Before you know it, summer will be upon us. If you live in places like California, it sometimes feels like summer never really left. Hot and arid climates make air conditioning a welcome comfort. However, staying indoors isn’t always fun. So, companies have made devices that help you stay cool on the go.
When searching for gadgets to keep me and my kids cool outdoors, I found mostly battery powered fans combined with spray bottles. These work by misting yourself with water and using the fan to evaporatively cool you.
Although this solution can work well, the spraying can also effectively get my camera and other gadgets wet in the process which is no bueno.
Then, I discovered a device that seemed gimmicky at first but after reading the reviews I thought I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did.
The Handy Cooler is a battery powered turbine that evaporatively cools the air flowing through its water dampened “Cooling Filter” rather than by dousing your body with water directly to later evaporate off with a fan.
I’ll admit that when I first unboxed it, I was less than confident it would work as advertised. HandyCooler claims
that it cools the air flowing out up to 30 F. To my surprise and delight, I found the air to be very cool blowing out. It really is like a mini air-conditioner.
The water in the cooling filter does evaporate quickly however, especially in dry weather. Thankfully, the device comes with a little squirt bottle to keep water with me. It holds a measured amount of water (60 ml) to rehydrate the filter up to two times.
The Helpy Features:
The Handy Cooler can run on 4 AA rechargeable batteries. This brings some cost savings and keeps some batteries out of landfills. But the best part is it also runs from USB.
The ability to run from USB power I find to be its Helpiest feature as it enables me to power the Handy Cooler from just about everything. I can plug it into my computer and use it at my desk, power it from a USB smartphone charger (car and wall), and even run it for hours from my Mophie Powerstation on a single charge.
With hot days approaching (or already here), the Handy Cooler may help you bring a little indoor comfort to your outdoor adventures.
The Handy Cooler Portable Mini Air Conditioner
is $40.
The Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation
