Dyson Air Multiplier bladeless fan

The Dyson Air Multiplier is easy to clean and looks fantastic

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Even before we unpacked the Dyson Air Multiplier there were two distinctive things we noticed about it. Firstly, it's expensive — seriously expensive. Secondly, it has a somewhat pretentious name. However, when we unpacked this "bladeless fan", both of these things were forgotten as we marvelled at a piece of industrial design that was every bit as lovely as we'd expect from Dyson.

Pros

  • Looks great, no (visible) blades, easy to clean, will impress your friends

Cons

  • A horrible price tag

Bottom Line

In all honesty, you can pick yourself up a fan that will cool you just as much as the Dyson Air Multiplier and cost a lot less. However, we're yet to find a fan that exudes the same sense of cool as this one. In addition, the lack of blades adds to the appeal for those who have small children or pets without a strong sense of self-preservation.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 379.00 (AUD)

As soon as we'd set it up, the entire GoodGearGuide team gathered around the Dyson Air Multiplier like a flock of seagulls descending on a defenceless hot chip. Admittedly it helped that our office aircon was not doing a spectacular job.

The Dyson Air Multiplier has a solid cylindrical base that's 14cm in diameter and 18cm tall. On top of this slots a short, thick tube that sits parallel to the ground. In the case of our review model, it was 25cm in diameter and about 9.5cm long. When you switch it on, air is drawn in through the Air Multiplier's base and propelled outwards through top cylinder (courtesy of a narrow lip on the inside). There's a technical explanation for how the air is forced outward to the front of the "fan". But, at the risk of offending engineers, mathematicians and the product development team at Dyson, all you need to know is: air is propelled out the front.

Unlike a normal fan, however, there are no blades to catch the fingers of curious toddlers or the tails of unwary cats. There's also no grill to get clogged up with the fur of the afore-mentioned cats. A further benefit touted by the team at Dyson is the lack of buffeting — air comes out in a continuous, smooth flow. We've never been particularly bothered by this with normal fans, however.

We would have loved it if the Dyson Air Multiplier was silent, but sadly it relies on a small fan concealed within the base for air intake. It's not especially loud, however. We could feel the breeze from a distance of 4m, so it should be adequate for many medium-sized rooms.

The fan can tilt forward or backwards on the base, and it can also turn from side to side at the push of a button (which, quite frankly, looks wonderful). Apart from the oscillation button to make it turn, the only other controls are the power button and a knob for adjusting air flow. Unlike fans that have a limited number of settings, air flow can be adjusted smoothly from minimum to maximum.

We'll happily admit that, even in an office that is regularly filled with all kinds of groovy hi-tech gadgets, the Dyson Air Multiplier fascinated us. It's extremely expensive given what it does, but it's far more stylish than a conventional fan. If money is no object, then by all means go for the Dyson; otherwise you can make do with a plebeian desk fan like the rest of us. We'd say we're fans of the Dyson Air Multiplier, but we always hate to end a review on a pun.

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