This cordless pedestal fan does the lot
Shark FlexBreeze Portable Fan two-minute review
I’ve been through my fair share of fans over the years, ranging from small desktop ones (shout out to my original Woolworths desk fan) to larger air circulators. And as excellent as some of those have been, few can match the versatility of the Shark FlexBreeze Portable Fan. If you want something that adapts to pretty much any situation, this could well be the best fan for you.
For this review I tested the UK version, but the SharkBreeze is also available in the US (there may be very minor differences, but it’s essentially the same product). For avoidance of doubt, these are the names and product codes for the US and UK:
US: Shark FlexBreeze Fan With InstaCool Mist Attachment FA222
UK: Shark FlexBreeze Portable Fan FA220UK
Shark has built a name for itself as the brand behind some of the best vacuum cleaners on the market, and its sister company Ninja is well respected in the kitchen appliance space, particularly when it comes to the best air fryers. Shark isn’t particularly known for its fans, though. The Shark FlexBreeze, nonetheless, is a classic SharkNinja product – that is, one that’s especially clever and capable replacing a couple of different products in a top-class, well-engineered package.
This is largely because the FlexBreeze is a fan that can be used in as many different ways as you can think of, whether it’s as a conventional pedestal fan or as a desktop fan with its fold-out legs. It also has a mister attachment for use outdoors with cooling water directly from an outdoor tap and can be corded or cordless and run for up to 24 hours away from the mains. This makes it an ideal fan for use virtually anywhere in your home, and it’s a fan that’s so good, that I’ve purchased two of them.
There are five fan speeds on offer, and even at full blast the FlexBreeze is a quiet performer, while also being able to push air so you can feel it from up to 70 feet away. It is virtually silent on its lowest setting too, and worked a treat in a bedroom when I was trying to sleep. It’s also UV and rain-resistant and has no trouble working outside, while the InstaCool mister attachment fires out two reasonably powerful jets of water that create a cooling mist.
The FlexBreeze is by no means a perfect fan, though. It lacks advanced features such as app control and more granular control for fan speeds, offering only five levels. Unlike other fans and air circulators, it also lacks any form of automatic vertical oscillation, although offers up to 55 degrees of manual tilt and 180 degrees of automatic oscillation horizontally. However, where the FlexBreeze really wins is on its quietness, versatility and ease of use – all of which will be expanded on below.Shark FlexBreeze Portable Fan review: price & availability
List price: $199.99 / £199.99
Launch date: April 2024
Availability: UK/US
The Shark FlexBreeze is a premium fan, carrying an appropriately weighty £199.99 / $199.99 price tag, and comes in a single configuration – that’s as a fan with cover, magnetic remote control and mister attachment, suitable for use as a pedestal fan and, with its integrated legs, as a tabletop fan. Interestingly, the fan carries different names in the UK and US, as is typical with SharkNinja products. In the UK, it’s the Shark FlexBreeze Portable Fan, while in the US, it’s the Shark FlexBreeze Fan with InstaCool Attachment.
With that higher price tag, it’s pitted against top-class floor-based options such as the Meaco MeacoFan 1056P and the Dreo PolyFan 704S, although Shark’s option is unique among its contemporaries. That’s because it can operate both as a pedestal fan and as a table fan with integrated legs, without the need for a cable, and it can also be used outdoors, with its mister attachment if required. No other fan offers as much versatility as the FlexBreeze, making it an excellent-value purchase if you want a do-it-all fan that can work virtually anywhere.
Compared to more conventional table fans, it is quite chunky and heavy with a larger plastic fan head than others, making it a little unwieldy to place on smaller tables or surfaces.
