Shark ChillPill Review

Design and Features

• Three cooling options
• Clever and intuitive controls
• Charges via USB-C

Don’t be put off by the fairly muted colour scheme of the ChillPill I have for review; the fan’s also available in a wide range of bolder, more exciting colours, with enough choice that you’ll definitely find something you like.

You’ll notice that the ChillPill doesn’t look like a traditional personal fan; it has two barrels joined by a central hinge.

It’s a very practical design, with the larger barrel holding the fan, with the top taking the interchangeable heads (Fan Cap, Misting Pod and InstaChill Cooling Plate).

The smaller barrel, which holds the controls and battery, acts as a handle. Thanks to the joint in the middle, the fan can easily be directed where you want it to go, whether you’re left- or right-handed.

If you prefer, the fan can be twisted to be perpendicular to the handle, and placed on a desk for directed, hands-free cooling.

Shark also sells a range of accessories to make the ChillPIll hands-free in other situations, including a sling-strap, wrist strap and clip so that you can use the fan on a bike’s handlebar, pram or practically anywhere else.

Shark provides a soft carry case as standard, which is only big enough to take the ChillPill and one accessory. If you want to take the other heads with you, you’ll need to carry them separately.

Charging is via the USB-C port beneath a sealed flap. A green icon flashes on the smart screen, showing that the fan’s charging. While charging, the fan mode can be used, but not the cooling plate.

Using the ChillPill is very easy. There’s a main switch that turns the battery on and off. It’s there as a safety precaution to prevent accidental turn-ons while carrying the fan around.

Once turned on, the screen on top of the smaller barrel in to turn the unit on, and a long-press turns it off. Controls slightly vary depending on the head attached.

With the Fan Cap, the neat, clear screen, shows the current fan speed. Just turn the outer ring, which clicks into place for each step, to move through the ten fan speeds.

If you want direct cooling, there’s the InstaChill Cooling Plate, which has two cooling modes, which you cycle through by clicking the screen. You can then hold the plate to your body to cool you down: wrists, forehead, back of the neck or chest are good places.

Shark doesn’t say how the plate works, but I’d guess that it’s a piezoelectric system, cooling the metal down below ambient temperature. It’s similar to the cooling pads on the Shark CryoGlow. Either mode lasts for a maximum of eight minutes

Using the Misting Pod is a bit more advanced. Designed to blow a cooling mist spray at you, this attachment first needs its compartment to be filled with water, soaking the wick in the middle. There’s one wick installed, and three more in the box.

Shark says that wicks should be replaced monthly. It’s quite a fiddly job to do. I could just about get enough grip on the old wick to pull it out, but I almost resorted to using a pair of long pliers to get into the gap. 

Shark recommends cleaning the compartment with white vinegar, leaving it to sit for five to seven minutes, before rinsing it out a few times. The new wick is then easy to add, just pushing it into the holder in the middle.

Once ready for use, the Misting Pod needs its aperture opening at the top (when closed, it prevents water leaking out).

With this accessory attached, the ChillPill lets you adjust fan speed, as when using the Fan Cap, but it also has two misting modes accessed by clicking the screen: constant (around five minutes of use) or interval (pulses of mist that last up to 10 minutes).

If you need a longer session and you’re out and about, you’ll need to bring water with you.

Performance

• More flexible than much of the competition
• Directional airflow
• Battery up to 11 hours

Most personal fans are designed for close-up use, but the ChillPill is a little more flexible. If you do hold it, then expect everything from a gentle breeze to a full on blast. I measured airflow at 1m/sec from 5cm away on speed one, and a very powerful 4.6m/sec at speed 10.

Putting the ChillPill on a desk, I measured the same speeds at a distance of 15cm. Although I could feel a gentle breeze on speed one, the air wasn’t moving fast enough for my anemometer to pick up anything. 

Bumping the speed up to 10, I got a blitz of air moving at 4m/sec, which is incredibly powerful for such a small fan.

Of course, unlike with a larger, battery-powered fan, such as the MeacoFan Sefte 8″ Portable Battery Air Circulator, the ChillPill’s airflow is very directional and there’s a definite sweet spot that you have to sit in. That’s not an issue. After all, the ChillPill is a personal fan.

I measured sound at the same distance at a low 42.1dB on the lowest fan speed (just a gentle whir), and 67.9dB on the highest setting (a more intense noise but not too distracting).

The battery will last between 1.5 and 11 hours, so you should be able to manage for even longer train journeys on just the one charge.

I then switched to the Misting Pod, which has the same airflow settings, but also sends a gentle jet of mist towards you. It’s enough mist to help cool, but not enough water to get anything drenched, so you can use this option inside, outside, or even when sitting on the Tube or a train.

I managed to test this option on one of March’s rare warm days. Sat inside my garden office, which hit 28°C, the Misting Pod provided just enough of a cooling blast to take the edge off.

Using the Misting Pod reduces battery life: at fan speed 1, you’ll get around four hours, dropping to one hour at fan speed 10.

I then used the InstaChill Cooling Plate. I couldn’t measure the temperature of the plate’s surface, as the reflective surface confuses the infrared thermometer. What I can say is that the plate is noticeably cooler than the ambient temperature, but warm enough that it’s not a shock to place it on your body or head.

It’s a nice effect: the cooling plate gently made be feel cooler, and it’s also nice to use for a headache.

It’s not silent in this mode: on the lowest setting, the fan runs at a gentle speed (even though the InstaChill blocks airflow); on the highest setting, the fan ramps up to full speed.

Should you buy it?