The Shark Navigator Lift-Away has a great price, excellent performance, and a useful set of tools that make it our number-one pick.
The Shark Navigator Lift-Away is an ingeniously designed vacuum cleaner that combines the best attributes of an upright vac with the handiness of a canister vacuum, providing you with the best of both worlds.
The "Lift-Away" portion of the name refers to the option of lifting the canister and hose right off the base for easy vacuuming of stairs, underneath furniture, tight corners, and those pesky cobwebs dangling from the high reaches of your ceiling. You won't need super-strength to lift the vacuum up to those high corners, either. The whole vacuum weighs just 12.5 pounds or around eight pounds if you're only using the canister and hose portion.
This is a bagless vacuum cleaner, with a HEPA filter and what the manufacturer calls "Anti-Allergen Complete Seal Technology," so you'll be protected from dust, pollen, animal dander, and other nose-provoking allergens. When it's time to empty the vacuum's dirt canister, simply unclip its fasteners, hold the canister over the trash bin, push the button, and watch the dirt and dust tumble into the trash.
Wirecutter chose this vacuum as its recommended pick, as well, praising it for reliability and durability. It found the Shark to be far superior to other inexpensive vacuum cleaners, and better than many pricier options. The Shark Navigator Lift-Away has quality belts and filters, rather than the cheap ones usually found in low-priced vacuums, so you'll get your money's worth and then some before this vacuum even begins to consider giving up the ghost.
Consumer Reports also liked this vacuum, giving it a "Very Good" rating and finding that it "excels at removing embedded dirt from carpets." On Amazon, buyers said they love the powerful suction, the ability to detach the canister for easier access to high or tight spaces, the beater that makes short work of removing dirt from carpeting but switches off for safe cleaning of hard floors, the low noise level, and the ease of washing filters rather than replacing them. And of course, many love the extremely reasonable price.
On the downside, some owners wish the electrical cord was longer, and some said the vacuum cleaner felt a bit top-heavy.
The Shark Navigator Lift-Away comes with a dusting brush, an 8-inch and a 24-inch crevice tool, and a wide pet upholstery tool.
Pros: Low price, superior performance, five-year warranty, lift-off canister and hose
Cons: Hose is a bit short at 5 feet, electric cord is short at only 25 feet