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Klim Mistral: review
The Klim Mistral is a mid-market laptop cooling pad that has gained popularity on online retailers like Amazon. Priced originally at $86.97 / £74.97, it can be found for less with Klim selling it direct for $69.97 / £59.97. With its 4500rpm fans, it seems like a good investment. But how does it perform in reality?
Visually, the Mistral is more mature-looking compared to the Klim Wind, featuring a cleaner silhouette and a five-color LED light strip. Design-wise, it offers professional cooling with features like a rubber seal to maximize airflow into the laptop’s fans and heat shields to redirect air flow for laptops with rear venting. The Mistral also provides a range of height settings for ergonomic use.
However, despite its promising design, the Mistral failed to deliver in terms of cooling performance. During testing, the laptop’s temperature rose significantly, indicating poor cooling efficiency. Even after retesting, the results remained disappointing. While Klim warns that the Mistral may not work well with certain laptops, the overall performance was below expectations.
Furthermore, the Mistral’s noise levels were average for a cooling pad, so noise sensitivity may vary among users. Ultimately, the Mistral’s build and price do not align with its cooling capabilities, making it a questionable investment compared to other cooling pads on the market.
Should I buy the Klim Mistral?
Buy it if…
- You have a laptop that fits the Mistral’s specific design requirements
Don’t buy it if…
- You are looking for consistent cooling performance at this price point
Klim Mistral review: also consider
For alternatives to the Klim Mistral, consider other laptop cooling pads that offer more predictable performance and value for your money.
How I tested the Klim Mistral
To assess the Klim Mistral, I followed TechRadar’s standard testing procedure. Using a 3DMark Steel Nomad stress test on an Acer Predator Helios 300 laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, I measured temperature changes with the cooling pad on maximum settings. I also recorded noise levels and evaluated the pad’s ergonomics in various scenarios.
Having extensive experience in gadget testing and being a creative and gamer myself, I provided a thorough evaluation of the Mistral’s performance. Despite Klim’s warnings about compatibility and noise levels, the overall results were subpar compared to other cooling pads.
- First reviewed: September 2025
- Read more about how we test