Back in July I needed a new fan. I had trouble deciding which to get, so I treated myself to two: This Dreo Pedestal Fan (Amazon ASIN: B0CTCWLV35) and the Dreo Tower Fan (ASIN: B08PDDSDHY). This pedestal fan is more like a typical fan (it has a round portion on top that holds the blades). The tower fan is more unusual in that the blades run the length of the unit, which is like a skinny post. Dreo fans are shorter than other fans that I've had, but I think this enables them to have a smaller footprint. By that I mean that the base doesn't need to be as big in diameter to stop the fan from falling over. I like these fans, but they are very different. If you are trying to decide which type to get, perhaps this review will help. DREO TOWER FAN: I put the tower fan in the bedroom because it fits a little space I have in the corner. This fan takes up much less room than the pedestal fan because it's less bulky on top. The fan is quiet. However, noise is different at night when I'm trying to sleep. On its lowest windspeed setting it's almost silent and hard to notice that it's on, but even at this speed, it helps to circulate the air in the bedroom. The number 2 setting is reasonably quiet. I find the number 3 setting to be a little too noisy at night while I'm trying to sleep, but I don't think I would notice during the day. At this 3rd setting, the wind is a little too strong to have it blow directly on me. However, if it's a hot night, my husband likes it at this stronger setting and positions it to blow across the foot of our bed, which is comfortable for both of us. The fan has additional, more powerful settings (it can go up to 6), but we don't tend to use them. The fan noise isn't bad during the day, but the 3rd setting is the most I can tolerate at night. The tower fan can be set to rotate or be stopped to blow in one position/direction. A problem is that it can rotate only at its maximum (120 degrees). I would have preferred that it be customizable to rotate perhaps 45 degrees or 90 degrees. 120 is too much for our bedroom, as it tends to blow things that we don't want to have blown. Another thing to be aware of is that the tower fan can blow only across (horizontal to the floor). You cannot change the angle of the air to blow up or down. It's fine for blowing in the direction it is facing, but as the fan is short (the top of the blades is about 3 feet from the ground) the wind is only from about the base of the blades to 32 inches from the floor. If you want to feel the wind higher up than 3 feet, then this is not the fan for you. DREO PEDESTAL FAN: It's about the same height as the tower fan, but the tower fan is shaped like a rectangular post (6x6) with a wide, circular base.. The pedestal fan has a skinnier post, but a MUCH bulkier top. It's blade portion is about 12 inches across in diameter and almost 8 inches thick, so it looks like a pot turned sideways. However, the pedestal fan is more versatile than the tower. Like the tower fan, it has a maximum rotation of 120 degrees, but the rotation can be adjusted so it can turn in a smaller arc (or stopped to point in a specific direction). Another important difference is that the round portion holding the blades can be tilted to change the direction of the air flow. The pedestal fan can blow across (horizontal to the floor) or tilted up. It can blow straight up (90 degrees) or anything between 0 degrees (horizontal) or 90 degrees. (One problem I did encounter was that the manual didn't say that it was okay to grab it and tilt it manually. As this was an expensive fan, I didn't want to break it, so I at first flipped thru the manual to see if there was a button I needed to push to change the tilt. There isn't. However, I stop the fan from rotating before I tilt the blades--just to be extra careful.) The pedestal fan has 9 different windspeeds (the strongest is called turbo), so it can make a MUCH stronger breeze than the tower fan. As it's in the living room, we haven't tried to sleep with it, but if it were in the bedroom I assume I would have it at a low setting to reduce noise. If we are watching tv, I usually don't set it stronger than a 6, though I could probably go a little higher if I needed to. The airflow is fine for circulating air. I've been happy with it. However, based on the other reviews, I had expected this fan to create a much stronger breeze than it does. I suspect that the reviewers have only had wimpy fans to compare it to. I can understand that. Although I used to be able to find good, powerful fans, lately it's been hard to find any fans that make a good breeze--and most are very, very noisy. In comparison to other fans, I think the Dreos are fairly quiet. The amount of noise they make is low in relation to the amount of air they move. Holmes makes a nice fan that is cheap--around $30? It's quiet and looks nice, but unless I'm less than 5 feet away, I don't feel any breeze. In comparison to this fan, either Dreo is very powerful. It can make a strong breeze that I can feel several yards away. Both come with a remote, but I prefer to use the controls on the unit. The one problem I have with the pedestal fan is that I tend to accidentally touch the controls when I want to pick up the fan--but it's a minor inconvenience. Another thing to be aware of, is that the pedestal fan is easier to clean than the tower fan. That is, you can take more of it apart to get at any trapped dust, fur or hair. For the tower fan, you're pretty much limited to vacuuming the outside. So far, I'm happy with these fans. I would give the tower fan 4 stars and this pedestal one 5 stars. I like that the tower fan is so small and skinny. Even though it's not as versatile/powerful as the pedestal one, it's fine for our bedroom. I've used the pedestal fan a lot more because it can blow up or across. I've often moved it around the room on hot days. For a few months, I left it on 24/7. Now that the weather is colder, I don't need the fans so much. I hope they will work next year when the weather warms up.
