The shark compares favourably to our outgoing stain, there are a few design issues which shark could if done better with, the first is the hose storage, not great aesthetically or practically, and the second is the air and dust box, if this was rotated 90 degrees it would lie flatter and enable the cleaner to get under beds and some settees more ablely, everything else on this nifty but if jut is great, particularly unlike a stain and many other competitors you can detach the power unit and air box from the chassis giving you much more freedom that clunking up and down stairs with the full unit, so far so good, will it stand the test of time………..