Shark Flexbreeze fan review: “I don’t know how I ever slept without it”

While we don't get long summers in the UK, when we do get spells of warm weather, it's VERY warm so we need a good quality fan to help make it a bit more bearable for us. For the last couple of months, we've been very thankful to put the Shark Flexbreeze Fan to the test to see if it could keep us cool during the summer.

You probably most know the Shark brand for their high-performance vacuum cleaners, and more recently, their side step into hair tools (like the Shark FlexStyle), but they've recently ventured into the world of air treatment with the Shark FlexBreeze fan.

The Shark Fan is an indoor and outdoor fan that offers 12 combinations of use. You can use it cordless, tabletop or pedestal, and so much more, plus there are five fan speeds, 180-degree oscillation and 55-degree tilt to keep you cool to your preference, wherever you are. Sounds great, right? To find out whether it would match up to these great claims, our Senior Home & Pets Writer, Rosie Floyd, put it to the test for Yours.

How we tested the Shark Flexbreeze Fan

Before I could go about testing the Shark fan, I had to assemble it first. Luckily, it was SUPER easy as the instructions were very easy to follow. It came with the base, pedestal pole and fan in separate bits and for the most part, it was just a case of slotting each part together until it clicked. You did need to put a screw in the base to connect the bottom part of the pole but it was simply tightened in place with an Allen key, which is provided. I'd say the set-up took five minutes if that.

I am a hot sleeper so I'd say I sleep with a fan on for a good 95 per cent of the year. I live in a new build house so while it's good for keeping the heat in during the depths of winter, from spring to autumn, the temperature can get pretty unbearable at night. Before the Shark fan came into my life, I was using a floor fan that was quite noisy and after a while would overheat so I was always scared to leave it running overnight in case it overheated. That's why when the opportunity came to test the Shark Flexbreeze, I jumped at it. I have used the Shark Flexbreeze Fan nightly since mid-May on varying fan speeds and oscillation speeds as the temperatures have increased and decreased.

As well as using the fan while I've slept, I've also used this fan in my home office to keep me nice and cool while I type away at my laptop as well as in my living room to bring the temperature down while I relax in the evenings. When I've been using it in my home, I've switched between using it as a pedestal fan and a tabletop fan to suit the occasion.

As the Shark Flexbreeze can be used cordlessly and outdoors too, I've taken the fan out into my garden on the odd occasion it's been nice enough to sit outside and also popped the misting attachment on to get the full cooler effect.

Testing the Shark Flexbreeze Fan: Indoors

At night

The fan comes with around half a battery's worth of charge so you can use it cordless straightaway but Shark recommends you use it plugged into the mains for your first use to charge the battery fully. From then, it took around an hour to be completely charged so I could use it for my first night's sleep. The first thing I noticed was how quiet the fan was. Coming from my old floor fan that sounded like it was going to take off at any moment on even the lowest setting, the Shark Flexbreeze sounds quieter than a whisper. You could only just about hear it from the third fan setting and even then, it's not loud. I can pop it up to full wack and it's not noisy enough that it would disturb you from getting to sleep.

I've mostly used the fan on the lowest two settings while I've been sleeping the past couple of months and I've found that's been powerful enough to keep my bedroom cool for the whole night. On the odd occasion where we've had temperatures in the late 20s (and where my house has reached temperatures of mid-30s!), I've whacked the fan up to the full fan setting and the maximum oscillating degree to get the room nice and cool before I attempt to sleep.

I get a bit paranoid about leaving electricals plugged in overnight, especially as my old floor fan would constantly overheat, so I like that the Shark fan can also be used cordlessly so I have the option of using it throughout the night without being plugged in for peace of mind. I could have it unplugged for the full eight hours I've been sleeping and the battery indicated light would still be flashing at 99-51 per cent charged.

During the day

I haven't just used the Shark Flexbreeze fan while asleep. I've actually used it mostly during the day to keep my dog, Gina, cool and she's enjoyed many an hour lying on my pillows with the gentle breeze blowing against her fur. I have of course used it on myself during the day when we've actually had spells of warm weather to bask in.

Weighing just over 5.6kg, the Shark fan is fairly lightweight and I can easily carry it with one hand, even when it's attached to the pedestal base. Due to its design, it can be a little awkward to carry it this way and to make it simpler, you could click the fan out of the base and carry the fan and the base separately but I'm just lazy.

Depending on how warm it is, I've switched it up between using it as a pedestal fan and a tabletop fan while working in my home office. With my laptop and screen all plugged in, I don't have any spare plug sockets going free so I've been able to take full advantage of being able to use it cordlessly, which I haven't been able to do with any other fan I've had in the past, and put it smack bang in the middle of the floor. Even after a night and a full eight-hour day of using the fan cordlessly, it never fully lost power and died.

When I want to keep the whole room cool rather than directing the air straight at me, I've converted it into a tabletop fan. This is so straightforward to do as you just click a button behind the pedestal pole and pull the fan straight out and it has four legs that you can separate (similar to a camera tripod) to allow it to sit sturdily as a desktop fan on a table, sideboard or chest of drawers. You can then manually tilt the fan head to ensure the breeze is directed exactly where you want it. I can feel how powerful the breeze is from even the opposite side of the room on a medium fan setting and my colleagues haven't noticed I've had it on during calls so it must be super quiet too. I've also been able to take full advantage of the remote control it comes with when it's been in this mode so when I'm working away and don't want to interrupt myself too much to increase the fan speed.

Testing the Shark Flexbreeze fan: Outdoors

As I've mentioned previously, one of the biggest features of the Shark Flexbreeze is that it can be used cordlessly, which means you can take the fan outside to keep you cool while dining alfresco or kick back with a cooling drink. I easily managed to carry the Shark fan down my stairs and out into my garden and used it in exactly the same way I've used it in the house while I've sat on my garden furniture.

One thing that can make all the difference when using the fan outdoors is the mister attachment. You just click it to your fan and attach your hosepipe and it will release a cooling mist of water while the fan oscillates around your garden. I found this pretty simple to do and it took all of two minutes to have it all connected up. In terms of the mist the fan released, it definitely made me feel cooler while sat near it but I think it worked better when sitting away from the fan as if you're sat too close, you do get a bit wet.

Shark Flexbreeze fan review: Final verdict:

Overall, I think the Shark Flexbreeze fan is really impressive and worth its £200 price tag (and definitely a rival to Dyson's tower fan). I don't know how I ever slept without it! For a hot sleeper like me, it's kept me more than adequately cool for the last few months and saved me from hours of tossing and turning from being too warm. The fact it's super quiet, even on the higher fan and oscillating speeds, means you're not going to be kept awake from the sound of the blades whizzing away.

The stand-out feature for me is the fact that it's cordless. You don't have to be limited by where there's a power socket, you can place the fan in the place that works best for you to feel the cooling effects. This cordless feature means that it's ultra-portable so you can take it with you from room to room and outside too. You could also take it to a garden party or with you camping, and it even comes with a protective cover you can pack it in. I think if you were to take it with you while out and about, you'd want to use it in tabletop mode. The fan head itself doesn't take up much room but if you were to take the base, it's a bit awkward and doesn't fold down for ease of portability.

As well as the portability, I also like that you've got the option of using the Shark Flexbreeze as either a pedestal fan or tabletop fan to give you even more versatility in how you use it. When using it in tabletop mode up high, it can cool down a room in a matter of minutes and the 180-degree oscillation allows air to circulate around it quickly. The fan head does look a little big to be a tabletop fan so it can look a little top-heavy but the legs of the fan are strong enough that toppling over is never going to be an issue.

Rosie Floyd is a Senior Home & Pets Product Writer for Yours, specialising in home appliances, décor and furnishings, as well as all things dogs. After completing her Journalism & Media degree from Coventry University back in 2015, she started her career writing about must-visit holiday destinations, moving on to creating content around outdoor living and garden buildings, before joining the team at Bauer.