Back in 2019, as part of my review of Zero Breeze Mark II portable AC unit, I call the sacred name of Tim Curry and one of his best roles, Herkermer Homolka, in the 1995 classic movie Camp Congo. (“It’s the city that lost Zinj. I’ve been searching all my life.”) Never mind the talking gorilla and fist-sized diamonds just lying on the ground in the jungle, for me this is a movie about how to stay calm when you are out in boonies.
As I commented three years ago, the Zero Breeze Mark II is a partial manifestation of the portable air conditioner seen in that movie. But for 26 pounds with battery and $1,599, the bulky device isn’t suitable for casual or portable use. It is best suited for more stationary purposes such as cooling closed truck beds or stationary structures such as hot warehouses.
Recently, the company contacted me to say that things have changed with the Mark II, that the Mark II unit that I initially reviewed was indeed a prototype and that the final version may now be fine. than. “In the future, the new generation of off-grid air conditioners will be more efficient and used in more situations,” wrote an unnamed company representative. “We’re happy now that the Mark II is not only being used for RVs, truck stops, camping, etc., but we’re getting feedback from very specific people.”
I don’t know what that means, but I was told that I would review the updated product to see what happened to it over time.
In the grand scheme of things, not much. This is not a Zero Breeze Mark III but a release of the Zero Breeze Mark II.1, with some minor aesthetic upgrades and a host of new features that improve its utility. Otherwise, it is quite similar to the previous product.
Let’s start with what hasn’t changed much. The overall design remains identical, the silver-colored snow blower design still measures around 20 x 13 x 8 inches. The large 35 Ah/840-Wh battery is attached to the bottom of the device for on-the-go. As with the original Mark II, the battery still had to be connected to the blower by a small, complicated, and unnecessary cable. When I weighed the system with its battery in 2019, I had a total weight of 26 pounds. Today’s weight comes in at a surprising 30 pounds, which is even 1.5 pounds heavier than the unit’s stated specs.
As for the changes, the biggest takeaways are visible as soon as you open the box: the new Mark II can still work without batteries via its A/C adapter, but you don’t need a second power adapter. to charge the battery again. The same power adapter can operate both devices. No, you still can’t charge the battery and operate the air conditioner at the same time, but eliminating the need to use two separate adapters is a great fix.
A new pair of accessories come in the box, including a drain hose to keep condensate from dripping all over your tent and a third expandable ventilation duct in addition to the original pair. Two of these tubes can be used to conduct hot exhaust gases outdoors; the new third tube attaches to the cold air outlet and lets you direct it elsewhere, so you don’t have to sit right next to it (still noisy but maybe a bit quieter) Mark II to stay in the zone cool air blowing. The battery pack also includes a USB-C port for charging personal devices, in addition to two USB-A ports and a 12-volt DC outlet.
But the best news is that the Zero Breeze still works pretty well, although I can’t discern any real difference in functionality from the former. If you don’t mind the noise, the system can blow cold air at a decent level, and the smaller the space, the more effective the cooling will be. A thermostat on the front shows the temperature of the air coming out of the unit, and it drops below 60 degrees F surprisingly quickly. Battery life seems to have improved a bit, based on my testing with the new device. I ran the device with a fully charged cell and got over four hours of runtime at full capacity before it started to perform worse, compared to about 3 and a half hours on the 2019 device. output level and of course you can extend the runtime a bit.
All of that brings us to one big question, and it’s the same as the previous one: Who’s going to use this? The rattle sounds much more pleasant with the climate control system on the table, but less tolerable when your cabinet is filled with the noise equivalent of a couple of hair dryers. The $100 discount since 2019, at least, reduces some of the harm caused by all racquets.
