KLIM Mistral laptop cooling pad review: Hot on looks, cold on core temperatures

The KLIM Mistral cooling pad is one of the many available on the market. However, it holds itself apart in the very first moments one starts to use the product.

Modern-day laptops are no longer restricted to limited specifications, and many of them come with high-grade graphics cards. Unlike desktops, the options for cooling for these devices are pretty limited. While many come with their in-built solutions, they often fall short.

This is where a cooling pad becomes beneficial for users, irrespective of how they use their laptops. If I take myself as an example, I have been using a cooling pad with my laptop for as long as I can remember.

The need for a cooling pad increases for me, given where I live, as summers in Kolkata, India, can be scorching. Warming up of the laptop becomes a common instance, and it can get significantly warmer when the processor has to put in an extra load.

I got my hands on the KLIM Mistral for two weeks now, and it's been a hit from the get-go.

KLIM Mistral blows you away but in the right way

I have concentrated on different aspects of the machine for the review, including the overall look and build quality. I believe that with the advent of RGB and home workspaces, the need for a clean and stylish laptop space has gone up.

The overall build quality is also crucial because this is the thing on which you will keep your expensive devices. Moreover, not every material is equally durable, so it could become a factor, especially if you're looking for something to serve you for a long time.

Looks and build quality

The KLIM Mistral has a plastic body, and it goes in with the ABS type. While the body is plastic, the build quality feels quite premium and durable.

There's no flexing of plastic or areas where it feels like the material has a lot of voids underneath. I never felt that my laptop could get imbalanced and fall from the table during my usage.

I am mainly a fan of how KLIM Mistral incorporates lighting. There are different shades of lights, and they change on their own. However, the lights change one at a time, so you shouldn't expect multiple colors at once.

The lighting is placed in a region where the bottom of the laptop rests and on two side panels. As clear from the image, the undersurface lighting gives a subtle but enigmatic feel, which I would expect from costlier products.

The KLIM Mistral looks dead gorgeous without giving up on the functionality (Image via KLIM)

For me, the beauty of the lights is their "not-in-your-face nature." While they look nice, especially at night, they're not overly bright and don't stick like a sore thumb to your vision.

While there could be a case for some more areas with lighting, I think the KLIM Mistral's current layout is just perfect.

Features and ease-of-use

The KLIM Mistral comes with an extra sealing pad, a Type-A cable, and a cooling pad. The fan comes with a dual layout, and you can choose between three fan speeds.

The highest speed allows the fans to achieve 4500 RPM, and simply put, that's a lot of air. The cooling pad works perfectly for my 15.6-inch laptop, and there's ample space for it to fit a 17-inch device.

Setting up and using the KLIM Mistral is extremely easy. A couple of dust guards need to be set up over the air inlay. It's optional, but I have done it, which helps separate the air intake.

The Type-A cable isn't a fixed one, which I appreciate again. It's not a braided cable, but it feels durable, and since it can be removed, its wearing down isn't something you have to worry about.

The cooling pad was extremely easy to install and looks gorgeous in the dark (Image via Sportskeeda)

Apart from the fan speed, there's a turn on/off button on the surface and an LED button. The device is plug-and-play, which makes it highly convenient for anyone.

Once the laptop is set and the KLIM Mistral starts operating, users don't need to focus on anything more than their work/gaming sessions.

Testing results

This is perhaps the most critical section for what's a gadget that's not effective! When it comes to a cooling pad, the main aim is to reduce the core temperatures of the device as much as possible.

When I tested it under normal working conditions and gaming, there was a difference in temperatures.

The test was done on an i5-8520U with 8 GB of DDR3 RAM. It has a separate GPU in 2 GB of Nvidia MX 110, an extreme entry-level card. With such limited capabilities, I decided to test it on Football Manager 2022.

While the game might not be graphically intense, it runs a massive database at all times. The difference in the picture between the maximum and current temperatures showcases the effectiveness of the KLIM Mistral.

The differences in temperature were noticeable (Image via Sportskeeda)

There was also a direct impact on the performance as I felt that the loading between matches happened much smoother. Without the KLIM Mistral, there would be frequent temperature spikes that are no longer there.

The core temperatures of all four cores of my device were cooler in idle conditions, but the differences were expectedly lesser.

There is no doubt about the KLIM Mistral's cooling capacity, particularly when running the fans at the highest speeds. However, there is a slight sound the fans make.

It's not much of a dealbreaker, but the noise is audible in quieter/air-conditioned rooms. However, the noises don't impact the cooling and are a part of the natural process.

In conclusion

The KLIM Mistral does what it has been made for and easily gets it done. Despite my device not being a back-open model, there were differences in recorded temperatures. Its performance in a warmer region of the world is truly outstanding.

The KLIM Mistral justifies both the quality and performance aspects of its price. It delivers on the look with minimalist light designs that make it look quite polished.

The rubber seal holds my laptop perfectly without causing any heating along with those parts. Barring that tiny bit of fan noise, there are no areas where it can be scored negatively.