Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum review & best price

How easy to use Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum?  It comes with smooth maneuverability on hard floors and carpets while maintaining powerful suction. It has detachable pod for motorized cleaning under furniture or detach the nozzle to clean above the floor, on upholstery, furniture, stairs and more. The vacuum that deep-cleans now cleans itself. Engineered for more pet hair pickup with no hair wrap. Reveal more in Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum review.

In the box

• Shark APEX AZ1002 vacuum body
• Hose
• Turbo brush
• Crevice tool
• Upholstery tool
• Vacuum head
• Wand
• User guide

Pros & Cons

• Strong suction
• Sturdy & easy to use
• LED lights
• Rubber covered grips
• Washable and reusable HEPA filter
• Multi-Surface Vacuum
• Self-cleaning brush roll
• Washable and reusable HEPA filter

Cons

• Dust bin could be bigger
• Dust tends to cling to the plastic bin
• Feels a little heavy at 16 lbs
• Wheels are plastic, can feel a little cheap

Specs – Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum

• Type Upright
• Manufacturer Shark
• Height 46″
• Depth 11.2″
• Width (inches) 12.2″
• Model APEX DuoClean with Zero-M Powered Lift-Away AZ1002
• Suction Strong (exact AW unknown)
• Weight 17.1 lbs.
• Floor Type All
• Filter Washable
• Dust Bin 0.88 quarts
• Cord 30′
• Reach 35.5′
• Bagless Yes
• Returns Varies by retailer
• Warranty 1-Year limited

Price

The Shark APEX DuoClean Upright Vacuum has plenty of advanced features to justify its roughly $400 price tag. It seems expensive in comparison to features and benefits. There are some great mid-range options—including other models from Shark—that better suit your budget. 

Compare Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum

Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum review

Build

The hose construction is a bit sturdy than the last model.  It has upgraded wheels that went from felt covered plastic to sturdy rubber wheels. The plastic ones would suffer from wear and needed to be replaced, but the rubber one is tougher and should last the lifetime of the vacuum.

Design

The APEX DuoClean has an even wider cleaning path at 11” and the dust bin has a bottom empty design with a 0.88 dry quart capacity. In addition, the APEX AZ1002 is bagless and has ample capacity vacuum bags for more dirt on every pass. Its small, lightweight design is great for today’s lifestyle.

Accessories

To aid in pet hair removal, the AZ1002 comes with the Pet Tool. It also includes a 12-inch crevice tool, a pet multi-tool, and a deep cleaning motorized pet tool.

1. 12″ crevice tool: Shark’s version has the right length and capable of reaching deep between tight spots such as spaces between cushions.
2. Pet multi-tool: This is a two-in-one tool with a stair/upholstery cleaning attachment and a cover with stiff bristles for cleaning stubborn pet hair.
3. Mini motorized pet brush: Has a spinning brush roll with a motor for cleaning upholstery or stairs.

Cord length

The cord length is around 30 feet and hose 5 feet. While the cord length should easily be enough to vacuum a room without having to change plugs, the hose is fairly short, making it hard to clean hard-to-reach areas in its semi-handheld alternative configuration.

Headlights

You can find LED headlights on the cleaner head. This is a handy feature when you need to vacuum on dimly lit floors. There is also another light on the handle, which helps illuminate the area you’re cleaning. The wheels of this upright vacuum also come with a soft rubber strip that gives more grip on hard floors, ensuring that the machine leaves no marring on delicate surfaces.

Brushroll

The DuoClean Brush roll is powered so it works with just the canister alone. But that Brush roll is great for areas like upholstery, stairs, cars, and pet hair removal. DuoClean combines a soft roller and a standard brush roller on the same cleaner head. It picks up everything and anything on any type of surface. Whether it’s carpet or hard floors, It is able to get up everything. The APEX AZ1002 has really shined when testing out what exactly it’ll pick up. So far nothing has been able to slow this powerhouse down.

Filter

The APEX AZ1002 utilizes a series of filters in a sealed system to ensure that the vacuum only exhausts clean air into your room. This model has several filters – two pre-motor filters and one HEPA post-motor filter that help keep allergens from leaking.

Post-motor HEPA filter: The HEPA filter also shouldn’t need replacing if you clean it regularly. Still, you can purchase replacements on the manufacturer’s website.

Pre-motor filters: The pre-motor filters shouldn’t need replacing if you clean it according to manufacturer recommendation. That said, if you do replace them, they’re sold as a single kit on Shark’s website.

Dust cup

The dust cup capacity of the AZ1002 is generous at 1.5 dry quarts (or 0.4 gallons).  It’s larger than the Shark Rotator Lift-Away ADV’s dustbin and is made of clear, hard plastic, so you can gauge how full it is with a single glance.

When you’re ready to empty it, click the release button to remove the dust cup. Then, hold it over the trash can and flip the tab on the front of the canister to dump the contents from the bottom.

Pet tool

As an add-on that comes with most premium Shark vacuums, including this one, this mini pet brush uses a spinning brush roll so that you can quickly sweep away embedded pet hair on upholstery or stairs. Moreover, like the main floor nozzle, this one doesn’t clog with long hair.

Suction

It is powered with a 1350 W (~11.3 Amps) motor providing plenty of suction. It will eliminate floor and furniture dust, pet hair, mold spores, and allergies. 

Noise level

Even with the motor’s sheer power, it isn’t as noisy, measuring between the 72 and 76-decibel range depending on where you place the noise meter.

• Hardwood mode – 73 dB
• Low pile carpet mode – 76 dB
• High pile carpet mode – 77 dB

Easy use – Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum

Its long wand also enables you to clean the baseboard, reach ceiling corners, or behind and under furniture. The fact that you don’t need to lift the entire heavy machine every time you need to clean stairs is also a plus.

As the Shark APEX AZ1002 is quite heavy and bulky, maneuverability is not exactly its strong suit. We think Shark knows this, and it has attempted to improve other components to make this issue less serious.

For example, the canister is fairly light, making it easier to clean stairs as a handheld-like vacuum. And this actually makes up a little for the weight it has. And thanks to the swivel steering feature, moving it around furniture is not that bad.

Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum Performance review

The Shark APEX delivers satisfactory performance on high-pile carpet. It does a very good job dealing with pet hair and larger debris, but it struggles slightly when dealing with very fine material. If you’re looking for an upright vacuum with better overall performance on high-pile carpet, check out the BISSELL Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Plus.

This vacuum delivers outstanding performance on bare floors. It easily collects pet hair and bulky and small debris, with minimal loss in suction performance as its dustbin fills up.

Using it in its ‘Powered Lift-Away’ configuration allows you to clean hard-to-reach, low places like beneath the couch. If you’ve got light rugs at home, this vacuum tends to suck up their tassels and move them around, even when using the area rug setting, since there isn’t a brushroll on/off switch.

Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum customer review

Very Versatile Vacuum, Especially for Dog Hair!!

I had never used a Shark Vacuum before owning a ION cordless model, I had strictly stuck to Dyson in the past. Quickly it became my go to vacuum because of the ease and accessibility to just pick it up and start vacuuming. Fast forward two years later and now we have the Shark Apex DuoClean. This vacuum is a well thought piece of machinery. I feel like Shark really took their time with the design of this product.

Everything makes sense from a user standpoint, it’s easy to use and effective at getting the job done for multiple tasks. The vacuum itself is meant to be used in 2 different modes. Standard vacuuming: Which is just your normal vacuuming mode. It has three levels for Hard Tile, Carpet, and Area Rugs. The standard vacuuming works great and Shark has come up with a new Zero M technology that blocks hair from being wrapped around the roller. I found that was one of the only flaws with past models but it seems to be solved with this one.

Overall it does a great job of leaving nothing behind. The only real gripe I have with the unit itself is the weight. It’s probably one of the heavier vacuums I’ve ever used. It doesn’t take away from its functionality but when its fully assembled this thing is a beast. Detached Mode: This is for getting to those hard to reach places under the couch with the detached roller. Also the top of the roller separates and allows you to use other attachments. Which brings me to my favorite part of the vacuum the motorized pet attachment. This thing is a blessing from Jesus himself if you own dogs. I have a black and a brown dog and they shed like crazy.

The attachment gets all the hair up in seconds off my bed sheets and couch. The brush will even pull hair stuck deep in couches. It is by far my favorite attachment in a vacuum ever. The wand itself even has a light on the end of it which is a nice touch. All in all I feel like Shark did a tremendous job with this vacuum. While it is a bit hefty in the weight department it doesn’t take away from the fact that its a well designed and well thought out product. I would whole heartedly recommend this vacuum to anyone.

By couponkingofjax at Best Buy

Alternate of Shark AZ1002 Apex Powered Lift-Away upright vacuum

SHARK VERTEX UPRIGHT VACUUM WITH POWERED LIFT-AWAY

Specs

Best for: powerType: UprightBagless: YesCordless: NoWeight: 16lb.Capacity: 1 qt.

Pros

+Hair doesn’t get stuck in the brush roll+Powerful suction+Powered Lift-away feature for hard-to-reach spots+DuoClean PowerFins maximize contact with floors

Cons

-On the heavy side

If you have a long-haired dog or cat, you’ll love the Shark Vertex Upright Vacuum with Powered Lift-Away. In fact, it’s one of the best Shark vacuums you can buy. Built with hypervelocity suction, it’s powerful enough to suck up everything in its path, and it’s built with the latest DuoClean Powerfins features with a self-cleaning brush roll that automatically keeps it free of hair (so you won’t have to spend time removing fur that’s tangled around the brush roll when you’re done vacuuming). It goes without saying that it works wonders on cleaning up human hair, too. 

Powered Lift-Away
It’s a Shark vacuum, so it features the brand’s Lift-Away system, which means the canister detaches to provide longer reach (perfect for de-fuzzing under beds and sofas) and easy maneuverability on stairs. And this version is the motorized hub of the vacuum for even more convenience. 

DuoClean PowerFins
Double the pick-up in one go.  Two rollers to suck up dirt and dust to maximize floor contact for continuous cleaning. A soft roller picks up small debris and dust while the silicone PowerFins dig deep into carpets and directly engaging floors for better pet hair pickup, as opposed to vacuums with standard bristles.

Bonus features
Besides the fact that it sucks up hair, this vacuum is packed with other handy features, including LED headlights for seeing under the furniture, a crevice, an upholstery tool for cleaning dog hair off the sofa, and on-board tool storage. It also has a built-in HEPA filter to remove allergens and pet dander while it cleans. 

Editor’s recommendations

• Shark NV352 Navigator Lift Away upright vacuum review
• Shark NV360 Navigator Lift-away Deluxe upright vacuum with large dust cup capacity review
• Shark IZ163H Pet Plus cordless stick vacuum with self-cleaning brushroll review
• Shark NV752 Rotator Powered Lift-Away TruePet upright vacuum reviews & price
• Shark Rotator Lift-Away DuoClean Pro upright vacuum – ZU782 review