Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was really impressed with the quality of these low cost items. before I go on my rant about how much I've enjoyed these fans, I'll first point out the flaw that cost them a whole star. (would have cost them 2 or 3 stars if they weren't otherwise so exceptional.) K, notice in the picture that there's a little kickstand base thingy holding up the fan....that piece is on a hinge and it can be folded up flat against the fan to save space when not in use. Then when you need it, you just put it down like a kickstand and you're all set. the hinge is sturdy. It stays folded closed when it's supposed to & it stays kicked out and sturdy when it's supposed to do that.....HOWEVER, the act of putting up or pulling down that bottom piece creates the most un-Godly, devil-spawn, horrible demon sound I've ever heard in my entire life. Each and every time I adjust the position of the base I have to work up the nerve and brace myself just to do it. I know it's hard to imagine that it could be so bad, but as you'll see in the remaining parts of my review, I use these fans in a variety of situations and regardless of the circumstances, living beings unlucky enough to be in the general vicinity make a huge fuss when this happens. My cat hisses and her tail poofs out, my dog leaps into the air in fear and sprints to the bedroom and quakes under the bed until I convince him it's safe to come out and my boyfriend has banned the use of these fans between the hours 10pm and 9am because they've disrupted his sleep so many times. it's the design flaw to trump all design flaws. It's really a shame. Given that, you may wonder how I could still give these a 4 star review. that is a testimate to how much I like these fans. I'll lead up to my more detailed account with some quick highlights: - price: two fans that don't suck for $20. after factoring in the quality, it's an exceptional bargain. - noise (when running): when they're set up & running they are very quiet. - cordless: you dont have to plug them in!! they take two D batteries. Battery life totally depends on frequency of use. - settings: simple slide control switches power on/off & changes output high or low. Can be controlled while blindfolded with one hand tied behind your back. - weight/size: these fans are pretty small. I haven't measured, but I'm thinking 5" or 6" square. The base takes up minimal space. Light enough to easily go in a large handbag or diaper bag, duffle bag, whatever. - sturdy: I have personally kicked these off the side of the bed dozens of times, by accident. My cat has "accidentally" booted them off of shelves and tables numerous times. Every time they crash to the floor I think to myself that this will be the time that they finally break....but no! Not phased, not even a little! - quality: my expectations for quality have been far exceeded. The high setting is HIGH. it's a proper fan for sure. After its been on high for a couple minutes I usually switch it to low to conserve power & it's just perfect. When the battery juice is getting low the fan will still come on, but it will barely turn or have much impact. You can tell because you'll think it's broken or has crapped out on you. Never fear. Every time that happens, a quick battery replacement turns the whole situation around instantly. Good as new. I could see how someone who didn't need these as desperately as I did might question my enthusiasm for these fans, but they have been major game changers in my life. here's why: in spring & summer, I am constantly hot and sweaty. I take medications that cause me to be perpetually flushed and uncomfortable. that's just resting. if I add to that, say, moving...things go from bad to worse quickly. by the time I've done something like vacuum the living room, I'm dripping sweat from head to toe. Soaked clothes, soaked hair, and so hot I have to lie down and put an ice pack on my forehead. I keep my A/C lower than anybody I know, but in an effort to keep from freezing out my boyfriend, it doesn't go as low as I'd like it. in the summer time, when I'd take a shower, I'd be sweating profusely before I could get both feet on the bath mat. and the sweating would continue for so long that I'd have to wait a long time before I could dress, do my hair, do my makeup, or whatever. And the only way I could get it under control after a shower was to lie down and do nothing. Just wasting time. styling my hair would just get the sweating going again anyway...so it was always a losing battle. don't even get me started on cooking dinner! every single night, in the kitchen with the stove and/or oven going & racing around putting a meal together...I'd get so hot and nauseated I wouldn't be able to eat the dinner I prepared. for about six months out of the year, the potential for overheating ruled my life. My whole day had to be planned around anticipated discomfort and sweating. it was so embarrassing, so time consuming and so friggin miserable. I finally got so sick of it I started looking for ways to mitigate the problem. I took a chance on these fans and I'll never ever go without them again. I get them going in the bathroom for after a shower, and I move them right over to the vanity while I'm getting ready. When I'm cooking I have both of them going in the kitchen, blowing right at me. And when I'm running around the house doing chores or whatever, I typically still overheat...and when that happens, I take a quick break, turn on the fans while I sit a spell and I'm back up and moving in half the time compared to before. I take them with me when I'm traveling...because they're cordless I can pretty much use them anytime, anywhere (except for when they need to be unfolded while someone's sleeping). to mitigate that terrible sound, I try to just keep the kickstand down all the time, when possible. I put a little blue sticker on one fan and a little red sticker on the other. As the summer intensity dies down I don't need both fans at the same time. The red dot one stays in the bathroom and the blue dot fan lives in the bedroom. And if I pick them up and carry them off somewhere else, I know which one goes back where when I'm done. the purpose of telling them apart has mostly to do with keeping up with when batteries were last replaced in which fan. so that's my experience, TMI or not. If you read the whole thing, thank you for tolerating my over-share :)