As one of TechRadar’s Homes Editors, I’ve tested a whole load of cordless vacuums, and the one that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest when it comes to cleaning is the Shark PowerDetect Cordless. It’s been available for over a year now, and no model I’ve tried has been able to beat it. Right now it’s on sale at Best Buy for $399.99, as part of the Presidents’ Day sales, and that seems as good a reason as any to remind you why it’s so great.

There are a number of factors that play into how well a vacuum cleans, but the one that elevates the PowerDetect above the competition is its ‘Direction Detect’ feature. This is a bit of a misleading name because it doesn’t really ‘detect’ anything; what it does do it clean as effectively when pulled backwards as it does when pushed forwards.

As a result, spillages don’t end up pooling behind the floorhead when the vacuum is reversed over them. It makes cleaning far more efficient, and also means you don’t have to pick the vacuum up and place it on top of chunky spills – a process that invariably leads to particles being flung to all corners of the room.

It’s all thanks to an ingenious little flap at the back for floorhead that lifts up mechanically when in reverse, and folds down to lock in the suction when pushed forwards. It seems to me like a relatively simple addition, and yet it’s a feature I haven’t seen from any other brand.

Of course, it’s not the only thing that makes the PowerDetect Cordless a great cleaner. There’s also strong suction, a well-designed brushroll, and some useful automatic suction adjustment based on dirt levels. In my cordless vacuum group test, it scored perfect marks across the board in all my cleaning tests, performing equally well on hard floor, deep-pile and mid-pile carpet, and tackling large and fine debris and pet hair with ease.

More of today’s best Presidents’ Day sales

• Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
• Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $99
• Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Dell: laptop deals from $249.99
• Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
• Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
• Lowe’s: up to 40% off appliances, furniture & tools
• Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones
• Target: 40% off clothing, tech & furniture
• Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
• Wayfair: 54% off furniture, rugs & decor

Ruth is TechRadar’s Homes Editor specializing in air (vacuum cleaners, fans, air purifiers), and hair (hair dryers, straighteners and stylers). She has been in consumer journalism since 2020, reviewing and writing about everything from outdoor kit to mattresses and wellness gadgets, with stints on Tom’s Guide and T3.