Airkave Portable Air Purifier Review: Powerful, But Expensive

Who Is The Airkave Portable Air Purifier For?

• The Airkave Portable air purifier is great for someone who wants to have purified air around them at all times
• The Airkave Portable can pair with a second unit to increase performance and aesthetics
• The Airkave Portable uses plasma technology, which means it doesn't have any filters that need replacing

In our post-COVID world, the biggest trend over the next few years will be health safety. Seeing as how the CDC has said the risk of contacting COVID from surfaces is very low, that means health safety is going to focus on air purification. Enter the Airkave Portable, a personal air purifier that uses a new plasma-based technology that has been independently verified to destroy COVID within seconds of detection.

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A Funky Shape

A single Airkave Portable unit is somewhat oddly shaped. It stands at over seven inches tall and is top-heavy. It weighs a little more than the average cell phone at around 0.7 pounds, and the vent that shoots out purified air is located right at the top.

The Airkave Portable has a rechargeable battery, and uses a USB-C cable to charge. Interestingly, the battery pack in the Airkave Portable is accessible, allowing users to swap in a different rechargeable battery if wanted. This is pretty rare across all of electronics, let alone air purifiers.

The Airkave Portable is controlled by a single power button at the top of the device. This button turns the Airkave Portable on and off, changes the currently active mode and has an LED inside to also serve as an indicator for charging and power. There are three different modes with the Airkave Portable, a standard mode, a "silent" mode that slows the fans down and a "power" mode that boosts the fan output.

Take It Anywhere

Because of the Airkave Portable's shape and size, it's easy to carry around wherever purified air is needed. This includes in cars, on airplanes, at the office, on a subway and more. The only thing stopping the Airkave Portable is its battery life.

A single Airkave Portable is capable of running in normal mode for around three hours. The run time increases to four and a half hours when put into the silent mode, and drops down to two hours when in power mode. This isn't very long, especially if the Airkave Portable is being used for a flight or day at the office. Thankfully, the Airkave Portable is capable of running while plugged in, which sacrifices its portability, but gives it basically an unlimited battery life. Airkave Portables are also capable of running on battery packs for when extra battery life is needed while on the go.

While the Airkave Portable is easy to carry around, it is somewhat loud. On the normal setting, the Airkave Portable sounds like a desktop computer with its fans going at full blast. On the power setting, the Airkave Portable sounds like a low-end hair dryer. Thankfully, the quiet setting is fairly quiet, though there is still a soft whirring sound from the fan.

Better With Two, Theoretically

The Airkave Portable has a sort of yin-yang shape to it which makes it perfect for pairing two of the air purifiers together. There is a magnetic connecting pin on the back of the Airkave Portable which allows a second device to be paired. With two devices together, they form the shape of a coffee cup, allowing both Airkave Portables to easily fit in a cup holder. Two devices together also greatly increases the Airkave's stability.

Theoretically, two Airkave Portable air purifiers should be able to pair with each other once connected via the pins on the back. Once paired, both Airkave Portable units are supposed to respond to a single power button and only one needs to be plugged in to recharge both batteries.

I keep saying "theoretically" because in my testing, I only managed to get my two Airkave Portable units to pair twice. I have tried dozens of times, and I really am not sure what I did differently for the two successful pairing attempts. Thankfully, the Airkave Portable doesn't absolutely need to be paired, as two will still be perfectly operational together even when not linked together.

What's especially annoying about the pairing is that the devices don't remember that they are paired. This means that even if two Airkave Portable units do pair with each other, that pairing is severed once the Airkave Portables are separated or turned off. This also means that the devices need to be paired together again every time they are turned on.

No Filters

One of the most annoying aspects of air purifiers is having to replace filters, which can sometimes be incredibly expensive. For example, the Brondell Pro AG+ has replacement filters that cost $100 and are recommended to be replaced every year.

Airkave has taken this annoyance out of their device by removing the need for filters entirely. Instead of filtering air like many other air purifiers, the Airkave Portable uses a revolutionary new system it calls Plascide technology. This tech is said to create "a thunderstorm of micro-lightning plasma" to kill airborne pathogens, according to the Airkave Portable press release. The Plascide tech is said to be more effective and work faster than similar technologies like UV-C light. Plascide technology also doesn't create any by-products like ozone or charged ions.

While there aren't any filters that need to be replaced, the Airkave Portable does still require its filters to be cleaned. Thankfully, this only requires some water and a cotton swab to get the Airkave Portable back up and running. A small vacuum can also be used to help clean up the dust filter.

But Does It Work?

I've reviewed a number of air purifiers and UV-C cleaning products over the past few months, and no matter what I'm reviewing, the question always comes back to "but, does it work?" Every time, I feel the need to point out that I don't have access to a laboratory and cannot verify for myself if these devices actually do what they claim.

With the Airkave Portable, here's what we do know. The device has been independently tested by MRIGlobal, and the test results are available for anyone to read on the Airkave website. The results show that the Airkave Portable is capable of an almost 99 percent effective rate at deactivating COVID in the air within an hour of use.

It should be noted that while the Airkave Portable has been proven effective, it is only effective in an area of around three cubic meters. That means the Airkave Portable is not something that can clear an entire room of COVID. The air purifier is instead focused on creating a small bubble around the device that protects those that are in close proximity.

Big Price Tag

The Airkave Portable has a higher price tag than expected thanks to its innovative Plascide technology. Despite its small stature, a single Airkave Portable unit is available right now for $350, while a bundle of two is available for $600.

That's a hefty sum of money, especially on something that cannot easily be proven to work effectively. However, personal safety is something that is determined person by person, so while I find this to be expensive, someone else may very well see it as a reasonable price.

Final Thoughts

Personal health safety over the next few years is going to be interesting, as everyone has a different level of risk that they will tolerate. For those who want to be extra cautious, the Airkave Portable brings air purification anywhere, so long as the device has battery life left.

While it would have been nice to see the pairing function work properly, the fact that the Airkave Portable doesn't need any filter replacements or any other special equipment makes the air purifier super convenient and easy to use. It's high price may sway some away, but those who are serious about their health may want to make an investment.

The Airkave Portable is available exclusively from the Airkave website.