Coleman CPX 6 Fan Review (Bought & Tested!)

This is my Coleman CPX 6 Lighted Tent Fan review. I put it through many different tests while camping, all of which you’ll find below in this post.

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Quick Summary

In one sentence – this is the worst camping fan I’ve ever used, and I would never recommend the Coleman CPX6.

Feel free to read on to see how I tested it, and why it’s so bad.

RELATED: Best Camping Fan

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Check out the Coleman CPX 6:

1. In the Box

I picked up this Coleman fan from Amazon, and here’s what it looks like still in its packaging:

And here’s everything I got out of the box:

• CPX 6 fan

• User guide

• Metal plate

• Magnetic hook

2. Fan Modes and Fan Speeds

I used a mini anemometer to test out the different speeds of the different fan modes, and here are my results:

• Low: 2.8 m/s or 9.2 ft/s

• High: 3.7 m/s or 12.1 ft/s

3. Air Flow Distance

I also wanted to measure the air flow distance, and I did so using the same mini anemometer, and here are the results:

• Low: 10in / 25cm

• High: 21in / 53cm

Any further away, and the anemometer would not be able to pick up any reading at all, as there is not enough air that blows far enough.

4. Noise Level

To test for the noise level, I also got a sound level meter, and here are my results:

• Off: 41 dBA

• Low: 55 dBA

• High: 61 dBA

5. Power Source

The only power source of this Coleman fan is via its four D batteries, and the battery compartment is at the back of the fan:

This fan does NOT run on a rechargeable battery.

If you want a Coleman fan with a rechargeable battery pack instead, check out my Coleman OneSource review. The rechargeable battery of the OneSource is also removable, which is pretty cool.

6. Fan Run Times

I used Energizer Max D-batteries, and here are my results when I ran the fan:

• High: 25 hours

• Low: 35 hours

Note: Different battery brands will produce different run-times.

Beyond these timings, the fan was still running, but the fan speed was so slow I couldn’t feel anything at all.

7. Lantern Modes

Now, here are the different light modes, and my tested results when I used a lux meter to test each of them:

• Low (lantern): 150 lumens

• High (lantern): 470 lumens

8. Light Quality

As for the light quality, there are these 5mm LED lights inside the lantern, there are four of these, and I found these to be super harsh on the eyes.

There’s no frosting and no light diffusion on this lantern, and I hated using this lantern at night.

9. Lantern Run Times

Now, how long can the lantern run for? Here are my tested results:

• High (lantern): 100 hours

• Low (lantern): 300 hours

Past the above timings, the light dims to a very, very tiny 0-lumen night.

10. Lantern & Fan Run Times

When running both the lantern and fan together, here are my results:

Mode	Energizer Max
Fan (High)	25 hours
Fan (High), Light (Low)	25 hours
Fan (High), Light (High)	22 hours

With the high fan running with the low light brightness at the same time, I noticed only a very slight decrease in run-time (very negligible, still 25 hours).

However, with the brighter setting, there’s about a 10% decrease in run-time (from 25 hours to 22 hours).

11. Handle

This fan has a thin metal handle at the back, you can use this to carry it around, or even use your own carabiner to hang it up at the top of the tent.

12. Magnetic Plate and Hook

Coleman provides a magnetic carabiner hook plus a magnetic plate as well, so you can hang the lantern up anywhere in your tent even if there’s no tent hook:

13. Waterproofing

I couldn’t find a waterproof rating for this fan, so I rain tested it myself through 30 minutes of moderate rain:

Both the fan and light functions are still working, but the battery compartment was pretty soaked with water, so I don’t think it would have been able to take much more rain than what I put it through.

14. Warranty

The warranty length is 1 year.

15. Weight

As for weight, this fan came in at about 25.2 ounces, which is about 714 grams, without the D batteries.

With the 4 D batteries though, the total weight comes in at about 1.3 kilograms, or about 45.2 ounces.

16. Packed Size

The packed size of this fan comes in at about 10 x 9.5 x 5.75 inches, which is about 25.4 x 24.1 x 14.6 centimeters.

It’s a little bit bulky to dump into a bag, though you can use it for shorter camping trips

17. Fan Blades Size

And the size of the blades comes in at about 7.5 inches in diameter, which is about 19 centimeters.

18. Pros, Cons, Recommendations

Pro 1: Love the magnetic plate

As for pros, I think the only one is that the magnetic plate and clip is quite ingenious.

I really liked that I could hang it up anywhere on the tent, down low if I wanted, or up high above the door. There’s a lot of versatility when hanging this around.

Con 1: Not many fan modes

However, we get into the cons here.

First up, there’s not a lot of fan speeds to pick from, just 2 different speeds, which are 2.8 m/2, or 3.7 m/s.

Con 2: Air flow distance is terrible

On top of that, air flow is terrible, because the fan blades are made of foam. These are meant to prevent kids’ fingers from getting cut off, but they don’t push air as much as solid plastic/metal fan blades.

It does not keep me cool AT ALL, and it was so uncomfortable when sleeping.

Con 3: Can’t stand on uneven ground

There’s a tiny stand at the back of the Coleman fan, but it doesn’t allow the fan to stand up on uneven terrain at all, and keeps falling over.

Con 4: Noisy fan

The noise level is particularly annoying as well, and it’s one of my noisier camping fans.

Con 5: Light is terrible on the eyes

And I hated the light as well, it’s too glaring.

Con 6: Expensive to maintain

This Coleman CPX 6 takes 4 batteries each time, so it’s very expensive over the long run (I pay about $1 to $2 PER D-battery).

Note: For myself, to save money on batteries, I like rechargeable fans the best. Do check out my review of the Claymore V600+ Fan if you want my best recommendation.

Overall Recommendation

Overall, I think all the tests I did for this review will show you exactly why I really disliked this fan, and I’ll never use it again. But if you want to, you can still check out the Coleman CPX 6 on Amazon here.

19. Bonus – MUST Read!

Now, I have way too many other good fans that I can rely on, so do check out the best tent fans in the market that are wayyy better.

Otherwise, if you want to regret your purchase, check out the Coleman CPX 6: