Shark Rocket Ultra-Light vs. Dyson V7: Which Vacuum is the Best in 2018

Depending on your tastes, both the shark rocket ultra-light and Dyson V7 seem like great purchases. However, for the more discerning shopper, nothing but a thorough, in-depth comparison will do. As such, we’ve prepared a side by side review of the two machines. So, on your marks, and may the best vacuum win.

Description:
    The Dyson V7 is one of the latest in the long range of Dyson’s V-series product offerings. Though the vacuum power isn’t quite as strong as Dyson’s flagship cyclone V10, it’s still an impressive middle of the range machine. It’s designed to be more powerful than Dyson’s V6 and yet quieter than the slightly larger V8. Light-weight, versatile, with a whole host of differing hose adapters to fit most any job you’ll encounter, the V7 is designed to complement rather than replace your regular plug-in vacuum.

    Shark vacuums all fall within or very near the same price-point, making it rather silly to say one or the other is the company’s flagship machine. Though, if you go by price alone, the Shark Rocket Duo clean ultra-light vacuum is the most expensive, followed by the Zero-M, with the basic ultra-light bringing up the rear. The differences between the three come down to specialization. The Duo clean is specially built with two rolling brushes working in conjunction to help it handle larger dirt particles for the truly dirty floors that some handheld vacuums cannot control. The Zero-M is designed with a vacuum head that actively removes hair wrap from the machine, so they don’t end up getting tangled up and clogging the vacuum. It specializes in dealing with pet and animal hairs. The basic Shark Rocket Ultra-Light is a general all-purpose machine.

    The Dyson V7 also comes in three different models, the Dyson V7 Absolute, Animal, and Motorhead. The Absolute comes with an additional cleaner heard for hard floors. The Animal is specially produced with pet and animal hairs in mind. In this sense, it draws the comparison with the Shark Rocket Zero-M. The Dyson V7 seems to be a base model with the main difference being its attractive coloring.

Looks:

    A quick caveat before we get into it, aesthetics, as always, remain a very subjective matter and to be frank, both Shark Rocket and Dyson products share similar features concerning general form. So, please do not in any way take the following statements as definitive; we are all entitled to our own opinions. Both vacuum machines have similar looking heads and shafts, with the main point of difference being the engine housing.

     The Shark Rocket Ultra-light has sleek, razor-sharp edges that remind one of an electric shaver. Dyson V7’s tend to have slightly bulkier looking, more curvaceous engine housings. They come in black, Iron, and fuchsia colors. The Shark Rocket website makes no specific mention of color schemes, but the Duo clean comes in what appears to be red coloring, the Zero-M comes in blue, and the basic model seems to go in an orange-ish color.

Dimensions:

    Shark Rocket Duo Clean Ultralight comes in the sizes, 10.2 L X 9.8 W X 46.4 H. The basic model Shark Rocket is slightly larger at 10.5 L X 9.8 W X 46 H, with the Zero-M being the largest at 13.4 L X 10.2 W X 47.2 H.

    All three products in the Dyson V7- series range come in the same product dimensions, L 49 in X 9.8 W X 8.2 H. As you can tell, Dyson products tend to be slightly longer, but the overall dimensions between the two product ranges tend to be nearly the same.

Weight:

    The Shark Rocket Duo Clean weighs in at 9.9 lbs., the Zero-M is slightly lighter at 8.8 lbs., and finally, the basic model is the least heavy, coming in at 7.6 lbs. Both the Dyson Absolute and Animal weigh 5.3 lbs., the Dyson Motorhead weighs 5.45 lbs., it’s only slightly heavier than the others.

     So, despite the Ultra-Light marketing brand, Shark Rocket products are markedly heavier than their competitor.

Wattage:

    This is an area of quite some contention. Dyson V7 advertises a suction power of 21W in powerful mode and 100AW (air watts) in max mode. Unfortunately, the Shark Rocket website fails to give a similar comparison in suction power.

    It only advertises the wattage of each products motor, which I believe is an indicator of electric energy consumption, not suction strength. Shark reports power levels of 600W for its Duo Clean model, 500W for its Zero-M model, and finally 500W for its basic model. No indicator of air wattage or similar measure of suction strength can be found on the website.

Corded vs. Cordless:

    All Sharp Rocket Ultra-Light devices come only in a corded version. However, each one receives a generous 30m cord to help get you around, so you shouldn’t have to worry about having to plug and unplug. All, of course, except the basic model Ultra-light corded vacuum. It has a 25m cord which is slightly smaller but still significant. Dyson V7 products, on the other hand, are all cordless. This has obvious advantages and disadvantages. Going wireless so to speak, means Dyson V7’s are more versatile and less cumbersome to manipulate. They’ll go anywhere. The bad news is you are limited by the battery life how much cleaning you can get done in a single charge. However, all the V7 Dyson models advertise a generous 30-minute operational battery life, so you should be able to tackle most jobs on one charge.

Warranty:

    This is one area Shark Rocket is a clear winner. Shark Rocket Ultra-Light models all come with a 5-year manufacturer guarantee. Dyson V7’s, on the other hand, only have a 2-year warranty.

Price:
    Finally, we come to the meat of the discussion. Dyson V7’s are currently advertised, on sale, at the cost of $ 249.99 for the Motorhead, $240.99 for the Animal, and $237.99 for the Absolute. However, these are on-sale prices. It’s the standard retail prices that matter the most, and so these are the prices we’ll concentrate on. When we do start to look at those prices, the picture changes significantly.

     The Motorhead retails at $299.99, the Animal at $399.99, the and lastly Absolute $449.99. Now compare these to Shark Rocket products that have a starting price of $179.99 for the basic model. The Zero-M comes in at $229.99, and the Duo clean retails at $249.99. Shark Rocket products come in at a lower price range, but remember that they are corded. Again, being cordless is just one amongst a host of other features that Dyson V7’s have that Shark products do not.

Conclusion:
    Both product offerings, Shark Rocket Ultra-Lights versus Dyson V7’s, have their pros and cons. If you are looking for a premium, the cordless product then you have to go with the Dyson V7’s. However, if you are more practical and are looking for something that will get the job done at a reasonable price, Shark products are the only option. Either way, both are quality products that will not disappoint.