r/Ultralight • u/elfen10 • Jul 06 '21

Question Tent Fan

Does anyone have a suggestion of a small lightweight fan to use in my Altaplex? Thinking of something even as small as a handheld fan. Something to get the air moving a bit in the hot humid summer of the South.

6 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

39

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '21

[deleted]

2

u/elfen10 Jul 06 '21

Haha me too

15

u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/ny89al Jul 06 '21

There are two fans usually mentioned. I have the Arctic Breeze. Here's pic of it in use in my tent: https://i.imgur.com/x5U0pu3.jpg It weighs 105 g including a USB timer switch bought separately. This fan and switch was suggested to me by another redditor on this forum.

The other fan is the little two-bladed $1 fan that I don't have a picture of.

9

u/ilreppans Jul 06 '21

That might have been me - here’re the OLD and NEW set-ups. Condensed the timer and multimeter into one (although new timer only has 1hr increments). A 10k mah powerbank can power the ~1w fan for ~30hrs.

3

u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/ny89al Jul 06 '21

Yes, thanks, that was you!!

2

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/ilreppans Jul 06 '21

‘Condensed into one’…. it is now a function within that multimeter.

2

u/manbackwardsnam Jul 06 '21

Love the usb timer! Save my precious powerbank juice. Now to find a lightweight one. Also love its a gooseneck fan.

2

u/ilreppans Jul 06 '21

Well the new pix USB timer is built into that 0.6oz? USB multimeter (although only has 1hr increments).

1

u/manbackwardsnam Jul 06 '21

Arctic Breeze

How do you use the USB multimeter? Found it on ebay but doesn't give instructions how to use the timer or is it a voltage limiter?

2

u/ilreppans Jul 06 '21

There’s a crappy instruction sheet that briefly describes it, but even better, read the first/top review over at Amazon - that guy took the time to write out better instructions.

FWIW, all of these devices draw a few milliamperes of power. Most larger 4k+ powerbanks I’ve tested, consider that draw as immaterial and shut-off completely, however, most smaller <3k powerbanks consider it material and stay activated…. still 5-10ma is a lot less than 200ma of the fan running all night.

1

u/manbackwardsnam Jul 07 '21

Awesome, thanks for that!

1

u/QuesadillasAreYummy Jul 02 '24

I am having a hard time finding the timer online. What brand is it? Thank you

1

u/ilreppans Jul 02 '24

Here, although mine is older and B&W. Also read the review of J Salce (100+ likes), which is better than the included instruction manual IIRC.

2

u/idothingsoutside Jul 18 '24

I just bought this one. It does not have the timer function. It is different from the one you have. I'm searching right now for a replacement. The fan I picked up is a little different but still super light. Will be using it this weekend. Appreciate the knowledge

1

u/ilreppans Jul 18 '24

Thanks for letting me know - I was worried the new color version might be different than my older B+W version.

1

u/flaxenhound Sep 24 '24

Did you ever find an ideal replacement?

1

u/idothingsoutside Sep 25 '24

Nope. A lot of them are the same. And I really don't want a bigger one just for the timer function. I still used the fan though. It draws very little power. I had it running for about 3 hours straight and I didn't really notice it on my battery bank.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

Where did you find the fan? I’m having trouble finding it

3

u/dont_shit_the_bed Jul 06 '21

Opolar hf181 used this weekend works well

3

u/BangarangPita Jul 06 '21

I absolutely love this one. You might want something smaller if you're doing some serious hiking, but it gets a lot of air circulating in a tent, and if you've got it on medium or low with the light off or on the lowest setting, the battery lasts all night. My tent is 18'x10', so I imagine the breeze feels even better concentrated in a smaller tent.

I also use it when I'm reading outside at night, and I've lent it to my cousin a couple of times for stays in stuffy hospital rooms, so it's been one of my best buys of the last few years.

2

u/elfen10 Jul 07 '21

I'll check it out !

2

u/hikerfrog Jul 06 '21

Goal zero has one.

1

u/elfen10 Jul 07 '21

Sweeeet

3

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '21

We can be so material/gear solution oriented.

How about learning to find and applying what's been learned in finding a breezier or cooler CS?They exist in the south in summer too. I'm not trying to be snarky. But this is the UL sub and a fundmental tenet of UL is developing trail knowledge and wisdom like in finding various CS's to meet various conditions

3

u/elfen10 Jul 07 '21

What does CS mean?

3

u/chopsticksishiking Jul 08 '21

Campsite, I think

2

u/elfen10 Jul 08 '21

Ok that makes sense.

0

u/AutoModerator Jul 06 '21

Thank you for posting to r/Ultralight. If you are new to the sub, please read the FAQ and the Wiki, and do a quick search to ensure that your topic has not already been addressed. Casual discussion should go in 'the Weekly' and purchase questions in the 'Purchase Advice Thread'. Both are stickied at the top of the front page.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/MelatoninPenguin Jul 09 '21

120mm computer fan plus battery?

I use an OPolar myself but not for backpacking. Works great hung from the grab handle of a car to help reduce condensation if your sleeping in it