The Best Handheld and Wearable Fans for People Who Hate Being Sweaty

This no-nonsense neck fan looks a little bit like headphones, with a 5000 mAh battery and five speeds. I like that it’s super-lightweight and comfortable if you need to wear it for long periods—I wore it during a day-long hike around New Orleans’ Garden District and Audubon Park, and I frequently wear it while playing pickleball. However, the ends don’t adjust or angle, so if you don’t like where the air is directed, there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s also not too loud; around 40 decibels on low. Color options on Amazon are limited, but if you buy direct from JisuLife you have access to more options like navy, forest green, and pink. —Kat Merck

Like heated vests and socks, clothing with built-in cooling is becoming more streamlined, functional, and fashionable. This jacket from Ororo looks like your standard windbreaker, save for the two circular fans on the lower back. You turn them on (there are three levels of airflow) with a button on a cord that attaches to a chargeable battery in the pocket, and you can remove the fans, cord, and battery when it’s time to wash the jacket. The cooling sensation is surprisingly strong and the fans aren’t too heavy or annoyingly loud—the only downside is the back and sides puff up like you’d expect when the fans are on.

The jacket itself is comfortable, made from a stretchy, lightweight, abrasion-resistant fabric, with five pockets, an adjustable hem, and the option to zip off the sleeves and convert it to a short-sleeved jacket. The battery works for 5.5 hours on the high setting and 9.5 hours on the low setting. I’d choose this jacket over waist and belt fans for superior upper body cooling and comfort, if you can deal with looking a little like the Michelin Man. —Kristin Canning

This fan was a great companion during a late-summer parade, providing some airflow without much noise. I appreciate that the fan blades are soft, and they stop automatically if they hit something—it’s the type of fan you could hand off to a kid without much worry. It can also stand up on a table, and when folded, easily fits in a small purse or clutch. It comes in pretty pastel colors and has tiny, pointed ears, with a button that looks like some kind of cute creature, though I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be an owl or a cat.

At only four ounces and with a small lanyard, you could definitely attach this fan to your phone or keychain to always have it at the ready. It has 10 to 17 hours of battery life, depending on which of the two speeds you use. I wish the higher speed was stronger—it helped provide some relief during a parade, but it didn’t totally prevent sweating, like the PlayHot Handheld Turbo Fan. Still, for the price, size, and low noise level, it’s a decent cooling option. This Aecooly fan ($10) is also a small, slim, pocket- or purse-sized option. —Kristin Canning

This fan has little plastic ears and a printed-on bear mouth and produces a pretty strong breeze for its size, at 472 feet per minute (measured with my anemometer). It’s quiet (44 dB on low) and lightweight at 4 ounces, making it easy to slip into a pocket, and the blades immediately stop spinning if they come in contact with an object, which makes this a safe fan for kids to use. (Though annoying if you're walking and holding it close to your face, which it will inevitably bump.)

I also found the battery life to be pretty solid, and appreciate that a light on the bottom doubles as a flashlight. A USB-C port on the back makes it a portable power bank. However, note that the 2,000-mAh battery isn't the strongest, and lasts about one phone charge. If the blue pictured here isn't your thing, there are seven other options, including two shades of pink, mint green, and orange. —Kat Merck

If you're serious about cooling down, no handheld fan I've tried has worked as well as this misting fan with 100 speeds and a digital touchscreen. It supposedly can cool skin down to 18 degrees Fahrenheit, and while I was not able to quantify this exact number, it is effective enough that my teen son has since refused to use any other handheld fan but this one, effectively ending his tenure as one of my testing helpers.

The mist is so fine that it will not wet fabric or any other surfaces, and it's got a little loop at the bottom so you can hang it if need be. It also doubles as a phone charger—or a duster or pool-toy inflator with the included magnetic attachments. The only downside is the sound, a high-pitched jet-engine whine common to these fans. I recommend using the misting feature to avoid using the fan at higher speeds, as my ears began to ring if I used it on high for more than 20 minutes or so. —Kat Merck

This fan is so strong it’s almost comical—1,614 feet per minute on my anemometer. (For reference, this is stronger than a typical full-sized fan.) It also emits a high-pitched whine not unlike a jet engine (60 decibels on its lowest setting), and its mallet-like shape makes it too bulky to slip into a pocket. However, it does double as a power bank and a flashlight, and it’s got a short carrying lanyard you can attach to make it slightly less unwieldy. The 9,000-mAh battery is also a plus. Jisulife says this can last up to 25 hours, which I have no reason to doubt, as I’ve been using it off and on for three weeks and the battery has yet to run out. —Kat Merck

This periscope-shaped “powerful turbo air tube” won both a Red Dot and iF Design award last year, and the curved shape is both easy to transport and hold. I also like that there are no rotors or blades to knock into, and the airflow was impressive for a hand fan—807 feet per minute on high (there are six speeds total). It doesn’t double as a flashlight or phone charger, but it does come with a digital display, which shows you the battery and speed levels, and a short lanyard for carrying. Don’t plan on using this one if you’re going to have a conversation, though, as it was over 50 decibels on low. —Kat Merck