Shark Stratos Pet Pro Upright Vacuum review

Stick vacuums might be the norm these days, but a traditional plug-in upright is still the best option for many people, and I can’t recommend the Stratos Pet Pro Upright more highly. 

To give it its full name, this is the Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour Upright Vacuum but I won’t be writing that over and over for this review. Its model number is the NZ860UKT. 

For £299.99 (though it’s almost always on offer for £70 less everywhere), you get a highly versatile cleaner with astonishing levels of performance and lots of clever features. There’s very little in the way of downsides here. 

While it’s specifically designed for those with pets, don’t discount it if you don’t have a feline or canine friend or otherwise, it will still clean your house with gusto.

Design & Build 

• Useful modular system 
• Various accessories included 
• A little heavy 

In terms of looks, I have to say the Stratos Pet Pro Upright isn’t the most beautiful vacuum cleaner around. It’s slightly stumpy with the main unit sitting low down and I’m not sure the red detailing goes that well with the rose gold highlights elsewhere. 

However, I don’t really care when it comes down to it. It’s not a smartwatch on show all day and it’s certainly not ugly. It’s got a job to do and that’s the main thing here. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

I was able to take the unit and all the parts (there are quite a few) out of the box and assemble the cleaner without looking at the instruction manual. That’s not a brag, but a testament to how intuitive the design is. It’s clear what goes where and that’s good news when using the vacuum. 

Once everything is in place, it’s easy to get to grips with the Stratos Pet Pro Upright. On the whole, it works like just about every upright ever made – stick your foot on the main floor tool, tilt the upright section back, switch it on and away you go. 

LED lights on the front (pretty standard for any vacuum these days) will help you see what you’re cleaning. They do a good job, though could be more spread out across the front. 

You can store the crevice and multi-surface tools on the back of the vacuum and grab them when needed, although not the Turbo Pet Brush which is a common occurrence. The hose quickly unclips and can be used on its own or with the long aluminium wand for extra reach. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

It’s the additional modular nature of the design that stands out as the ‘Powered Lift-Away’ means you can push a button and remove the main unit from the upright section. Carrying it around like a sort of ghostbuster, only without straps to put it on your back (which I would use if it had them). 

This sort of functionality is a real boon when you reach the staircase or just other hard-to-reach areas in your house. And it’s needed because as a whole, the Stratos Pet Pro Upright is on the heavy side at 6.7kg. 

It’s understandable but just something to be aware of. For context, it’s actually a little lighter than the Dyson Ball Animal which is 7kg. 

The weight, combined with the low position of the main unit means the Stratos Pet Pro Upright isn’t the best for maneuvering around the house, particularly in terms of getting underneath furniture like your sofa. Stick vacuums are better for this. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Performance & Features 

• Three suction modes 
• Anti-hair wrap 
• Anti-odor system 

I can forgive the slightly cumbersome nature of the Stratos Pet Pro Upright due to it’s frankly mind-boggling performance. 

This is perhaps enhanced by the contrast of having tested a string of stick vacuums that will always be limited to motors that don’t drain a battery in five minutes flat.  Regardless, the cleaning power of the Pet Pro is astonishing and the task it faces in my house is not an easy one with two adults, a baby, a border collie that seemingly sheds all year round and a range of hard floors and various rugs of different materials and piles. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

See also  Dyson Zone review

With 750W of power, the Stratos Pet Pro Upright can take anything on and feels like I’ve hired an industrial-grade cleaner, such is the level of suction. At full power, it feels like strong magnets are holding the vacuum cleaner to the floor. 

Depending on what you’re cleaning, it can be a little too strong and make it hard to push around but if you’ve got the elbow grease it’s worth it for the result. It’s easy to switch between the three suction levels with the slider on the handle. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

What I forgot, is that this still applies when you’re using the hose and attachments so bear that in mind before you end up sucking the tassels on the end of up rug up like I did. 

Shark says this is its best-ever vacuum for hair pick-up and I can see why. The powerful suction combined with clever DuoClean floorhead – which has a soft and hard rollers that work in tandem to tackle hard floors and carpets. 

I’m always a bit dubious about product claims but the anti-wrap technology here is legit. If I had a pound for every time I’ve used scissors to cut hair off a vacuum cleaner, I’d have a fair amount of dosh but the Stratos Pet Pro Upright just refuses to let anything get stuck on the rollers. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

You can see how good the performance is by looking at my dog’s bed which doesn’t get cleaned often because it’s just too difficult. Using the Turbo Pet Brush on it resulted in actual gasps from my wife and I, revealing what colour it actually is under all the dog hair. 

As mentioned earlier, you should still consider this vacuum if you don’t have pets. Human hair is just as much of a problem in many households and this vacuum doesn’t discriminate. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

I was also skeptical about the ‘Anti-Odour’ system, too, as it seems like you slot a car air freshener into the main floor tool, and this will magically make everything smell nice. Well, it works, by black magic or otherwise. 

You can set the dial to different levels of fragrance and with the tricky conditions of my house I set it to maximum. Sure enough, as I cleaned the house a pleasant aroma filled the air without being too strong. 

I wouldn’t say the smell lasted a particularly long time and was gone by the next day, or later in the day if vacuuming in the morning, but it’s still a very welcome feature. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

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The caveat is that the cartridge, much like a scented candle, won’t last forever so you’ll have to buy more – only one is supplied in the box. They are £7.99 each or £14.99 for a pair so factor this into your running costs. 

One reason a house like mine is far better off with a traditional upright, apart from not having to recharge batteries, is the larger dustbin size compared to tiny stick vacs. Here you get a comfy 1.3L of space, which is more than three times the Shark Detect Pro. 

So, emptying it isn’t enforced every few minutes while cleaning and I’m impressed with how the dirt and hair is compacted so doesn’t make a huge cloud of dust when you empty it. Some does get stuck at the top as the compartment is deceptively shallow at the front but the top opens as well as the bottom so it’s not a big problem. 

Price & Availability 

The Stratos Pet Pro Upright retails for an RRP of £299.99 but you can commonly find it at discounted prices around £230.  

It’s available to buy from the official Shark store as well as the likes of Amazon, John Lewis and Argos. 

There’s also an XL version with a larger 2.8L capacity for £399.99 if you don’t feel like emptying the dirt as often. 

This exact model tested here isn’t available in the US, but the Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum with TruePet Upgrade looks to be the same main unit, only with a slightly different set of accessories. It costs $499.80 going by the RRP. 

Check out our chart of the best vacuum cleaners for more options.

Should you buy the Shark Stratos Pet Pro Upright? 

For the right person and household, the Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour Upright Vacuum – to use its full name again briefly – will be an absolute game changer. 

If you live in a one-bedroom flat on your own then a stick vacuum or robot vacuum is likely a better choice.  

However, for anyone who lives in a larger space, has long hair, pets, no time to recharge batteries and such like, this is perfect. 

I knew the Stratos Pet Pro Upright would be good, but it exceeded my expectations and then some. I’m not sure I’ll ever use a stick vacuum cleaner again. The combination of price, performance and features makes it extremely easy to recommend. 

Specs

• Weight: 6.7kg
• Dimensions: W: 28 D: 26 H: 117cm
• Dustin capacity: 1.3L
• Hose length: 1.5m
• Cable length: 8m
• Power settings: 3
• Wattage: 750W
• Attachments: Crevice Tool, Multi-Surface Tool and Anti Hair Wrap Pet Tool
• Guarantee: 5-years