As a long-time devotee of gadgets, I've always admired Shark's tendency to come up with thoughtful touches that take a humble household essential to the next level. Rest assured I’m no Mrs Hinch. Cleaning does not bring me joy or satisfaction, it’s just something that needs to be done.
Despite that, I always get a little glimmer of satisfaction when I glide across my kitchen floor harnessing the deep cleaning oomph of my Shark steam mop or sniff the air having vacuumed with my Shark Stratos, which comes with anti-odour pods that leave the carpet smelling like we’ve had someone come and deep clean it.
Well, now they’ve taken all their design and engineering genius and bought it to fans with the Shark FlexBreeze - available on sale at Ninja and Amazon, £149.99 down from £199.99 - bringing to market a high-end feature-packed gadget to go head-to-head with Dyson’s finest at half the price.
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Fans are, let’s face it, a heatwave essential that we all grudgingly buy in a panic without really thinking about the specs. Until now.
I had a sneak peek of the Shark FlexBreeze at a press event earlier in the year where I named it one of the 12 most anticipated gadgets of 2024, but getting my hands on one in person exceeded my already high expectations.
Getting the FlexBreeze out of the box, it looks disconcertingly complicated with lots of different attachments and pieces to unpack. But rest assured, it is easily clipped together and I had it charging in the corner of the room within a couple of minutes - actually, what took the longest was breaking down the box for recycling.
This might just be the most versatile fan I’ve ever used and, at that point, I think it’s worth the price even before Shark knocked £50 off it in their summer sale. You can use the five-speed FlexBreeze indoors or outdoors, corded or cordless - although you’ll need to charge it before you take it outside for the first time.
Much to my children’s delight you can even attach a little water compartment to it and spritz cool water droplets if you’re sitting outside on one of those still and boiling days of the heatwave.
The thing I love most is how truly versatile it is. You can unclip the main fan from the stand to make it freestanding with a flick of the wrist and, suddenly, if you’re having a drink in the garden in the sun and it feels a bit too hot you’ve got a refreshing breeze. According to Shark, this reduces the air temperature by a none-too-shabby 5 degrees.
It also comes with a case to keep the pieces you’re not using together so no risk of losing anything.
It’s quiet enough to sleep with - even if you have it oscillating which is normally when my previous fan used to make its presence heard and packs a cooling punch.
Shark has got a rightly deserved reputation among its devotees for coming up with clever innovations that leave you thinking ‘why has no-one ever thought of that before?’ and the FlexBreeze is packed full of those kinds of signature details.
From the magnetic back you can stick the remote control to so you don’t lose it to the spritz spray, the easy way it can be disassembled (seriously, Optimus Prime can’t transform as quickly) and the carry handle which is an intrinsic part of the stylish design this is the last fan you’ll ever need to buy and it’s worth every penny.
My only minor quibble is if you’re using it in the full stand it would be handy for it to be a bit taller, but having used it for a while I’m happy to work round that by converting it into a tabletop fan and putting it on a counter or desk instead.
If the Shark FlexBreeze fan doesn't do it for you, John Lewis has a 42 inch Tower Fan on offer for £72. Otherwise, Dyson's Pure Cool purifying fan is also on sale - down to £299 from £399.