Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased the Shark Rocket about a month ago (from BB&Beyond due to the 20% coupon but based on reviews I read here). I was somewhat skeptical since I tend to gravitate toward reading the 1- and 2-star ratings first, propelling myself into a state of doubt over even the most minor purchases. I was looking for something to replace a heavy, somewhat useless Hoover upright purchased in 1999 and an older model Shark that's no longer sold (as far as I can tell). The Hoover was on the way out the door for a variety of reasons but primarily due to it's weight and the fact that it didn't really suck much up. The older Shark was okay but wasn't powerful enough and it was a pain to detach the handheld part (awkward to get off the main frame). It also didn't have a powered head (or whatever that bottom part is called) so it really wasn't that effective on carpet. I would usually use the brush attachment with the handheld to clean my area rugs (on my knees). We live in a tri-level house (so wanted something lightweight to drag up and down the stairs) and have mostly hardwood/tile floors with area rugs and one room with wall-to-wall carpet (so I needed something to easily transition from hard surface to carpet). I compared multiple models but was sucked in (haha) by the Shark Rocket infomercial. I'm also a little bit of a tightwad so the idea of dropping $300 on a Dyson just wasn't going to work for me. Unless it was like Rosie the Robot and actually did the cleaning itself. The pros: - It works. It actually picks up things off both my area rugs and hardwood floors. I'm not stooping down to pick up pieces of sock lint or threads and feeding them into the vacuum. And it doesn't shoot little pebbles or debris back at you or spread it in some other direction. It just picks it up. - It easily transitions from low to high speed to go from hardwood/tile to carpet. I can also use it on smaller area rugs without them getting sucked up into it (on both low and high speed). - It's easy to detach the hand held part from the bottom part. There are three attachments that go directly on the handheld - a crevice tool, one with a brush on it, and one something like a lint brush on it (I think it's meant to pick up pet hair - we have a dog but he doesn't shed so I can't comment on how good it works). There's also a hardwood floor cleaner with a washable pad that you can attach to the end of the wand. You can also attach the other pieces to the end of the wand - I use the brush to clean baseboards and the crevice tool to get into corners, under the cabinets, etc. - It's easy to empty the dirt trap with minimal mess. - There's a washable filter that I would recommend washing frequently when you first start using this thing. I noticed due to my long-term lack of vacuuming power that I was really sucking up a lot of extra dust the first few times I used it. - It's very lightweight (or as light as you can get and still have some power) and easy to maneuver. I can get under couches, coffee tables, my bed and so on without stooping down too far or getting down on the floor. - The cord it nice and long. I can do each floor of my house (probably a 30'x30' space) without moving from outlet to outlet. - It comes with a car detailing kit that I frankly can't wait to use but we're still in the depths of winter so it will have to wait until the weather warms up. The cons: - It's top heavy so it doesn't stand up on it's own. You have to lean it against something or lay it down on the floor. This is minor and not really an issue but you have to make sure you are careful so it doesn't fall over. - The attachments aren't "on board" and you can store them in the provided drawstring bag. This means that you have to take them with you to have them handy when you want them. This hasn't really been an issue but thought it was worth pointing out. - People have commented that the dirt receptacle is small and requires frequent emptying. I'm happy to empty it since it seems to mean I'm actually cleaning something. I usually empty it 2, maybe 3 times if I'm vacuuming the entire house. It's easy to empty so this isn't a big deal in my book. In general, the pros far outweigh the cons and I would definitely recommend this vacuum if you're looking for what I was. If you have all wall-to-wall, I'm not sure if you'll see the same results but for mixed floor types in an average sized house, I think this one can't be beat.