Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This review is particularly for those of you torn between a Shark Navigator Lift-Away and a Dyson DC33. Hopefully my review will shed a little bit of light. If you don't feel like reading my whole review, scroll to the bottom for a summary. We had an old cheap Hoover and my wife told me we really needed a better vacuum because A.) we have a dog that sheds B.) We are expecting a baby soon and C.) Our home is carpeted as well has has bare floors. DC33 I did a lot of research and decided I would give the famed Dyson brand a try. We read reviews just like you are doing now and though it was $389 dollars at Sam's, we went out and bought the Dyson DC33. My wife and I don't get buyer's remorse when spend top dollar for an item so long as that item falls under the "investment" category. We considered the DC33 a good investment since it would clean up our dog hair and keep our house clean for our incoming baby boy. Upon installation of the Dyson DC33, we immediately tried it out. We did the test they do on commercials and decided to run our old hoover through one side of the carpet and the DC33 on the other side. Since both vacuums have clear containers, we saw that the difference was pretty negligent, perhaps because our carpet was not very dirty. However, the DC33 does have very impressive suction power which is undeniable. The next thing we noticed is that it only came with 2 attachments which were mediocre at best. Thence started our buyer's remorse. We grabbed the mediocre attachments and hooked them up to the hose. We attempted to pull the slinky-looking hose to clean our couch and the vacuum kept toppling over. The vacuum's suction power appears to be so much, that it keeps that extendible hose retracted. The hose has a very stiff feeling to it (so to speak) so it wasn't as usable as we wanted it to be. In conclusion, it seems the engineers really did a great job in designing excellent suction power but left much to desire in terms of usability and features. This vacuum would probably be good only if you plan on using it upright and NOT in tight spaces as the bottom section is large and doesn't get under the couch very well. We decided to return the DC33 and buy a Shark Navigator for about $180. Shark Navigator We got home and initially, the vacuum looked a little cheap in reference to the plastic casing. However, this impression quickly vanished when we assembled it and started working with it. From the getgo, we saw how awesome the suction power was with this vacuum. It was equivalent if not more powerful than the DC33. The second thing is that for area rugs, this vacuum is so powerful that sometimes it's hard to roll, well it has a little adjustable ring that you can rotate at the top of the handle that releases some air pressure so that your suction power is a little less. You can also vacuum with the roller either moving or with it still (for bare floors so it doesn't kick back all the dirt). Next was the fact that you can lift it away and vacuum stairs easily and the best part (especially for MEN), I lifted this vacuum (the bottom detaches from the top) and carried it out to my garage to vacuum my car. Without exaggeration, this thing feels EXACTLY like those vacuums you pay 75 cents for at gas stations. I was like "WOOOOOO HOOOO" this thing WORKS! The attachments were the classic pointy attachment, the classic brush attachment, and best of all, the couch/stair attachment that has a roller on it!! That's the best. Like the dyson, you can empty the container with the touch of a button without getting dirty. However... if you want to clean it good you will have to put your hand in there (so to speak) and get the stuck dirt out (no big task really) and you're done. Another feature is that it is thinner on the bottom so it fits under most couches easily and turns well around corners. It is not very loud at all (quieter than the Dyson) and has no loss of suction power. Needless to say, for the price, it is a bargain and it is so user friendly that I applaud the engineers for that. The vacuum detaches at different places and some people have complained that it is "too complicated" to detach and put together?? I didn't even read the manual (I'm a typical guy) and I was able to figure it out within a few minutes. If you are torn between the Shark and some other vacuum, go with this one. I'm pretty sure that everyone from the average user to the extreme everyday vacuum user will give this machine high ratings. In summary, the DC33 has great suction but usability and attachments are mediocre at best. The extendible hose is too stiff (so to speak) and the vacuum is bulky around corners and under couches. The Shark Navigator has so many features that for the price, it is a bargain. It detaches so you can clean stairs, cars, couches, bare floors, etc. It picks up dog hair easily and has amazing suction power as well but for a much better price than other leading brands.