Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins, Flexology & TruePet [Twin Battery] IZ320UKT Review
Updated and improved, the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins, Flexology & TruePet [Twin Battery] IZ320UKT is an incredible cordless stick vacuum cleaner. It’s very powerful, cleaning well even on its lowest power setting, has lots of tools and long battery life. If you don’t need dual batteries or the pet […]
Verdict
Updated and improved, the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins, Flexology & TruePet [Twin Battery] IZ320UKT is an incredible cordless stick vacuum cleaner. It’s very powerful, cleaning well even on its lowest power setting, has lots of tools and long battery life. If you don’t need dual batteries or the pet tool, check out the other cheaper versions of the cleaner.
Pros
- Flexible design
- Very powerful
- Long lasting, particularly with two batteries
Cons
- Can’t stand upright when extended
Availability
- UKRRP: £529.99
- USAunavailable
- Europeunavailable
- Canadaunavailable
- Australiaunavailable
Key Features
- TypeThis is a cordless stick vacuum cleaner. It’s wand has a hinge in the middle for easy storage and so that you can clean under sofas without having to bend down.
- Battery lifeWith two batteries you can get up to two hours of cleaning – more than enough for your average home.
Introduction
Shark’s impressed before with its Flexology cordless cleaners, which give you easy storage and simple under-furniture cleaning. The latest model with the technology is the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins, Flexology & TruePet [Twin Battery] IZ320UKT, which ups battery life on the previous edition, increases power and introduces the new PowerFins flood head.
I’ve reviewed the top-of-the-range model with dual batteries and the pet tool, but there are three other versions that have the same basic features: IZ320UK (dual batteries, no pet tool), IZ300UKT (single battery and pet tool) and the IZ300UK (single battery and no pet tool).
Design and features
- Clever Flexology design
- New LCD shows actual battery life
- Simple to use but doesn’t stand upright by itself
The Shark IZ320UKT is one of the company’s most powerful and flexible cordless vacuum cleaners. It’s the Flexology part that really makes this stick vacuum cleaner stand out from the competition.
Simply put, Flexology is a hinge in the middle of the wand that lets the vacuum cleaner fold over on itself. You can use this to store the vacuum cleaner in a cupboard, where it doesn’t take up much room. However, note that the Shark IZ320UKT won’t stand up by itself when the wand is fully extended; that’s a trick that the Hoover H-Free 300 and Beko PowerClean Cordless Vacuum Cleaner VRT94929VI can do.
Flexology isn’t just for storage, as the bend can also be used when vacuuming so that you can get the motorised floor head under furniture without having to bend down. It’s a brilliant trick and one that makes this vacuum cleaner more, well, flexible than much of the competition.
Shark has included its DuoClean head, which has a soft roller for hard floors and a brush for carpets. For this model, Shark has included its PowerFins tech, which adds fins to the roller to really get into carpet fibres and agitate dirt. It’s also got Anti Hair Wrap tech, which really works to prevent hair from wrapping around the rollers.
In the box, Shark has been very generous with accessories. You get a crevice tool, a multi surface brush (hard brush and upholstery tool), mini pet brush (great for carpets and sofas) and the anti-allergen brush, which you can use for dusting pretty much everything from blinds to furniture thanks to its articulated joint.
There’s no on-body storage for these tools, although Shark does throw in an accessory bag for you to keep everything in.
You get two batteries in the box, plus a charger that can take both batteries, so you can keep them both topped up all of the time. If you prefer, you can just charge the battery in the vacuum’s body by plugging in the power cable at the rear.
New to this model is the LCD screen at the back. Turn the vacuum cleaner on and you can see how much battery is remaining as a percentage. It’s an improvement over the basic LED lights on the battery (the three show the rough power left) although not quite as advanced as the Dyson V15 Detect, which shows battery power remaining in minutes.
The screen is also used to show the current power mode (Eco, Standard or Boost) and, if you have the floor head attached, the floor mode (carpet or hard floor).
With its 4.58kg weight, the Shark IZ320UKT sits about in the middle of the cordless pile, balancing weight against power. I found it very easy to move around, with the floor head dashing around carpets and hard floors, and the LED headlights helping in darker areas.
Pull the floor head off and you can easily clean close up or even around the ceiling, with the Shark IZ320UKT nicely balanced.
There’s a 0.7-litre bin, which is a good size for a cordless vacuum cleaner. You can empty it in-situ, pointing the vacuum’s bin down and opening the ejection flap. Or you can remove the bin from the body completely, which lets you pull out the rear filter for cleaning and thoroughly clean out the bin.
There’s a second filter at the back of the vacuum cleaner, too. This should be cleaned regularly using water to keep the Shark IZ320UKT running at maximum performance.
Performance
- Excellent dust collection on all power settings
- Works brilliantly on all floor types
- Good battery life
I put the Shark IZ320UKT through my raw performance tests, measuring suction power in airwatts (AW), which uses a combination of airflow and suction. On Eco power, the vacuum runs at a basic 37.33AW, moving to 61.40AW on standard, which is about average for cordless cleaners. On Boost mode, the vacuum manages a huge 199.79AW; few cordless vacuum cleaners are this powerful, bar the Dyson V15 Detect, which manages an even higher 280.93AW.
With cordless vacuum cleaners, in particular, the raw figures give an idea of performance, but it’s only by testing them for real that you can see how good suction really is, as it’s a combination of power and tool efficiency that’s important.
I ran my carpet test to start with, placing a teaspoon of flour on the ground. Running the Shark IZ320UKT through the middle I got a clean collection of the dust on Standard power. Next, I ran the vacuum through the top on Eco mode and the bottom on Boost. There’s little to tell between the two, and it’s impressive that the Shark IZ320UKT can clean so well on its lowest setting.
Next, I tried the harder carpet tile test, with dust spread to the skirting board. Here, the Shark IZ320UKT proved itself a capable cleaner on standard power, picking up the mess right to edge, so that I didn’t have to use the crevice tool.
I then combed cat hair into the carpet and ran over it using the standard power setting. Again, everything was collected with ease.
Finally, I tested the cleaner on a hard floor, spreading a teaspoon of rice on the ground. Many cordless vacuum cleaners will pick up the mess initially but drop grains of rice out at the end. On standard power that didn’t happen with the Shark IZ320UKT.
I measured the Shark IZ320UKT at 71.2dB (Eco), 75.4dB (Standard) and 76.8dB (Boost). That’s about average for a cordless vacuum cleaner with this much power.
Shark quotes battery life at up to 60 minutes per battery running on Eco mode without a powered tool. I tested with a powered tool and found that it lasted 61m 28s on Eco power, 33m 58s on Standard and an impressive 17m 58s minutes on Boost. Recharge time is four hours for both batteries.
In real use, then, you’ll definitely get more than an hour of battery life out of this model using both batteries: that’s enough for me to clean my entire house without worrying about recharging along the way.
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Should you buy it?
If you want a lot of flexibility, long run times, a good selection of tools and excellent cleaning power, this cordless model is hard to beat.
If you want automatic power modes to adjust suction power on the fly, this model doesn’t have it. Also, don’t overpay and buy this model if a single-battery option would suit you more.
Final Thoughts
Super flexible, very powerful and with dual batteries, this is a cordless vacuum cleaner that can tackle whole-home cleaning with ease. It’s also cheaper than the high-end Dyson V15 Detect, although that cleaner has a smarter display and an automatic power mode that adjusts suction on the fly based on the level of dirt present. And, Dyson has a clever floor head that highlights dirt.
Still, if you’re on a tighter budget, this vacuum cleaner is a great choice and you can save further by buying the single battery version if you’ve got a smaller home or flat. For alternatives, see my guide to the best cordless vacuum cleaners.
How we test
We test every vacuum cleaner we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Used as our main vacuum cleaner for the review period
Tested for at least a week
Tested using tools to measure actual suction performance
Tested with real-world dirt in real-world situations for fair comparisons with other vacuum cleaners
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FAQs
This model has two, but you can buy a model with one battery if you prefer.
It will last for up to an hour on Eco mode per battery.
Trusted Reviews test data
Full specs
Jargon buster
AirWatt
A rating of how powerful a vacuum cleaner is. AirWatts combines suction power with airflow to give one score, where the higher the number is better.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
