The Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat bladeless tower fan and heater is out to end the thermostat wars
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If you’re lucky enough to live with someone who has the same temperature preferences as you do, you might consider keeping that partnership alive for a lifetime. Many of us suffer through living with others who have wildly different temperature preferences. It’s a battle for control of the thermostat year-round. Shark is out to ease the stress of temperature wars.
The SharkNinja brand makes some of our favorite kitchen appliances, air purifiers, and vacuums. The Ninja Slushi has given us frozen margs on demand, while the Shark PowerDetect with Clean and Empty System is a Mashable favorite for vacuuming up stubborn pet hair. But now we’ve stumbled onto the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat Bladeless Tower Fan and Heater, and this is worthy of a top-tier SharkNinja award. Aside from the long name, I’ve been impressed with nearly every feature while testing it out.
A one-and-done situation, with a kid-friendly design
One of the strongest selling points about the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat is that it’ll serve as extra warmth in the winter and a cooling breeze come summer. Both of these functions are housed in the slim and sleek design. That means you won’t have to unpack and then pack away the space heater and find where that dusty box fan went when the seasons change.
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I found the slim profile of the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat to be awesome for both storage and carrying from room to room. Because of this, I think it could be a perfect year-round addition to a small apartment, dorm room, or bedroom. Plus, the bladeless design makes it more child-friendly, although keep in mind the exterior can get hot.
A satisfying pivot
The arms of the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat move in two different ways. First, both arms can tilt together to fully vertical, horizontal, or anywhere in between. Then, each arm has a separate airflow adjustment, allowing you to position the airflow directly where you’d like it to go in fan mode. In heating mode, the air comes out of only the center vent, but you can still choose vertical or horizontal.
In both heat and cool mode, the TurboBlade can oscillate up to 180 degrees, which is really great if you’re sitting on the couch trying to heat or cool more than just yourself. You can also set smaller oscillation rotations, like my preferred 45 degrees.
The versatility of the TurboBlade Cool + Heat
I tested out the TurboBlade Cool + Heat during a chilly fall in the Pacific Northwest, which meant I stuck mostly to the heater function’s three modes. Thermo IQ allows you to select your desired temperature between 60 and 90 degrees, and the heater will take it from there. The comfort mode is designed for all-day use at a sustained temperature, and the focus setting is perfect if you come home from work wanting nothing more than to sit on the couch with warm air pointed in your direction.
I used the cooling fan during two scenarios: while sleeping and while working out. I hate a hot room when working out, but it’s not worth turning down the central heating for my 30-minute rowing session since that would cool the entire house. Instead, I carried the TurboBlade Cool + Heat with me, positioned it in front of the rower, and took off on my workout in cooling bliss. Plus, the wind made my stationary rowing machine feel a lot more like I was actually out on the water and not stuck working out inside, thanks to December rain.
In an Instagram Reel, Shark showed a person using the cool fan setting of the TurboBlade while cooking in a hot kitchen. I’m really bummed I didn’t think of this because I was a sweaty mess in the kitchen on Thanksgiving while trying to cook, bake, and sauté while wearing a wool sweater. The TurboBlade would have made that a lot more comfortable.
Another instance that made me love the TurboBlade Heat + Cool was when I was sleeping. Shark advertises that the fan function can create an “air blanket” thanks to the design. With the arms in the horizontal position, the fan can sit at the foot of the bed and blow blissfully cool air to both sides of the bed. There are 10 speeds to choose from with the fan mode.
I already thought the pivot on each arm was a great feature, but this is where I really loved it. I’m a hot sleeper, so a fan is a must. But I’m also a light sleeper, and if I position a fan directly onto me, that airflow will cause wispy hair to tickle my face, and that’s an infuriating situation. So the ability to have a cool breeze over the bed, positioned exactly so that it missed my face and hair, is pure beauty. While using it at night, I was also impressed by how quiet the fan is, even at the highest speed.
Can you love a remote control? Because this one is good.
The remote control that comes with the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat has probably ruined most remotes for me from here on out. For one, the remote magnetically attaches to the main body of the fan. And it’s not some half-assed magnet — this is a powerful magnet that really wants to nest itself back home, and I appreciate that. It also has a shocking operation range. I was able to turn the heater on in the morning while I was still in bed in the other room. Since both my partner and I sleep hot, we turn the heat off entirely at night. It's common for me to be chilling (literally) in a 58-degree office when I log on for work at 6 a.m. Walking into a pre-heated room thanks to the Shark TurboBlade was a level of spoiled I didn’t know I could swing.
If you don’t love the remote, the display and control face on the fan itself is also useful. In another thoughtful design touch, you can alter the brightness of the display between four levels. That’s awesome if you’re an annoyingly light sleeper like me and don’t want the display on at all.
Not the best for large rooms
In my testing, I found the heating and fan on the TurboBlade Cool + Heat to be pretty darn effective. The ability to heat rapidly was slightly less efficient than my beloved Vornado AVH10 space heater, but that thing is a beast of a heater that I adore. I wouldn’t count on the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat to warm a large room with an open floor plan, but I found it great for heating a bedroom or office, and I think it would be ideal in a small studio apartment.
Is the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat worth the price?
If you want a portable fan and space heater that doesn’t look aesthetically unpleasing, the Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat is a great option. It’s extra ideal for small spaces since you can get use out of it year-round, instead of finding a seasonal storage area. It’s also a nice solution for someone in your family who’s always uncomfortable with whatever temperature the majority can agree on — and it would be great to let family or friends use it in a guest room if you’re hosting.
I’m always inclined to break down price into a cost-benefit ratio, so here we go: Use the SharkTurbo blade for every day in a single year, and you’re at about $1 per day if the tower fan is sitting at full price, plus whatever your local energy cost is, of course.
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Lauren Allain is a freelance journalist covering deals at Mashable. She graduated from Western Washington University with a B.A. in journalism and holds an M.B.A from Webster Leiden. You can find more of her work online from publications including Reader’s Digest, U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Refined, and more. When she’s not writing, Lauren prefers to be outside hiking, bouldering, swimming, or searching for the perfect location for all three.
