RANVOO 2024 AICE LITE Portable Neck Air Conditioner - 6000mAh Rechargeable Personal Cooling Fan with Cold Air Technology | Perfect for Outdoor Activities, Travel, Sports & Office Use - White

The AICE Lite is a well built piece of kit. It feels weighty and solid. No creaky plastic here. The display is crisp , simple and well designed. The packaging provides a nice unboxing experience and a nice presentation, with a die cut inner flap that reveals the device while also pointing out controls and vents. It all feels of quality and a premium experience. The box contains the neck cooler and a charge cord. No charge brick, no instructions.Full disclosure, I’m a fat guy living in South Florida. Worse, I work in a non air conditioned warehouse in Miami. It’s hot. It’s uncomfortable. You can understand why I wanted to try the AICE Lite. So does wearing this keep me cool at work? Well, no. But it helps. In extreme situations like mine, it won’t keep you cool, but will help somewhat. Maybe Ranvoo can make some companion devices. Maybe this device combined with an air-conditioned hat, underwear and shoes would keep me comfortable. ;-)In the morning, while temperatures are in the low 80s, the AICE Lite feels cold and refreshing. But in the afternoon when the temps climb to the upper 80’s and 90s, the unit is overwhelmed. I’ve read reviews that say that the cooling plates get warm under these conditions. That is how it feels, but the unit is still cooling. If you turn the unit off, you’ll quickly find that you were being cooled. In really hot situations, you’re still going to sweat. So if your plan was to use this to keep you cool and fresh while you’re walking around Disney World in August, well….I’ll still use the AICE Lite at work during the hottest months. But the real surprise is how useful it’s been around the house. It quickly cools you down when you get hot doing chores or after a hot shower. It’s great if you’re standing over a hot stove. As I write this, I’m using it for soothing heat around my sore neck.There are 4 modes: cooling, heating, fan only and an AI mode. The AI mode is a thermostat mode that works like any other thermostat you have. The AI mode is the mode to use, in my opinion. I found I could use it as a set-and-forget mode that kept me comfortable without freezing my neck. No constant fiddling. At my work during the morning, it cycled on and off as needed but by the afternoon it ran fast and constantly, trying to keep up.The battery lasted me three and a half hours on AI mode. So to cover an eight hour day, I needed to connect it to a power brick I carried in my pocket.One of my concerns was whether I would look silly wearing a neck air-conditioner. What I’ve found is that almost everyone ignores it, much as they would a pair of headphones resting around your neck.The AICE Lite is easy to operate by itself, but pairing it with the free Metaura app adds some functionality. This includes being able to make adjustments while you’re wearing the unit and can’t see the unit’s display. While you have simple low, medium, high settings on the unit, you don’t on the app. The app instead has you set a temperature. The app also gives you a low power mode, a silent mode, a cooling first mode and a hot pack mode. The trouble is that there are no instructions for the app. And I don’t see a difference between the heat mode and the hot pack mode. Same thing with the cooling first and cooling modes.A few things I think I have figured out: The low power mode seems to reduce power to the cooling/heating plates. The quiet mode just reduces the fan speed. The app displays the ambient temperature. This is often higher than the room temperature when the unit is sitting on you. When the app is connected, you can’t turn the unit off with its power button. Instead it goes into a sort of standby that’s shown by a pulsing power light. You have to use the app to turn it completely off.So my wish list for this neck A/C is full instructions for the app explaining the more obscure settings. I’d also like some raised bumps on the physical buttons to make them easier to use by touch. And I’d like a gentle spring to help keep the units arms in contact with the side of my neck.Wish list aside, I’m glad I bought the AICE Lite. I had imagined a total solution for my hot working conditions. It’s not, but it does help, while also being surprisingly useful around the house and car. If you have realistic expectations, I recommend the AICE Lite.