Coleman OneSource Fan Review (Bought & Tested!)

This is my Coleman OneSource Camping Fan review. I put it through many different tests, all of which you’ll find below in this post.

This page contains affiliate links, and that means that I may earn a commission if you buy something, at no extra cost to you. You can find my full disclosure policy here.

Quick Summary

I thought the Coleman OneSource Fan was perfectly functional and decent performing, but for the price-point, I think there are way better camping fans out in the market (this definitely isn’t my favorite).

Unless, of course, you swear by the Coleman brand (then sure, it’s a good enough pick).

RELATED: Best Camping Fans

If you enjoyed this video, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel here:

Check out the Coleman OneSource Fan:

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:

• Coleman fan

• Rechargeable battery (thank goodness this isn’t sold separately!)

• Included usb cord

• Instructions and other info

2. Rechargeable Battery

At the bottom of the fan, you’ll find the compartment for the OneSource rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

Here’s a breakdown of the installation process:

• Look for the white button on the battery (see the picture above; my finger is pointing to it) and another one on the fan. Align these.

• Rotate the battery counter-clockwise a little, while using a bit of strength to push on it as you rotate it. There will be one part where the battery clicks into place.

• After that, just turn it clockwise and it’ll be secure in the fan.

3. Charge Time

At the bottom of the rechargeable battery, you’ll find 2 flaps. One of them is for charging up the lithium ion battery, and there’s a USB-C input for you to do that (using the provided cable and one of your wall outlets at home/camping).

The battery lights will start blinking when you do that, and when all 3 lights turn solid and don’t blink, that’s when it’s fully charged. This takes about 3 hours and 15 minutes.

It’ll take only about 2 hours if you’re charging from a 2.4 ampere output, or 5 hours from a 1 ampere output, so mine’s somewhere in between.

4. Mobile Charging

The other flap at the bottom of the lithium ion battery is a regular USB port (USB-A), which is the output port. I used it to charge my iPhone 12 (you can charge any device, like a tablet), and here are the results:

• First charge: 20% to 98% (total: 78%)

• Second charge: 59% to 97% (total: 38%)

• Number of charges: 1.5x (iPhone 12)

• Leftover battery: 8 mins (high), 24 mins (low)

The battery capacity is 4,800 mAh, and gave me 1.5 charges of my iPhone.

5. Warranty

The warranty is 3 years in length.

6. Fan Speeds

This Coleman fan has a single adjustment knob at the front of the fan; turn it to 1 for low fan speed and 2 for high fan speed.

To test for fan speed, I got this mini anemometer and here are the results:

• Low speed: 2.0 m/s

• High speed: 2.9 m/s

7. Airflow Distance

The usable air flow distance on the high speed came in at about 66 inches, which is about the size of only a 2-person tent (even a 4-person tent is pushing it).

8. Noise Level

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

• Off: 0 dBA

• Low: 55 dBA

• High: 67 dBA

9. Run Times

What is the battery life or the run times of the Coleman OneSource batteries? Here are my results:

• High speed: 5.75 hours

• Low speed: 17.5 hours

10. Flashlight Function

The flashlight function on the Coleman OneSource fan was useful. Simply long-press the light icon on the battery, hold it for 2-3 seconds, and the flashlight will turn on.

The lumen output came in at 57 lumens.

11. Battery Level Lights

The same button to the flashlight also controls the battery level lights.

If you want to check how much battery you have left, just short-press (1 second) the same button, but do not hold the button, and the battery lights will come on.

12. Adjustable Legs

This Coleman fan is also a standing fan, it has these 3 legs at the bottom of the fan.

13. Head Rotation

The fan head can be rotated 180-degrees from the front to the back, but not from the left to the right.

14. Bottom Hook

I liked the nice big metal hook at the bottom of the fan; you can use this as a handle, or even for hanging at the top of your tent:

15. IPX Rating

This fan has an IPX4 rating, this is a water-resistant rating, which means it should be able to take light to moderate rains fine.

So, I rain tested this fan, and after about 30 minutes of moderate rain, it actually held up fine. The ports were sealed very well and kept everything dry.

16. Portability

As for weight, this fan came in at about 22.4 ounces, which is about 634 grams.

The packed size of the fan was 7 x 7 x 11 inches, or 17.8 x 17.8 x 28 centimeters.

• Fan face: 7 x 7 inches

• Length: 11 inches

17. Pros, Cons, Recommendations

Pro 1: Feature-rich

I like that there’s a decent number of physical features that this fan has:

• Retractable legs

• Front to back fan rotation

• Bottom hook

• Battery level lights (You’d be surprised, but not all fans have battery lights.)

There’s no sleep timer though.

Pro 2: Comes with flashlight function

I was also pleasantly surprised by the flashlight mode, just in case you need some light at night.

It doesn’t take up a lot of battery:

• High fan speed only: 5 hours 40 minutes

• High fan speed with flashlight: 5 hours 34 minutes

• Decrease in run time 6 minutes (1.7%)

Note: Another Coleman fan, the Coleman CPX 6, comes with a lantern function instead of a flashlight (if you wanna check out what that looks like). Apart from the lantern though, the CPX 6 is a pretty sucky fan.

Con 1: Could have more fan modes

Yes, this is a Coleman OneSource ‘multi speed fan’, but it’s multi-speed is only 2 speeds. Most high quality fans tend to have 3 or 4 speeds.

Con 2: Not high speed

Also, the highest fan speed isn’t very high, topping off at just slightly under 3 meters per second.

Con 3: Airflow can be better

The airflow distance is also not very far.

Honestly, when I hung this at the top of my Sundome 6, which has a peak height of about 74.5 inches, I could barely feel it when I was lying at the bottom of the tent. That’s why I recommend sticking this in a 2, maybe 4-person tent. Not a 6-person tent.

Con 4: Not very quiet

It’s also not quiet, it’s one of my noisier camping fans for sure, with the higher speed coming in at almost 70 decibels.

Recommendation

Overall, I’d recommend this Coleman OneSource fan only if you have other OneSource batteries from other OneSource compatible devices.

Their OneSource batteries act as universal power packs in one system that powers outdoor gear from Coleman.

If you do, I suppose these can be quite conveniently rechargeable outdoor gear to have.

18. Bonus – MUST Read!

Otherwise, just click here to find out which camping light fan is the best for you instead (hint: it’s not the Coleman OneSource!)

Otherwise, check out the Coleman OneSource Fan: