Numatic International - Henry Compact Xtra HVX160

Henry does now come in a model similar to the shark

I have the Henry. Love it

I left my Henry outside once - he must've misbehaved. Downpour overnight. Gave him a week to dry off, cleaned the wheels and works like new. I can attest they are indestructible

Never had any luck with Shark. Their motors always pack up. Henry will never let you down.

Shark every time. Henry are indestructible but they are huge, bulky and frankly every one I’ve used has been bang average

Henry. No more needs to be said.

Have both here (moved in with the other half and we both had a Hoover lol). The Henry will survive a nuclear blast... The shark however sucks or drags literally everything out of the carpet. I'd personally go with the shark ??

Vacuums. Hoover is a brand of vacuum cleaner. I'm a long-term user of a Dyson V7 for the quick jobs and a Henry for the larger areas.

I built an accessory for my Henry using a cyclone and a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. You buy an extra pipe (nose) for Henry and run the cyclone in the middle. I've hoovered up all sorts, like the crap between 150 year old floorboards, to a room full of plaster that I've chopped off the walls with an SDS. The cyclone and the bucket do a really good job of catching about 99 percent of the big stuff. Gravity and centrifuge. (A bit like the concept of how Dyson came about, but on a 5 gallon scale). I also use it for dust extraction when woodworking. You wouldn't want to carry it from room to room to clean up after the pets. But if you are staying broadly in one spot it's an efficient way to collect a lot of stuff without using hundreds of bags. And it helps save Henry's lungs too.

Henry wins every time

Shark. It's lighter, and much easier to use around the house. Our Henry is forever getting caught on something as we drag it around.

There's a reason why Henry's are used across construction sites, they're indestructible. They're also very powerful.

Henry gives a good suck for a reasonable price

For a house with carpets, I would always go with an upright with a roller. So much better for fluffing up carpets. For hard floors, a Henry would be perfect. To counter the Henry, Screwfix ow brand titan wet and dry vacuums are amazing! so cheap, but so much suction. Have a couple for my workshop and don’t want to say bad things about Henry.. but I think it’s better than him.

Henry as a main one and Shark hand held (something pet plus anti hair wrap ..can't rememebr) is a great combo.

Dyson are the ones of choice, however, I cannot betray my trusted HENRY hoover. It even has the right name!

If you have somewhere to store the Henry then okay.  My partner has one and it is constantly in the way. Left in the middle of the floor, or hallway. There is one spot in the entire house where it fits without being in the way and it never ends up staying there for long.  I despise its jolly little innocent eyes now. 

You can't destroy a Henry. Even if you do you can get spares and replacements. I have two. One at work and one at home. My only criticism / Henry's down side is storage. Those type of vacuums just don't fit nicely in any space when you have a small house.

Henry or Miele for BIFL.

Or upside down as he does a 180°. We've got both vacuums and the Shark is just way better at using around the house. Henry was good, but now he's been relegated to rubble/car vac.

Henry do not clean well. They have a long hose and are indestructible, but terrible at actually cleaning. Bad emissions too.

Went the othery. Had a shark, constantly had to clean it, replaced filters etc. Henry is a Joe in comparison.

The difficulty with Henry's is getting him up and down stairs. Can be lethal if he comes flying down from the top. If you only have one floor or a second vac to do stairs I'd go for Henry.

The only correct answer. Millions sold and with very little advertising which is a testament to the brand. Been going for years without needlessly changing the design so you aren’t stuck with obsolete parts. Easily serviceable with inexpensive spare parts, all of which are readily available directly from Numatic and a decent range of attachments available too. Bought a Dyson cordless when I first moved in but it just felt a bit work shy and complained a lot. Replaced with a Henry and it’s a trooper. Does everything well with no fuss. I’ve used it in the garage. I’ve attached it to the mitre saw. It’ll ingest sawdust and nails like it’s nothing. Got one at the shop too, I’m sure it’s been there for at least 15 years and it’s used at least three times a week. Hasn’t seen a bag in years. What a fucking *brilliant* machine.

Had both. Ended up selling the shark and kept Henry

Probably not the response you’re looking for but I have 1 of each! The Henry thrives doing almost any task (except rounding corners) and the Shark is so much better for manoeuvrability and detailing work. Who wants to use a Henry on the stairs?!

We have a corded Sebo Felix, which is used upstairs where we have carpet, and a Henry which is used downstairs where there is hard floors. The Henry sucks up all the floof our golden retriever sheds without problem, and the Sebo does a good enough job on the carpet upstairs (where the dog is not supposed to go..)

2nd this bought my first place and the one I bought in lidl burnt out in 3 weeks went with Henry as my mam swears by them and no hassle at all