Shark Navigator Light Upright Vacuum
- Details
Avg. rating = 90/100
The Shark Navigator Light NV105 is a very basic, simple vacuum cleaner. It does not have a lot of features or bells and whistles. Its competitive advantages are that it is very lightweight for an upright and that it is not particularly costly. This approach seems to have worked and most owners are pleased with their purchase. They like the light weight, powerful suction, lack of consumables (filters/bags), and small footprint of the machine. However there are some drawbacks such as the limited capacity of the dust canister, the short hose, and the small cleaner head.
Quick Specs | |
Type | Upright |
Bagged/Bagless | Bagless |
Best for... | Hard Floors & Carpet |
Pet Hair Features | No |
Approx. Weight | 10.6 lbs |
HEPA Level Filtration | No |
Power Cord Length | 25 ft |
Motor Driven Brushbar | Yes |
Warranty | 3 Years |
This vacuum is widely available and has been on the market for a long time. As such, we managed to find quite a few ratings – 1741 to be exact – from a number of large online retail outlets. You can see our findings in the table below:
Source | Consumer Rating | # Ratings |
Amazon.com | 4.3 stars out of 5 | 691 |
Macy's | 4.7 stars out of 5 | 579 |
Overstock | 4.6 stars out of 5 | 150 |
Wayfair | 4.5 stars out of 5 | 121 |
Best Buy | 4.7 stars out of 5 | 85 |
Walmart.com | 4.5 stars out of 5 | 59 |
Kohl's | 4.8 stars out of 5 | 25 |
Walmart.ca | 4.5 stars out of 5 | 22 |
Lowe's | 4.9 stars out of 5 | 9 |
Should you be interested, our highest rated Shark vacuums can be found in the table below:
Model | Type | Avg Rating / 100 |
Shark Rotator NV752 TruePet | Upright Vacuum | 94 |
Shark Rotator NV801 | Upright Vacuum | 94 |
Shark Rocket HV302 | Stick Vacuum | 92 |
Shark Rocket Complete HV382 | Stick Vacuum | 92 |
Shark Navigator NV356E | Upright Vacuum | 92 |
Shark Rotator NV682 | Upright Vacuum | 92 |
Shark Navigator NV501 | Upright Vacuum | 92 |
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A very thorough review of owner comments has provided the following NV105 likes and dislikes:
- Very lightweight
- Compact machine and easy to store
- Most owners like the performance on pet hair
- Motorized brushroll with on/off controls
- Washable filters
- Not too loud
- Strong suction
- Reasonably priced
- Easy-to-empty dust canister
- Hose doesn’t stretch easily
- Small cleaner head
- Smallish dust canister
- Some owners report issues with longevity
Most owners give this vacuum a very good rating – thus the high score. However there are some that give it a very low rating. It seems you either love this vacuum or you hate it. Let’s start with the positives.
A few other issues such as the smallish dust canister and the small cleaner head we highlighted in the pros and cons section.
This vacuum comes in blue and is bagless. It uses cyclonic technology which is the technology used by most bagless vacuums today. It produces what the industry often refers to as “no loss of suction” vacuuming. Suction does not diminish as the dust canister fills. The NV105 has a single cyclone.
The NV105 weighs in at a very lightweight 10.6 lbs. Most uprights that we’ve worked with average about 14 to 16 lbs and some even tip the scales at close to 20 lbs. The NV105 is not really a full size vacuum however. It is small and compact and this is one of the reasons for its light weight. As a result it is probably not the best machine for tackling large homes but is better suited for a small home or apartment.

The brushroll is motor driven (the brushrolls in most uprights are motor driven but some canister vacuums use suction to drive the brushroll). It can also be turned on and off (via a button) which is a handy feature when transitioning from carpet to bare floors or vice-versa. If you are vacuuming carpet you typically want the brushroll ON so it can agitate the carpet and help remove embedded dust and debris. When vacuuming smooth flooring you usually want the brushroll OFF as it can cause scatter and even scratch the floor surface if you have very delicate flooring. With the brushroll OFF you rely on the vacuum suction for pickup. Fortunately this unit has powerful suction despite its size.
The cleaner head on the vacuum is, like the rest of the vacuum, a bit on the small side. This is both a positive and a negative. It is positive because a small cleaner head is easy to maneuver and it fits into cramped areas better. It is negative because it requires more passes of the vacuum to cover a given area. The cleaning path width of the NV105 is narrow at only 9 and 1/4 inches. Most full size uprights are 10 to 13 inches or so. The NV105 has a cleaning path width closer to some stick vacs.

There are 2 pre-motor filters and 1 post motor filter. All of the filters are called “lifetime filters”. This typically means they are designed to last the lifetime of the vacuum – which is often referred to as the length of the warranty. There is no need to replace the filters when they are dirty as they can all be rinsed in water. You can run water over the filter until the dirt is flushed out and the water starts to run clear. Give the filter a squeeze to get the excess water out and let it dry (typically for 24 hours). The filter can then be placed back in the vacuum and you are good to go.
The vacuum includes a combination crevice tool / dusting brush and an upholstery tool. There is also an accessory holder which attaches to the vacuum and will hold both tools. In this way you can carry both tools with you while you vacuum. The tools can be attached to the end of the vacuum handle or the wand.



The NV105 has a 25 foot power cord. Many owners refer to this as a long power cord – perhaps because most owners are using this in a small home. 25 feet is actually on the short side for an upright. We always prefer to see 30 feet or more. With the power cord, the hose, the wand and the tools the numbers indicate that we should have something like 38 feet of cleaning reach but given that the hose will not practically extend to 11 feet the cleaning reach is less.
The dust canister has a capacity of 0.8 quarts to the maximum fill line (the total usable volume is actually 1.8 quarts but Shark prefers you empty it at or before the max fill line). The canister has a bottom door that swings open at the press of a button allowing the debris to fall out. This is the kind of system almost all bagless vacuums use today – it is simple and it works.
The Shark Navigator Light NV105 carries a 3-year limited parts and labor manufacturer's warranty.
The manual is provided in English and Spanish and is quite short. It has plenty of graphics which are helpful and it covers such things as Assembly, Using the Vacuum, Emptying the Dust Canister, Care of Your Vacuum, Troubleshooting, Blockages, Maintenance, Warranty & Registration. You can view the manual here: Shark Navigator Light NV105