Dyson HushJet Mini Cool Review

Introduction

After years of the handheld fan market being dominated by cheap, underwhelming devices, the big boys are here to show how it’s really done. In this case, with the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool, the company has taken everything it knows about making big fans and has distilled that into a tiny, portable model.

Exceptionally powerful, this tiny fan packs a punch, but should it be your travel companion of choice? Check out my full review to find out.

Design and features

• Small and light
• Simple controls
• Decent range of accessories

Given how many people I see carrying portable fans around, it’s a little surprising that it’s taken so long for the bigger fan manufacturers to catch on. First, I had the Shark ChillPill and now I have the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool.

While comparisons between the two devices are inevitable, they’re both slightly different in what they do and how they work. The Shark ChillPill is a slightly larger but more versatile device, which is a fan, mister and cooling pad; the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool is a fan, built with the company’s latest technology to give a powerful jet of air.

Portable devices are often as much about style as they are about performance, so the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool is available in three colour combinations: the pink (Stone/Blush) that I have on review here, plus blue (Ink/Cobalt) and red (Carnelian/Sky).

It’s a very small device, with a 38mm diameter. That’s an important measurement for Dyson, with the PencilWash and PencilVac both having wands with the same diameter.

At just 210g, the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool is also very light and easy to carry, even more so than the slightly larger ChillPill.

In the hand, the HushJet Mini feels a bit like holding a microphone, easily fitting in your hand when you want to use it.

At the top, you’ll notice the jet-engine-inspired head, which is designed to reduce turbulence and increase air flow. It’s effectively a smaller version of the Dyson HushJet Purifier Compact. This head can be rotated 360°, letting me angle the air where I want it.

Controls are very simple. There’s a switch to turn the fan on or off, with the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool starting on fan speed one. The +/- buttons can be used to cycle between the five fan speeds, or you can press and hold the + button to temporarily engage the boost mode.

With the switch set to off, the + button shows battery life via the LEDs (each of the five lights represents 20% of battery power). That’s useful as an indicator, but there’s no way to tell how much battery power is left while the fan is on.

While the fan is an easy-to-use handheld, there are other options, and Dyson includes a Charging Stand, Neck Dock, and Travel Pouch in the box. 

The Neck dock slides around the fan’s body, with the choice to have the controls facing towards your body or away from it. I prefer away, but it’s nice to have the choice.

Wearing the fan makes a lot of sense, and the rotating head makes it easy to get the air where you want it.

The Charging stand is a handy desktop accessory that keeps the fan upright so you can use it when you’re not moving.

Optionally, you can buy a Universal Mount or Grip Clip (for attaching to a bag) if you need more flexibility.

Charging is via the USB-C port on the rear. Use a fast charger, and the 5000mAh battery can be topped up in three hours. Handily, the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool can be used on fan speed one when it’s charging, so you don’t have to stop cooling.

When travelling, or when not in use, everything can slip into the drawstring travel bag. 

At the bottom of the fan is the air intake, which looks a bit like the one on the Dyson Supersonic. On the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool, you can’t remove the bottom section, but you should use a cloth or brush to clean it down regularly.

Performance

• Decent battery life
• Very powerful
• Loud on its maximum setting

The Dyson HushJet Mini Cool is exceptionally powerful. While its airflow is more concentrated than that of a regular fan, the airspeed is just as fast, if not faster. 

Measuring from 15cm away, on fan speed one I got air flow of 2.6m/s; on the middle speed 5.5m/s; and 8.1m/s on the highest setting; Turbo increased the fan speed to a, frankly, ridiculous 11.3m/s.

That’s a lot more airflow than I got from the ChillPill, which topped out at 4m/s on its maximum setting.

Higher air speeds are useful, as the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool doesn’t have to be as close to you to feel the benefits, and I could run it at lower speeds. 

That’s important when looking at battery life. On the lowest setting, the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool can last around six hours; on its highest setting, it’s around an hour. The Shark ChillPill lasts for 11 hours on its lowest setting, and up to 1.5 hours on its highest.

But, the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool’s middle speed is similar to the ChillPill’s highest speed, and speed one is still highly effective. Overall, then, I think you’ll get similar real-world battery life out of either device.

Although it’s called the HushJet, this fan can get quite loud. On its highest setting, there’s a lot of noise, and I measured it at 78dB from 15cm away. On the middle fan speed, I measured 72.7dB. Things are better on the lowest setting at 60.6dB, but the small space that air comes out of means that a larger fan will be quieter.

Should you buy it?

FAQs

The post Dyson HushJet Mini Cool Review appeared first on Trusted Reviews.