The 8 Best Wearable Air Conditioners in 2023, Tested by Gear Editors – Amoxil
Wearable air conditioners and personal neck fans are surprisingly simple gadgets. Most are designed with several dozen ultra-compact fans blowing cool air up toward your neck and head to bring down your skin temperature. Most aren’t powerful enough to drop your overall body temperature, but by decreasing your skin temperature, they provide the illusion of cool. Sometimes, that’s all you need to find a bit relief on a hot summer day.
Finding the right wearable AC for you depends on your personal level of activity, how hot it gets where you live, and how much you’re willing to spend. The most important factors are:
Weight
Like anything wearable, the lighter the unit, the more comfortable it’s going to be to wear. The plastic construction of every unit above ensures every model we tested is light enough for all-day wear. Most models are extremely lightweight at less than eight ounces or one half-pound. The weight is typically a function of the battery size. Larger batteries make for longer run times, but also for heavier designs.
Battery Life
Most models on this list will last an average of 8-12 hours on a single charge, depending on which fan speed you choose. Those figures are according to each manufacturer’s claims. In real world testing, we found those numbers to be closer to 4-6 hours (assuming a mix of low/high speeds). On low, many will run for up to 10 hours—more than enough for even the longest summer outings. Blasting these fans on high will cut that time down considerably, however. Some only last two to three hours on their max settings, so carrying a spare battery or portable power bank might be a smart idea.
Noise
Most of the wearable air conditioners we selected are relatively quiet on their lowest settings. However, some can reach levels of 60 dB or more on high. For comparison, anything above 40 decibels is louder than a whisper. If you’re planning on using your wearable air conditioner outdoors or in noisy environments, this may not be an issue. But if yours will spend most of its life indoors—say, in an office or at home—that noise could be distracting, especially since neckband models are designed to wear near your ears.
Price
Wearable air conditioners aren’t complicated electronics. Thankfully, that means most decent models will run less than $40. Only the best, most premium options cost more than $100.
