Junior Linah Choi has a unique disadvantage in some of her classes.

Choi says she often struggles to keep a pen in place in her hand because it slips out.

She says her typing is scattered with errors, offset by her fingers sliding off a key.

And to top it off, she adds that her fingerprints are left on the paper in the form of slightly damp marks. 

“I have a condition called hyperhidrosis, which makes my hands sweat constantly regardless of temperature,” the junior says.

Her condition and the subsequent challenges with writing utensils have made it difficult for her to focus in class.

But one thing she has found to ease her day — especially in that 80- to 90-degree hot, Southern California weather – her portable fan, which she started bringing to school since the start of the 2023-2024 school year. 

“I guess I just got tired of dealing with [sweat from the heat] with handkerchiefs or just trying to dry my hands off,” says Choi, who has owned five with the recent one being a $24.23 mint blue Lumena fan from the Korean shopping website, Coupang.                      

The junior is among some of the students who have opted for their own personal cooling mechanism instead of relying on teachers’ use of air conditioning in the classroom. These handy dandy devices have been commonly used by visitors at amusement parks like nearby Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park or Disneyland in Anaheim to keep cool during the summer heat as they wait in long lines to get on rides.

But their inexpensive cost has made it an appealing item to bring to keep the breeze going throughout the school day.

The cost of these portable fans can go as low as $4.48 to over $200, and they come in a variety of colors, most of which come in black, white, or one of the primary colors.

Others have additional features such as mist or light. Some also come in a curved shape or with a stand for users to hang around their neck. 

Many can be powered through USB, which students usually plug into their school-issued chromebooks to charge.

“Usually [in class] I put the fan in its stand and point it at me or my hands,” Choi says. “It really helps me work past the discomfort.”

Junior Kyle Regoso’s roughly $16 Pomya portable fan, which he bought with his dad’s encouragement, is black and yellow and includes a portable charger that he finds convenient for his phone throughout the school day.

“I would recommend the fan to others, especially because it’s been useful to me through the weather and when my phone is dying,” says Regoso, who first started bringing his fan to school during his sophomore year. “I only bring my fan when I remember to bring it and the weather’s hot — it really helps with the heat.”

In addition to cooling himself on warmer days, Regoso says he also makes use of the different features on his fan. 

“It’s really convenient,” he says. “Besides, the fan helps me charge my phone with its portable charger.”   

Similarly, sophomore June Yun’s rechargeable “kitten” fan from Temu comes with a charging port using a regular USB.

“I used it a lot this past semester, mostly because the weather’s been weirdly hot,” Yun says. “It’s been really helpful, and I find it convenient often.”

The sophomore says she originally bought her fan last year because of the high temperatures, paying a lower end price of around $3 using a sales deal.       

These portable fans have also been useful for student athletes. Swimmer sophomore Julia Rezko says she tends to borrow fans her teammates bring to cool off at outdoor meets. 

“I do wish I had one because they’re great, but there’s never a moment where I really think I need my own,” Rezko says. 

Similarly, boys water polo player sophomore Dante Gelles is not a big fan of these devices.

“I think if you stay active, you just get used to the heat thanks to the exercise,” Gelles says. “So I don’t feel the need to cool off much other than drinking a lot of water.”

Students like junior Abdulsalam Lee originally hesitated to buy a portable fan because of the typically hefty price.

“Ever since I saw a portable fan, I guess buying it was just in the corner of my mind,” Lee says. “But looking at the pros and cons, I really think that it’s a worthy investment.”

Choi believes a portable fan’s benefits outweigh the price.

“I don’t think I’d be comfortable going back to not using fans,” she says. “It really is helpful in the heat and classroom.”

Students without fans also agree with Lee and Choi’s sentiments.

“I don’t really think I need a fan,” Rezko says. “But I’d definitely be willing to invest in one when the time comes.”

Choi says she first decided to buy portable fans – very common in her native South Korea during the summer when the humidity and heat can reach up to 70% and 90 degrees, respectively – in her freshman year as an alternative method to cool herself.

“At first I occasionally used a handkerchief because I thought the fan was loud,” she says. “But after a while, I realized that people don’t really care, and it’s not as loud as I think.”

Since then, Choi has spent a total of a little under $100 on five total fans. She lost one earlier in the fall semester –  a pale blue Lumena Fan Pro4 with a C-cable charging port – replacing it with a previous model of the same color.    

Whether it was the charging port or the fan’s blades, each fan Choi bought ended up breaking down, leading her into a short cycle of replacing broken fans.

The junior says she bought her most recent and fifth portable fan — the one she lost — this past summer with her mom on Coupang, a Korean online shopping website. 

After losing it, she is back to using her fourth, a previous model. 

During her time in class, Choi says she usually places her device on her desk roughly a foot away from her.        

“Usually I put the fan in its stand and point it at me or my hands,” the student says. “It really helps me work past the discomfort [of my condition].”

Despite Choi’s frequent use of her fan, she believes these portable machines will keep a low profile on campus.

“Although it’s useful for me, I don’t think people are going to start using fans more,” she says. “Besides, people don’t really notice it much, and I don’t think anyone cares that I use it.”