Shark HZ3002 Stratos Ultralight Corded Stick Vacuum

Shark HZ3002 Stratos is an ultralight corded, 2-in-1 convertible stick/handheld vacuum cleaner designed for vacuuming various types of dirt from practically all floors and elevated surfaces found at home.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos is especially suitable for deep vacuuming pet and human hair, lint, fibers, and other similar deeply embedded debris from carpets. But, it is very well suited for vacuuming other types of dirt from both bare floors and carpets.

Published: November 29, 2022.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos Features and Specifications

Despite being a "skinny" ultralight stick vacuum cleaner, Shark HZ3002 Stratos is full of the latest Shark cleaning technologies, improving the cleaning and simplifying the maintenance.

First of all, Shark HZ3002 Stratos is designed as a 2-in-1 vacuum cleaner and can be used as a corded stick vacuum cleaner and handheld vacuum cleaner.

Conversion from stick to handheld vacuum and back is very easy and quick, requiring no tools.

As a stick vacuum cleaner, Shark HZ3002 Stratos weighs 8.68 pounds (~3.93 kg), and as a handheld vacuum cleaner (without the main cleaner head), it weighs slightly less than 3 pounds.

Unit is rated at 600 Watts (5 Amps) and comes with 30 feet (~9.15m) long power cord. When compared with larger and heavier upright vacuums that are rated at 1300-1400 Watts, Shark HZ3002 Stratos's 600 Watts don't sound much, but the vacuum cleaner creates excellent suction across its 8.25 inches (~21 cm) wide cleaning path.

Obviously, due to its design, Shark HZ3002 Stratos doesn't feature an automatic cord autorewind system - the power cord is manually wrapped around wrap hooks.

Thanks to such a long power cord and convertible design, Shark HZ3002 Stratos features a very long cleaning reach using just one wall power socket, regardless if it is used for vacuuming floors or elevated surfaces.

The physical dimensions of the unit in the stick vacuum cleaner mode are (L x W x H) 9.66 x 10.24 x 46.26 inches (~24.5 x 26 x 117.4 cm).

Shark HZ3002 Stratos features a very low profile and full swivel neck, ensuring very good maneuverability over various types of floors.

For vacuuming floors, Shark HZ3002 Stratos comes with the main cleaner head that features a pair of different brushrolls, strong headlights, and Odor Neutralizer dial controls and cartridge.

Both brushrolls operate at the same time, ensuring thorough cleaning regardless of the floor or dirt type.

The first brushroll is soft and is intended for vacuuming bare floors, while the second one is designed with soft fins that "bite" into the carpet, improving cleaning of the deeply embedded dirt, especially the pet and human hair - hence the DuoClean (two brushrolls that operate in unison), PowerFins (soft fins on the second brushroll), and HairPro (greatly improved pick up of hair, lint, fibers, and similar dirt) as part of the Shark HZ3002 Stratos label.

Also, Shark HZ3002 Stratos features no hair wrap technology, simplifying maintenance.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos features very simple controls, which include an On/Off button and floor type selector:

• Bare Floors: brushrolls spin at a low rate, protecting the sensitive floors,
• Carpet Floors: brushrolls spin at a maximum rate, helping the unit deeply clean carpets.

Note: when Shark HZ3002 Stratos arrives, be sure to read the manual thoroughly - the unit is easy and rather intuitive to use and maintain, but just in case, read the manual.

When the unit is used as the stick vacuum cleaner, the main cleaner head is attached to the wand.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos is designed so that the main cleaner head and other cleaning tools and attachments can be used with or without a cleaning wand - such flexibility help the user more easily vacuum surfaces such as stairs, sofas, pet beds, bookshelves, and similar.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos comes with a translucent dirt bin with a capacity of 0.78 quarts (~0.75 liters), which is an excellent capacity for a lightweight stick vacuum cleaner.

The dirt cup is emptied quickly and easily, directly into the trashcan - nonetheless, it is highly recommended to empty the dirt bin after each vacuuming.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos also features Shark's Anti-Allergen Complete Seal technology - the unit is designed and manufactured to prevent dirty air from escaping the vacuum before being thoroughly filtered.

The set of air filters includes:

• Pre-motor felt and foam air filters, replacement part XFFKHZ3000,
• HEPA post-motor air filter, replacement part XHFHZ3000.

All motors are washable/rinsable using plain water, without soap or any detergent. After washing, the air filters should be air dried completely before returning back into the unit - operating the Shark HZ3002 Stratos with wet/moist filters or no filters at all can damage the unit and render its 5-year limited warranty void.

It is recommended by Shark to rinse the foam and felt filter every month and to replace them after 2.5 years and to rinse the HEPA air filter every 6 months and to replace it after 3 years.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos can be stored by detaching the handheld vacuum and placing it at the base of the wand - the unit can be stored vertically, requiring very little storage area.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos Cleaning Tools and Attachments

To help the users clean elevated and hard-to-reach surfaces, Shark HZ3002 Stratos comes with several cleaning tools, including:

Upholstery Tool is intended for vacuuming beds, sofas, stairs, smaller area rugs, and similar surfaces. Upholstery Tool is very gentle on the cleaning surface and can be used to vacuum sensitive surfaces as well.

Crevice Tool is a long and narrow cleaning tool intended for vacuuming corners, edges, crevices, and similar surfaces.

HairPro Pet Power Brush features no hair wrap technology and a small brushroll that spins and pulls out pet hair and similar dirt from upholstery, pet beds, sofas, stairs, and similar surfaces. The cleaning action is very gentle, however, when vacuuming rather sensitive surfaces, it is recommended to use the Upholstery Tool, just in case.

Note that Shark also offers other compatible cleaning tools that can be ordered later. These tools include, for example:

• Dusting Brush,
• Duster Crevice Tool,
• Pet Crevice Tool,
• Anti-Allergen Dusting Brush,
• Precision Duster,
• Under-Appliance Wand, etc.

Such specific cleaning tools can come in very handy, so if required, feel free to order them from online stores.

Shark HZ3002 Stratos vs. Shark HZ2002 Vertex

Both Shark HZ3002 Stratos and Shark HZ2002 Vertex (picture to the right) are corded, bagless, 2-in-1 convertible stick/handheld vacuum cleaners with very similar designs.

However, they also differ in a few details, including:

• Shark HZ3002 Stratos comes with DuoClean PowerFins HairPro technology, which is an improvement over Shark HZ2002 Vertex's DuoClean PowerFins technology,
• Shark HZ3002 Stratos weighs 8.68 pounds, while Shark HZ2002 Vertex weighs 9.05 pounds - a very small difference,
• Shark HZ3002 Stratos features a 0.75 liters dirt cup, while Shark HZ2002 Vertex comes with a 0.30 liters dirt cup - that is a 2.5x difference,
• Shark HZ3002 Stratos comes with Upholstery Tool, Crevice Tool, and HairPro Pet Power Brush, while Shark HZ2002 Vertex comes with Crevice Tool, Dusting Brush, and Self-Cleaning Pet Power Brush,

Again, if required, additional cleaning tools can be ordered later.

• Both units feature 30 feet long power cords,
• Both units feature very good air filtration - they can capture 99.9% of 0.3 microns or larger particles,
• Both units feature very similar cleaning path widths, Shark HZ3002 Stratos 8.25 inches (~21 cm) and Shark HZ2002 Vertex 8.1 inches (~20.6 cm),
• Shark HZ3002 Stratos is rated at 600W (5.0 Amps) while Shark HZ2002 Vertex is rated at 680W (5.7 Amps) - practically, there is no difference in suction strength.

Personally, Shark HZ3002 Stratos is not that much better than Shark HZ2002 Vertex, except the size of the dirt cup - 0.3 liters dirt cup found on the Shark HZ2002 Vertex is really too small for the vacuum cleaner that intends to be the main vacuum cleaner in smaller homes and apartments and a second vacuum cleaner in larger homes and apartments.

However, with a 0.75 liters dirt cup and all other features, Shark HZ3002 Stratos can easily be used as the main vacuum cleaner in smaller homes and apartments and as an excellent second vacuum cleaner in large homes and apartments.

For the most up-to-date offers and prices, feel free to check the Shark HZ3002 Stratos Ultralight Corded Stick Vacuum Amazon link (the link opens in the new window).