When I first got the Shark FlexBreeze, I must admit, all I could think was how special could a fan be?
Fantom menace
Taking the fan out of the box, it's a straightforward stand fan, a meter-tall, compact fan that's 30cm in diameter.
Image via Mothership
It's a good-looking fan, its plastic housing solidly thick, its buttons understated and easy to reach.
It even has a clear place to put the remote, which smartly attaches to the back of the fan head via magnets.
Your fan is unlikely to be your room's centrepiece, but it will be prominent enough that you might want something that looks good.
I, for one, just want my fan to fit neatly in a corner and work quietly but diligently to cool me and my room.
Everything else is a bit of a bonus.
But man, are there a lot of bonuses.
It may be from Shark, but it looks like an Octopus
That's right, the stand is *detachable*.
The fan head comes free from the stand at a single button press, and four little feet pop out, making it look like an upside-down Inspector Gadget or a little fan octopus.
Gif via Mothership
Yes, the fan head and stand can separate, which is a great feature, but only made possible by the battery in the fan head.
This means you can tote the fan around and bring it to picnics or outdoor sports.
Image via Mothership
Image via Mothership
Without needing a power cord.
Nice.
Battery of test
It boasts an impressive battery life, up to 24 hours if kept at the lowest setting and without oscillation, according to Shark.
Of course, I had to test it, and full blast is more my speed.
Shark officially says it will last two hours on max power, something that the fan more than lived up to.
In my experience, it was noticeably better than that.
Of course, you don't have to detach the fan to use the battery. You can, as I have been, just carry the whole setup, stand and all, throughout the house without having to unplug it.
This had an unexpected benefit: I realised I could hide the wire for aesthetic reasons, not having to worry about undoing my hard work if I wanted to place the fan in the kitchen for a couple of hours.
Image via Mothership
Fair weathered fan
But if you're dead set on taking it out, what about the weather?
No problem, the fan is UV and water-resistant; IPX4 rated, if you want to get technical. "Light rain", as the website says. It does ask that you do not immerse the fan in water.
The adapter is itself rated IP44.
This is pretty good, considering all my other fans would void their warranties just standing next to the window.
I told my dad that he should go for a walk, and when he complained that it was too hot outside, I handed him the fan.
Ah, fun times.
But is it powerful?
The Flexbreeze has five fan speeds, the maximum of which is powerful enough to make it a little uncomfortably cool (if blowing directly on you).
But in addition to being powerful, its air blast is also very directed, and the box says it can project cool air up to 20 m away.
I don't have 20 metres of unobstructed space in my flat; suffice it to say that I placed it on the far end of my living room and enjoyed it on the other end at a distance of about 6 metres.
It was like a little magic invisible cooling tunnel piped across the room.
The fan, which was already pretty quiet when right next to you, was basically unnoticeable (noise-wise) at that distance.
Image via Mothership
Quiet fans
I'm used to old-school stand fans, three speeds, and a little knob for rotation.
The rotation mechanism has to be loud, creaking with every turn.
The Flexbreeze has three oscillation angles – 45, 90 and 180 degrees and a tilt upwards of up to 55 degrees.
With old school fans, I find it easier just to pick up and turn the whole fan, rather than to deal with the large interval inherent in its rotation.
On the other hand, I am happy to leave the Flexbreeze smoothly turning in place and, when in use, quietly bobbing its head as if there was a slow, melodious beat in the background.
FANtastic
So, how special can a fan be? Pretty special, it turns out.
If I were really cheesy, I'd say something like, "The Flexbreeze is really FLEXible and using it is a BREEZE".
But I'm not.
So I won't.
The Shark Flexbreeze is available in white and black, and is priced at S$279.
Depending on the amount of climate vouchers you are eligible for, you may get to bring home the Shark Flexbreeze for free! More details at this link.
Writing this sponsored article by Shark made this writer feel cool.
Top image via Mothership
