Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner review 

The cordless Shark upright vacuum was put to the test at our purpose-built Saga Exceptional testing facility. We tested the vacuum’s ability to pick up different types of debris, such as wool and ground coffee, from different types of floors. 

We also tested the battery life of the vacuum by using it every day on carpets, tiles, laminate flooring, stairs, and upholstery in a three-bedroom house. In addition, we determined how much vacuuming we could do before the bin needed to be emptied. 

While it may not have the design kudos that the Dyson Gen5 Detect has, we loved the shiny red cylinder and accents, which added a touch of interest to the dark grey vacuum.

It looks unlike any other upright we’ve seen but we liked the design. Some may say it looks a bit like a toy vacuum cleaner, but we think it has a bit of a retro or futuristic feel to it.  

While it is weighty – it is an upright after all – it’s fairly effortless to move around. We carried it using the handle on the lift-away section. It’s also easy to carry around as a handheld cleaner although the battery does add a big chunk of weight to it – 0.821kg (almost two pounds) in this case. 

The beauty of this design is that as it’s an upright, it’s easy to store away as it can independently stand on its own. It’s also a bit more compact than a corded Shark we have, so is one of the best cordless vacuums out of those we tested for smaller spaces.

While it was more of a complicated setup than other cordless vacuums we’ve tested, the instructions were easy to follow. And once it’s set up, there’s no need to take it apart unless you’re cleaning it. All the individual components feel like they’re quality, especially the metal stick, and it all clicked together well. 

What we really like are the printed instructions across the machine, which are great at reminding you how to operate something – such as lifting a lever to release the battery. This is important because it can be a bit fiddly working out how to release the different elements of the vacuum. 

The controls are at hand height, which makes it effortless to operate. You simply need to push the power button on and you’re ready to go.   

Switching between hard floors and carpets with the Shark ICZ300UKT is as simple as pressing a button on the LED panel. This is a major advantage over other vacuums, such as Dyson models, which require you to remove and replace the brush head. 

The other button on the LCD panel is for suction level. You can choose between eco, deep clean and boost, which is advised to use only in short bursts.  

The LCD display will also show any error messages. The E6 blockage code came up while we were using the crevice tool but it was easy to remove the blockage and carry on vacuuming.  

Despite the weight of the machine, it moves around the floor with ease. On testing in the centre, though, we found that it could sometimes lean to the right slightly, perhaps because of the location of the battery to one side.

The handheld element is straightforward to use. You simply press a button and pull the canister and it comes away. You can then add attachments to the end of the handle to tackle stairs, blinds, and high-up areas. 

The lift-away section is made heavier because of the battery, but it can be left on the floor if holding by a handle is too much. The actual wand, which does the cleaning, is lightweight enough to do chores such as vacuuming blinds or reaching high-up crevices, especially in comparison to the heavyweight that is the Dyson Gen5 Detect. 

Unlike other cordless vacuums, the filters are stored separately from the bin in the handheld section. To access the foam filter, it’s just a matter of lifting off the side and removing it. Shark advises you to clean it once a month. The Hepa filter is stored in the battery area and simply pulls out. 

Our tests in the Saga Exceptional centre showed that while the deep clean mode was fairly effective at picking up all the debris on both hard floors and carpets, we needed to activate the boost mode to fully pick up everything.  

While testing it across the house, we struggled getting finer dust out of a carpet. In the end we had to use the crevice attachment on boost mode to pick it up. Nonetheless, it was effective at picking up dog hair, especially from thicker carpets.  

On hard floors such as laminate and vinyl, we found we needed to do a couple of passes but it did a good job of picking up everything in the end, from cereal to dog hair.

The only drawback was that the two small wheels situated either side of the head were prone to picking up and trapping debris, such as dog hair.

As with many of Shark’s vacuum cleaners, this model boasts anti hair wrap technology, which means it removes hair as you clean leaving the brush roll tangle free.

While in the home, this worked with hair we did find that when attempting to vacuum wool in the test centre, a third of it wrapped around the brush roll. It was easily cut free with scissors as the brush itself is not detachable.  

The Shark ICZ300UKT comes with three attachments – a crevice tool, wide upholstery tool and dusting brush – as well as a bag for easy storage.  

The upholstery tool was great for the sofa and dog bed – being wider made it more efficient. We used the dusting brush on our blinds and, even though the handheld is heavy, it wasn’t too difficult to hold in one hand while using the other to use the wand.

We really loved the crevice tool as it was super powerful. We used it on the stairs to get into all those nooks and crannies and were amazed at what it picked up.

The only downside to the attachments is that to make them effective you really need to use them on boost mode, which drains the battery. 

The bin isn’t as big as on Shark’s corded uprights, but it’s a decent size at 0.7l (just over one pint). Even after a complete run of the house, we had plenty of room left in there so it’s a good option if you have a whole lot of floorspace to vacuum.  

When it comes to emptying the bin, we think it’s one of the easiest we’ve used thanks to the instructions printed on the vacuum. Just squeeze two red buttons either side and pull.

To empty, it’s just a case of pressing a red lever to release the end of the bin. A good shake got most of the debris out, but we did need to put our hand in and pull out some that had got stuck near the top.  

Shark says that the battery on this model of vacuum cleaner lasts for an hour, but on closer inspection that seems to be when it’s used only in eco mode. In our tests we found the battery run-time was nearer to 33 minutes.

In real life, this was equivalent to roughly almost two runs of a three-bedroom house, including vacuuming the stairs. Throughout this time, we mostly ran it on the deep clean setting with the occasional blast of boost. 

The LCD display shows the battery life in percentages, which is helpful for keeping track of how much run time is left. However, our vacuum cleaner suddenly stopped working when it was at 10% charge, so it is a good idea to think about recharging when you hit that magic 10.  

The battery comes out easily from the handheld section of the vacuum and, as with many things on this vacuum cleaner, has removal instructions marked on the unit. It’s charged away from the vacuum cleaner, which we always like as it gives greater flexibility about where you can charge it.  

While you can just plug the charger directly into the battery, it also comes with a special dock where you add the charger and then simply place the battery into it.

The dock has suction pads on the bottom, which was a nice touch as it kept it secure on our coffee table and couldn’t be knocked over by over-exuberant children or dogs. It also has a charge indicator on it that lights up in sections until it’s completely lit, alerting you to the fact that it’s on full charge.  

You can buy another one for £99.99 and while it might seem a lot for a second battery, we think it’s worth the outlay. The battery life is disappointingly short, so a second battery means you won’t be caught short (like we were) when it runs out of charge.  

We think this machine is worth the investment because of its versatility. This vacuum combines the convenience of a handheld with the advantages of an upright vacuum, so you get the best of both worlds.  

Shark also has plenty of deals on throughout the year and at the time of writing, this model was down by £100, to £299.99. This is a great deal, especially considering that the vacuum comes with a five-year guarantee that includes free parts and labour. 

Even though this the Vax ONEPWR Blade 5 cordless cleaner has a RRP of £449.99, you can often find it on special offer, which make this one a great buy. It comes with an abundance of attachments that increase its versatility and it’s great at picking up dog hair. It also comes with two batteries, extending the battery life to an impressive one hour in total.

Featured product

Vax ONEPWR Blade 5

RRP: £379.99

Check price

Check price

The Dyson V11 is a powerful cordless vacuum cleaner that offers similar anti-wrap technology to the Shark ICZ300UKT. It has 43 hair removal vanes in the brush bar, which help to prevent hair from wrapping around the brush. It also has a similar size bin to the Shark and it uses clever slider technology to make it easy to empty it. However, this Dyson model does have a trigger that you need to keep pressed in to use, which may not be ideal for some users.

Featured product

Dyson v11

RRP: £429.99

Check price

Check price

The power of an upright with the flexibility of a cordless means this cleaner is a great choice for anyone looking for a new vacuum. It’s easy to manoeuvre and the controls are simple to understand and use. We love the fact it changes between floor types with the simple touch of a button.  

The lift-away technology can be a bit of a faff to get used to but, once you have, it ups the versatility factor of the vacuum enabling you to clean stairs, the car or high-up areas with ease. Add to that the cleaning power and ease of storage and you’ve got a great little vacuum.