Shark ChillPill review: I tried the new 3-in-1 fan on the hottest day of the year (so far)

The mercury may be shy of the twenties, but hitting 18 degrees in London is still cause for celebration if you’re one of the city’s winter-worn inhabitants.

No public patch of grass was left bare at lunchtime as office workers descended en masse to enjoy salads and sarnies out in the glorious spring sunshine.

While still a little chilly in the shade, I found sitting in direct sunlight on an open rooftop was enough to muster a pre-sweat glow. In short, decent conditions in which to try out Shark’s latest fan.

For its 3-in-1 fan? Shark has bequeathed the faintly cringey ChillPill. The box’s sleeve follows up with ‘It’s not cool to be hot’ on the back, words I agree with in sentiment, but perhaps unnecessary to slap across the packaging.

Arriving in a small box, Shark’s ChillPill resembles a pair of binoculars at first glance. Two tubes are connected with a twistable central fixture, one holding the motor and the other the battery. The twisting aspect allows you to position it on flat surfaces at the perfect angle, but you can thread it through bag and phone straps if you want hands-free cooling.

The twin cylinder design makes it double the size of most hand fans, but it’s worth the pocket space for the three cooling functions to use when you’re ready to combust from heat.

The controls can be mastered without resorting to the manual, which is there in physical and QR code form. The battery cylinder houses an on/off switch and a screen on one end, which should be turned clockwise or pushed down to increase speed or activate the mist, respectively.

The first is a fan that operates at 10 speeds. This fan head detaches and can be swapped with the InstaChill system (a metal plate designed to bring icy relief to pulse points). The third is a water mist fan, which releases an ultra-fine, cooled spray when traditional fanning isn’t cutting it.

The fan charges via a USB-C, and along with the interchangeable heads, you get three new wicks to use with the mister, which should be replaced every 30 days.

Ten fan speeds are enough to bring localised cooling for all. Speed one offered a gentle breeze, perfect for using when setting makeup, while the highest speed gave enough velocity to blow my hair back from my neck.

The range is pleasing; unlike competitors with just three or five speeds, you feel reassured that there’s more left in the tank when a cooling turbocharge becomes a pressing biological need (CC: the Central line in July).

What’s not pleasing is the din this fan makes. Noise levels rise in line with the fan speed, so prepare yourself for something that sounds like an aircraft carrier landing when it’s at full whack.

The noise is reduced a little if you swap the fan head for the cooling plate, but it’s still audible as breezes are pushed out from the underside of the head instead of the top.

My favourite of the three heads is the mister. The spray it releases really is superfine, which compounds the cooling. I know on sweltering summer days, when I’m trapped on the tube or a festival tent, this function alone will be enough to forgive the cacophony entirely.

At just under £130, this is probably one of the most expensive personal fans I’ve tried, but it’s also the most impressive.

Three changing heads allow you to choose your flavour of heat relief, and while the attachments could become irksome rattling around in the depths of your bag, they are fairly small. Only tiny bag carriers have cause for concern.

Noise is an issue too — you won’t want to keep this on at night, or beside napping infants, (or colleagues close to a deadline), but Shark has designed this fan for on-the-go use. You won’t hear it over traffic, crowds, or general city noise.

The price is steep, but if you think back to all the cheap fans you’ve bought over the years that lived and died over one summer, Shark’s robust little ChillPill starts to look like a worthy investment. If you’re still hesitating, it’s worth remembering that this is the initial launch price. Shark will very likely put it on sale, so keep your eyes, and your wallet, peeled.