Review: Ranvoo AICE Lite portable neck air-conditioner

Review unit provided by Ranvoo

Urban sketching in Singapore is hot and sweaty activity, unless you're in an air-conditioned environment. So recently, Ranvoo, a company that makes personal lifestyle appliances, contacted me to asked if I wanted to test their new neck air conditioner, the AICE Lite, I thought why not. I am skeptical at its cooling effectiveness but I can definitely see the utility. I've tested this for a few weeks and it does work quite well.

Price of the Ranvoo AICE Lite is around USD 199 to 219.

The main selling points according to the company are

• Ability to lower temperature by 17 degrees Celsius
• Has cool air emitting from the top and bottom
• Long battery life
• Automatic temperature regulation
• Various usage mode, e.g. cool, wind, hot
• Comfortable to wear

I shall tell you how true those features are in this full review.

Video review

Things included

The only items in the box are the AICE Lite, USB-C charging cable, charger, safety manual and quick start guide.

Design

Design of the AICE Lite looks pretty sleek. The design does not call out for attention other than the fact that you're wearing something on your shoulders. I've worn this for weeks and did not notice anyone staring at me. There was one person on the street who recognised this portable air-con but it turned out she only wanted to sell me insurance or get me to donate money.

The top has long vents on both sides that blows cool air upwards. Even at low fan speed, the blowing air is cool enough and the strength is kinda similar to a breeze, except it's a localised breeze at your neck.

The internal fans have three speeds. At the lowest fan speed, fan noise is still audible but I won't consider it to be loud and people near you probably won't be able to hear the fans. The medium fan setting is noticeably louder, sounds like a gaming laptop, and people around may hear it. The highest fan speed is quite loud. The fan noise is the compromise for this cooling system. Anyway, when you're hot and sweaty, fan noise is the last thing I'll think about.

The company claims temperature can be reduced by 17 degree celsius but I don't have the right equipment to verify the claims. Having said that, the gadget does work and provide good relief on a hot and humid day.

This is how it looks underneath.

There are two smaller vents that emit cool air downwards. These two vents are only useful when you're wearing collared shirts, in which case the cool air will blow inside the shirt to your back. If you wear t-shirts, the cool air exhausts outside the shirt.

The USB-C charging port is located at the bottom, near the front, and just beside the port is a tiny hole for resetting the device. Since no USB-C cable and charger are included, you can just use your own cable and charger (at least 5V 3A).

There are two long cooling metal plates as shown above, from my index finger to thumb. These plates become cool when the fans are blowing, and will rest on your neck to keep it cool. The cooling plates and the areas beside can be wiped clean easily.

The metal plates are matte textured so that you don't get the feeling of metal on skin.

The metal plates are able to cool down quite quickly. It's not just cool, it's actually cold enough for condensation to happen at least here in humid Singapore.

The power button can be used to switch between cooling modes. The + and - buttons control the fan speed.. The display on the left exterior shows the current cooling mode and battery life (4 bars).

The different cooling modes and respective coloured status light are:

• Cool mode (blue): This will cool the metal plates and provide cool air.
• Fan mode (green): This will not cool the metal plates. Your neck will heat up the device and warm air will come out
• Heat mode (red): Usable when you're cold
• AI mode (white): Device will detect ambient temperature and adjust its temperature accordingly.

AI mode is probably more useful since it will give you the lowest temperature automatically. To make finer temperature adjustment, you need to use the companion app.

The AICE Lite weights 480g. You can definitely feel the weight when held in hand.

When worn on the neck and shoulders, the weight is not really noticeable and comfort is good. I can definitely wear this for long periods of time without discomfort. I recommend holding down the device when chasing after a bus. I don't think this will stay on you if you use it in a gym.

The device is not weather-proof or water-proof so don't use it in the rain.

This guy's neck is much thicker than mine so if he can wear it, most people can.

App

The companion app offers more control over the device. No account is needed to use the app.

In addition to controlling fan speed, you can make fine adjustments to temperature with the app.

The features are mostly self explanatory.

Silent mode just reduces fan noise slightly.

Downsides or limitation

I wish the battery life indictor is in percentage rather than in bars (4 levels).

Fan noise at medium and high speed settings is loud. But that's the trade-off for strong fans.

Weight is actually alright, but if you're also wearing a backpack, then everything adds up.

There's no way to adjust temperature using the physical controls. Cool mode's low, medium and high fan speed will give you 30, 26 and 16 degrees celsius respectively. If you want low temperature and low fan speed, you have to use the app.

Conclusion

This is me sketching outdoors on a sunny, hot and humid day here in Singapore. The device does provide cooling relief and I would say it's quite effective. Fan speed at low and medium is good enough.

Availability

The Ranvoo AICE Lite is available on Amazon (US | CA | SG), Lazada SG, Shopee SG and official website,

10% off coupon on Amazon and Ranvoo's website: 10teohontech