Top Ten Reviews Verdict
The Shark Navigator Freestyle is a good choice to replace a full-size vacuum, but it lacks the necessary features of the best stick vacs.
Pros
- +
The dust cup is one of the largest of all cordless stick vacuums.
Cons
- -
It's bulky. The vacuum weighs twice as much as sleeker vacuums.
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The Shark Navigator Freestyle stick vacuum works well on both the bare floor and carpet, has strong suction power, and is easy to maneuver. It takes four hours to charge but only lasts 17 minutes before needing to be placed back on its charging base. We liked how easy it was to clean the dust cup, which clicked off and on with a button on the top of the stick. Despite this, it doesn't make our list of the best vacuum cleaners used.
The Navigator Freestyle is one of the better stick vacuums for cleaning carpets, especially heavier materials. In our carpet test, it only took four passes to sweep up all the debris. It also did well on hardwood, requiring only five passes before the floor was spotless. For pet hair, it had trouble removing remaining strands that clung more tightly to the carpet, while our top pick, the Hoover LiNX Cordless, did a much better job with pet hair. The Freestyle’s cleaning path is 10 inches wide and covers a lot of ground.
This cordless stick vacuum beat out many competitors in terms of overall cleaning performance, but it lacks convenient features. For instance, it doesn’t have a removable hand vacuum for cleaning tight areas or vacuuming your car, and there aren’t any extra attachments like a crevice tool or dusting brush. It’s not your best choice for cleaning upholstery.
This vacuum is also fairly heavy. At 9 pounds, it’s definitely not a bulky full-size vacuum, but it's still harder to maneuver than lighter stick vacs. One unique feature is its dustbin. The cleanup is bagless, and the bin is large. At 1.2 liters, it’s one of the largest of all the cordless vacuums we tested. This means you’ll have to empty the dust cup half as much as the lighter vacuums.
The Shark Navigator Freestyle is one of the best stick vacuums at precision and power and is a good choice if you’re looking to completely replace your full-size vacuum. That said, it’s bulky compared to other vacuums, and it lacks convenient features, like a removable hand vac and extra attachments, found in other higher-ranked models.
