While we typically don’t recommend tower fans, we still took a look at the Bluetooth-enabled Lasko Wind Curve Tower Fan to see if its smart home features might offset the flaws we’ve found among tower fans in general. However, the only smart capability it has to offer is an app that works in lieu of a remote control, and includes the same controls as the tower itself, with no additional functionality. You can’t schedule a regular cooling calendar; you can’t control it with a voice assistant; you can’t even set up location triggers to turn the fan off when you leave the house. As far as cooling capabilities were concerned, the fan was fantastic at first—but, like most tower fans, the oscillation only offers a fleeting relief from the heat, which got progressively weaker over time. It’s also frustratingly difficult to clean without taking the entire thing apart. The faux-wood panelling does look nice, however, and it is impressively quiet. Overall, it’s fine, as far as tower fans are concerned. But it also reminded us why we don’t recommend tower fans.

The glossy Vornado 660 Large Air Circulator was the runner-up pick in a previous version of this guide, but in side-by-side testing with the 630, we think the 660 is a little too powerful for most people’s needs. Having extra power isn’t bad, but paying a $30 premium for a windy maelstrom you may never end up using isn’t worth doing. The less expensive Vornado 630 has a similar performance and a smaller footprint, all of which make it our top pick. All this said, if you have a large house, or an exceptionally large room, and want some serious wind, the 660 was one of the most powerful fans we tested. It has some easy-to-use controls, a robust build quality, and a reassuring five-year warranty.

We also liked the Vornado 560 Medium Air Circulator, a slightly smaller version of the 660, but we didn’t find a compelling reason to recommend it over the cheaper 630. The 560 can move slightly more air than the 630, but not much. Like the 660, the 560’s most powerful speed is quite loud, and its least powerful speed is still rather loud. We thought it was important to have a setting that produces a quiet, slight breeze, so we preferred the 630. But again, if you want a little more power than the 630 in a fan that’s cheaper and smaller than the 660, the 560 is a good option.

The Vornado 6303DC Energy Smart Medium Air Circulator is basically an enhanced version of the 610DC, featuring an energy-efficient DC motor and variable speed options. But we found the variable speed control dial of the 610DC easier and faster to use than the 6303DC model’s +/- touchscreen buttons. Unlike the 610DC, the 6303DC comes with a remote and timer option, which are certainly nice to have. But these perks come at a cost, as the 6303DC is around $65 more expensive than the just-as-powerful 610DC.

The Vornado 733 Large Air Circulator was the second-most-powerful fan we tested in our first round of tests. That was the extent of what we liked about it. Unlike its cousin, the Vornado 660, the 733 can’t pivot. Its build quality also seemed inferior to that of the 660; the plastic also flexes—we were easily able to bend the grille aside to reach an index finger in up to the second knuckle. Also, this model costs more than our main pick.

The Seville Classics UltraSlimline Tower Fan with Tilt Feature is billed as an upgrade from the Seville Classics UltraSlimline, our former top pick. It performed nearly as well, with a slightly inferior airflow (velocity) and an identical air circulation score. It’s also ever-so-slightly quieter, and it tilts, allowing you to angle the airflow upward in a room. Despite all that, we didn’t think it was worth an extra $30 over the price of the older model, and it doesn’t seem as easy to find. One main thing in this model’s favor is that it has a five-year return policy (our pick, the Vornado 630, has only a one-year warranty). Considering the UltraSlimline’s history of failing within the first year, this five-year coverage is certainly more attractive. But as we learned from reader comments, Seville makes you pay to ship your defective fan back, which can cost nearly $50. So if you’re still dead-set on getting a tower fan, we’d recommend the similarly priced Vornado NGT335.

The Lasko #2554 42-Inch Wind Curve Fan with Remote costs just as much as our pick, the Vornado 630, but did a worse job of circulating air. Also, a piece of the cheap-feeling plastic body had broken off in transit. The remote had trouble doing its job, failing to register a command with a clear line of sight.

The Lasko Oscillating High Velocity Fan with Remote Control (Model 4930) is loud, ugly, and wobbly, but it was also the single most powerful fan we tested in 2017—so powerful as to be overkill. We don’t think most people need this much power, especially when it comes in such an unappealing package.

The Dyson AM07 Tower Fan is less powerful than the Seville and Vornado tower fans, and it was noticeably wobbly on both carpet and hard flooring. Moreover, the smaller AM06 table fan is powerful enough to function as a whole-room fan but costs about $70 less.

We also looked at a number of pedestal fans from the likes of Rowenta and Lasko but could never justify their price or the footprint they required, so we dismissed them outright in favor of the tower design. We also looked at some of the Honeywell Comfort Control tower fans, and though we may come around to testing them in the future, we dismissed them this time due to their lack of a remote. We’ve also spotted some issues in owner reviews complaining about the fans being too wobbly—something we’ve also experienced ourselves with a few Honeywells different staff members have owned.

The Honeywell TurboForce Air Circulator Fan (HT-900) is one of the most popular fans on Amazon, and it proved more powerful than the Holmes Lil’ Blizzard. But it takes up more space than the Holmes, it cannot oscillate, it has an annoyingly small control knob, and it failed our safety test with a grille that easily bent with a finger’s worth of pressure.

The Vornado Zippi Personal Fan is well-built, and at 51 decibels on high, it was one of the quietest fans we tested. But it doesn’t oscillate and its fabric blades are not very effective—we were unable to register a CFM reading at the 5-foot mark, and had to get within two feet to feel any measurable wind.

We have seen the Cascade 40-inch Tower Fan on shelves at Costco for about $30 (and also on Amazon for about $40). We haven’t tested this model ourselves, but feel confident dismissing it for the reasons outlined in Why we no longer recommend tower fans. The negative reviews of this model show a pattern of unreliability—either from the beginning or after limited use. A Vornado may be a higher cost up front, but it’s a better performer and a better long-term value.