Shark navigator freestyle upright stick cordless bagless vacuum

Good quality cordless stick vacuums normally run between $150 to over $400, what if I told you that I’ve found a hidden gem that costs just under $100.

Yup, you heard that under $100 for a robust stick vac that will hold its own against its pricier counterparts.

Let me introduce the Shark Navigator Freestyle.

Related: Please check out my in-depth guide on the best Shark vacuums and find out which Shark cleaner would be best suited for your needs.

Consumers high recommend this and loved how it cleans pet hairs on bare floor and carpet, that’s because it is equipped with a motorized brush roll that can be removed for easy cleaning.

One unique feature it has is the footswitch that you may or may not like. It has two settings – bare floor and carpet.

If you use the bare floor setting, it will run for about 17 minutes.

A quick look at the features

• 14.4 volt nickel metal hydride battery
• Swivelling head makes this easy to maneuver
• Large easy to empty dirt cup
• Needs around 4 to 7 hours to recharge
• 2 speed settings for carpet and bare floor
• 12 minute run time on carpet and 17 minute run time on carpet
• Lightweight at only 7 pounds

Pros

• Lightweight
• Has swivel steering that makes it very maneuverable
• Self-standing
• It can clean larger debris because it has an opening in the middle of the base
• Rubberized wheels minimize scratching on hard surfaces
• Works well on both hard surfaces and carpet
• Competitively priced
• Relatively short charge time
• Removable battery which is easy to replace

Cons

• Noisy
• Relatively short run time, particularly for carpet
• Can’t be used to deep clean
• Only comes with a one year warranty
• Power button may be turned off inadvertently
• Strictly a floor cleaner – you need a separate handheld vacuum for that

What to expect from the Shark Navigator Freestyle SV1106?

One feature that I like personally is the foot-switch because you don’t need to bend down just to turn on the machine.

This button has two settings, the bare floor and carpet. In the carpet setting, the motorized brush will spin faster and suction will be stronger, of course it’ll be noisier.

Attachments and Accessories

It does not come with any attachments that will allow it to clean upholstery or furniture so this is strictly a floor cleaner.

Charging Time

Shark says that this vacuum will charge between 4 to 7 hours.

The nickel-metal hydride battery will reach its peak performance in terms of run time after 3 to 5 complete charge and run down cycles (based on the manual).

Leaving the vacuum on the charger even when the battery is full will not harm or degrade battery performance, so you can leave it on the charging stand so that it’s always read to clean.

Battery can be replaced so this is a good vacuum to own long term, though replacement batteries cost almost $50.

Filter clean up

There are two filters here – a mesh filter located on the top of the dust cup and a form filter at the bottom.

Here’s how you clean up the two filters.

Run Time

If used in bare floor setting, it will run for around 17 minutes, in carpet setting that number will go down to 12 minutes.

Some consumers have claimed longer run times as long as 30 minutes but take that with a grain of salt.

Warranty

Shark will give you a one year warranty on both the vacuum but according to the warranty conditions it does not cover “non-durable parts”.

Their explanation is pretty vague, the non-durable parts may include the battery, motorized brush and filters.

Also you’d have to pay $13.95 to cover the shipping cost when you return this item, Amazon may have a different return policy though.

Bare Floor Performance

It worked great on bare floors according to reviews. The combination of suction and the motorized brushed worked great at picking up small to somewhat large debris.

If you look closely at the middle of the base it has an opening that allows it to pick up larger debris, as long as it fits that opening, cleaning up larger debris shouldn’t be a problem.

Carpet Performance

Surprisingly at this price level, it performed pretty decently on carpet.

It will struggle on thick shaggy carpet but for spot clean-ups it’ll be decent.

Just watch this and see what I mean…

The other vacuum featured in this video was the Eureka Quick Up. The Shark was able to pick up what seemed like crushed biscuit bars on medium pile carpet, the recessed opening on the nozzle allowed it to pick up the larger bits of debris whereas the Eureka pushed those large biscuits around.

Pet Hair Removal

Pet hair shouldn’t be a problem as well because of the motorized brush, you just have to check from time to time if pet or human hair has wrapped around the brush.

Don’t worry though because Shark has made it easy for you to clean.

You can either use a scissor to cut off hair or remove the motorized brush by unscrewing two locking pins on both sides.

The nozzle design reminds me of the Hoover cordless linx stick vac, only this one can be swivelled.

See it in Action

Product Specifications

Customer Reviews

A lot of consumers highly recommend this vacuum, they said it was lightweight, maneuverable and had very good suction, particularly with pet hair.

But you’ll need to regularly clean the brush because hair will wrap around it. It is easy to clean because the brush is removable so this should not be a big issue.

It works great on various surfaces like carpet, rugs, linoleum, hard wood and tiles. It struggles though on thick carpet.

Feedback on run time was mixed, though the manual says it runs between 12 to 17 minutes, there are consumers that claimed that this ran as long as 40 minutes.

Folks who left a review have homes as up to 2,500 square feet and this vacuum was able to clean around 75% of that area which is impressive.

Warranty on this is a bit sketchy though, one consumer said that the batteries were not covered and she had to pay $45 for the replacement battery which is almost half the cost of the whole vacuum.

Where can I buy this?

You can buy this for less than $90 in Amazon and it comes with the free 2-day shipping. Amazon also sells extended warranties of up to 3 years if you want that extra peace of mind.

Conclusion

This product will be great for folks who own small to medium sized homes. This will do a great job spot cleaning high traffic areas around like the living room and dining area where there is a lot of foot traffic and dirt build up.

Suction is pretty good for a cordless and based on video reviews, it will do suck in even larger debris because it has a recessed area in the middle of the nozzle.

Don’t expect deep cleaning performance though, you’ll still need your upright vacuum for that task.

Since it has a large dirt cup, you don’t need to empty it after every use.

Run time though is a bit lacking (12 to 17 minutes) but the good news is recharges in just 4 to 7 hours and you can leave this plugged in without worrying about the battery getting fried.

If you’re a budget conscious shopper like me, this vacuum is great value for money – good suction, lightweight, self-standing, decent run time, and most importantly it’s affordable.

You don’t have to spend an arm and leg for this.

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