As first-time parents who love to go outdoors, we knew a rotatable handheld personal fan was a must-have for our newborn baby.
We wanted an easily adjustable, powerful baby fan with long battery life. And that happened to be the Amacool Tripod Stroller Fan.
After having this product throughout the Summer, we felt that we couldn’t go anywhere outside without having this fan.
How We Tested The Amacool Battery Operated Stroller Fan
First off, we bought the Amacool Stroller fan and used it during hot weather. We’ve used the fan in the car seat, on the stroller, for short and long periods of time, and as well as during the day and night.
We would also feel our baby’s skin periodically while we were outside to ensure that she wasn’t overheating or sweating from the sun. And from the times that we had the Amacooler fan on, her body temperature didn’t overheat while we were out in the sun.
Every Feature We’ve Tested on The Portable Fan
Below we’ll review every feature that we actually tested when using the Amacool fan for our baby.
TLDR: Most of the features of the Amacool fan were great, minus the fan being too loud at its highest settings. We also found that the portable fan would be hard to attach the tripods onto a baby carrier.
Speed Settings
The Amacool stroller fan has three-speed settings, and we usually use the lowest or middle setting. Unless it’s extremely hot outside, we’ll occasionally use the highest speed setting.
The reason why we don’t use the highest speed setting as often is that we feel like it’s a little too loud. This product would’ve been flawless, in our opinion, if the fans didn’t get any louder at the highest settings.
Congratulations to all the parents who have babies that can sleep through anything. Our baby is sensitive to any sound. You drop a pin, and she’ll wake up to it.
If our baby is completely asleep, we’ll have the fan at the lowest speed setting. We would use our hands to gauge whether the fan’s power is reaching our baby. And as I mentioned earlier, we would occasionally feel our baby’s skin to make sure she’s not super hot or that she’s sweating.
At the lowest speed setting, we could still feel the wind from the fan reaching our baby. This is with our baby roughly a foot away from the fan.
Fan Battery Life
The battery life on the Amacool Stroller Fan would usually take us a total of 3 hours on average before we would have to recharge it. Sometimes the battery life would be reduced if we also used the LED lights that are included in the Amacool or if we used a higher speed setting.
The great thing about charging the baby fan is that it’s a rechargeable battery. This makes it extremely convenient for us. We don’t need to swap batteries every single time. And since it uses a Micro USB to charge, I’ll just have the fan plugged in on my office desk while I’m working. It’s as if I don’t even notice it.
I also like that there’s a red light on the portable fan indicating that it’s time for it to charge.
When I’m done with work, the fan is more than fully charged. Just in time for me to go outside with my daughter.
Flexible Tripods
The flexible tripods on the Amacool fan are what really sold us this product. We can position the fan however we want, depending on whether our daughter is in her car seat or her stroller.
All we would do is wrap the flexible tripod around a handle, and that’s it.
One drawback about the battery operated stroller fan is that you need a handle or some sort for the fan to be positioned properly so that you or your child can feel the breeze.
As of now, I still can’t figure out how I can use this baby fan if I were to go on hikes and I were to use a baby carrier. I can hold it with my hand, but that defeats the convenience of the flexible tripods. This is why I think flexible tripods are best when you have a solid handle to wrap them around on and for them to stay in a secure position.
Lights
There are three different brightness settings for the Amacool stroller fan when activating the lights. I must say that the lights at max settings are pretty damn bright at night. I’m not sure if my daughter finds it amusing or an annoyance. And for me as a parent, I over-worry, thinking if it will damage her eyes.
With that said, we try to limit the use of the lights and try to use them only when we need to look for something, or we need more visibility in darker areas.
I could see the lights being beneficial for safety reasons as well. For instance, we walk around our neighborhood often, and sometimes, we’d have to cross the street. Since the lights are pretty bright, car drivers would be able to detect them before they even make a complete stop.
Baby-friendly Design
I really liked that the Amacool stroller fan was designed for the safety of babies. I’ve watched my daughter closely playing with the fan multiple times, and I haven’t seen her fingers getting caught inside the fans.
There’s nothing hazardous (from what I see visibly) that my daughter can take apart from the fan and for her to potentially swallow, either.
Outside of the baby-friendly design, it’s a pretty sleek design that doesn’t look bulky when you attach it to a baby stroller. And it’s extremely light, so it doesn’t add any additional weight.
Price
We really liked the price based on all the features that the Amacool rotatable handheld personal fan had to offer. It’s under $30, and you can purchase it on Amazon. You can add a cheap 3-4 year warranty as well, which we didn’t. We figured if it ever breaks, we’ll just buy a new one since it’s cheap.
Durability
Given that this product is cheaper, I think the fan is durable enough if you’re careful. I strongly feel, based on the feel of the product, that if we were to drop the fan a handful of times that we would have to replace it.
The plastic covering of the fan also feels a bit cheap. I’d be cautious of having our baby reach for it and randomly throw the fan around to where it breaks.
In comparison to other stroller fans, I would say they’re all the same in terms of durability. None of the stroller fans you can purchase online stand out in terms of top quality. They’re all relatively affordable, that can all be replaced over time.
Overall
The Amacool Tripod Stroller fan is an essential item to have during the summer or whenever it’s hot outside. It might be an extra item to add to your baby or travel backpack, but it’s well worth every penny.
Obviously, our baby is too young to verbally tell us how she feels, but her body language tells us that she has some level of comfort when she’s outside with the fan on.
