Our last vacuum was a very expensive Miele canister vac that DH bought as a "surprise" for me. I couldn't wait until it wore out so that I could get one that wasn't a canister-type that I had to drag around. It was made very well and took a long time to die (LOL). But, I did my homework, really researching vacuums before buying my next vac, the Shark Navigator Pro Liftaway. I've had it for over a year now and love it! My only complaints about it are: (1) it doesn't have a retractable cord like my Miele did; and (2) I knock the crevice and small brush attachments off the handle too frequently while vacuuming. Both are minor complaints, though. I have real brick floors with Oriental rugs throughout the house . . . and 2 dogs, one of which sheds her long hair profusely. This vac switches from bare floors to rugs with the flip of a switch on the vac. It's very very good at getting up all of Chloe's hair! The attachment to slide under dressers, sofas, refrigerators, etc. really comes in handy. If my Shark died tomorrow, I would absolutely buy another. Lynn

Susan- do you still love your Shark now that you've had it for a while? Since I gave my little kitchen Sanyo vacuum to my DD I need to replace it and I went to BB&B to compare the Shark and the Dyson Animal. Obviously the biggest difference is price - but I'm willing to pay for a quality machine that can handle the dog hair. While I still use my Kenmore canister in the rest of the house I want a bagless in the kitchen so that I can easily empty the bin and not have dog hair sitting in a vacuum bag and giving off a stale, doggy smell. But I was surprised at how difficult it was to push the Dyson. The ball feature works great and it does turn easily but the overall weight of the Dyson made me decide against it. And that was just pushing it on the bare floor, it would be harder on carpet. I'm accustomed to my ultra lightweight Sanyo and even my Kenmore canister is easier. So then I tried the Shark and while it is lighter and easier to maneuver than the Dyson I was still surprised at the amount of effort it took to push. Certainly much less than the Dyson but that's when it occurred to me that the reason is the weight distribution. On the Kenmore the weight is resting on the floor - either in the power head or the canister that I'm pulling. With the Shark there's more weight along the handle than I'm used to. So now I plan on going back to BB&B and trying the Shark again and then trying a stick vacuum. The arthritis in my hand makes me more aware of the need for a vacuum that doesn't put too much strain on it.

Socks, I have a thing for flashlights, but fortunately I don't need any right now. :-) I don't usually pay much attention to the so-called list price (in this case $99) because items rarely sell for that price. If I see a Woot deal that interests me I usually look to see what it sells for on Amazon or elsewhere, and I also read the Amazon reviews. If it hasn't been reviewed I tend to lose interest. Last week I bought this Tree Net Swing for $39.99 on Woot.

Comparing a Simplicity or Miele to a Shark is like comparing apples to oranges and not realistic. If a Simplicity was 425.00 in 1996, I can only imagine what one might cost today and at that price I would expect it to do a better job than a 149.00 Shark that is on sale for 119.00. I’d be pretty upset if it didn’t. My Mother swore by the Kenmore she had and it wasn’t cheap either. She loved her canister and just like Faron with his Simplicity, she had that vacuum for decades before she finally chose to replace it (and it was still running when she did). But just like everything else these days, vacuums, regardless of their brand aren’t made to last anymore. However, when you compare the Shark (which has actually seemed to improve it’s performance over the years) to other machines in the same class, it does do the best job and can be a good option for folks who don’t want to spend several hundred or more on a vacuum. Actually, in 2004 I spent several hundred on a Riccar. The Vacuum guy swore it was the cats meow and would last us a life time. I took that bait hook and sinker; I even bought it against my DH’s blessing. I was completely convinced that by spending more I was going to get a better result than anything else I had tried but that thing was nothing but trouble and frustration. I had to pay to have it repaired several times and the job it did never matched what I was promised it would do either. I was so happy when it finally died so I could kick it. to the curb. I learned a tough lesson with that one and will never spend that much on a vacuum again. For those who can afford to spend more and want to, I’m glad there are the Miele and Simplicity recommendations, because my experience shows not all of the more expensive brands are superior either but for those who need something that is in a lower price range, I still think the Shark is the best deal out there.