IS THE SHARK CYCLONE PET HANDHELD VACUUM (CH701) WORTH IT?
✓ Why Dad Likes It
Small and lightweight
Charges over USB-C
− What To Know
Dust bin is genuinely messy and a chore to empty
Power switch sits flush and is hard to press
BOTTOM LINE: Is the Shark Cyclone Pet Handheld Vacuum (CH701) Just a Dad Approved?
It IS Just a Dad Approved: It is approved, but barely. It's small, light, and USB-C charging is a genuine plus, but the dust bin is a messy chore to empty, the power switch is stiff and flush, the battery didn't last long in testing, and the pet-hair tool takes real trial and error to use well. At $60, expectations were higher for a Shark product, especially compared to their motorized-head handhelds, which perform noticeably better. Approved on the numbers, but not an enthusiastic recommendation.
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🏆3-Month Real World Test Score7.7/10
Cleaning Performance
7/10
Size / Portability
9/10
Long Hair Vacuuming
7/10
Battery & Run Time
7.5/10
Ease of Use & Features
8/10
Score Summary7.7
Real World Testing Results
🐾
HAIR & PET TEST
Mechanical pet-hair tool needs long sweeping passes to work; picked up hair once technique clicked.
💧
CLEANING TEST
Suction handled crumbs and everyday debris well.
⚠️
EASE OF USE TEST
Charges via USB-C (no adapter included); power switch sits flush and feels stiff to slide.
⚙️
MAINTENANCE REALITY
Emptying is messy—open the unit, pull the filter, dump contents; filter sometimes needs blowing first.
The Shark Cyclone Pet (CH701) earned a Just A Dad Approved checkmark, but only just — this is one of the more mixed reviews on the site. It's small and light, and USB-C charging is a genuine convenience, but several real frustrations kept this one from being an easy recommendation.
Charging
It charges over USB-C, which is a plus — you get a cable in the box, though not a power adapter, so you'll need to supply your own. A light on the unit goes solid once it's fully charged.
The Pet-Hair Tool: How It Actually Works
This is the standout feature, for better and worse. Instead of a motorized brush, there's a mechanical tool you rock back and forth across a couch or pet bed — suction pulls hair through small holes as the tool shifts from side to side. The trick is making long, full sweeping passes rather than short back-and-forth strokes; once that clicked, it did pull up a real pile of dog hair. But the motion isn't intuitive, and it took real trial and error to figure out without much guidance from the product itself. Shark's other handhelds that use a powered, spinning head handle pet hair more straightforwardly.
Cleaning Performance
On everyday crumbs and debris, the suction is decent — Cleaning Performance scored a 7, a respectable number, if not a standout compared to other handhelds tested.
Emptying and Maintenance
This is where it lost the most ground. Emptying means opening the unit up, pulling the filter out, and dumping everything out — a genuinely messy process. It's a real step down from Shark's better handhelds, where you press a button and the bin pops open cleanly. The filter also needs an occasional blow-off before it goes back in.
Battery Life
The battery didn't seem to hold up very well in real-world use — it felt short-lived compared to other handhelds tested, though no official runtime numbers are published.
Is It Worth It?
This one is a genuinely mixed bag. It's lightweight, USB-C charging is convenient, and the pet-hair tool does work once you learn its technique. But the messy emptying process, the stiff power switch, and the underwhelming battery life add up to real frustrations, especially at a $60 price point. Compared to Shark's other, more innovative handhelds, this one feels like a step backward — it passed, but only just.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Buyer Questions
Is the Shark Cyclone Pet CH701 worth buying?+
It's a marginal recommendation — it earned the Just A Dad Approved checkmark, but only barely. It's light and charges over USB-C, but the messy emptying process, stiff power switch, and short battery life add up to real frustrations at a $60 price point. There are better handheld options in Shark's own lineup.
How does the pet-hair tool work?+
It's a mechanical tool, not motorized — you rock it back and forth in long, full sweeping passes across furniture, and suction pulls hair through small holes as it shifts side to side. It does work once you get the technique down, but it takes some trial and error to figure out.
Is it easy to empty?+
Not really — this was the biggest complaint from testing. You have to open the unit, remove the filter, and dump everything out, which is a genuinely messy process compared to Shark's other handhelds that pop open with one button.
How's the battery life?+
It didn't seem to last very long in real-world testing. No official runtime numbers are published, but battery life was one of the more disappointing aspects of this model.
How does it compare to Shark's other handheld vacuums?+
Not favorably. Shark makes handhelds with motorized, spinning brush heads that handle pet hair and emptying more easily. This model feels like a step backward by comparison.
About Tom Shelton
Tom Shelton
Tom Shelton is the creator of Just A Dad Approved. He tests robot vacuums, home products, and everyday gear in real homes so shoppers can see what actually works before spending money.
