Shark and Dyson Both Made Handheld Fans. Which One’s Better? (And Are Either Worth It?)
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As the climate doomers remind us: This will be the coldest summer of the rest of your life. A tough pill to swallow as an excessively sweaty person, but I’ve found ways to cope with the swampy New York heat over the years. Mostly, I clutch aportable fanin my damp hands and refuse to let go. And for the past eight years,my trusty $17 VersionTech fanhas been an extension of my arm from Easter to Halloween. The VersionTech fan checks all my boxes: It’s lightweight and foldable, so I can easily shove it into any bag (even a fanny pack) and, most importantly, is powerful enough to blast my face with cool air whenever I need it.
But this spring, there are two new high-tech additions to the hand fan arena: Shark’s ChillPill and Dyson’s Hushjet Mini Cool. We’ve had Dyson-versus-Shark showdowns in the past, namely vacuums and hair stylers, and now, I’ve put both portable fans to a head-to-head testing challenge. My thoughts below.
The Hushjet Mini Cool is extremely powerful
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A mini version of the brand’s Hushjet Fan, the blade-less Mini Cool features five speeds, a boost mode, and a simple on/off switch. This fan is strong and while in boost mode, can hit a very impressive 55 mph. It comes with a travel pouch, desk stand, and a lanyard to wear on your neck. The head also swivels 360 degrees so you can direct the airflow at your face while wearing it. With the blush-colored ceramic and 1.5-inch diameter, it felt exactly like the Supersonic r hair dryer in my hand. Does it also happen to closely resemble a Dune sandworm or a vibrator? Yes. But a small price to pay for this kind of power.
While the ChillPill does more than just blow cool air
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The three-in-one ChillPill’s versatility is its major selling point. It comes with different interchangeable heads that can be clicked into the body: a ten-speed fan, a mister, and a cooling plate. The fan has a twistable design so it can be easily placed on a tabletop or held in your hand, but folds flat for better portability. I was also very impressed by the clever control dial: You simply have to press the face to turn it on, then use the dial to toggle between the speeds. The LED screen also makes it easy to keep track of the battery and the settings. There are additional accessories available for purchase like a stroller clamp, a wearable clip, and a wristlet and crossbody strap.
But I prefer the Shark ChillPill’s cooling plate to its mister attachment
The cooling plate relies on the same InstaChill technology found in the undereye cooling patches on my beloved CryoGlow face mask. It was the feature I was most excited about and it did not disappoint. The plate getscoldfast. If you’re prone to overheating, this is a major upgrade since you can use it on your pulse points to bring your temperature down. It feels just like pressing an ice cube to your wrists or neck without any of the mess.
I was less impressed with the mister. Initially, I liked how cold the superfine mist felt on my face and that it could be used both independently or in tandem with the fan. It comes with two misting modes: continuous, for a steady stream of mist, and interval, which will pulse the mist instead. The problem is that the reservoir in the mister is quite small and can’t actually fit that much water. For this reason, the former program will only run for about five minutes, the latter closer to ten before you need to refill it. This just isn’t very practical when running around in the heat.
The Shark ChillPill’s airflow is more focused
The fan heads for both the ChillPill and the Hushjet Mini are quite narrow, so the airflow, while powerful, is very concentrated. Because I sweat heavily only my face, I prefer a fan that can cover as much surface area as possible to speed along the evaporation process. With both the ChillPill and the Hushjet Mini, I kept having to move the fan around to direct the air to different parts of my face, which is energy I do not want to expand on a sweltering subway platform. Obviously, if you don’t perspire as much on your face, this is probably less of a concern.
Both fans are very light …
The ChillPill is .77 pounds, while the Hushjet Mini is an even daintier .46 pounds. If weight is a serious concern, I’d go with the Dyson, but with both models weighing under a pound, the difference is marginal.
… and very loud
Both fans are very noisy, especially at the higher settings. While testing out the Hushjet Mini in the office — among my very patient colleagues — one person remarked that it sounded almost as loud as her Airwrap. Granted, Shark recommends only using the higher settings of the ChillPill outdoors, where the noise would be less noticeable, but personally I found the lower settings to not be strong enough for me. And while I do think that if I were using either fan at an amusement park or baseball game this summer, the noise would not be as bothersome, it’s still a drawback. In an under-air-conditioned restaurant or Uber, both of these fans would draw attention. In fact, at my slightly sweaty karaoke birthday party, my best friend opted to buy a T-shirt at the bar instead of using the Dyson, because it could be heard over everyone scream-singing Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”
Both are very expensive — and, surprisingly, the Dyson is cheaper
Typically, you can rely on Shark to make more affordable gadgets when compared to Dyson. But not this time. The Shark clocks in at a very price-y $150, while the Dyson is $100. Still five times what you’d pay for the average fan on Amazon, but $50 less than the ChillPill.
The verdict: Maybe a fan just doesn’t need to be that high-tech …
If you’re looking for a more traditional fan that packs a punch when it comes to airflow, then the Hushjet Mini Cool is the fan for you. If you are looking for a fan with the most cooling versatility, then the ChillPill is your best bet. Especially if you’re prone to overheating, I do think the cooling plate would be a lifesaver on a hot day. But considering the high price points of each, you could also save yourself a few bucks, and buy the VersionTech. Over the last several weeks while testing the two new contenders, I had left mine at home, and I seriously missed it. I could suddenly appreciate it’s long-lasting battery, fairly quiet humming, and power more than ever. Though it may not be fancy or particularly high-tech, it will still be the old reliable I’m packing in all my bags this summer.
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