Best cordless stick vacuum

This vacuum gets you most of the V15's cleaning for far less money. Vacuum Wars' deep-clean test embeds sand in medium-pile carpet and weighs what comes out. The PowerDetect scored 100 percent, against a 93 percent average across more than 125 cordless models.^{1 6} It also scored 5 out of 5 for picking debris off carpet, while the V15 scored 3.5.¹ In a separate group test, TechRadar's reviewer ranked it first in every cleaning test, with perfect marks on pet hair and medium-pile carpet.⁷

It lasted 13 minutes at max power with the floor head on, and Vacuum Wars estimates 30 to 40 minutes in auto mode, depending on how much carpet you have.² Dust should stay inside, too. Both the vacuum and its auto-empty base passed Vacuum Wars' fog test, which blows fog through the machine to find leaks.^{2 6}

The main cost is bulk. Shark lists it at 8.11 pounds and TechRadar at 8.38. It was the heaviest vacuum in TechRadar's group and felt less nimble than the rest, though its handle section is lighter than the V15's.^{1 7 8} The controls take some learning. TechRadar's reviewer struggled to find how to change modes, and the power comes on a second or two after you press the button.⁹ At 82 decibels it runs above the 77 decibel average.^{2 6} Suction measured at the floor head was about half the average, which held it back in floor crevices, though its hard floor pickup was still well above average.^{1 2}

Vacuum Wars' overall score of 4.04, or 4.08 with the dock, trails the V12 at 4.11 and the V15 at 4.61.³ We still put it first because it costs so much less and Shark's satisfactory reliability score beats Dyson's low one.¹⁰

The IP1251 and IP3251 differ only in the bin, the color and the dock. The IP3251's dock empties the vacuum into a larger bagless container.² That keeps your hands away from the bin, but Tom's Guide says the emptying cycle is loud and the sensors need cleaning.¹¹ Shark lists a five-year limited warranty on both, with two years on parts, and doesn't say on those pages whether the battery is covered.^{8 12} It uses the PowerDetect name on other products, including the corded HZ4002 and a Speed Clean & Empty model that tested differently, so buy by model number.^{3 5}

On a new machine, nothing here scores higher overall. Vacuum Wars ranks it first of more than 110 cordless models.³ RTINGS names it the best cordless it has tested, and Consumer Reports gives it nearly perfect performance scores.^{4 13} Its suction at the floor head measured 2.52 kPa, a unit of pressure, against 0.29 for the PowerDetect.¹ That power has a downside: with the head's front gates fully closed, it can be very hard to push on carpet at max power, so leave them open.¹⁴

The doubt is about the years after that. Consumer Reports' owner survey gives Dyson a low reliability score for cordless sticks, below Shark and Bissell.¹⁰ Owner complaints center on the battery. One buyer's V15 stopped charging about six months after its two-year warranty ended, and a Hacker News owner replaced a Dyson battery twice before switching to a Shark.^{15 16} A law firm is also investigating V11 and V15 battery life, which is an allegation and not a finding.¹⁷ These reports don't give a failure rate.

It's also heavy where you hold it. The handle section weighs about 4.6 pounds, against a 3.3 pound average, even though the whole vacuum weighs less than the PowerDetect.^{1 14} Max-power runtime was 9 minutes.¹

Choose this one if you carry a vacuum more than you push it. At 5.2 pounds it's about 3 pounds lighter than the PowerDetect, and its handle section weighs about 3.3 pounds.^{7 18} Vacuum Wars found it far easier to use as a handheld than bigger Dysons such as the V15.¹⁸

You don't lose much cleaning. It scored 96 percent in the carpet sand test and measured 82 percent of the V15's suction.¹⁸ Its all-surface head struggled with larger debris on hard floors, so use the separate hard floor head there.¹⁸

The low weight comes with a short max-power runtime and a small bin. It lasted 7 minutes 45 seconds at max power, the shortest of these picks, and the bin holds about 0.4 liters.^{18 19} It has the same two-year warranty as the V15 and falls under the same low brand score for reliability.^{10 18}

You give up polish here, not the basics. It has a removable battery and a sealed filter system, which is uncommon at this price, and its head picked up all sizes of debris on carpet without clogging.²⁰ It scored above average in the carpet sand test, its handle section is light at about 3.2 pounds, and it stands up by itself.²⁰

Battery support is a real point in its favor. Vacuum Wars says Levoit keeps replacement batteries in stock, which many makers don't, so a worn pack shouldn't mean a new vacuum.²⁰ Levoit claims 30 minutes on low and 12 on max with the floor head, and Vacuum Wars found low power enough for regular cleaning.²⁰

It's a basic machine otherwise. It has just two power levels and no battery readout, its bin is smaller than average, and it feels awkward as a handheld.²⁰ Vacuum Wars' under-budget list ranks it third with a score of 3.07, behind the Tikom V500 and JellyPig X100.²¹ We prefer it anyway. The JellyPig scored 80 percent in the sand test, and the Tikom's suction and runtime are below average.²¹