Review of the Ryobi ONE+ Portable Fan

One of the toughest parts about Sumer outdoor activities is trying to beat the heat.  I’m a competitive shooter, and most of the events I shoot are outdoors during the summer months.  These matches can easily run four hours or more, and here in Ohio we can often see temperatures of 90-100 degrees F. with high humidity.  Those conditions can really deteriorate at your ability to perform, so keeping cool is a very real struggle we in the shooting sports all face.

Last year I began to see some competitors using portable fans and the ones that did swore that a portable fan was a huge help – the model I most often saw being used was the Ryobi 18-Volt ONE+ Portable Fan.  Toward the end of the season last year I ordered one, and now that we’re in June, I’ve had the opportunity to use the fan a few times and feel I can provide a good review.

The fan is primarly constructed from high-strength polymers, so it is both light and durable.  The fan can sit on most any surface, and the angle at which it blows is adjustable as you would expect.  The Ryobi name is one you probobly recognize as a manufacturer of tools.  So it’s designed and maufactured to be both robust and functional. A single button on the back of the unit powers on the unit in either one of two different running modes – “low” and “high.”

When I shoot a match, I haul all my gear around in the typical “tactical baby stroller” set up which is familiar to those of us in the shooting sports.  I most often set the fan on top of the stroller, and angle it to blow upward toward my face:

In some cases, the low setting is sufficient to keep me comfortable, but if I’m standing without the benefit of any shade on a really hot day, I’ll run it on high – it feels wonderful.  The low setting is surprisingly quiet, and the high setting is only slightly lowder – it won’t at all interfer with a conversation.  Which is a good thing because I find that the hotter the day, the more friends I tend to (quickly) make when folks see my fan.  I’d like to be able to tell you about how long the fan will run on a single battery charge, but I’ve yet to see it run completely our of power.  I think it can handle at least four hours of continuous use which is enough to get me through most matches.

Once you get back home, you just detach the lithium battery and put on the charger, which amazingly enough can completely charge the battery within 30 minutes.  So if you were at an all day match, you could conceiveably recharge the battery during the lunch break:

The fan is just one of dozens of tools Ryobi makes as a part if its “ONE+” system of cordless devices. If you already have another Ryobi ONE+ device and don’t need a battery or charger, the fan can be purchased “bare” for only $58.  However, the kit I purchased included the fan, a battery and the charger, and was about $183.00.  For some, that price will be off-putting, but it really is a quality piece of gear that is getting quite a bit of use from me.  Any match I shoot that’s over 80 degrees, the fan comes with me.  I find my endurance and focus at hot matches to be much improved, so I can’t recommend it enough.  Particularly since I’m hoping everyone who reads this will buy one – imagine an entire squad of shooters, each with their own fan.  How cool would that be?  Literally and figuratively…

Order the Ryobi ONE+ Portable fan for the best price from Amazon by clicking here.