One major reason to get a cordless vacuum is that it’s slim enough to fit in tight spaces to clean car seats or behind your bed. The Stratos takes this concept to the next level with MultiFlex.

Post-motor filter: The post-motor filter can be found in its housing within the main body of the vacuum and is only accessible after you've removed the dirt compartment. Much like the pre-motor filters, no maintenance interval is given, but the HEPA filters in other Shark vacuums require cleaning every month.

Customer reviews

The Dyson comes with a wall mount and the Shark folds neatly to stand by itself. Both can convert to handheld vacuums, but I found the Shark a little too heavy to do this for very long. The Shark has almost twice the dustbin capacity of the Dyson (0.18 gallon vs. 0.1 gallon), which makes it the better option for larger homes.

Multi-Surface Capability: Comes with multiple attachments that make transitioning from hardwood to carpet seamless. I bought this in May 2023 and it's now November, so I've been using it for 6 months. The good points are: Pre-motor filters: The foam and felt pre-motor filters sit in a housing at the top of the dirt compartment, and you can only access it after you remove the dustbin. From there, you can just take them out. No maintenance interval is specified, but you need to clean similar filters in other Shark vacuums once a month. The Shark Stratos has odor-neutralizer technology built into its brush head. What happens is that as air passed through the brush head, some of it is forced through a scent capsule, sort of like a Glade Plug-In, filling your home with scented air.

FLEXIBLE WAND: MultiFLEX technology allows you to bend the wand to clean under furniture, or fold it over for compact, freestanding storage. Let’s start with the obvious: These are both fantastic vacuums. And in the end, the choice between them comes down to personal preference. It's heavy. I'm a 48yr old, average strength woman. I am on the shorter side at 5'3", which I think could matter as well. I have tiny, bony hands. Not only does my arm hurt from the weight, but this kills my hand. I'm always repositioning it in weird ways, switching to my other hand, but my hand aches, it has a big dent from the weight, and I need to massage my hand when I'm finished. It's bad.