Weighing just 13.85 lbs., the lightweight frame offers easy portability so you can quickly carry this fan into rooms where you need it most. Just about every pedestal fan we tested oscillates roughly 90 degrees with the exception of the Vornado 683, which doesn’t oscillate at all but can be twisted on its stand to face any direction. However, the Vornado offers one of the widest pivot ranges, at nearly 90 degrees, whereas most others are closer to degrees at most. Pedestal fans have a reputation for being ungainly and large — but how ungainly and how large? We measured the dimensions of every fan, checked to see how much their heights are adjustable, and considered their base size and the blade housing size. Of course, since larger fans are often more powerful, we considered other values of their sizes when calculating scores in this metric.
However, if you prefer a very light breeze and value silence, this may be a good fit. Though its sound is quieter than many others of similar power, the quality of noise this fan emits is, at every speed, rather similar to the whirring of a small airplane. It also lets out a chirping “beep” every time you plug it in or change a setting. Though its timer allows you to program more precise half-hour increments, the oscillation feature isn’t controlled by the remote — only by the classic push-pull tab on the back of the motor. It’s also more wiggly than we’d like, though the very solid base adds a lot to its overall stability.
To find the best pedestal fans on the market today, we spent hours combing through the top options before selecting the most promising models to purchase and test side-by-side. Tasked with cooling us off through some of the hottest days of the desert summer, we put these fans through a litany of laboratory and real-world tests. We used them while watching movies, sleeping at night, reading books, and working out at home. We measured airspeeds Lasko Box Fan and took decibel readings, comparing them all head-to-head to see which ones offer the most settings, the most power, sturdiest bases, and quietest experiences. Oddly, the jump from speeds 8 to 9 is far more noticeable than any other speed change, jumping a full 6 decibels. It doesn’t have a memory for its last settings, instead always powering up on level 18 with no oscillation and chirping offensively as you scroll through all 24 speeds.
To test each pedestal fan’s power, we performed multiple airspeed tests on different settings and combined that with how well it translates into what you can feel across a room. We measured airflow, placing each fan across a large room and standing on the other side to gauge how easily we could feel each setting, both directly in front of and off to the sides of every alen breathesmart fan. And we considered how many settings, modes, features, and timer options each model has, alongside the use of those settings. Though the Lasko Cyclone does have a timer, it only goes up to 4 hours, which may not be enough for some folks. It has a push-pull tab on the motor to control oscillation, rather than including that on the remote like many others.
Of all the models we tested, this one operates at the lowest pitch, sounding more like a hum than the traditional whirring of a fan. Though it can’t point down, it can be angled nearly vertically to bounce air off the ceiling and blow it effectively around an entire room. It’s the only one with the cord coming out of the bottom of the stand, as well, rather than dangling off the base of the motor halfway up the stand. It’s easily felt from across a room, though only if you’re standing directly in its tunnel-like path.