-licked lollipop that has been dragged across every door mat, barber/salon floor, sports arena bathroom, and toilet seat on the east coast. That WAS our apartment. No shame.When we moved in, we grabbed a free Dirt Devil vacuum off the curb somewhere near Northeastern University. We soon found out that this acclaimed "devil" of dirt, was actually a glorified giant red leaf blower. This thing peppered our new apartment with the previous owner's dust and hair. Naturally, we saw this and did nothing for 6 months, we are lazy college grads adjusting to the real world.6 months later (present): We have decided that being adults was fun! The four of us, grab some refreshing beverages on a Sunday late afternoon, while we sit on the couch surfing Amazon for a vacuum. Do a little research on the best "bang for your buck" vacuums and find this swell looking piece of engineering, the Shark Navigator Deluxe (NV42). Obviously we sign up for Amazon Prime so we can get this bad boy in 2 days, because at this point, our apartment alert level for cleaning is at defcon 5. Fast forward 48 hours, our vacuum has arrived. Rip apart the packaging like little kids on Christmas so we can put this thing to the ultimate test.We waited some time before writing this review to makes sure this thing lasted more than the opening phases of the cleaning gauntlet inside our apartment.THIS THING IS A BEAST. It has cleaned every rug, bath mat, couch, toilet, and floor our apartment has to offer....without a single flinch or hiccup along the way. It has pulled the dog hair and other hairs (?) out of every nook and cranny of this place. Every ounce of dust and grime that has built up over the past 6 months, has vanished. It is lightweight, relatively quiet, and easy to use. Literally takes 2 seconds to assemble and then BOOM ready to go. It is an amazing vacuum. Another note, my parents own a Dyson vacuum and live about 20 minutes from me. The apartment was in bad enough shape where my parents wouldn't even let me borrow their Dyson for an afternoon, out of fear of "damaging their vacuum." In all honestly, this Shark vacuum works just as well, if not better, than my parents vacuum (and I have vacuumed many carpets in my day). AND FOR A QUARTER THE PRICE!This vacuum is a godsend.Another note: when we were reading through the reviews of this vacuum before purchasing, we read through the negative reviews. We believe in the "if you can't handle me at my worst, you can't handle me at my best" (or whatever). The top negative review was written by someone who was clearly incapable of cleaning. The way they described their use of the vacuum was as if they repeatedly smashed this thing into the base boards of their house. Yes, if you apply repeated head trauma to something, it probably wont work as well. Other "negatives" noted were that this vacuum hit them in the head when they were using the hose attachment, not surprised based on their complete review, but apparently it warranted an "Update" to their review. This resulted in a 1 star review (which is just wrong).If you want a good and reliable vacuum that can handle the worst of the worst, buy this thing. If you are like the negative reviewer noted above, and it stops working, at least you wont be out $500+.I give this item 12 stars. This is the Tom Brady (G.O.A.T.) of vacuums.

Functionally-5 starsDesign-3.5 stars (more on that below)Customer service at EuroPro (the mfg of Shark) 6 stars if possibleReceived the Shark Navigator NV42 from Amazon Aug 2nd 2014.Functional review- For the price of $129, I don't believe this can be beat. The vacuum power is unbelievable; be careful if socks are nearby, honest.Please be advised that the on/off switch has 3 positions, which once you get used to you will wonder why most do not have such.1. Off (obvious),2. Vacuum On-Roller Off (which is what they suggest using for hardwood or linoleum floors--or use this position if you are using the accessory hose for drapes or furniture so the roller isn't sitting there spinning on the carpet),3. Vacuum On/Roller On (for normal carpet vacuuming)At first thought the small contact surface would be a detriment and it would take a lot longer to use, but it adds to the maneuverability and it actually has a better reach beneath coffee tables, and in between furniture, so you don't have to move as much stuff around. As mentioned the suction is absolutely fantastic. Lightweight as well, so it adds to the maneuverability.It is so easy to dump!Cleaning out the dump bin on occasion is easy as well (there are a couple of donut filters that are easy to remove and clean.GREAT PERFORMANCE ALL AROUNDDesign-When I first put it together, and the thing is easy to put together if you can use a screwdriver and don't get ahead of yourself (read the pictures, etc), I noticed that the motorized "power nozzle" was not something that would be so easy to service. Unlike a lot of vacuums, the motor that powers the vacuum is not the same motor that powers the brush. Thus the bottom does not pop off like most vacuums enabling you to remove the roller to get all the hair off of it. Basically you have to keep an eye on the roller and cut off any hair with scissors without removing the roller. Which led to a problem- not all family members were aware that hair build up on the roller is to be avoided,..so the hair eventually clogged the roller on one side and the bushing had a failure (Jan 22, 2015).Shark Customer Service-Was more than a bit perturbed about that, and had to disassemble it to find the melt down. Could have been avoided if we'd kept an eye on it etc. Anyway, went online to www.sharkclean.com and was a bit alarmed to find that the Model NV42 was not listed, but found a toll free number (customer service is live, AND available till 11pm IN NORTH AMERICA!!!).Called the number, was told that the NV42 is not on their website as it is a model reserved for retail sales, no big deal. Was then told my purchase had A 5 YEAR WARRANTY and they were going to replace the entire bottom unit for free. Delivery within 3-5 days! I only explained that the roller bushing had a melt down and admitted to the clog. They didn't harass or question my sanity, just told me they would ship me a new one and the whole call was over in about 5 minutes.Very happy overall, but will be keeping an eye on hair build up on the roller brush. Performance is fantastic.Would recommend registering the product as soon as you get it.

This vac really does have a lot of suction to it, but it operates slightly differently that others I've used. First, all the suction goes through the hose that is for the accessory attachments. With the attachments off, it attaches to the vacuum head to pull from the floor. Just pull it from its slot--voila--your attachment hose is ready. No switching the flow between the floor and the hose.The real different thing about this vac is the lack of height adjustment. Instead of adjusting the height of the brush rollers for carpet depth, you have a small sliding button on the suction hose to act as a choke. If you slide it one way, it opens a small hole; the other way, it closes. The first few times I used it on my normal depth carpeting, the motor shut itself off to avoid overheating and damage because the suction to the carpet was so tight it couldn't breathe. I was a little frustrated at first, because my natural inclination was to raise the height of the brushes--and there's nothing for that here. However, once I figured out to open that choke hole about halfway, I had no more problems.This thing can really clean, though! The designers must've invested all the cost of the unit into the suction, because at first it feels like a cheaply made thing--which is why I give it four stars instead of five. But it does everything I need it to, and fills up the canister with dust and pet hair each time I vacuum. I highly recommend!