Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ [CH951, CH964AMZ] Vacuum Review

The Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ is a well-built handheld vacuum. It's made entirely out of plastic, but it feels mostly durable. While the dust bin feels sturdy, the dust cup has a flimsy plastic frame with a cloth attached, which feels a little cheap. However, this vacuum is very easy to assemble.

This vacuum is easy to maintain.

• Dust cup: This part can be emptied by clicking the button near the vacuum head and be removed entirely if you press the button on the bottom of its body. Since this compartment is quite small, you may need to empty it quite often. You can tap it against your garbage to dislodge debris or rinse it with water for a more thorough clean.
• Dust cup filter: You can remove this part by pulling it from the dust cup by its plastic frame. The manufacturer suggests tapping this filter to dislodge dirt and debris from the cloth. You should also rinse the filter with water every three months.

All parts that can be cleaned with water should be left to dry for at least 24 hours before putting them back in.

This vacuum has one recurring cost. Its dust cup filter needs to be replaced every six to nine months, and you can purchase replacement filters through the manufacturer's website.

This vacuum is decent to store. It's compact in design but doesn't come with onboard tool storage or a rack to hold its tools. However, you can purchase a charging dock via the manufacturer's website. It's worth noting that the CH963AMZ and CH964AMZ models will take up more space when not in use since they come with an extension wand and a floorhead.

This vacuum has a mediocre dirt compartment. It has a smaller capacity than alternatives like the Hoover ONEPWR Cordless Hand Vacuum, and it doesn't have a cover to keep debris from spilling out. This can be more problematic when the compartment nears its maximum capacity, and you must keep it upright when in hand. It also doesn't have a max fill line to let you know when it's full.

• Shark UltraCyclone handheld vacuum
  • Dust cup
  • Washable dust cup filter
  • Self-cleaning motorized brush (not included on CH900, CH901, CH950, or CH963AMZ/CH964AMZ variants)
  • Crevice tool
  • Hard-bristle scrubbing brush (not included on CH900 or CH950 variants)
• Charging adapter
• Vacuum User Guide

Exclusive attachments for the CH963AMZ/CH964AMZ are listed below:

• Extension wand
• Floor Nozzle

The following attachment is exclusive to the CH950 model:

• Motorized turbo brush

This is a cordless handheld vacuum and has an unlimited range so long as there's room in its dirt compartment and sufficient battery life.

The Shark Pet Pro+ is outstandingly portable. It's very lightweight and has a carrying handle so you can easily bring it to other rooms.

This vacuum has a sub-par battery performance. It lasts just over ten minutes, which is significantly less than the iRobot H1 when used in its least powerful suction mode, so you need to work quickly when cleaning up a mess. The manual also lists an approximately six-hour charge time, but we could charge it in just under two and a half hours. It has a power indicator light that flashes when it's low on charge.

This vacuum has a power button on top of its handle, making it easy to turn on and off. However, unlike the Wyze Handheld Vacuum, it lacks any sort of suction power adjustment feature.

The Shark CH951 has a few extra tools and brushes. Its turbo brush has a self-cleaning brushroll that removes hair wraps as you clean, and you can use it as an upholstery tool to clean couches. There's a crevice tool to help you clean hard-to-reach areas and a hard bristle brush for tackling more stubborn messes.

The closely related CH950 variant isn't bundled with a hard-bristle brush and comes with a differently-designed motorized turbo brush tool that isn't billed as self-cleaning.

The CH963AMZ/CH964AMZ variants don't come with a motorized turbo brush, but they do come with an extension wand, a bare floor nozzle, a crevice tool, and a hard-bristle brush.

The CH901 comes with a hard-bristle brush and crevice tool, whereas the entry-level CH900 only comes with a crevice tool.

You can use the CH950 and CH951 variants of this vacuum with its turbo brush so that you can clean furniture.

This vacuum does an excellent job of dealing with debris on hard floors when used with its turbo brush, though you need to keep the vacuum at a fairly shallow angle so that this attachment can collect larger debris like rice or cereal.

This vacuum does a good job of cleaning high-pile carpet. Its turbo brush tool provides a good level of surface agitation on this surface type, enabling it to clear away medium and large-sized debris like rice or cereal. However, its relatively weak suction motor means it can leave behind material that's been thoroughly worked into carpet fibers.

This vacuum has good performance on low-pile carpet when used with its turbo brush tool. The attachment's suction inlet is large enough to accommodate material like rice or cereal. It's also capable of dealing with the majority of fine material like sand worked into carpet fibers, though a small amount can be left behind.

This vacuum does a mediocre job of dealing with pet hair on low-pile carpet. Its turbo brush tool simply doesn't provide enough surface agitation to remove hair that's been thoroughly worked into carpet fibers, and you'll likely need to make several passes to deal with everything.

Like many other handheld models, this vacuum delivers great suction performance. It has little to do with the power of its motor and more with the fact that its suction inlet can seal very tightly with the surface you rest it against.

The Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+'s airflow performance is poor overall, although it outperforms other handheld options like the Shark WANDVAC. Still, its small suction motor simply isn't powerful enough to move large quantities of air and debris into its dustbin.

This vacuum is fairly quiet overall. You're likely to have some trouble hearing what people nearby are saying if they speak quietly, but it's far from unbearably loud, and it won't be too noticeable if you use it in another room.

This vacuum has decent maneuverability. It's not meant to clean large areas but is still lightweight and portable enough to tackle small messes. The crevice and turbo brush can clean furniture, too. If you want to clean larger areas, consider the CH963AMZ/CH964AMZ variants, which can be used as a compact stick vacuum since they come with an extension wand and a floorhead intended for use on bare floors.

This vacuum does a poor job of cleaning debris on fabric furniture. Its Self-Clean Motorized Pet Brush tool is remarkably ineffective in dealing with pet hair, leaving most of it behind. Using it with its hard bristle brush results in only marginal improvement, as seen here. Pet hair gets collected in the tool's bristles instead of being sucked into its dustbin, forcing you to remove any leftover strands by hand.

This vacuum does a terrible job of sealing in fine particles, which can escape from its exhaust and panel gaps around its dustbin.

This vacuum does a decent job of cleaning crevices. Its small suction inlet seals pretty tightly against flat surfaces, and it has little trouble dealing with messes in shallow and medium-depth cracks.

It's worth noting that this vacuum's suction performance was heavily degraded after we'd used it for this test: its filter was almost completely clogged with baking soda, the debris type that we use to evaluate crevice-cleaning performance. If you plan on cleaning a similar type of debris with this vacuum, be ready to clean its filter thoroughly right afterward.

This vacuum makes no impact on stains.

This vacuum isn't meant to deal with liquid spills.