Dyson HushJet Mini Cool Review: A Pocket Fan

If there is one field in which Dyson has long set the terms, it is airflow. Between its vacuum cleaners, its premium hairdryers and its range of bladeless fans, which later gave way to purifiers, the British manufacturer has treated aerodynamics as a technological discipline for decades. The arrival of the HushJet Mini Cool is therefore no surprise from a brand that has held this expertise for a very long time.

In practice, Dyson is giving in here to the great summer trend for the portable pocket fan, a market that has grown quickly during recent heatwaves. Rather than offering yet another low-cost plastic gadget, though, the manufacturer applies its usual recipe: extreme miniaturisation, a brushless motor capable of spinning at 65,000 rpm and a premium tubular design. Available in three carefully finished colourways, the little fan is intended to work as a genuine fashion accessory as much as a cooling device, and to bring the brand's full airflow expertise into the palm of the hand.

Dyson stays faithful to its visual identity with a tubular device, in the manner of the Supersonic, the Airwrap and its earlier fans. The shape works, the finishes feel premium and the whole approach is resolutely modern.

At 212 g on the scales, roughly the weight of a smartphone, it is quickly forgotten and slides easily into a handbag. Ergonomics are excellent, as you would expect from the brand. The little fan is operated simply through three buttons, one to switch it on and two to adjust the strength of the airflow, and rotating the head of the tube is all that is needed to direct the air towards you.

One of the product's main strengths lies in its turbine system, which has no visible blades. Far from being a surprise, that technical choice is entirely in keeping with the brand's history, since it has banished blades from its fans from the outset. Applied to a pocket format, the technology leaves no exposed rotor around which long hair can wrap.

On accessories, Dyson is fairly generous: the box includes a neck cord, a charging dock and a travel pouch as standard, so there is nothing else to buy in order to carry the fan around.

The Dyson HushJet Mini Cool carries a 5000 mAh battery that takes three hours for a full recharge over USB-C. The runtime was checked at both extremes to see whether it keeps pace with the turbine.

At minimum speed, this mini fan holds out valiantly for 6 hours 52 minutes before switching off. That is ideal for covering a long day of travelling or working. At maximum speed, by contrast, the HushJet Mini Cool pays a heavy price, with runtime collapsing to only 38 minutes 30 seconds. Maximum mode is therefore one to use sparingly, purely for a quick burst of cool air, unless you are prepared to go looking for a USB-C socket very soon afterwards.

Anemometer measurements show remarkable effectiveness, particularly when the reach of the airflow is analysed.

To make use of that airflow, the device offers five power levels and a Boost mode, which follow a fairly simple everyday logic. The first levels are ideal for indoor environments that are already temperate, or for a gentle stream of air without any nuisance, whether at a desk, in the living room in front of the television or directly in bed at night. The intermediate speeds take over neatly to counter the heavy heat of daily journeys by car, by bus or on public transport. Boost mode, finally, is genuinely designed for an immediate and intense burst of cool air outdoors, while waiting in full sun or sitting on a terrace, for example.

At a distance of 40 cm, which corresponds to a realistic distance in front of the face, the Dyson maintains a very direct and targeted flow of 1.351 m/s at speed one, climbing to 4.112 m/s at full power. While the turbine's projection carries a long way, the airflow stays particularly directional and concentrates on a precise area of the face. It is a shame that it is not more diffuse, which would have allowed the whole face to be cooled more evenly. For comparison, the equivalent Shark model tails off more markedly at this distance, peaking at 2.478 m/s.

It is worth keeping in mind that the HushJet Mini Cool is a purely single-purpose product. Unlike the Shark ChillPill, which plays the multi-tool card with its mister and its cold plate, Dyson concentrates solely on ventilation. There are no variations in how the cooling is delivered here: the device does one thing only, but the recorded measurements show that it does so with an indisputable technical advantage in fluid dynamics.

Small pocket fans have a reputation for being relatively noisy devices, and this one does not entirely escape it.

At minimum speed and from 40 cm, the HushJet Mini Cool produces a light hum measured at 47 dB. That is slightly noisier than the Shark ChillPill, but entirely bearable in an office.

Things become trickier at full power. At maximum speed the Dyson pushes out 59 dB, which is almost as much as Shark's ChillPill. To the ear, though, the experience is quite different. True to the Dyson ecosystem and its motors, the HushJet Mini Cool emits a slightly high-pitched whistle that can quickly become tiresome and nagging over time. The noise from Shark's little fan sits at an almost equivalent level, but its character is duller and proves far easier to accept over long periods.