Keep Cool this summer with a personal misting fan from ESTONE
Camping has become one of my families most enjoyable activities. Whether we are tent camping with the Cub Scouts or RV camping with our class C motorhome, we enjoy spending some outdoor time together. This season, we tent camped twice in May and absolutely loved the weather in Western Kentucky. Unfortunately, last week we went camping in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and felt the full might of the sun’s wrath. As a cub scout leader, we have made our own personal coolers, repurposing a styrofoam cooler (recycling), ice, a recycled pool noodle and a battery operated fan. Filling the cooler with ice or cooled water, the fan would blow air across the cooled water and the pool noodle provided a directional spray nozzle. The device was cheap to create but not very durable. So, I turned to the internet for options and I found handheld misting fans like the Mini Beauty Replenishment Fan from Estone.
The product arrived in a 4 1/8 inches wide by 7 3/8 inches tall by 2 11/16 inches thick retail package. The cover displayed a white fan with lime green accent atop a white background. Across the top of the cover, you will find block typed “MINI” in lime green and “Beauty Replenishment Fan” in thin black font. The five inches tall image of the device filled most of the cover and did a great job of detailing the product without being too busy. The shading along the bottom of the cover was a little odd, representing two light sources. It seemed as if the resting surface was reflective and the light shone from the front of the object. I know this may sound nit-picky, but the posterior shadow almost made the cover look dirty or tarnished. The right side of the box showed the three available color combinations: blue, pink and green. There were checkboxes located beneath each of the colors, but none of these were checked. Not unlike opening a blind box, the color of the included device was a surprise. The opposite side panel listed the title, a fan and humidifier icon, and listed the typical product labels. The bottom panel was appropriately blank and the top panel again displayed the generic product title. My favorite panel was the reverse face of the packaging. Instead of using numerous paragraphs or lengthy bullet points to detail the product, the company used three 1 9/16 inches square images atop a white background. The top image detailed the lower right face of the device and provided a close-up legend of the control key, switch, USB-micro input port, and the LED indicators. The middle image showed a close-up view of the fan and showed the air outlet and spray nozzle. The lower image showed a close-up view of the water reservoir and the tank cover. Within the packaging, you will find the 7 inches tall by 3 3/4 inches wide by 2 1/2 inches thick spray fan, a 39 inches long USB-micro to USB-A cable and a dual language instruction/specifications manual. The English used in the manual was passable but suffered from either an attempt to translate or from a non-native speaker.
The fan will charge via the USB-micro cable at 5V input. The included 2000mAh LiPo battery will allow you to use the fan for up to seven hours, the mist alone for 5 hours or the fan and mist together for three hours per charge. The water reservoir is listed as having a 40ml capacity and the device was shipped with a small amount of distilled water in the reservoir. The instruction manual did not mention this but many other similar devices detail this feature. I did not know if the water was clean or not, or how long it had been sitting. So, I rinsed out the reservoir with tap water and purchased my own distilled water. The listed device weight was 265 grams but with a full reservoir, the device weighed 286 grams or 10.05 ounces. Despite the summer being in full swing, my wife and I took our three-year-old daughter to the park and decided to use the fan to cool off. I was impressed with the fan and specifically with the mist/fan mode. Subjectively, the fan and mist cooled the air down beyond reasonable and actually approached comfortable levels. To test the fan objectively, I used my infrared thermometer. After a rain and in the shade, the fan registered 78 degrees Fahrenheit. With the fan alone, the temperature measured 77.5 degrees Fahrenheit. With the fan plus mist, the temperature measured 76.3 degrees Fahrenheit. This first test was interesting but provided proof of concept. I did not feel that I was getting a good measurement from the thermometer, so I used the surface of my hand as a secondary test. Starting at 92.7 degrees Fahrenheit, I let the fan/mist blow onto my palm for 10 seconds at a distance of six inches. The thermometer measured 90.1 degrees Fahrenheit. I continued the test for another 10 seconds and my palm measured 88.8 degrees Fahrenheit. After a total of thirty seconds, the surface was 87.4 degrees Fahrenheit. My wife does not like water sprayed onto her face and thus did not want to test this device. My daughter and I loved the ability to cool our faces and our necks, while out in the heat.
I was rather impressed with the device and the cooling power. If the area is humid, the fan will help to move air for evaporative cooling. If there is a prominent breeze, the device was less helpful due to the air currents. The instruction manual stated that the fan/mist would last a total of three hours. I found that the device worked best by using it in increments. Out of the box, the instruction manual recommended that you charge the device for a full 8 hours. I liked the weight, I liked the look and I loved the benefit that the mist/fan provided. I wish that there were carry handles/hooks on the side for a neck lanyard or perhaps a carabiner clip to attach to a bag. Another beneficial idea would be a universal tripod screw to allow you to add one of the moldable tripods. Unfortunately, I could not find an email, facebook or twitter link to the Estone MINI Replenishment fan. The closest link that I could find for this device/company was to the Alibaba website.
