I tried out Shark’s versatile indoor-outdoor fan, and its clever InstaCool attachment made me misty-eyed (2024)

Update: we've now had a chance to properly test out this fan – head to TechRadar's Shark FlexBreeze review to find out what we thought.

These days, high-tech fans can do much more than oscillate, and that’s certainly the case with Shark’s latest air quality device, the Shark FlexBreeze Fan with InstaCool Misting.

It's a first step into outdoor cooling for the brand, and a bold one at that which could see the product rank among the best fans available right now.

This convertible tabletop-to-pedestal fan is impressively versatile and can be used both indoors and indoors, cordless and corded. Plus, with a host of impressive features, the fan completely blew me away when I tried it out at Shark Ninja’s EMEA launch event this week.

Designed with convenience front of mind, the Shark FlexBreeze Fan with InstaCool Misting is designed to offer as much versatility as possible, eradicating the need for multiple fans. It’s super easy to switch the fan between its two form factors; simply pull the lightweight main fan head out of the pedestal stand, open out its four legs, and voila, your fan is tabletop-ready.

Too cool for school

Outside of its 2-in-1 design, the Shark FlexBreeze Fan with InstaCool Misting has an abundance of fantastic features that can keep you comfortable during increasingly warm and stifling summers. It offers five fan speeds, 180 degrees of side-to-side oscillation, and 55 degrees tilt, and comes with a magnetically attached remote; but that’s just the beginning.

With its UV and rain-resistant treatment, the Shark FlexBreeze Fan is uniquely positioned to bring the cool air good times outdoors; and even if you don’t have an outdoor electricity supply, you can just use the fan cordlessly.

Plus, the Shark FlexBreeze Fan with InstaCool Misting offers up to 20 hours of battery when used cordlessly, meaning you could sit outside in the warmth of the sun from dawn till dusk with your fan and stay cool all day long, should you wish to – just make sure you put on some sun tan lotion.

What’s most exciting, however, is the clever InstaCool attachment, which clips onto the front of your fan and into your garden hose, delivering a wonderfully fine cooling mist for an added cooling effect. I was seriously impressed with how fine the mist came out, and while I wasn’t in the vicinity long enough to note much of a difference in temperature (and it was a pretty mild day, too), Shark claims it can make the air feel up to 10 degrees cooler.

Also of note is the Shark FlexBreeze Fan’s BreezeBoost mode, which Shark claims can be felt from over 70 feet / 21.3m away. For context, that’s as long as a tennis court. The fan seems pretty quiet too, though it’s worth noting that during my hands-on time with the device, there was a fair amount of background noise.

You can already buy the Shark FlexBreeze fan in the US for $199 on SharkClean.com, with major retailers including Amazon and Best Buy stocking the device later this Spring, as well as Costco and Walmart offering the standalone fan without the InstaBreeze attachment for $149 in February. We don’t yet have UK pricing, but it will be available this spring.

You might also like...

• Ninja Double Stack Air Fryer review: half the footprint, double the fun
• Instant vs. Ninja: who makes the best air fryer?
• How to clean an air fryer