Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner review

With a cordless design and all the perks of an upright vacuum, the Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner is a brilliant choice for those who have large homes to tackle, but still want all the perks of a cordless vacuum cleaner. This vacuum claims to be as powerful as a corded vacuum, with a decent battery life that's expandable with additional removable batteries. It is also freestanding and can switch between hard floors and carpets with just the touch of a button.

The first thing to know about the Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner is that it's got a mouthful of a name that needs some explaining. Anti Hair Wrap is somewhat self-explanatory, but the brush is designed to not catch onto hairs as you clean your carpet, but send them up to the dustbin for easy removal. The vacuum also has Powered Lift-Away, which means you can lift the central unit away from the vacuum stick to clean stairs and cars like you would with a hefty handheld. It's brilliant for getting to hard-to-reach places where you cannot simply slide your vacuum over the floor. One of the latest features from Shark is its PowerFins design, and the ICZ300UKT offered me my first try. PowerFins really impresses me, because it makes a very noticeable change to the vacuum's ability to clean carpets. With silicone paddles, the brush head reaches deep into the fibres of carpets to get to those trodden-in bits of dust or pet hair. Considering that it's technically a cordless model, the Shark ICZ300UKT is one of the best cordless vacuum cleaners on the market.

I put this cordless vacuum to the test for a few weeks on carpets and hard floors, and took into account its battery life and smart features. It particularly impressed me when it came to picking up pet hair. Many of the best Shark vacuums will also offer many of these perks, but the PowerFins design is particularly effective for pet hair. That's before you take into account the Pet Hair attachment that comes included with this vacuum, so if you can live without the pet tool, this review will also apply to the Shark ICZ300UK Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner.

Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner

• Maximum power: 450 W
• Dimensions: ‎25 x 26 x 108 cm
• Weight: 6.2 Kilograms
• Dustbin capacity: 0.6 litres
• Attachments: Dusting Brush, Wide Upholstery Tool, 20cm Crevice Tool, Anti Hair Wrap Pet Tool
• Battery life: 60 minutes (on a non-motorised tool on eco mode)
• Speeds: 3

Getting set up with the Shark ICZ300UKT

The first thing that won me over with the Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner was how it was packaged, which was entirely in cardboard. That made me feel a lot better about taking the packaging out to recycle it, as opposed to binning a lot of single-use plastic.

Assembling it was easy to manage, and there is a chunky instruction book included with the Shark ICZ300UKT to help you get to grips with all the attachments. As a powered lift-away model you can easily remove the main unit from the wand to carry it up the stairs or out to the car for portable cleaning.

Other features to note are the DuoClean, which allows you to toggle between a brushroll for hard floors and a roller for carpets. The carpet roll features PowerFins, which is a rubberised fin that sits between brushes to prevent hair from building up on the roller, and to dig deep into carpet fibres to pick up deeply-rooted pet hair.

While I reviewed the Shark ICZ300UKT, which has the pet attachment, you can also buy the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner with PowerFins & Powered Lift-Away ICZ300UK for the same features but with no additional pet attachment. Everything else is still the same, so if you don't have pets it may be worth opting for the ICZ300UK instead of the ICZ300UKT.

Using the Shark ICZ300UKT on hard floors

I tried the Shark ICZ300UKT on my hard floors first, using the LED controls to switch the DuoClean brush into the hard floor setting. I used the Eco setting first, which is very powerful for the lower end of the power on offer with the vacuum, and then put it onto the mid-power mode. The display also shows the battery power level, which is very useful for knowing when to switch battery or put the battery onto charge.

The Shark ICZ300UKT made quick work of cleaning the tiles in my kitchen, and while the brush head is quite large, it puts the roller brush out in front so it is able to reach into the underside of cupboards or along skirting boards.

When it comes to reaching underneath the sofa, the Shark ICZ300UKT isn't the most flexible thanks to the powerful LiftAway design at the front of the machine. It will struggle to reach under things and unlike other models I've tested such as the Beko PowerClean it doesn't have a hinge at the front of the vacuum to drop down and reach under and around obstacles easier.

You can then lift away the main unit to empty the bin, which is attached to the battery holder and the filter, too. Using an easy switch at the bottom of the vacuum I was able to easily shake out the dust from my kitchen floor.

Testing the Shark ICZ300UKT on carpet

I must confess, I didn't realise my carpets were in such a bad state until I reviewed this vacuum cleaner. I took to my office where my dog likes to nap while I'm working, meaning there is a lot of fur that I've allowed to build up for the purpose of testing. The perfect test for a powerful cordless vacuum! The dog is a black labrador who loves to nap on our cream carpets, so removing her hair from the floor is a full-time job that I sometimes struggle to stay on top of.

The Shark ICZ300UKT left an embarrassingly visible line of clean carpet after just one pass, so after a few minutes of cleaning, I was very impressed to find the 0.6 litre dustbin completely full of fur. This wasn't even using the TruePet attachment, either, and clearly, the PowerFins design is excellent in reaching into the fibres of carpet to pull our deep-rooted pet hair.

Another thing to know about the Shark ICZ300UKT is that it has lights on the brush head, which illuminates the path ahead while cleaning. This was a big perk when cleaning under the desk, which is quite dark even with the lights on. I was able to peer and make sure that there was no area I had missed.

One issue I encountered was how quickly the bin filled, exceeding the Max Fill line after doing just one (admittedly very neglected) carpet. This is one drawback if you're looking for the best vacuum cleaners for pet hair, but for how deep it reached into my carpet, I'm willing to overlook the smaller bin size. After all, it's still a cordless model.

Battery life

The Shark ICZ300UKT claims to have a 60-minute battery life, but this is only when used in ECO mode and on a non-motorised tool. I put it to the test on the medium power level on the carpet mode to see how long it would last when cleaning a more demanding space.

While it was far off from the 60-minute claim, the Shark ICZ300UKT still lasted an impressive 31 minutes when cleaning the carpets. That gave me enough time to clean most of my house thanks to the powerful design which required only one pass on most floors.

Other attachments

With the Shark ICZ300UKT you'll also get a removable battery which lifts out of the unit and slots into an external charging base. This is very satisfying to use and it simply clicks into place on the main body of the vacuum

There is a dusting brush, a wide upholstery brush to work on sofas and on the interior of cars, a 20cm crevice tool to clean hard-to-reach areas, and with the Shark ICZ300UKT you get an anti hair wrap pet tool. Like I said, you don't get this when you buy the Shark ICZ300UK, which is otherwise the same.

Should you buy the Shark ICZ300UKT?

I give this vacuum cleaner an easy five stars thanks to its impressive power levels and smart features. It stands upright when you lock it into place thanks to the low-lying centre of weight on the vacuum, which makes it easy to store, and it also has a decent battery life, especially when used on the Eco mode.

One of the best things about the Shark ICZ300UKT is how powerful it is on carpets. Using the LED panel to switch from hard floors to carpets couldn't be easier, especially when compared to other vacuums from Dyson which require you to remove one brush head and add another. This and its amazing results on hard floors and carpets is why it is one of the best vacuum cleaners I have tried.

That said, it is an expensive choice, so if you live in a home with only one type of floor you may not need to invest in something with DuoClean or the power to clean different two types of floor.

About this review, and the reviewer

Millie Fender is small appliances editor at Ideal Home. She reviews everything from coffee machines to robot vacuums from her own home, meaning these tests have been carried out in the same conditions that you’ll be using the vacuum cleaner.

The Shark ICZ300UKT was kindly sent to Millie by Shark, and she tested for two weeks before writing this review. This gave her the chance to test all of its functions and check for any troubleshooting.