We test every vacuum cleaner we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. To see how the figures translated into performance, I ran the vacuum through my real-world tests. Starting on the carpet, I sprinkled a teaspoon of flour onto the floor.
One nitpick is that it’s almost too good at lighting up the floor—not just debris but also un-vacuumable, irritating flaws, like scratches and dents and uneven boards, that you might prefer not to know about. The laser’s shade of cyberpunk green might look odd or uninviting to some people, too. Dyson reps told us that the engineers tested other colors but found that green did the best job of highlighting debris.
It did well in most of our carpet-cleaning tests when it was running at maximum battery-draining suction, picking up a similar amount of sand and baking soda as the Dyson V8. However, in real-world testing, it failed to dig up nearly as much embedded hair and dust as the bissell crosswave cordless V8—particularly on its default, battery-saving suction setting, where it was notably weak. Even when the S11 did grab pet hair off the floor, the hair seemed more likely to get wrapped around the brush or jammed somewhere in the intake than with many other models.
That’s all well and good, but most people don’t have somewhere to hang their vacuum, nor do they particularly want to fasten them to a wall. The first thing you notice when you start using it is the flexible neck. It quickly becomes apparent what this is used for when you encounter a table, chair or legged sofa – the stick bends to allow the roller head to reach exactly where it needs to. However, it’s worth noting that this robot vacuum doesn’t have a surface detection system that would allow it to automatically change its suction power mode depending on the floor type it’s cleaning. If you want to adjust its cleaning mode, you have to manually select it through its companion app for every cleaning job. There’s no onboard HEPA filter either, meaning it isn’t the best option if you’re sensitive to fine allergens.
However, despite its size, it offers powerful suction for small messes. While we didn’t test this pick in The Lab, The Spruce’s home product tester put the vacuum through real-world testing, trying it out on pet hair, crumbs, dust, and debris. “I was actually startled by how loud it was ,” says our home product tester. “But the suction was really powerful, so it was a welcome trade-off.” In addition, although assembly was simple, this handheld pick needed to be charged fully before use, which took about two and a half hours. I was using a corded upright Dyson for about five years before getting this unit.
All four vacuums have simple one-touch emptying where you push a button and the bottom pops open and the dust is supposed to fall out without ever having to touch it. However, with all four vacuums I often have to use my hand to get the crap in the dustbin because it doesn’t fall out on its own . A good stick vacuum shark cordless should be lightweight, but not necessarily light-duty. The Shark Rocket Ultra-Light Corded Stick Vacuum made an impression on our tester for its maneuverability and effective suction on all types of flooring. It needed help transitioning from a hard surface to a rug, giving it a maneuverability rating of 4 stars.