Dyson Pure Cool Me Personal Purifier Fan Review
Dyson’s personal cooling and air purifier solution is a luxury for one.
James Dyson is a one-man army waging war ondust bunnies and harmful air pollutants. A mad scientist of sorts, Dysonâs life mission has been to harness the power of cyclonic separation to improve the air quality for everyday people like you and I. Dysonâs latest addition to its arsenal of air assault technology is the Dyson Pure Cool Me; a personal air-purifying fan intended for solo use. The question is: does this pricey personal fan justify its premium price tag, or has James Dyson become utterly consumed by the power of air bending? Let’s find out in our Dyson Pure Cool Me review.
Is the Dyson Pure Cool Me worth the money?
Look, thereâs room in the world for the Dyson Pure Cool Me. It aims to solve the age-old Goldilocks conundrum that every couple or roommate runs into at some stage. When one person runs cold and the other hot, there arenât a lot of personal cooling solutions out there that arenât a handheld fan from Hot Dollar, or a damp flannel towel. The domestic battle for climate control is never-ending.
With that said, Iâm just not sure the issue is contentious enough to require a (nearly) $500 solution. If it is a major issue in your household, or you simply want a top-quality fan with air-purification features, Dysonâs air control technology is unrivalled. But the Dyson Pure Cool Meâs missing features, such as app connectivity and air quality monitoring, make me question the premium price tag.
The goods
What we like about the Dyson Pure Cool Me
- Conveniently sized
- Impressive cooling
- Top-of-the-line air filtering
Coming into October, Spring has been slow to rise. Sydney has had its fair share of sunshine over the last few weeks but itâs still sweater weather; Spring hasnât necessarily sprung. Still, there have been a few days where Iâve been able to put the Dyson Pure Cool Meâs claims to the test. Hereâs what weâve liked about it so far.
Convenient size
The bulk of the Dyson Pure Cool Me is about the size of a paper bin. Itâs roughly 24cm wide at the base and stands close to 40cm tall. Itâs a good fit for my bedside table, but a little too large to justify space on my cluttered desk. Itâs compact size also makes it incredibly easy to lug around the house.
Itâs powered by an easily concealed AC power cord with a chunky power pack at the connection end (which is a little unwieldy for my tiny bedside powerboard) but it’s the same connection as my Dyson V10 stick vacuum; which has saved me from shuffling valuable powerboard real estate when Iâve moved the Pure Cool Me to the living room.
Impressive cooling
Whatâs there to say about Dysonâs revolutionary cooling technology that hasnât been said before. Without getting too much into the technical side of things, Dysonâs trademark Core Flow technology blasts multiple jets of air directly at one point of convection. When the combined air streams meet, they fire a powerful, focused stream of air. On the Dyson Pure Me, the point of convection is at the centre of the large round face at the top of the fan.
The best analogy I can think of is the popular boy band One Direction. Alone, solo members, like Zayne Malik and Harry Styles are a cool breeze on a sunny day. Together, they form One Direction (point of convection), a force powerful enough to blow your panties off.
And just like One Direction, Dysonâs Core Flow technology canât be faulted. Youâve never had a personal fan like anything Dyson has created and in many ways, the top-tier cooling may be worth the price tag alone. There are 10 speeds, 70-degree oscillation and a 9-hour timer, all controlled by a compact remote. As someone who runs hot, even its these cooler months, reviewing the Dyson Pure Cool Me has been a personal indulgence. Iâd be interested to see if this compact cooling device can handle the heat as we begin to move towards Summer.
Top-of-the-line air filtering
Another tried and true technology: the HEPA air filter. Medical-grade HEPA filters were originally designed to filter out radioactive particles and are commonly used in environments where sterile conditions are required; hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturing, etc.
Basically, itâs the real deal.
There are a lot of HEPA imitations on the market. These are sold as âHEPA-typeâ filters that claim to filter with the same efficiency without stating the particle size they are capable of removing, meaning finer pollutants, like smoke and smog, can slip through the cracks.
True HEPA filters are classified into five categories, graded by how efficient they are at removing particles. While Dyson doesnât explicitly state the HEPA grade of the Dyson Pure Cool Me filter, it does claim to work with 99.95% efficiency for particles as small as 0.1 micron (smog, viruses, tobacco smoke etc.) which would make it HEPA H13, the second most efficient HEPA filter for residential use.
This isnât some pseudo-scientific garbage created to sell more Dyson fans, HEPA filters are legit. If you or someone under your roof suffer from asthma or severe allergic reactions air pollutants, I canât recommend a HEPA filter enough. Itâs not a silver bullet but it should help you breathe easier at home.
Itâs a fascinating and effective technology to have packed into a personal cooling solution but it’s far from a fully-featured air purifier (more on that in a moment).
The not-so-goods
What the Dyson Pure Cool Me could do better
- Personal product at a premium price
- Directional cooling limited
- Lacking typical air purifier features
Taking it personally
The Dyson Pure Cool Meâs whole schtick is that itâs intended to cool one person and one person only. Sure, it oscillates in a 70-degree arc but it was built for solo use. The thing is, $499 is a lot of money to spend in order to satisfy one individualâs erratic body temperature.
If thereâs a white-hot tension in your household over who gets to control the AC temperature, there is probably a deeper issue that a $499 Dyson just isnât going to fix.
Limited scope
Iâve mentioned that the Dyson Pure Cool Me has 70-degree oscillation but there are also two vertical settings: horizontal and tilted upwards. Those two settings donât allow for much flexibility; you have to be level with the airflow or just slightly elevated above it but you canât angle it down. This is me being nitpicky by if you want to change the angle, you have to do it manually.
I get that the Dyson Pure Cool Me is intended for one person but still, you expect a little flexibility for nearly $500.
Just not âappening
The top-shelf HEPA air filtering might be doing a bang-up job of removing air pollutants from your apartment but you wouldnât know it when using the Dyson Pure Cool Me.
Many air purifiers these days, like the Philips AC1215, have an air quality sensor that detects airborne particles and automatically kicks the fan into overdrive to clear the air faster. Philipsâ air purifier, in particular, has an LED ring that glows red when a bad allergen and particle level is detected and blue when a good level is reached.
In my experience, watching the Philips do its thing is incredibly reassuring.
I live right next to a very busy set of traffic lights and, like clockwork, the Philips air purifier will go into red alert during peak traffic hours because it can detect the poor air quality at that time of the day. Same goes if I burn a batch of brownies.
If you had any doubts about the hard work air purifiers actually do, something like the Philips is going to set your mind at ease. And the Philips will only set you back $249.
The Dyson Pure Cool Me doesnât have an air quality sensor or any way to communicate how many allergens and pollutants are in the air. You just have to trust that itâs getting the job done. For what itâs worth, I totally do. Itâs just comforting to have access to that kind of information.
Dysonâs pricier purifiers have that function and as a result, are compatible with the Dyson Link app, which gives you all the information above and more. The Pure Cool Me is not compatible with Dyson Link app. So outside of its sleep timer, thereâs no way to schedule its daily cycle.