Shark Vertex DuoClean PowerFins Upright Vacuum with Powered Lift-Away AZ2002 Review
A super-powerful vacuum cleaner for the largest of homes
Verdict
It’s quite bulky and a little heavy, but for those who need the ultimate power and widest cleaning path for a big home, the Shark Vertex DuoClean PowerFins Upright Vacuum with Powered Lift-Away AZ2002 is exceptional. With Lift-Away mode this big cleaner turns into a more nimble one for getting into tighter areas, too.
Pros
- Very powerful
- Clever Lift-Away mode
- Neat controls
- Large dust cup
Cons
- Can be tricky to control
- Bulky
Availability
- UKunavailable
- USARRP: $479.99
- Europeunavailable
- Canadaunavailable
- Australiaunavailable
Key Features
- TypeThis is an upright vacuum cleaner, although Lift-Away mode lets you convert it into a smaller cleaner to get into all areas of your home.
Introduction
Larger homes demand more cleaning power, which is where the Shark Vertex DuoClean PowerFins Upright Vacuum with Powered Lift-Away AZ2002 comes in. With its extra-wide floor head and tonnes of suction power, this cleaner can quickly deal with the largest areas and biggest spills.
It’s quite heavy and bulky, but I still found it easy enough to push around. Plus, the Lift-Away mode at least adds a degree of flexibility.
Design and features
- Large floor head
- Simple controls
- Flexible Lift-Away mode
The Shark Vertex AZ2002 is a beast of a vacuum cleaner. Weighing 16.4lbs and with a large 1qt (0.25 gallons) dust cup, this is a sizeable cleaner aimed at dealing with the biggest of homes.
It ships with Shark’s clever self-cleaning DuoClean head, which is designed to prevent hair wrapping around the two rollers: one soft unit for hard floors; and one brush for carpets. This design is clever, since you don’t have to swap floor heads as you move from one type of floor to another.
Using the cleaner in upright mode is easy enough. Just tap the thumb control to turn it on, and then use the slider to select the power mode: Hard Floor, Carpet and Deep Pile Carpet modes. Adjusting the slider alters an air vent to tune the suction power: more for hard floors and less for deep-pile carpet.
With the head tilted back, you can push the cleaner around, where it proved to be quite flexible. It’s a powerful vacuum and it fights to pull forward, so some people may prefer a more gentle, lighter vacuum cleaner, such as the cordless Dyson V15 Detect.
The large dust cup on the front means this vacuum cleaner will struggle to fit beneath couches or under some dining chairs. This is where the Lift-Away mode comes in. This allows you to lift off the entire vacuum cylinder and set it on the floor, so you can use the wand and floor head to get into tighter areas. It does mean that you have to move the main unit around by hand, though.
In Lift-Away mode, you can more easily use the tools in the box. These can be used with the wand at full extension, which is great for cleaning up high around the ceiling, or just at the end of the hose, giving you close-up cleaning.
In the box is a crevice tool, a brush, and an excellent mini-motorised pet tool. The latter isn’t just good for cleaning couches of pet hair; it’s handy on stairs, too. You can store two tools on the vacuum cleaner’s body.
Thanks to the 30ft power cable and 5ft hose, there’s vacuum cleaner delivers plenty of reach – which means you won’t have to swap power outlets too often.
Once the cleaner is full, and this takes a while, the dust cup lifts up and out. You can open both the top and bottom of it, so you can empty and clean it. This also provides access to the main filter at the bottom of the dust cup, plus there’s a further filter at the front of the vacuum.
Performance
- A huge amount of power
- Quickly deals with any spills
- Wide cleaning path
I test all of my vacuum cleaners at the end of the hose to measure their raw suction performance. The Shark Vertex AZ2002 has a lot of raw power. Measured in AirWatts, which combines suction power with airflow, this vacuum delivered a significant 457.98AW on Hard Floor mode, dropping to 390.13AW on Carpet mode and 186.58AW on Deep Pile Carpet mode. As I said, that’s a lot of power.
This can be seen with my real-world tests. I started by sprinkling a teaspoon of flour onto my test carpet. Taking a sweep through the middle, the high suction power and wide head cleaned up most of the mess, leaving two thin strips of dust on either side. These were easily cleaned up with a couple of additional swipes.
Next, I went for the tricky edge test, spreading a teaspoon of flour onto carpet tiles right up to the skirting board. A single pass was all that was needed to suck out all of the mess, leaving no trace of flour behind.
Combing cat hair into carpet didn’t prove a problem for this cleaner, either: a fast pass over the top was enough to clear it all.
Finally, for the hard floor test, I scattered a teaspoon of rice onto the floor. Thanks to the wide head and high suction power, pretty much the entire spill – bar a few grains either side of the floor head – was removed in a single pass.
The power on offer here means you can move the Shark Vertex AZ2002 quite fast and still catch all of the dirt. And, thanks to that wide head, you’ll require fewer passes to clean than with a smaller vacuum cleaner.
The downside of the power is the noise. The vacuum is quite loud, measuring in at 78.2dB. This makes it one of the louder vacuum cleaners I’ve used.
You might like…
Best Offers
Should you buy it?
If you want a large, powerful cleaner that can make short work of any mess, then this is the vacuum cleaner for you. Its ability to convert into a smaller unit for detail cleaning also makes adds to its level of flexibility.
It may be powerful and flexible, but this vacuum cleaner is still quite heavy and a little difficult to control at times. If you want a lighter and more gentle model, then check out an alternative cleaner.
Final thoughts
For those with larger homes wanting to make short work of cleaning, the Shark Vertex AZ2002 is exceptional. It’s hugely powerful, can convert into a more nimble cleaner, and its wide head means you can clean with fewer passes of the vacuum cleaner. It’s quite large, though; it isn’t ideal for anyone who may struggle with its bulk. If you want something smaller, check out my guide to the best vacuum cleaners.
FAQs
A pet tool, crevice tool and a mini-motorised brush are included in the box.
This lets you remove the central cylinder, so you can get the floor head beneath furniture and the wand into tighter gaps.
Trusted Reviews Test data
Specs
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
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.
