In all fairness I just received this vacuum and only used it twice.  I can say that the suction power is pretty impressive and I like the fact that the overall size of the vacuum is much smaller than my old upright.  I did use this Shark on my stairs with the smaller attachments and detached the canister and it worked quite well.  It is very easy to empty the cannister and is clear so you can see how much the vacuum is picking up and when to empty it.  So far, a clean slate regarding the performance..  I will tune back in to rate the quality after I have used it longer.  I think this is a good value so far for the price.