The Shark Navigator NV42 comes with a long 12 foot flexible hose that addresses one of the biggest issues of upright vacuums.
Short hoses that has very limited reach.
A longer hose extends the reach and allows it to clean upholstery and a low flight of stairs.
Related: Please check out my in-depth guide on the best Shark vacuums and find out which Shark cleaner would be best suited for your needs.
This upright sucks, in a good way.
Consumers loved how this performed on both carpet and bare floors thanks to its powerful 1,200 watt motor that produces 10 amps.
It isn’t the lightest upright around or the most maneuverable.
But it makes that up with the ground it can cover thanks to XL capacity bagless dirt cup that can hold up to 3 quarts of dirt.
This great for homes that need a deep cleaning tool on carpet and it won’t cost as much as the newer variants.
But it won’t be as versatile as the Shark Rotator Lift Away or Rocket. It’s a trade off you should consider.
A quick look at the features
- Equipped with Shark’s “Never Loses Suction Technology” which means it uses cyclonic technology
- Has a large “XL” sized dirt cup
- Comes with these attachments – 5.5″ crevice tool, 24″ crevice tool, dusting brush and pet hair power brush
- 1,200 watt motor
- 12 foot deluxe stretch hose
- 25 foot power cord
- 11” cleaning path
- Uses allergen filtration
Pros
- Large capacity dirt cup
- Very long 12 foot hose
- Comes with a pet hair power brush that’ll clean pet hair off upholstery and stairs
- Reasonably priced
- Strong suction – great for carpet and bare floors
- Uses HEPA filtration
- Decent 25 foot power cord
- Long warranty
Cons
- Too cumbersome to clean a tall flight of stairs – the Shark Lift Away would be a better option
- High center of gravity easily tips over
- No swivel steering
- No storage for attachments (some of them)
What to expect from the Shark Navigator Deluxe NV42?
The NV42 features a large 3 quart dirt cup, almost twice as large as the original navigator. So you can use this to clean large areas without the need to empty the dirt bin often.
It also comes with a pet hair brush tool that’ll pick up pet hair on chair, sofas and even stairs. These 3 areas are the toughest spots to clean pet hair.
Motor has 10 amps of power and rated at 1,200 watts so it’s a bit power hungry.
The base cannot swivel so there will be some issues in terms of maneuverability. Its base has a brush roll so picking up embedded dirt in carpet should not be a problem.
Attachments and accessories
This one comes with a few – the 5.5” crevice tool, 24” crevice tool, brush tool, and pet hair power tool. It also has an extension wand where you can attach these tools.
Cord length
Power cord is around 25 feet long and no, it does not have a cord rewind.
Filter clean up
There are two filters that need cleaning.
Primary filter is right below the dirt bin and a secondary filter is right in front of the motor (where the shark logo is).
To get to the primary filter, you’ll need to first take off the dirt cup then take out the filter located on the base.
How often you’ll clean will depend on how much you use this and whether or not the area you live in is dusty.
Some consumers have gone as long as 3 months before washing the filter, that’s a pretty long interval in my opinion, to maintain performance wash it at least once a month.
The post motor HEPA is also washable but you don’t need to wash it as often.
Warranty
According to Target.com this comes with a 5 year manufacturer’s warranty.
See it in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyhHpTsnVuk
You’ll notice that the vacuum he has has a mini-motorized brush, if you want that tool then buy this variant.
Here’s a comparison between the Shark Lift Away and this model (the Navigator).
Bare Floor Performance
Consumer reviews have been hugely positive on the Navigator’s performance on bare floor.
It picks up a lot of dirt from dander, dust, even larger debris like cheerios.
You can use this safely on bare floor because it has a brush roll on / off feature.
But if your home has mostly hardwood, you may want to consider the Shark Rocket with Duo Clean that has the soft roller brush.
It has much better agitation on bare floor but it’s a bit more expensive.
The low profile does have a snow plowing effect on large bits of dirt. But you can use the use the hose and wand to pick these up.
Carpet Performance
This is the surface where it’ll really shine.
People who’ve used this were very happy with its cleaning performance even on plush carpet. But let me warn you that it can be hard to push on these types of surfaces.
One consumer went as far as saying that the suction is strong enough to lift rugs off the floor.
Shark isn’t clear whether or not you can adjust the suction power. But some consumers have mentioned that they can adjust it.
Also usable on upholstery
Pet hair power brush is a great tool to have for cleaning fabric upholstery. But it may be tricky to use on a tall flight of stairs.
The hose is long enough for you to use this inside your vehicle.
The crevice and power pet hair tool would be great in cleaning your car’s upholstery, flooring and the other nooks and crannies.
Pet Hair Removal
A lot of owners who review this upright have more than one pet in their home. And most said this thing sucked up every last strand of pet hair off their carpet and upholstery.
The suction is that strong, couple that with the motorized brush you have a world class pet hair cleaning vacuum.
As with all vacuums equipped with a beater bar you’ll have to check it regularly and remove hair and dander that may have accumulated in there.
Also check the hose from time to time to see if there are any blockages if you clean a lot of pet hair.
Product Specifications
| Features | |
| Attachments | 5.5" Crevice tool 24" Crevice tool Dusting brush Pet hair power brush |
| Cord Length | 25 feet |
| Auto Cord Rewind |  |
| Motorized brush |  |
| Brush on/off switch | |
| Swivel | |
| Headlight | |
| Filter clogged indicator | |
| Full bin indicator | |
| Bagless | |
| Multi-surface | |
| Self propelled | |
| Net weight (with battery) | 15 pounds |
| Shipping weight | 21.8 pounds |
| Hose length | 12 feet |
| Cleaning Path | 11" |
| Overall length | 45.472" |
| Dirt capacity | 3 Quarts |
| Filter type | Primary - Foam Secondary - HEPA |
| Power | 1,200 watts 10 amps |
| Voltage | N/A |
| Manufactured in | Made in USA or Imported |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Customer Reviews
This is one of the best kept secrets in Amazon based on the high number of reviews and rating (out of the nearly 200 reviews in Amazon, less than 20 gave it a negative rating!).
Cleaning performance was it’s strongest suite in both bare floor and carpet.
Good suction
One consumer even said that suction is so strong that it can lift a rug right off the floor if you don’t use the suction reduction lever – this gives you an idea how strong the suction is.
Another said that this suck in a lot of gunk that their previous vacuum had left behind.
Great for cleaning pet hair
It also does well picking up pet hair both on floor and upholstery.
A pet owner commented that she was able to clean every strand of pet hair off her sofa using the pet hair power brush tool attached on the hose.
Can tip over
One downside using the hose is that it can tip the vacuum over when you pull it hard enough.
But the plus side is its length and the ability to utilize that length, another downside is the bulk of this which makes it hard according to consumers to clean a long flight of stairs.
A better alternative would be the Lift Away because you can remove the body from the base.
Has no swivel feature
Some people have complained that this is hard to push on carpet and it is difficult to navigate – that’s where the lack of a swivel feature comes into play.
With an overwhelming majority loving the suction power of this there were still some who complained that it didn’t clean very well, one said he had to go over an area several times to get everything out while the others didn’t give too much detail.
The cord is on pretty short for an upright.
In hindsight, a LOT of people loved the cleaning performance of the Navigator Deluxe NV42 especially on carpet.
The pet hair power tool is a nice addition because it allows people to clean their upholstery and get rid of pet hair.
Where can I buy this?
You can buy this pet hair cleaning upright from Amazon for less than $125. And it’ll be eligible to their free 2-day shipping if you join Prime.
They also sell extended warranties of up to 3 years if you want that extra peace of mind.
To wrap up
This upright vacuum will work great for people with medium to large homes looking for a budget upright vacuum.
The large dirt cup makes it possible to use this to clean several rooms at a time without emptying it. It comes with a long 12 foot flexible hose plus attachments to clean upholstery and stairs.
Pet hair owners would love this vacuum because it can pick up pet hair off not only on carpet but on upholstery as well thanks to the pet hair power tool.
It isn’t the lightest vacuum around weighing 15 pounds so it will be hard to use on stairs. A better option to look at would be the newer and more agile Lift Away model that’s around $30 more expensive.
Overall, if you don’t mind the bulk and lack of the swivel feature but want something that will clean your carpet, and upholstery, this will do a great job.
