The Shark ChillPill Is The Perfect Portable Fan For The Heatwave

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Sorry, but unless you’ve stomached the central line in a heatwave, you don’t know what hot is. Think: dripping with sweat, an unsavoury smell, and all round regret that you didn’t stay home.

As someone who can go from cool, calm, and collected to hot and overstimulated in a second, I always need to have a solution on-hand.

Mostly, that involves wearing skirts (like every day) and, until now, carrying a paper fan I can flap furiously at myself and anyone who comes within 20cm of me.

But honestly, that doesn’t always do the job. So when I saw Shark had launched a three in one fan that fits in your bag, I got all hot and bothered.

Designed for indoor or outdoor use, the fan comes with three attachments: a high speed fan, a water misting head, and a cooling paddle, which can lower your skin temperature by up to nine degrees.

Having heard so much hype around this product on social media, I was excited to see whether this could make a serious difference to my comfort in the heat.

Although the Pill comes in six colours, I ordered the Iced Latte colour, which I’m pleased to report goes well with a whole range of summer outfits (if you care about that…).

I’m a creature of habit, so the idea of having three heads to choose from is slightly intimidating. If there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s that I’m only going to use one of them at a time – and obsessively.

You’ll never catch me carrying all three heads in my bag, so I knew I had about 48 hours to figure out which head I preferred before I settled on the one it came with (the fan head).

Luckily, there’s a heatwave going on – in case you hadn’t noticed – so I had plenty of opportunity to experiment.

After fully charging the Pill, which takes around 3.5 hours from an empty battery, I loaded it up with the mist head.

I have curly hair, which requires a careful balance of adding and avoiding moisture to prevent frizz, so I predicted that would be the head I’d use the most.

The package comes with three spare wicks, and the mist head is loaded with one already, so all you have to do is add water to the head and add it on to the fan.

To turn the Pill on, you switch the button on the side, click the black screen head, and twist it clockwise to increase the intensity.

This head allows you to run the fan and mist at the same time, and clicking on the screen once will provide a constant stream of mist, while two clicks means it will be expelled in pulses.

To make sure it’s travel-friendly, you can either rest it against the table and angle the head towards you, or hold it as a handle. In this instance, I used the handle to get precise with where the water was going.

As expected, I didn’t love the sensation of being sprayed with water while at home, but when I used it again at a weekend picnic, it was just what I needed to cool me down between copious amounts of day drinking.

Next, I used the basic fan head. Unsurprisingly, this is the most versatile for using when at your desk or during your commute.

The fan has 10 intensities, and on the lower settings, it’s perfectly quiet, meaning it won’t distract your colleagues if you balance it on your desk.

But, when you’re out and about you’ll likely want to use it on the higher settings, and let’s just say it’s not exactly subtle.

To be fair, you probably won’t be thinking about noise when you’re dripping with sweat on the bus, but it’s worth keeping in mind that you might get a couple of side eyes from your fellow commuters – not least because they’re jealous of your chill.

Honestly, I wish I’d tried the cooling plate head sooner, but I avoided it because it looks pretty unassuming.

Let this be your millionth reminder to never judge a book by its cover, because as soon as I used the paddle head while running an event that required me to carry boxes during 34 degree heat, I realised I was very in the wrong.

Instead of blowing air, this paddle collects the coolness from the fan so it makes the area of your skin you hold it against up to nine degrees cooler.

Clicking the screen once will make it slightly cool, and two clicks will enable cooler settings.

It sounds too good to be true, I know, but I am pleased to confirm this was exceptionally life changing. Not only does it provide a welcome shock of icy cold during a hot day, but it has a real lasting impact on your body temperature.

• Easy to hold
• Fits in your bag
• Battery lasts up to 11 hours
• Strong and cools you down effectively
• Easy to change the heads
• Great that you can balance it on the table

• A little noisy on the higher settings
• Cooling plate and mist heads last up to only an hour on higher settings

After testing this fan for the last three months, I’m pleased to say I am now an electric fan convert. Sorry to my paper fan, but it just doesn’t do quite as good of a job.

I’m a huge fan (sorry, had to be done) of the several settings the Pill comes with. While I can’t say I’m rushing to use the fan head on transport, the cooling plate is more than enough for a refreshing boost, and I know when I’m at the beach the misting head will make me extremely popular.

Huge props have to be given to its battery life: although it will run out in a matter of hours if you’re using it on the high settings constantly, it took a while for my Pill to run out after its initial charge.

If you’re not sure about its bulkiness in your bag, don’t worry, because Shark has also made a whole range of accessories than make carrying it much easier, including a wrist strap and clip attachment.

My only advice would be to move quickly, it’s already sold out twice already, and with another heatwave set to hit at the weekend, it’ll definitely sell out again!