REVIEW – In preparation for my county’s fair it was almost perfect timing that TORRAS provided the Coolify Zone Wearable Fan to test / evaluate. Can a device, worn at one’s waist effectively cool one down while walking around in a blistering summer heat? Exactly how effective is the TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan in accomplishing this task? Read on to discover my findings.
What is it?
The TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan is a USB-C charged, battery-powered device, coupled with a phase change material, with the claim that it can provide hours of cool breeze, at the click of a button.
What’s in the box?
The TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan arrives in what I will certify as Apple-level packaging as everything arrives in one sleek box, with everything in its proper place. A very good unboxing experience.
- Wearable Fan
- Short Waist Strap
- Long Waist Strap
- USB-A to USB-C Charging Cable
- Owner’s Manual – Extremely small print
- Quick Start Guide – Very Readable
- Product Warranty Scan card
Hardware specs
- Short Waist Strap – waist sizes from 21.65” to 29.92”
- Long Waist Strap – waist sizes from 29.92” to 46.46”
- Running Time – 5-15 hours
- Wattage – 10 Watts
- Noise Level – 31 dB
- Cooling Area – 12.9 square inches
- Phase Change Material
- Speed Settings – Three via sequential button pushes
- Battery Level Indication – Three LEDs
- Approximate dimensions – 2” D x 8” W x 1.8” H
- Weight – 10.6 oz
Design and features
The design of the TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan is very simple and elegant. The included waist straps (2), most people would need to use the longer one, are very easy to attach and detach, and very easy to adjust. The primary interface to the device is a very easy to locate single button that cycles through the three speeds from off, to low, medium, and high. Based on the length of time the unit will work, I am thinking that each setting is close to a doubling of the previous setting. I verified that the unit would work for a full 5 hours if running on high the entire time. I ran it continuously on the lowest setting and it ran for close to 15 hours.
One thing that I also want to point out is that fan inputs are protected by the front plastic cover. This prevents little fingers, or a shirt if the unit is worn under a shirt, from blocking the fan inputs. The outputs are also very well protected. One would be hard pressed for something to unintentionally fall into either opening while in operation.
The other main feature is what TORRAS specifies as a revolutionary phase change material. Now I am not any kind of material expert so I cannot intelligently speak to the ability of this unidentified material, which is a solid at room temperature (say 76 degrees and anything lower) and will phase change (melt), if those are the right terms, into a liquid when heated to at least the normal body temperature (98.6° F). When removed from the body, it will phase change (freeze) back into its solid self. It seemed to begin to melt at around 83 degrees if just sitting outside, not in the direct sunlight.
Setup
Setup for the TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan could not be any easier. Charge it to full using either the supplied charging cable, or one you might have lying around, attach the corresponding waist band, put it around your waist, and hit the front button to select the desired fan speed and you are good to go. It is worth mentioning that there is no supplied USB-A brick, which should not be a big deal for most users.
The charge port is protected by a rubber dust flap which swings out and stays attached to the device during charging. The three battery level LEDs operate as one would expect in that the current battery level LED blinks to indicate where the unit is in the process of a full charging cycle.
The design to have the charge port on the bottom of the device is a good choice as the location prevents sweat from a heavy sweating wearer to penetrate the charge port. Unfortunately, the battery level LEDs are right next to the charge port, which again is located on the bottom and thus prevents the user from seeing the current battery level without either rotating the bottom upright or removing the device all together to see the current battery level.
Performance
Overall the TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan worked flawlessly, in that the fan spins when on and the unit can be securely attached to one’s mid-section. I am not a runner, so I can’t really say how secure the fan feels when jogging/running, but my guess is that it could be a challenge given the stretchiness and the weight of the unit. The single long button interface allows for the fan controls to be controlled without having to see the button to locate it, as it can be discovered just by touch, even through one’s shirt. Again, while the battery level LEDs are positioned fine for charging, as mentioned above they are poorly positioned for monitoring while in actual use since they are on the bottom of the unit, and thus requires the unit to be removed to view those LEDs if being worn say under a shirt while the unit is in operation.
One thing that is super important using this product is the position of the fan on your body. If the fan cannot be placed in a location where it blows up into your face, the wearer may not feel the breeze at all. My wife mentioned that a well-endowed woman would have trouble feeling any breeze if the unit were placed below her natural, or surgically enhanced said endowment. Oh, and she did not use the word endowment.
I wore the TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan while mowing the lawn, with the wearable fan under my shirt, and the phase change material against my belly. While I could feel the breeze, it was not super noticeable while I was mowing. I had the fan on the highest setting the entire time I was doing this. What I did notice was the sound level of the device when the mower stopped. I think it is a little bit on the noisy side on the highest setting. I did not have any way to measure the actual noise level, but I would think at the highest setting, people very close by, like in a crowd, say waiting in line for something, would undoubtedly have little trouble hearing the running device.
With respect to the revolutionary phase change material, I could not really measure this phenomenon in a meaningful way. When wearing the TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan, I really did not feel any kind of noticeable ongoing cooling effect. I mean sure, the unit is cool upon first touch with one’s body, but I did not feel an ongoing cooling effect after the solid transferred into a liquid. The material definitely does not provide any cooling to the air that is being accelerated through the fan. Now that would be revolutionary and cool. My guess is that while that material might be able to somehow consume heat during the phase transition to a liquid and consume heat to maintain the liquid state, the amount of heat and volume of my body compared to the volume of that material in the device just does not allow it to continuously cool the body it is touching in any meaningful way. Just my opinion. I definitely did not, as the advertisement stated, “experience indoor temperatures outdoor with air conditioning-level cooling technology.” from their webpage. In fact, it was not even close.
What I like
- Very good battery life
- Nice looking
- Good user interface
What I’d change
- Highest fans speed is too noisy
- Better location for Battery Level LEDs
Final thoughts
Overall, the TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan performed about as I expected the more I thought about it. While wearing it, if you position yourself just right, you can feel the breeze just fine, however it should be no surprise that a poorly positioned fan or posture can almost completely negate any cooling effect the fan may have while being worn. That said, wearing it is a very convenient way to carry the fan around when not in use. The buckling and unbuckling of the strap is so easy that the fan can then be just held, pointing to the area that the user is trying to cool. The long battery life allows the fan to be used for an almost entire day, depending on the speed setting of course. The TORRAS Coolify Zone Wearable Fan contains two turbo fan outputs one on each side, which allows for a softer wider pleasant breeze, vs. a narrow harsher one that accompanies many of the battery-operated fans on the market.
Price: $129.00
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by TORRAS.
