HypoAllergenic Air: UV Boomerang 2500 and Germ Defender Review

HypoAllergenic Air UV Boomerang 2500 and Germ Defender Review 

HypoAllergenic Air grew in popularity last year after being endorsed by Dave Asprey and featured in his box last year. They famously became the only item featured in the box twice with the Germ Defender. Now, for this review I’m going to review Germ Defender, plus review their flagship product the Air Boomerang.

The Germ Defender Review 

• The Germ Defender and Mold Guard is ideal for bathrooms, small bedrooms, and medical operations. Very strong biological and PM 2.5 control with no replacement parts for life. It contains a washable Pre-Filter Polar Ionization that covers 100 sq ft which purifies the air, sanitises surfaces, kills bacteria, kills viruses, and inhibits mold. It generates no ozone for those who show concern for this and uses only 2 watts per hour of  energy. It moves air at about 10 CFM which for such a small unit is impressive. 

The Boomerang and Germ Defender both have our Polar Ionization technology which is highly effective at the full range of biological and physical particulates in the PM2.5 and smaller category.  As it is not relying on a physical filter, it is not dependent on a certain micron size.  For example, the polar ionization technology splits water into its components (O2- & H+) and it can affect similar molecules and chemicals.  A H2O molecule is roughly 0.000282 microns. 

• To buy:   

Germ Defender

Pricing : $150 each, transport to the UK will cost around $90, depending on what quantity you buy them in plus taxation. You can save money looking around eBay though I often see models going for around £90 on there.

Pros: 

• You can actually see it working—it picks up a lot of dust and particulate matter. For such a small device, it works extremely well. 
• Easily transportable, compared to other small air filters; I’d say that this one is the most transportable filters anywhere, and it requires the least amount of fuss to carry around. You just plug it in straight away. You do not have to worry about wires or any other additional nonsense when it comes to this product. 
• There are no replacement parts, making it very easy to maintain over the long-term. Unlike other filters which need to be changed every 6 months – 2 years, this one doesn’t require any changing. 
• Price is very reasonable at $150 for a small air filter, which can last an indefinite period of time. I think it’s a great value, especially for people traveling to different hotels where the air quality is unknown.. 
• Very easy to clean; can take literally a couple of minutes 

Cons: 

• Transport cost to the UK of around $90, which is expensive. 
• It’s noisy, certainly difficult to sleep next to for someone who’s very sensitive to noise like myself. For those looking to enhance their sleep quality, there may be better options elsewhere. 
• The dust that builds up inside the filter can be a bit dangerous to clean if youre sensitive . 
• Only 1 year warranty which is less than other brands on the market like IQ air which has 10 years on it’s products and Austin air which comes with 5 years. 

Score 8/10 

Conclusion : 

I believe the Germ Defender is one of the best value products on the market at the moment. You can see the amount of dust this thing gathers in just a few days, and the bonus of never having to change filters saves you huge amounts of money in the long run. All in all, a must have for any travelling biohacker. 

HypoAllergenic Air Boomerang UV 2500 Review: 

After so much success with the HypoAllergenic Air Germ Defender, I decided to buy their flag ship: Air Boomerang. Boomerang is a compact and powerful photocatalytic air purifier that can reduce carbon based contaminants inlarge areas up to 2,500 square feet. It’s design is pretty compact at 10.5’  X 15” and weighing just 2.5 pounds. The air filter will need to be replaced every two years for a 150$ fee, which is a bit of annoyance although still cheaper on average than a good number of other major filters on the market.  Regarding CFM  the CADR rating system isn’t so relevant with Hypo air technology as the purpose is not to suck air in and through a filter (normally for a physical filter CADR or CFM would let you know the power of how much air it can purify).  

How it works: (Taken from the Hypo Air website) :

HypoAllergenic air filters use two proprietary pieces of technology: Polar Ionization along with UVGI +AHPCO  

UVGI: Ultra Violet Germicidal irradiation is a disinfection method that uses short-Wavelength ultraviolet light. The result being it kills or inactivates microorganisms like bacteria ,mold and viruses with AHPCO Technology: UV light reacts with a 5 nano metal catalyst (AHPCO) producing a variety of catalytic molecules . Effective and proven method of reducing odors,allergens, bacteria, mold viruses, and VOCS.Does not require air to pass through its chamber in order to be effective. Removes PCO related concerns of incomplete oxidation and slow airflow rates.  

 UVC light destroys germs as they pass by.   Oxidizing Catalytic Molecules are then formed from water vapor when the UVC rays excite the AHPCO nanometal Catalyst. Clean-Tech does not have a UV light but splits water vapor in the ambient air into Polarized Catalytic Molecules which are proactively dispersed throughout the ambient air. Catalytic Molecules actively seek out pollutants and break them apart at a molecular level.  Contaminants are neutralized as they are destroyed.  Oxidizing Catalytic Molecules are more effective at neutralizing VOCs, while Polarized Catalytic Molecules have a clustering effect that is extremely effective at causing particulates to become heavy and drop out of the air. 

To buy:  hypoair.com

UV Boomerang 2500

Pricing: It comes in at $750; plus if you’re importing to the UK and EU, you’re going to be looking at another 150$-250 worth of tax which is an annoying additional fee to have to pay, making this extremely pricey in the end. It’s worth noting that HypoAllergenic Air frequently does sales on their products, and I was able to buy mine last November during Black Friday for $250 off. It’s worth subscribing to their mailing list or keeping an eye out on their website for frequent sales. 

Advantages: 

• Simple, elegant design—now this is subjective, but it’s small, compact design along with it being lightweight can make it perfect for traveling to other countries. If, for example, you’re moving to another country, this would be my go to air filter, which can cover a large area of space yet not weigh you down in terms of transportation. 
• Really easy to set up—there is literally 0 set up time. You plug it in, and it’s good to go. 
• Easy to replace the filter, its simple design means you don’t have to do any major work when it comes to filter replacement. 
•   Using three technologies experimented with by Einstein and NASA—the Boomerang effectively and safely addresses unwanted contaminants such as allergens, mold, mycotoxins, bacteria, viruses, VOCs, and odors. For the studies supporting this: https://hypoair.com/technology/ some interesting studies on how this unit did with mold and viruses. 
• Delivery was extremely prompt, even from the US to the UK. This thing was delivered in nearly an instant, really impressive customer service that was quick to answer questions. 
• Covers a large distance of around 2,500 square meters which is impressive for something so strong to produce such little sound. Other similarly priced air filters like the Molekule and the Austin Air are much louder. 

Disadvantages: 

• Expensive for those living in the EU. You’re paying 750$ plus $150ish worth of tax, plus $90 shipping fee. It comes to an expensive unit, and for that money, you can buy say two AirDoctors and cover a lot more space in your home. 
• A small amount of blue light does emit from the device, which is annoying for those who really want to optimise their sleep. 
• The device claims to be “quiet” on its website, but it’s still way too loud for someone to sleep next to in my opinion. I personally struggled with the noise of this and found it quite irritating. 
• For the amount of money I paid for the device, I would’ve liked something a bit more sturdier and stronger. This device seems still a little bit on the cheaply made side of things, and the overall build quality doesn’t feel that strong for the high price you’ve paid. I guess the upside of the weak build quality is that it’s easier to carry and transport from room to room. 
• The fact that this filter needs to be replaced every two years adds to the cost, especially for those living in Europe. That’s a big addition in costs for the additional filters. 

Conclusion: 

Overall HypoAllergenic Air displays some impressive technology in a light, easy setup but lacks the build quality over other leading brands to justify its price point for someone living in the UK and in the EU. This isn’t an impressive enough filter to justify $750 plus $90 shipping and another 150 $+ shipping fees for filter refills. However, if you’re based in the US/Travel often and you can grab this device on sale (they often do $250 off), then it could well be worth the punt for something so light to cover 2,500 sq.feet it’s an extremely productive device considering the size. 

Score: 7/10