“The sun seems more brutal,” I heard someone say the other day and had to agree. With so much construction in the cities and suburbs, there are fewer places to find shade. With less rainfall, the world is getting drier and we feel more parched. Which is why a personal cooling device may be just the thing as you venture forth into the searing, energy-robbing days of summer. There are a number of individual size, battery-operated fans on the market and some of them offer bursts of mist. The Misty Mate isn’t a fan, but it weighs less than two pounds and has a built-in pump that pressurizes the 16 ounces of water it holds into a cooling mist, which makes the air temp feel 30 degrees cooler! It fits in the bottle holder of a bike and comes with a carrying strap ($24). The O2 handheld cool water misting fan with strap and clip ($17) has safe foam blades and can double as a drinking water bottle. Basically, it’s a 16-ounce pump spray bottle with a fan attached; you pull the trigger for a hit of mist. Brookstone’s Cool It! fan (pictured) is a little powerhouse that runs on four AA batteries and ships in three colors ($22.) Need something lighter? You might prefer a mini water misting fan with carabiner clip ($11). It runs on 1 AA battery, fits easily in your hand and clips to your clothing or carrying bag. Or get this little powerhouse of a necklace/desk fan ($15). It requires little energy to operate, has a fold-out stand to place it down in front of you or a cord for transporting it around your neck. The only thing it lacks is mist. If you plan to work outside this summer and need more than a little fan/mister to combat the heat under your collar, check the selection of around-the-neck cooling products at Heat Relief, which also sells a number of cooling vests and hard hat coolers and sweatbands. With climate change under way, they’re not just for contruction workers anymore.