Shark's FlexBreeze HydroGo fan is fast becoming the cooling fan of the summer, and don't get me wrong, I'm full on board the hype train.
This thing is super quiet, incredibly versatile, and its portability is unmatched. It's also a decent price. Down from $249 to $199 at SharkClean.com, and reduced by £30 for U.K.-based readers (like me), I don't regret the investment.
I was so smitten with my new gadget that I broke it out this past weekend at a family BBQ to impress my parents-in-law. But then they asked about the misting feature, and that's where my evening took a turn.
I'd tested the misting feature on the HydroGo before, but from a distance, and very briefly. From my limited first impressions, I was a fan (pun intended). But if, like me, you want to stay in your in-laws' good books, maybe take it for a test run before you break it out at a family function.
It kept me cool, but left me drenched
I have the full-sized FlexBreeze HydroGo fan, which comes with a base that allows it to act as a pedestal fan. You can also lift it out of the base and fold out its four legs to take it on the go, or use it as a desk fan.
I can only thank some divine entity that I didn't opt for my white shirt that night, but my linen dress quickly became sodden with mist. My straightened hair sprang up into a cloud of frizz, and our rosé wine was quickly diluted into more of a spritz.
The water tank is super easy to attach. You simply fill the tank, twist the connecting tube to the back of your fan, and press the water button.
Shark gives you two levels of intensity to choose from (spoiler alert, they're both very intense) and there's also an intermittent misting function which will splutter to life every few seconds.
I will confess, the first few seconds were bliss. A cool spritz of water wafted around the table, followed by a strong jet of air which felt very refreshing.
But on the second spin of the fan's rotating setting, the "ooh's" and "aah's" turned to perturbed grumbles, followed by laughter. That's right. The fan totally drenched my in-laws.
I can only thank some divine entity that I didn't opt for my white shirt last night, but my linen dress quickly became sodden with mist. My straightened hair sprang up into a cloud of frizz, and our rosé wine was quickly diluted into more of a spritz.
Now, is this faux pas entirely my own fault? Yes, I believe it is. We were all sat around the table, which meant we were particularly close to the fan and its strong jet of water. If I wasn't a few glasses of rosé deep, I may have brought the pedestal out for a bit more distance.
But if you're imagining that the Shark HydroGo emits super-fine droplets of mist that will leave you lightly refreshed, beware. I wouldn't recommend anyone to sit within 10 feet of this thing, or everything from your phone to your glasses will become coated by a very not-fine layer of water.
A slippery situation
And I'm not alone. My colleague Jane McGuire was so tempted by the HydroGo that she bought it for herself, and after trying the misting function, she's sending it straight back.
"I bought the fan as I'd seen it all over Instagram," she told me, "and thought the misting feature would help keep my baby's room cool in the heatwave."
While Shark advises that you don't use this fan indoors, I'm among the people who immediately broke this rule when the fan arrived at their front door. After all, who doesn't want to be spritzed with cold water while sitting in front of the TV?
"When it arrived, I hadn't appreciated just how tiny it was, but thought it would be handy to move it around the house. I soon discovered the misting was absolutely not appropriate for keeping a baby or a dog cool. It was pretty aggressive and left me feeling soggy," Jane said.
The most exercise I get on a scorching summer day is the walk between my fridge, my coffee machine, and my office, but as our Fitness Editor, Jane is used to working up a sweat no matter the weather.
"Even when working out, I probably wouldn't want my yoga mat getting so wet", she said.
That does sound like a bit of a slippery situation.
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