Welcome back, everyone! Today, I’m reviewing the latest in a long line of Arctic Air products—the Arctic Air Ice Jet. This new addition follows several iterations, including the original Arctic Air, the Arctic Air Ultra, and my personal favorite, the Arctic Air Pure Chill. The Ice Jet promises to deliver cooling relief using three ice packs instead of the evaporative cooling method used by its predecessors. But does it really live up to the hype? Let’s find out in today’s review.
Arctic Air Ice Jet Review
Where to Purchase
Below are links to purchase the Ice Jet or the Pure Chill. I purchased the Arctic Air Ice Jet for $30 on Amazon, and it’s also available at major retailers like Walmart and Target.
Unboxing and Setup
The unit comes with a USB cable (though no power cube), three reusable ice packs, and an instruction manual—which I promptly tore while opening. The setup is straightforward: fill the ice packs with water, freeze them for at least an hour, and you’re ready to go. There are also three “booster packs” which are small packets of powder which are to be added to the packs before filling, although it’s unclear what those do, or if they provided any benefits.
The Ice Jet boasts several features, including three fan speeds, a multidirectional vent, and an LED nightlight with seven color options. However, reviews are mixed—some users claim it works as advertised, while others say it doesn’t stay cool for long.
Performance Comparison
To test the Ice Jet’s performance, I compared it against the Arctic Air Pure Chill in three configurations: as a fan, with water and a wet filter, and with water and a frozen filter. Here’s how it went:
- Pure Chill (Fan Mode) vs. Ice Jet (Ice Packs):
- The Pure Chill, without any cooling filter, only blew room temperature air.
- The Ice Jet, with its ice packs, initially blew cooler air, inside the unit measuring in the low 50s (°F), compared to the Pure Chill’s room temperature output.
- Pure Chill (Wet Filter) vs. Ice Jet (Ice Packs):
- The Pure Chill, with a wet filter, managed to reach temperatures around 64°F.
- The Ice Jet remained in the low 50s, maintaining a slight edge in cooling.
- Pure Chill (Frozen Filter) vs. Ice Jet (Ice Packs):
- This time I measured air coming out of the units at about 12 inches away.
- With both units running on high and using thermometers for accuracy, the Pure Chill’s cooling area was wider and slightly cooler.
- The Pure Chill settled around 68°F, while the Ice Jet around 72°F, proving less effective.
Additional Observations
Despite freezing the ice packs overnight, the Ice Jet’s cooling performance diminished after about 50 minutes, with the air coming out feeling almost room temperature. The ice packs themselves showed a similar temperature, suggesting they lost their cooling ability fairly quickly.
The Ice Jet also lacks a filter, which could be seen as an advantage to some (no need to replace filters) but as a disadvantage in terms of cooling efficiency, especially because those filters in older models could be wet and frozen. Additionally, the fan power of the Ice Jet was weaker compared to the Pure Chill (8mph on high for the Pure Chill vs about 5mph for the Ice Jet).
Final Verdict
In the battle between the Arctic Air Pure Chill and the new Ice Jet, the Pure Chill emerges as the clear winner. The Pure Chill’s evaporative cooling method, combined with a stronger fan, consistently provided cooler air. In contrast, the Ice Jet’s reliance on ice packs proved to be less effective and less consistent.
While I appreciate the Ice Jet’s sleek design and the idea of avoiding water and filters, its performance doesn’t justify switching from the Pure Chill. If you’re looking for reliable cooling, I’d still go with the older Pure Chill – or simply a cheap desktop fan without any gimmicks.
Have you tried the Arctic Air Ice Jet or any other Arctic Air products? Tell me what you think in the comments below!
Video Review
Check out my full video below.
I’ve also tested a “evaporator” type cooling unit, with thermometers and hydrometers and found NO temperature change and only hydrometer increase in humidity – I’m in southern Nevada and only wanted a few degrees of cooling, on a “warm” spot in our house, we have central air and wanted a few degrees in a back bedroom, I bought a “swamp cooler” water/air blower/evaporator and had a half dozen thermometers and found No temperature change with a “swamp cooler” and only a increase in humidity – this type of “added water to the air” is completely in effective as I put… Read more »
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve found that evaporative coolers can really vary based on climate conditions, circulation, size, etc. A lot of these As Seen on TV evaporative coolers are hardly better than an old-school fan, which I prefer to use – and I’m also in southern Nevada!
I bought one brought it home and was disappointed with it within a few minutes. The door that holds the chilling rings in won’t remain closed, so when you turn it over, they fall out.
Seems to be quite flimsy, I don’t believe it would be very useful in cooling at all.
Unfortunately, your problems don’t appear to be isolated.
I have boughten Artic air products in the past, in fact I have boughten the ones with the paper filters which they don’t make anymore so that is why I bought the. Artic air ice jet and I took it home found out their is no adapter with it since it is optional and I plug it in to my computer for 8 hrs and it will turn on when it plugged into my computer with the USB port but when I try to turn it on without using my computer it doesn’t hold a charge. I don’t know why… Read more »
I bought the Arctic Air Ice Jet, followed instructions and it will not even turn on. Money wasted.
I just bought one as well, what looks like the power button “isn’t” look on front of the fan the tiny button is actually the power button and you have to click it twice for it to come on. This is the first time using it so far it’s working fine. Not a powerful alternative but it helps.
ICE PACK CRACKED, STORE WON’T RETURN JUNK!