Dyson Pure Cool Me personal fan review

This Dyson has some nifty cards up its sleeve, chief among them being a built-in HEPA and carbon filter, which captures airborne particles such as dust, dander and pollen. The filter isn’t washable and needs to be replaced periodically, but the fan will tell you when.

If you’re familiar with Dyson’s heaters and fans, you’ll think of the bladeless fans you can stick your hand through the centre of. The Pure Cool Me looks very different: it’s more squat than Dyson’s other offerings, with a rotating dome top. Air is shot across this dome from opposite sites, meets in the middle and then shoots out. You adjust the airflow direction by sliding the convex panel up and down. When I saw it in operation, I had to admit it’s an awesome feat of engineering – I’ve been taking great pride in explaining how it works ever since.

The fan has 10 settings, which range from gentle breeze to a touch of hurricane. The body of the fan is devoid of buttons. Instead, you control it with a remote, which can be magnetically attached to the front. As well as adjusting fan settings and oscillation, the remote also lets you set a timer from 15 minutes to 8 hours and shows the remaining filter life on the LCD screen.

Verdict

The filter is one of the major selling points, but I couldn’t really rate its performance as no one in my household suffers from allergies. That said, I enjoyed using it as a personal fan. I had it sitting on my desk at work for a couple of weeks to provide me with a cool breeze. I’m naturally quite warm and wear shorts in the most despicable conditions, and the fan kept me comfortable while other colleagues were wearing jumpers.

The fan came into its own when I took it home and set it up on my bedside table. As a hot sleeper, it helped keep me comfortable while my partner cuddled up to her hot water bottle. I also found it easy to sleep next to, since it’s very quiet on its lower settings. When I took off the dome it became clear why – they’ve packed in a lot of foam under there, which absorbs most of the noise from the fan motor.

Compared to Dyson’s other air purifiers, there’s an obvious lack of smartphone control. This probably helps lower the purchase price, but it seems like a major omission. During the day it’s not much of a problem, but changing fan settings in the dark using the remote is an exercise in guesswork, stabbing at buttons in the dark rather than using a backlit phone.

Overall, I was happy with my flash new Dyson, but at $549, it’s a very expensive bedside fan. Would I pay it? You can pick up something much cheaper at a shop, but for its quiet operation and stylish looks I’d definitely consider parting with the dosh. That said, the larger Dyson Pure Cool Desk only costs $200 more and has smart controls and pollution sensors. They do fill two different roles though – the Pure Cool Me is all about looking out for yourself and easily fits on a desk or bedside table, while Dyson’s other purifying fans are aimed at whole-room cooling and air filtering. Given the choice, I’d push the budget and go for the bigger fan and bung it in the corner of the bedroom. It just seems a better option to cool and purify the room in its entirety, rather than just myself.

Specs

Dyson Pure Cool Me Price: $549
Colours: Gunmetal/copper or white/silver
Width: 245mm
Height: 401mm
Filter type: Activated carbon and glass HEPA filter

The Dyson Pure Cool Me was loaned to the writer by Dyson.