If you’ve ever been stuck in a pool of sweat on a muggy night in a tent, you probably wish you could take the air conditioning to the woods with you. Now you can — and you can also bring the furnace. I saw the Zero Breeze Mark 3 on the show floor at CES 2025, and it claims to do both. And while it might be the most expensive piece of equipment in your camping kit, chalk it up to the price of comfort.
The Zero Breeze Mark 3 was blowing crisp, 44-degree air on my skin without being plugged into anything (except its attached battery). Of course, the Mark 2 model could do that. What makes this upgrade model different is that it goes far beyond cold air.
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The Mark 3 uses heat pump technology to bring more than twice the cooling power of its predecessor — 5,280 BTUs of cooling. For heating, which its predecessor wasn’t capable of, it brings 5,800 BTUs. It can also work as a dehumidifier. And it’s got a hose for active draining, so you don’t need to worry about emptying it of condensation.
The unit can heat or cool a space of about 100 to 150 square feet — about the size of one small room, a van or trailer.
The Zero Breeze Mark 3 comes with a thermostat so you can dial in the perfect temperature. Jon Reed/CNET
This isn’t an all-weather, cold-climate heat pump — it can operate in temperatures ranging from 50 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. But if you need something to keep a tent, a camper or some other small space cool or warm, it’s eminently portable, with an easy carrying handle.
The basic Zero Breeze Mark 3 unit is available for pre-order at $1,299, but it doesn’t come with a battery. You’d have to plug it into something, whether a wall outlet or a portable power station. It can run off of a 48V DC outlet or a standard 120V outlet.
If you don’t want to plug it in, the Mark 3 unit with a 1 kilowatt-hour battery will run you $1,899. One battery can run the unit for several hours, a Zero Breeze rep told me, and you can stack multiple batteries. Each battery weighs about 14 pounds, meaning the unit with one battery attached is about 36 pounds.
This Portable Air Conditioner Can Travel With You — And Now It Brings the Heat Too
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