CIVPOWER Neck Fan Review: how effective is this wearable neck fan?

Price on writing: £33 | Buy now from Amazon

If you love the summer but not the hot and sticky days that come with it, neck fans offer a way of keeping cool and refreshed while you go about your day. Where a larger tower fan can help you feel cooler at home, a portable fan sits around your neck like a pair of headphones blowing air on your face and neck. Unlike even the best handheld fans, neck fans leave you hands-free, so they can be worn while doing anything from the school run to a dog walk, even during a workout.

There are two types of neck fans on the market - bladed and bladeless. The best ones have a decent battery life that will last throughout the day, fans that provide a good flow of air around your neck and face and are comfortable and lightweight for preventing you from overheating. So which ones are the best? We put some of the top rated neck fans to the test, including the CIVPOWER neck fan. Our tester Sam used it across the course of a week rating it on its effectiveness against hot flushes, how long the batteries lasted, ease of use, and overall value for money.

Read next: The best neck fans, tried and tested

Our verdict

• Effectiveness 8/10

• Ease of use 9/10

• Value for money 6/10
  

The CIVPOWER neck fan is lightweight enough to wear when you’re out and about or doing your jobs, providing a 360 degree flow of air around your neck and the back of your head. During testing, we found that it was effective at drying sweat from the back of neck and ears.

With bladeless fans that have multiple speeds and can be changed with one switch, we found the fan easy to use. While it’s not as flexible as other neck fans, such as the SLuB neck fan, we still found it comfortable to wear during testing and were very impressed with the long battery life that will help keep you feeling refreshed throughout the day. We don’t think it’s quite as good value for money as other similar fans though.

Read next: The best portable air conditioners for your home

What is the CIVPOWER neck fan?

Designed to be worn whether you’re working from home, rushing the kids to school or going on holiday, the CIVPOWER neck fan is a bladeless neck fan with air outlets that run around the neck and face to provide 360 degree flow of air. 

The turbo fans have multiple speeds and a battery that lasts up to 16 hours to help prevent you from overheating when you’re going about your day. You can choose from a range of colours to suit your tastes.

Read next: The best quiet fans for bedrooms

How easy is the CIVPOWER neck fan to use?

There are three wind speeds to choose from, which can be easily adjusted by pressing the on/off button. The bladeless fans are lightweight so feel comfortable when wearing around your neck, although there is no flexible part to the arms so while it won’t flap around, it’s not as easy to put on and take off.

The bladeless fans prevent long hair from getting caught and they are fairly quiet when in use. We tested the rose gold CIVPOWER neck fan, which our tester felt looked a bit cheap but there are eight colours to choose from so others may be better quality.

How effective is the CIVPOWER neck fan?

The dual turbo bladeless fans have 78 air outlets that run all around the arms to provide 360 degrees of airflow. During testing, we found that this nicely cooled the back of the head, but doesn’t provide as much air flow to the front. This made it more effective for cooling sweaty ears and drying hair at the nape of your neck than the face.

Related: The best cooling pillows for a great night's sleep

What’s the battery life like?

The battery can last for up to 16 hours, depending on the speed you use, which is very impressive and the longest of all the neck fans that we tested. This will provide more than enough battery to keep you feeling refreshed throughout the day and when it does run out, it can be easily recharged with the USB cable (as with all the other neck fans we tested).

Price: is the CIVPOWER neck fan worth it?

At £33 at the time of writing, it’s one of the most expensive fans we tested. With a choice of eight colours to choose from, a nice, lightweight design that fits comfortably and an impressive battery life, it could be a worthy investment for the summer months or if you’ve started to suffer from hot flushes. However, we’re not sure there’s enough difference to set it apart from lower-priced models we tested.

How we tested

Sam used the CIVPOWER neck fan across the course of a week. During testing, she carefully rated the fan on its effectiveness against hot flushes, how long the batteries lasted, the ease of use, and overall value for money:

• Tested across a week

• Used to combat hot flushes and hot temperatures

• Cross-compared with other neck fans 

All of the neck fans were tested under the same criteria and were compared together to help us determine which fans are the best products on the market right now.

About the author

Gemma Wilcock is a freelance writer and copywriter. At Mumsnet, she creates content providing useful parenting advice, information and top products to make life easier – as a mother of two children herself, Gemma knows how important it is to get the right advice. Gemma loves writing about subjects that will be helpful to the reader – and herself! - including recommending top products on Mumsnet that help parents in their day-to-day life, including compiling a round of the best neck fans on the market. She knows how important online reviews are when it comes to making a purchase so she always makes sure to thoroughly research every product so we are recommending the best ones on the market.