So far this year, we’ve seen five heatwaves in the UK. The climate crisis means things are heating up year on year , and while we can hide in air-conditioned shops and offices, our homes can get uncomfortably – sometimes dangerously – hot.
We also have to go outside – or worse, pack ourselves like sweaty sardines on sweltering public transport. On those occasions, a portable fan can make all the difference between manageable discomfort and indulging in an inadvisable quantity of ice-cream. Their recent popularity has led to manufacturers churning out cheap-but-not-especially cheerful products that ultimately end up as clutter in your house – or worse, landfill, where an estimated 4.3m will end up this year alone .
So which should you buy to cool you for many summers to come? I’ve been testing handheld and neck fans from the likes of John Lewis, Dunelm, Dyson and Shark, assessing them for power, noise, battery life and portability. Here’s what I’ve found.
The John Lewis handheld and foldable fan and Jialexin three-speed neck fan were out of stock at the time of publication
I’ve been testing consumer technology for more than a decade now, including electric toothbrushes and water flossers for the Filter. Yet, without wanting to shatter the illusion that this makes me uniquely qualified for the task, portable fans are among the easiest things to test. There’s little subjectivity involved, as you can measure power, noise, weight and battery life. All you really need is a working hypothalamus and fingers that can manoeuvre buttons – which I have.
You also need hot weather, of course, and the Great British summer has been, if anything, a little too accommodating in that regard. It also helps that my PC can turn my tiny office into an overheated sauna in 20 minutes.
Each of the 20 fans I tested was assessed for measures that can be objectively tested. Power was not only measured by active use, but via a dedicated digital anemometer to measure wind speed at the highest and lowest supported speeds.
More power equals more noise, so I used a sound measurement app held 15cm from the source to assess the decibel level at high, medium and low speeds. I timed how long it took each fan to empty its battery at the lowest and highest speeds (a test my three cats hated even more than I did, due to the constant noise for hours at a time), and popped each one on the scale to get an idea of portability.
I also assessed them for more subjective things. Is the fan nice to hold? Can it be folded for increased portability or hands-free use? Does it look visually appealing?
Finally, there’s the biggie: price. With portable fans costing between £3 and £100+, there’s a huge range of options. It’s simplistic to suggest that a higher cost automatically equals a better experience, though there is naturally a correlation. Nonetheless, I’m more forgiving of odd quirks in cheap fans than I would be in more expensive ones.
There’s also the sticky issue of repairability and the growing waste problem of fast tech . Tough-to-replace lithium-ion batteries were present in all but two of the fans tested, which is far from ideal. With that in mind, I kept an eye on build quality too, hoping to endorse fans that will have a long and productive life before they need to be disposed of (electrical recycling, please – you can find a local spot here ).
After testing, the fans were either returned to the manufacturer or donated to charity.
Here are the 12 best portable fans from my tests.
What features should I look for in a fan?
Look out for fans with different uses. While the traditional way to use a handheld fan is, of course, in the hand, some models can double as desktop fans, either by folding in half or with a bundled stand. Some even come with a lanyard attachment so they can be worn hands-free around the neck.
While power might seem like the key feature, remember this is always a trade-off. Higher fan speeds will make you feel nominally cooler, but will come at the expense of battery life and noise levels.
Neck fans have two advantages over regular handheld fans. The first is that they’re entirely hands-free, meaning you can wear them without temporarily losing the use of a hand in the process.
The second advantage is that as they target the neck, there’s evidence to suggest they may make you feel cooler overall. This is because the thermoregulation centre is at the base of the brain, so a neck fan may make you feel cooler than a regular handheld one, even if your actual body temperature isn’t dropping all that much.
The downside to this is that the positioning directly below your ears can be a little tiring, given the constant volume (although this is a problem that’s easily sidestepped with a pair of headphones).
If your fan still works, you should try to pass it on to a friend or family member. After all, who would turn down free cooling in the heat? If none want it, someone on Freecycle might, or you may even be able to get some money for it on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace.
If it’s broken, that’s a different story. Unfortunately, most handheld fans don’t have user-replaceable batteries, but it’s worth checking to make sure that’s the case with yours. Shark, for example, sells a replacement battery for the ChillPill (although it’s out of stock at the time of writing).
If the fan can’t be fixed, then don’t dispose of it in your regular household waste, as the built-in batteries are both dangerous and an environmental hazard .
Some shops such as Currys will recycle electrical items free of charge. Alternatively, can find local options on the Recycle Your Electricals website . Just enter your postcode and select “electric fan” from the list to see your local options.
• The best evaporative air coolers – tested
• Dyson HushJet Mini Cool fan review: I’ve never tested a handheld fan this powerful – or this loud
• Do I really need air conditioning in the UK? The best portable aircon tested
Alan Martin is a writer who has been putting products – including phones, gaming devices and wearables – through their paces for more than a decade. He is constantly tripping over product boxes
• This article was originally published on 12 August 2025. Reviews published in the Filter may be periodically updated to reflect new products and at the editor’s discretion. The date of an article’s most recent update can be found in the timestamp at the top of the page. This article was amended on 2 September 2026; the Blueair handheld fan F7, Aecooly Cold Air and Aecooly Air Mate were added after testing, and prices were updated throughout.
We also have to go outside – or worse, pack ourselves like sweaty sardines on sweltering public transport. On those occasions, a portable fan can make all the difference between manageable discomfort and indulging in an inadvisable quantity of ice-cream. Their recent popularity has led to manufacturers churning out cheap-but-not-especially cheerful products that ultimately end up as clutter in your house – or worse, landfill, where an estimated 4.3m will end up this year alone .
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Alan Martin. Published 2 Sept 2026, 10:09 am.
