Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I recently purchased this vacuum. In my search for a handheld vacuum to clean carpeted stairs and furniture, I read an article that listed this Shark vacuum in the top 5 for best vacuums for stairs/furniture. As I said, I only wanted a handheld but as I was shopping for one, I realized I would need to spend around $50 dollars. I then rationalized that we have had our current vacuum for over 4 years, so maybe it's time for a new one. With this rationalization, I pulled the trigger and bought this one. Like others have done, I purchased from Bed/Bath/Beyond using a 20% off coupon. I ordered online and while waiting for it's arrival, I found the same vacuum on sale at the base exchange for $212. This vacuum is replacing a Dyson DC33 and a Bissel Pet Hair Eliminator (which was used for stair and furniture and in my opinion, never very effective). The Dyson does not do stairs. We do have two full sized dogs: a black lab and a German Shepard. I put the Shark together last night and took my time vacuuming the entire house and trying all of the different attachments. Sorry, but in this review you wont find a demonstration of vacuuming with the Dyson and then vacuuming again with the Shark to see what the Dyson missed. I will make comparisons of the vacuums though. Overall, I am very satisfied with the Shark but full disclosure here: I was never all that happy with the Dyson to begin with. As you can see from the pictures, the main roller/brush housings on the two vacuums are much different in size with the Shark being much smaller. This is a HUGE advantage. The Dyson could not fit under anything and always required the use of the hose to vacuum around furniture after vacuuming the floors. The shark fits under most of my furniture and with the exception of some corners, I did not need to use the wand which made the job of cleaning much faster. The Shark also has 'headlights', which does not add to the functionality but it is something I really like. Using the wand on the Shark is a much easier task than the Dyson. All that is needed with the Shark is to push one of two buttons (depending on if you want the wand or just the handle), and start vacuuming. The Dyson requires disconnecting the handle with the push of the button and then pulling the wand out of the handle where it normally sits. As I mentioned earlier, I originally wanted a vacuum for stairs and furniture. This is where the lift-away feature is very handy. Cleaning stairs and furniture does require two tools; the crevice tool and the smaller brush/roller attachment but switching between the two is very easy and the Shark was very effective. Others have commented on the cheap plastic feeling of the Shark but it has the same build quality of the Dyson. My only complaint was the size of the waste container...it is small. I vacuum once per week and normally will fill two canisters full with the Dyson. The Shark's canister is half the size of the Dyson (maybe even smaller than that) and required 5-6 empties (I lost count) for the entire job. This is a very easy to use vacuum and the tools it comes with are very useful.