REVIEW – the Shark UltraLite Multi-Vac

Remember back in September when I was invited to New York by the company Euro-Pro?  They asked me to go to New York to be introduced to the very cool Ninja Master Prep (which I’ll have my actual review of up soon…I promise.  Just seems the times I’ve used my Ninja, I forget to take pictures).  Anyhow, seeing as that Euro-Pro is also the parent company of Shark Cleaning, we (the bloggers) were also introduced to several other new Shark products.

Today, I’m going to tell you about the Shark UltraLite Never Loses Suction Multi-Vac.

This thing is straight out of Star Trek!  It’s wild to look at and a bit confusing out of the box, but it works phenomenally well.  Here are the official facts from the company on this unique machine:

• _{Transforms into three devices: a stick-vac, portable-vac and hand-vac with ease.}
• _{World’s most powerful portable vacuum, the Shark Multi-Vac comes with no-loss-of-suction technology.}
• _{Four times the suction on the floor as the market’s leading brand in no-loss-of-suction technology (the $400 Dyson DC24 upright).}
• _{Combines an ultra-lightweight of 10.4 lbs with swivel-steering for enhanced maneuverability.}
• _{Effective on carpet and hard wood floors.}
• _{Features high-clearance for larger particles like candy, pebbles or marbles as well as small messes like flour or sugar, which typically clog a filter.}
• _{Quick latch release turns the Multi-Vac into a portable vacuum with a handheld canister and patented revolutionary Backsaver™ handle.}
• _{Backsaver™ handle hinges mid-height, preventing strain on the back while making hard-to-reach places, such as under low-profile furniture, accessible.}
• _{Patented edge cleaning pulls dirt and debris from the sides of the product to ensure detailed cleaning.}
• _{Multi-Vac’s Air-Driven Turbo Brush attachment helps keep homes allergy free by powering through pet hair and embedded dirt on carpet and upholstery.}
• _{Comes with a 5-year warranty.}

Honestly, this machine’s high tech design can be confusing.  It gave me a headache trying to put it together out of the box.  It’s hard to tell which way is up.  Luckily, it does come with very good directions and once I slowed down and took the time to follow them, I had it together.  Of course, once it was together, I had to use it…even if it meant picking up all the toys in the living room.

The Multi-Vac is extremely easy to maneuver.  It glides over the carpet and sucks everything up.  It swivels and turns around corners and the  floor piece (pardon my non-technical jargon) is thin enough to go right under the entertainment center/couch/chairs/whatever you have without having to move everything.  Then it has this very cool “quick release back saver” button that drops the entire vacuum down so you can push it under tables without ever having to bend over.

Things I liked:

• VERY easy to maneuver
• Picked just about everything up (chunks of dried play-dough, candy wrappers, wet Coco Pebbles)
• Loved how it could drop down to get under the table without it being moved.
• Super lite
• It has some kind of exhaust/fan that blows cool air up/out and it just happens to hit you and keeps you cool.  I don’t think this is technically a “feature” but I liked it.
• Extra long cord is great for big rooms.

Check out the canister after a couple of uses – literally, Coco Pebbles, paper, plastic, string.  I told you!

Now, with every great machine, there are some flaws.

The detachable hand held vacuum was a little confusing to me and I had a hard time getting it reattached back to the base when I was done with it.

I had my Multi-Vac in my dining room and one of the three year old’s walked by and knocked it over (the light weight and smaller base makes it easy to do).  The detachable/hand held canister fell off (apparently there is a latch that I missed).  Because of the high-tech design (or my lack of high-tech thinking), I had no idea which way was up/front and I ended up forcing the base backwards trying to get it to stand up.  This in turn broke the hinges on my wheels/base and now my Multi-Vac no longer stands upright on it’s own.  Boohoo.

My Multi-Vac still functions just fine (other than it won’t stand on it’s own) and I feel like an idiot for breaking it.  But I do think that maybe the nice people at Shark should think about adding stickers onto it signifying the front/back and up/down.  At least for the technology challenged moms like me.

All in all, at the end of the day, I love my Multi-Vac.  It works REALLY well and I would certainly recommend it to my friends.  Hopefully, with practice, the detachable hand vac will get easier to use and I can use this nifty little machine to it’s full potential.  It’s currently available for purchase at Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohls and online at SharkClean.com.

Be on the lookout for my other upcoming Shark/Euro-Pro reviews (they really set me up good!):

1. The Portable Steam Pocket Cleaner
2. The Cordless Stick Vac
3. The Steam Pocket Mop
4. The Ninja Master Prep

Disclosure:  Euro-Pro provided me with the UltraLite Multi-Vac for review as well as a trip to New York to be introduced to the products.  The opinions are absolutely my own.