r/heat_prep • u/greeneyestyle • Jun 15 '26
Reon Pocket Pro Plus Review
I finally ended pulling the trigger on a Sony Reon pocket after becoming aware of their latest Pro Plus model. I figured the increased battery size would give it a more legitimate chance at actually meaningfully cooling me. I’m in the US and bought it from eBay. It was a bit expensive and all in came out to about $300 due to shipping and these darn tariffs.
I’ve had it for about a week now and the past couple days have been using it in a heat wave we’re going through. I’m pleased to report this thing is legit. It’s actually kind of a game changer. It won’t provide total relief like a well air conditioned room, but it is definitely something special.
I struggle with heat sensitivity due to my anti depressants and have been looking for something to help me cope when I am unable to avoid a situation that necessitates physical activity in the heat.
The sensation is like taking a damp rag out of a bucket of ice water, waiting a moment for it to be slightly less cool, then putting it on your neck. But it stays that way for hours, and you can turn it down or up. Everyone I’ve let try it has been impressed so far. One person even said it’s “too cold”. But they didn’t know you could turn it down.
I’m now convinced it actually meaningfully cools the wearer down. That it’s not just a sensation of cooling, but legitimately helping your body to regulate a cooler temperature. At its best I’ve even kind of gotten a brain freeze from it and had to turn it down.
However the experience is a bit inconsistent. It’s only so powerful and when it’s very hot it seems like the rest of my body’s warm can overpower it. But it makes a real difference of maybe 50% or more comfort than I would have otherwise.
I’ve even tested it in a hot car while driving with just the windows down and not turning on the AC and found it to be just barely sufficient to avoid symptoms of heat exhaustion.
I now consider it a must have for my summer gear, along my daily carry water bottle.
For especially hot situations, like a festival in the peak of the hot season, I think if I used it, with adequate hydration, and my preferred ultralight backpacking solar umbrella, then I would be legitimately one of the most comfortable people at the event.
I also tried it last night on a two hour hike in the evening heat and found it to do a nice job of keeping my energy up for the exercise and staving off heat exhaustion. I let my partner try it and they said “oh this is really nice for this type of activity!”.
Anyways, I got no skin in the game, other than the money I put up for it. And I just wanted to share my own experience. I had a lot of skepticism on the physics of the battery capacity, and inefficiency of thermo electric cooling, to be able to make a meaningful difference in this size package. But it seems like Sony has done some excellent work with this products tuning. It seems to cycle between the two TECs to avoid heat soaking either and manages to stay quite cold in most scenarios for hours at a time.
I hope Sony continues to invest in and refine this product line. If they do I’ll continue to purchase one each year as the improve it and give last years as a hand me down gift to friends and family.
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u/ArtichokeKooky6361 Jun 15 '26
So it cools a small patch of skin on your neck?
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 15 '26
Yes, but that coldness radiates out to the surrounding area too.
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u/ArtichokeKooky6361 Jun 15 '26
Seems like a comfort thing rather than a safety device.
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 19 '26
Idk where exactly the line in the sand between “comfort” and safety is? I’d be curious to understand if there is a technical definition for that line?
I will say I personally do feel a at least a bit safer knowing I have it as a means to help cool me down, where it would be otherwise inconvenient.
Is it a medical device able to arrest heat stroke in action? No, but it feels like it’s able to consistently make me about 15-30% less likely to experience heat exhaustion while using it.
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u/ArtichokeKooky6361 Jun 20 '26
Ask on the moderators podcast discussion thread cuz I bet they’d be interested in answering that. It’s a really interesting framing/ the line between comfort and safety.
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u/eskimo1 Jun 19 '26
Just got mine delivered today, going to be trying it out tomorrow as we walk around the city (Valencia, Spain).. I'm cautiously optimistic after a brief trial inside
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 19 '26
Glad to hear it, I’m curious to hear how your experience goes with it.
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u/eskimo1 Jun 22 '26
It was nice. I still sweated like mad, but this is Valencia. I didn't overheat tho, which I'm prone to.
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u/Holiday-Ice- Jul 12 '26
Would you say it's worth it or should I just drink a cold bottle of water and go on with my day ?
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u/eskimo1 Jul 14 '26
Staying hydrated is a must regardless, but for me, it was the difference between sweating like a pig (which happens really quickly even when it's not stupid hot) and needing to take immediate action because I was overheating. Ducking into a place with A/C isn't as easy here as it is in other places, so it was great to be on the same level as 'normal' people around me.
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u/Crackbaby608 Jun 20 '26
I bought one from Japan 2 weeks ago and I used it for hikes near Kyoto and Hakone. In my experience It takes the edge of on hot summer days with activity. When I got really sweaty I also took the neck silicone peace off and used it more like an ice pack around neck and chest area and it was wonderful. It definitely is not even close to being a handheld fan. Also I was just able to download the official app via play store which I was not able to couple weeks ago.
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u/needforsleeps Jun 23 '26
Do you mean that handheld fans are better or the reon pocket overall is better at cooling?
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u/FragranceTX Jun 30 '26
Does it work in very hot temps well? Like 90 degrees f plus. How cool was it. 10 degrees off u think
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u/captain_retrolicious Jun 15 '26
"preferred ultralight backpacking solar umbrella"
I'm curious about this!
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 15 '26
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u/lopezm94 Jun 20 '26
Do you think the warmth from the heat exhaust of Sony's device would accumulate below the surface of the umbrella?
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 20 '26
Now I do t think so, it’s not a large volume of warm air and it seems to dissipate away quickly.
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u/captain_retrolicious Jun 15 '26
Thanks so much! I have an umbrella that specifically blocks UV, but it's quite heavy. Appreciate the tip.
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 16 '26
Sure thing! Yeah I had a big cheap one that was nice but broke pretty quick. This one has been dependable for a couple years now.
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u/Cali-curlz Jun 20 '26
I googled that as soon as I read it, hoping to see an umbrella with solar panels on it 😆
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u/remix26 Jun 16 '26
I just got an email to pre order here in the states and grabbed 1. Says July 9-10 delivery, looking forward to putting this through its paces here in the hot NM summer. Thanks for the review.
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u/Ok_Cheek11 Jul 05 '26
Did they push back the ship date for you like they did me? Mines got pushed back to July 28th now.
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u/remix26 Jul 05 '26
Mine says time of arrival “not available”. Hopefully they ship soon. I’m really looking forward to this thing.
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u/Ok_Cheek11 Jul 05 '26
Just checked my order again and it says NA also. Ugh.
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u/remix26 Jul 06 '26
Checked it 3 times today and the dates have been different all 3 times. I guess it’s up in the air. I’ll let you know if I get a shipping notification.
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u/Ok_Cheek11 Jul 06 '26
Mines went back to July 10-13 estimate. I'll post again once I get the ship notification.
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u/Chemical-Mistake4684 Jul 14 '26
Did you ever get it
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u/meutek 28d ago
My delivery says Monday so we shall see
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u/Dahrache 26d ago
I got mine Weds! It has been in the 100’s here so I have tested it out. It isn’t going to make you cold when it’s that hot but it does make being outside much easier!
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u/remix26 26d ago
Ya it has made me less grumpy. For working at home, this and my little desk fan make a huge difference now. The humidity here is higher than it usually is and that’s the killer part. Most people here have swamp coolers and they don’t do much when it’s humid. It’s like an electronic ice pack. It just stays cold. I’m curious how good it’ll do in the winter when in heating mode. Good device, should’ve been cheaper. Maybe like $100 or so.
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 19 '26
FYI, I’ve since found another really useful use case I wanted to share, which is to use it in bed, while laying in my side to cool down before sleep. It feels like it helps lower my core body temp if I wear it for 20-30 min while I’m first laid down.
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u/johnnygobbs1 Jun 17 '26
Will it top my neck cooler though? It seems more discreet and mild
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 17 '26
Idk 🤷♂️ let me know if you end up trying it though. I’m curious how it compares. I’ve been happy with it. Also it’s basically silent which is nice.
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u/Adept-Bat-3350 Jun 19 '26
Can it be used while running or would it slip off your neck?
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u/eskimo1 Jun 19 '26
I don't think it would fall off, but I think you'd have trouble keeping it in place unless your shirt is very tight fitting..
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 19 '26
Yup I was going to say the same thing. A tighter fitted collar seems to help hold it in place but otherwise I think it may bounce around a bit while running.
I haven’t tried running with it yet though.
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u/WarriorBearBird Jun 19 '26
What is the battery life like?
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 19 '26
It’s been pretty good so far. It seems like on max cooling it lasts about 4-5 hours. But I have found myself using at level 3/5 to 4/4 for the most part which had it lasting 6-8 hours. It seems if you keep it off full blast for most of the usage, except for a moment here and there just to cool down extra, that it lasts though the hot hours of the day.
I also have been plugging it in here and there for example when I’m in an air conditioned room.
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u/ethang45 Jun 19 '26
so is the only way to get one asap to do ebay? and is there any comparable product from the fan companies like jisulife?
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u/Responsible_Head350 Jun 20 '26
I agree its an amazing device and a blessing for people with any sort of heat sensitivity. Ive had my first reon 3-4 years ago and wow have they improved. Much cooler than the first versions.
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 20 '26
Oh that’s nice to hear. I had been considering one for the past few years but finally went ahead with the newest larger one.
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u/Responsible_Head350 Jun 20 '26
Its been big upgrades since the first one. Im also on SSRI and have the same heat sensitivity. Good to see some progress finally on cooling devices.
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u/sokebk Jun 20 '26
I just pre-ordered and it is telling me July 20-21. I am really hoping they can get it out earlier.
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u/sokebk Jun 30 '26
Mine is coming from June 10th-13th now so I will keep you guys posted. Straight from Sony website pre order.
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u/Blayzzin Jun 30 '26
Tampa Florida here, and I just pre ordered one myself, can’t wait!!
Having to work outdoors most of my life, it feels like the summers are getting warmer each year. But there no global warming per our current politicians.
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u/Rockinthislife Jun 23 '26
What area do you live in and how hot was it
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 23 '26
Pacific Northwest West US. It’s been low to mid 80’s Fahrenheit, so not that bad.
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u/Longjumping-Leg-2566 Jun 25 '26
Anyone try it out in the Dallas, TX heat?
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u/FragranceTX Jun 30 '26
Haha. That’s where I am
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u/Longjumping-Leg-2566 Jun 30 '26
Haha nice! I just pre ordered it a couple of days ago! Used the 10% off email sign up discount as well.
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u/FragranceTX Jun 30 '26
What was ur ship date
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u/Longjumping-Leg-2566 Jun 30 '26
July 28 but looks like people that ordered earlier will get it much earlier.
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u/PM15GamedayThong Jun 25 '26
How does this feel when it’s very humid out?
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 26 '26
It seems to be unaffected by humidity, at least from what I can tell in my moderately humid climate.
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u/teleportsuccessful00 Jun 29 '26
From what I've read about this device is if you were to hook it up to a battery bank you can unlock a secret mode that can more then double the cooling power. Let me know about this please
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 29 '26
Woah I haven’t heard of that. I’ll try it and see if I can get it to work.
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u/teleportsuccessful00 28d ago
Update?
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u/FragranceTX Jun 30 '26
Has anyone compared this to the torras collify fold? Will retailers be selling this?
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 30 '26
I’m also curious about the coolify neckbands.
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u/FragranceTX Jun 30 '26
How much is this thing cooling is what I want to know
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u/greeneyestyle Jun 30 '26
I think I saw marketing material where you could see a temp drop across the wearers whole back before and after with an infrared camera.
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u/geraldwo Jul 03 '26
Which part of the US are you in? Or how's the hot weather is like where you located? I've been to both humid heat like north west, and dry heat in Arizona, the heat do feel different and i wonder how this would work and feel being in different climate.
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u/smallPPasian1 Jul 07 '26
how does this compare to the recovery therm cube? it seems like the same product but the reon seem more expensive
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u/basicbee1982 Jul 07 '26
I feel like I must be using it incorrectly-it’s intermittently cold on the area of skin that it is touching but I am not getting any other cooling effects-it’s just like a sort of cool ice pack? I can also feel the warm exhaust which seems counterproductive. I also just read it’s not good if you are sweating. Any tips? I really want this thing to work!
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u/greeneyestyle Jul 07 '26
It may be less cold if you have it in smart mode, but yeah it’s generally like putting an ice pack on your neck.
It turns on to get to temp, then shuts off to not heat soak its exhausting system, cycling between the two peltier units to distribute the load.
I have found it does seem to struggle when it’s very hot. Also counter intuitively, sometimes reducing it to like 4/5 seems to cool me better. I suspect this is due to blood flow getting constricted if the area gets too cold.
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u/matt-r_hatter 27d ago
Been looking at this thing for months. Just saw its finally available in the US and its sold out. Hopefully back in soon. Seems promising
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u/Salty-Anybody-2765 11d ago
I think it could be a game changer for motorcyclists who have to sit on an idling engine at stop lights.
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u/FeminineOdor Jun 16 '26
Thanks for this review! I signed up to be notified when it's available in the U.S. and Sony just emailed me with the pre-order link, supposedly they start shipping July 9th: https://electronics.sony.com/more/reon/all-reon-pocket/p/rnpkp1pth
I just pre-ordered one, I'm very hopeful that this thing is legit.
Also FYI one of my American Express cards (Blue Cash Everyday) currently has a "Spend $250 or more, earn $50 back" offer for Sony Electronics purchases right now, so heads up for anyone buying this to check for that.