I was going to wait a few more days and keep using this, but I wanted to get my review out there for Xvettech and the others who are curious. The ultimate test for me won’t occur until Wednesday, so I’ve only been using this around the house.
I have very mixed feelings about it. I do think that if you can spare the roughly 23 USD (Amazon or Walmart online), it’s worth a try. The fan is incredibly easy to use, BUT you need an adapter for the charger. Not being tech savvy, I’ll describe the 2’ cord it comes with as having a small phone charger on one end and a large phone charger on the other. You have to provide the part that plugs into an outlet.
The fan was fully charged in under 3 hours. It might have been less than that, but that’s when I checked it. I’m not sure yet how long the charge lasts, because I let my son try it out and he hasn’t given it back yet! [Update: 3 hours on medium, and when it quits, it just stops dead with no warning.]
To me, the air it provides is like a gentle breeze, but I really only felt it on my ears and chubby cheeks. It did help a bit while I was sitting in direct sunlight, but don’t expect much if you’re sitting through a ball game or using it for an afternoon at the beach. If you do those things, I’d add one of those umbrella hats for shade.
The weight of the collar takes a bit of getting used to. It’s not heavy, but if you’re not used to having things wrapped around your neck it’s going to feel a bit odd. It also has a very loose fit, so I don’t recommend using it unless you are fairly stationary. I think it would fall off if you were trying to weed the garden or wrestle with the grandkids.
The noise is my primary concern. Holding it in my lap or at arms’ length, the sound is negligible. Put it on my neck, however, and I can’t hear the normal sounds of singing birds, my dog moving through the weeds 20’ away, or the cars passing in front of my house. I can still carry on a conversation with someone nearby, but I can’t hear them from across the room. With a lifetime of bad vision, I rely heavily on my hearing, so this is a problem for me.
My son tested the fan also. He’s a large Limbo-Lander who’s tested positive for both Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. He’s sensitive to light and sounds and spends a lot of time using a computer. He said the sound is like a vacuum cleaner running in the next room. He had no issues with the fit of the collar, but the only cooling it provided for him was to reduce the inflammation he gets in his neck.
So, ultimately I will not consider this a waste of money, but it does have limited uses. If you understand that it won’t solve all your problems, it can be a big help, but you’ll still need to follow your usual hot-weather procedures. I’ll update this after Wednesday and let you know how it did during an afternoon in an enclosed house with no AC.
Useless update 5/31: We had a ball at Mum's house today, but it was cool enough that I didn't need the fan! However, my son's been using it every day, so it was definitely worth the money. A British pen-pal with MS and no AC ordered one for herself, and she absolutely loves it!
3 month check up of Tecfidera/MS with Neuro today
Neck and shoulder
An Update
