Arctic Air Pure Chill: Chilling Out — Our Comprehensive Review

Let me preface this by saying I never thought I’d be the type of person to buy a portable cooling unit until two weeks ago. I have a window AC unit and air conditioning at work but nothing else too involved.

If you live on the East Coast, you know that it’s been SOOOOO hot lately! It’s been nearly unbearable! Well, last week I got on the train coming home from work and it was so crowded and so hot and sweaty that I nearly passed out. It was actually quite frightening. I got lightheaded and faint and had to step out of the train three stops early so that I could sit on a bench and put my head between my knees. It was probably my fault for not refilling my water bottle before I left, but still —that’s so dangerous!

Anyway, I did NOT want that happening again, so when I recovered and got home I immediately bought a TON of cooling stuff. I bought a hydroflask that will actually keep my water cold, I bought handheld and portable fans, and I bought the Arctic Air Pure Chill. And out of everything that I bought, the Arctic Air is by far my favorite. It works SO WELL! I can’t get enough of it!

What Is the Arctic Air Pure Chill?

It’s called an “evaporative air cooler” but it’s basically like a mini AC unit. You just add water and it sucks in room-temperature or hot air, filters it, and cools it down. Now that I’ve gotten used to mine, I swear I don’t know if I can live without it!

It’s the perfect size to keep next to my bed at night, on my desk when I work from home, or even in my car, should my nightmare scenario occur and my car AC break. I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t have one of these. It’s made such a difference for me this summer.

The thing about keeping cool is that you really have to do it all day long. I think I would’ve been totally fine on that train ride from hell if I had woken up cool and refreshed that morning, or had been drinking ice-cold water all day. It was the cumulative effects of being hot and sweaty all day that just pushed me over the edge in that moment of being on a crowded, non-air conditioned train. So now I’m adamant about maintaining a cool body temperature throughout the day, rather than just cooling off in brief spurts whenever I walk in front of an AC unit. My Arctic Air Pure Chill has been amazing at that.

Arctic Air Pure Chill Features

One of the things I like the most about it is keeping it next to my bed while I sleep. I set it on my bedside table and turn on the LED night light display, and it cycles through a whole bunch of colors — red, white, blue, teal, green, yellow, purple. (You can turn this setting off if you prefer sleeping in complete darkness.)

It blows out soothing ice-cold air right on me while I sleep. I’m the type of person who loves to sleep in a breeze — even before I bought this, I had a fan right next to me at night, but it wasn’t exactly the coldest. Having this blasting icy air over me has done soooo much to help me sleep through the night and wake up feeling refreshed rather than sweaty and tired.

I also like the subtle fan sound. It has three fan settings, so you can choose the intensity to match whatever you feel like. The two lowest settings are super quiet, hardly noticeable at all. The highest fan setting is the one I sleep with. The breeze is more intense, and it produces a subtle white noise that I just can’t get enough of. Having this in my room keeps me cool, but it also actually has helped me fall asleep faster, too.

How Does the Arctic Air Pure Chill Work?

I think one of the reasons it works so well and so quickly is because it’s working to cool my room on two fronts — first, by blasting out cold air like any AC unit, and second, by sucking up and eliminating the existing hot air. (Of course, these two things go hand-in-hand.) It sucks up and filters the hot air in my room to turn it cold. I swear, it’s no time before my room is nice and cold, just the way I like it.

Also, as a result of this process, the air is filtered, which I’ve found cuts down on odors as well. I no longer fear the end of the week when my hamper of dirty laundry has the capability of infecting my entire room with the smell of dirty socks. Thank you, Arctic Air! What a totally unexpected side effect/blessing of buying this air conditioner.

How To Use the Arctic Air Pure Chill

Basically all you have to do to use the Arctic Air and maximize the cooling effect is add water and turn it on. I’ve found that one fill lasts around eight to 10 hours, so I usually end up filling it once in the morning and once before bed, depending on how much I use it throughout the day.

On days that I work from home, I definitely have to fill it up again before bed. If it’s the weekend or I only use it for an hour or so, I don’t fill it up. It lasts long enough to cool my room down and keep it cool until I’m deep asleep.

Is the Arctic Air Pure Chill Portable?

Two other things I have to mention: First, how portable/easy to store this thing is. It fits pretty much anywhere that I need it, whether that’s in my living room, on my desk, my bedside table, or the bathroom counter. I wasn’t sure how well this product would work out for me — I needed something that could travel around the house with me, and I thought it might be too bulky or heavy for that. But it’s actually SUPER easy to move, and it’s easy to find a place for it wherever I am in the house.

Second, the humidity. My skin tends to run dry and sensitive. Basically, anytime it’s not humid outside, I have to SLATHER on the moisturizer before bed. I’ve used humidifiers in the past, but the humidifier-AC combo always tends to cancel each other out. At least, my skin feels that way. Ever since I started using the Arctic Air Pure Chill I haven’t had to stress about my dry skin at ALL. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely still try to stay on top of things with plenty of moisturizing products. But it no longer feels like a full time job to keep my skin moisturized.

I think the main reason for that is, unlike a regular humidifier, I’m constantly laying or sitting next to my Arctic Air. Wherever I am, that’s where my Arctic Air is. Ever since I got it I’ve been surrounded by humidity, and my skin has felt correspondingly hydrated.

The Bottom Line

Overall, I’m so glad that I bought this. I give it five out of five stars and would definitely recommend it to anyone else.