As a self-professed gadget geek, I've always looked at Dyson fans and wondered if they were worth the investment but have never quite been able to bring myself to fork out the hundreds of pounds they tend to cost.
When I was invited to try the functionality-packed Duux dupe that had a lot of the same features - and some specs that were actually better - but costs £150 less than the cheapest Dyson Air Tower currently available (at Argos for £339, fact fans) I couldn't resist giving it a go.
The first thing to say about the Duux Whisper Flex Ultimate Smart Fan is if you're looking for the iconic Dyson bladeless tower then this probably isn't the product for you. It is very sleek and looks stylish but at the end of the day, it does look like a fan rather than something from a sci-fi movie. But I was ok with that, and also with doing a bit of assembly work when it came out of the box. It was ready to plug in and start within a few minutes. I downloaded the Duux app and connected the fan to the wi-fi immediately without any difficulty.
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The smart element of the fan is a revelation. You can work the fan using voice commands with Google Home or Alexa, or using the Duux app directly. Initially, I wasn't too bothered about this functionality because, let's face it, you're not putting your fan on when you're not home in the way you would your Hue lights or central heating. But what I realised was being able to automate my fan so I could fall asleep with the room cooling but then have it switch off not long afterwards meant not only was I saving electricity but I also didn't wake up with the sore throat I do sometimes when I sleep near a fan all night.
If you don't need all the gadgetry though, that's totally ok. It also comes with a lower-tech but also handy remote control which was brilliant when my mum was visiting and borrowed it to keep her cool in our spare room as she could control it without needing me to help - which sounds daft but, after realising she couldn't control our Hue lights without asking someone for help, it's actually a really handy additional feature.
The remote is also useful if you take the fan outside and it might drop off the wi-fi network. Did I say outside? Oh yes. Because it comes with a battery and docking station set up, it's effectively cordless. You can charge it and then move it around the house or garden as needed. While we definitely do the former much more than the latter, this weekend as temperatures spiked around 30 degrees, we used it to help keep things cool for family members who wanted to sit outside in the shade but were still struggling in the heat.
I was really impressed by the flexibility of the fan - it's definitely Flex by name and by nature. Thanks to a cleverly designed segmented stand you can have it sit on a table or as a floor standing version by taking sections of the stand out. It oscillates up to 90 degrees horizontally and 105 degrees vertically which makes for a really wide form of coverage across the entire room. In a head-to-head with the Dyson, it beats it on vertical movement (the Dyson has none whatsoever) while the Duux has 30 airflow settings - 20 more than the Dyson.
As someone who sleeps lightly and doesn't like either noise or unnecessary light, I've found fans in the bedroom annoying previously because either the sound of the motor, the light from a display or both have disturbed me. The Duux has a night mode that means there's no light to worry about, while the fan is as whisper quiet as the manufacturers claim. I couldn't hear it over the sound of my husband asleep next to me, and that's not because he snores like a chainsaw or anything, it's genuinely that quiet.
Depending on the breeze level you're after, the Duux uses between three and 27W of electricity, working out at between 0.08p and 0.76p an hour at the current UK energy price cap. To get some relief from the heatwave, that feels reasonably priced to me.
The fact it does work out so cheap is ideal because on several occasions, I've totally forgotten it was on when I've walked out of a room and only discovered it was still spinning when I've returned because it was just that quiet.
The Duux Whisper Flex Ultimate fan has an RRP of £249.99 but is currently on offer for £170.99 on Amazon or £178.59 on Brand Alley, where you can also get an additional 15% off your first order using the code LOVEBRANDALLEY. If you don't need the fan to be cordless, then Currys and Very are both currently selling the Whisper Flex version without the battery pack for £119 in the summer sales.
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