I’m a fan of «Nick»
23/6/2026
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Pictures: Martin Jungfer
A new fan from Stadler Form has recently moved in to my place. Sure, Nick’s good-looking, but can he deliver? In my test, he held up really well and proves that, sometimes, less is more.
Please note (23 June 2026): The fan I tested is currently in short supply or even out of stock. I checked with my colleagues in purchasing, who told me more are already on their way and availability should improve within the next few days.
Heatwave upon heatwave seems to be the new normal. Shoutout to climate change! If you’re struggling to keep cool in the midst of it, a fan provides a bit of relief.
Although it won’t actually lower the temperature in your apartment, the breeze it creates does feel nice. Our bodies constantly give off heat into the atmosphere, creating a kind of invisible cloud of warmth around them. A fan blows this cloud, making the slightly cooler air in the room perceptible on your skin.
In essence, that’s how any device works that moves air. What I look for in a fan is that it’s both effective and efficient. Meaning: quiet, energy saving and ideally also a looker.
Nick ticks all my boxes. He hails from Stadler Form, headquartered in Zug. Like most appliances, he was made in China. Nevertheless, I get the impression that «Swissness» is important to the Swiss company when it comes to design and functionality.
Built like a skyscraper
And sure enough, I’m not disappointed when I receive the fan from the manufacturer for testing purposes. Setup is easy and takes less than five minutes. All I have to do is attach the base to the fan tower with four screws. The longest part of this step was taking the Phillips-head screwdriver out of the toolbox.
That’s all it takes for Nick to stand there in all his glory. He’s giving me elegant skyscraper vibes along the lines of New York’s 432 Park Avenue, designed by architect Rafael Viñoly. The building has beautiful views of Central Park.
Because of their slender shape, these skyscrapers are also referred to as pencil towers.
Nick, the fan, isn’t quite as slim as a pencil. But despite his base of 10 by 13 centimetres, he stands a full 95 centimetres tall. His «floors» consist of 104 ventilation slits on his front cover. The product designers at Stadler Form added two wooden elements on the left and right sides of the tower. This gives Nick a warm, inviting feel and makes him look less technical. A flat Euro plug is attached to the cable, which is a bit on the short side at 1.60 metres.
The metal base plate measures 21 × 21 centimetres. The plate provides Nick with sufficient stability, thanks in part to the four small hard-rubber feet attached to the bottom of it. The fan rotates on the base plate. That would be a strange feature for a skyscraper. So enough of the analogies. I think it’s obvious that I find Nick attractive. But let’s not forget about other qualities.
Smooth operator
Stadler Form claims that Nick has a capacity of 7.9 m/s. It’s probably good to know that there’s no standard specifying the unit in which manufacturers must list the power rating of fans. For example, some manufacturers display maximum airflow in cubic metres of air per hour. These inconsistent values make it tough to compare fans. That’s why we don’t have a filter for it.
In any case, 7.9 metres per second is about 28 km/h. And Nick does manage to reach that speed, as my anemometer confirms. Right in front of the device in the middle, where the wind is strongest, I even measure over 40 km/h. That’s a level 5 on the Beaufort scale, which makes small trees and bushes visibly sway.
But it’s not like you’re going to sit right in front of the fan with your face in the storm. I’ve put Nick at two and a half metres away from my desk, for example. At that distance, my anemometer is measures 5 km/h, with the power setting at its maximum of 10. At the fan’s level 5, my meter isn’t picking up anything. Looks like it’s not sensitive enough. But I am, and I can definitely feel the air moving in the room. And it feels just right.
A pleasant side effect of level 5 is that Nick is only emitting 31 decibels. You can hardly call it noise. It’s more of a faint woosh. My keyboard’s definitely louder. At full power, it’s a different story and Nick produces 51 decibels.
Incidentally, Stadler Form promotes Nick as «whisper-quiet»; specifically, it lists a noise level of 24 to 49 decibels. I can confirm that these values are pretty much in line with my first-hand experience. During a few hot nights, the tower fan was in our bedroom. Even at level 4 out of 10, he was practically inaudible. At the same time, he made the air in the room move in a way that was clearly noticeable.
Three things make for a good night’s sleep with Nick in the room. Firstly, you can turn off all the LEDs at night. Secondly, you can set Nick to rotate at a 70-degree angle to provide more airflow. Natural Breeze Mode enhances this effect even further. Nick then switches up the breeze intensity. Thirdly, he has a timer. You can choose between one and seven hours. The display shows the selected hours. For example, if the two LEDs labelled «1h» and «4h» are illuminated, the timer runs for five hours. You set the desired time by pressing the button several times. If you want to know how much time is left on your seven-hour timer, the LEDs will show you.
No AI, no app, no smart home
Nick is wonderfully old-fashioned – at least when it comes to its user interface and range of features. The entire manual would fit on a single A4 sheet if printed in small font. Stadler Form has resisted the temptation to embellish the tower fan with all sorts of bells and whistles. So there’s no app for the device, you can’t integrate it into a smart home and it’s not really artificially intelligent either. I’m happy about that. After all, setting all that stuff up is usually a hassle without much added value.
On the other hand, I find the infrared remote control for Nick is a good idea. It’s the size of a credit card and has just six buttons. You can use it to adjust the power setting, turn rotation mode and breeze mode on and off, set the timer or activate night mode. The pictograms are all easy to understand. When you’re not using the remote, you store it in a small compartment with a holder on the back of the fan.
Cleaning: necessary, but very easy to do
You may not have realised, but a tower fan requires some maintenance. Over time, it’s prone to accumulate dust. Nick has an air intake grille that prevents large particles of dirt from reaching the rotating fan drum. You should dust this grille every now and then. For example, by vacuuming it or running a feather duster over it.
Stadler Form designed the fan so that you only have to remove two screws to take off the grille. Inside the device, you’ll see a long black cylinder. That’s the fan drum. It’s also removable by loosening another screw and should be rinsed from time to time. I did this in the bathtub, just to test it. I just ran the showerhead over it and was done in five minutes. Just make sure that the drum is completely dry before putting it back into the tower. The drying takes a little time, unless you want to use a hair dryer to speed things up.
Does that still sound like too much work? Sure, you could skip cleaning altogether. But that may impact Nick’s performance, make him louder or maybe even cause damage to his motor.
In a nutshell
More than hot air
I’m a fan of the Nick fan. He’s better looking than the competition. In fact, this tower fan by Stadler Form is pure eye candy. He also excels in his core function: generating a breeze and keeping quiet about it. Speaking of breeze, Nick’s also very easy to use. The fact that he works without an app or smart home integration doesn’t bother me in the least. Another plus is that opening him up and removing his drum for the occasional clean is very easy to do.
Pro
- Easy cleaning
- LEDs can be turned off at night
- Pleasantly quiet
- Smooth operation
- Great design
Contra
- Short cable length of 1.60 metres limits positioning
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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