When I say portable I mean standing, tower, industrial, desk, or just some fan from Lasko or something

I use a 20" Lasko High Velocity fan it's rated 150W and each level goes like this for the wattages 150,100,50

I usually use either a 12" Emerson oscillating fan from 1953 that has 4 blades or a 12" Emerson oscillating fan from 1918 with 6 blades or a 20" GE box fan that has 5 blades, those are my favorites.

Nothing beats an old US made all metal fan
I had a Patton High Velocity Air Circulator it was the 18" model but unfortunately the motor seized so I got rid of it

I still have a vintage fan in normal use though
I have an Eskimo 20" (McGraw-Edison) box fan Model 20139 which is the premium three speed model with the Venturi housing around the blades so it directs more air forward

The Eskimo fan was a trash find and works perfectly

We have an 18" floor standing fan that didn't get any use at all last year as it didn't get warm enough. 

My house has ceiling fans throughout and I also have a few pedestal fans in use. The nearest pedestal fan is branded "Moretti" and is a home brand of Bunnings in Australia.

I use a Rowenta Turbo Silence Desk Fan in pretty much 24/7 use to try to equalize the temperature between the two floors of my house. It is pretty much dead silent on speed 1, but somewhat noisier on faster speeds. The motor is silent, the noise is mostly from the air rushing in the grilles and between the blades.

I used hardware store brand fans in the past for this same purpose, and they would last about 1 year before becoming very noisy due to worn bearings. This one has been going for about 2 years with no noticeable noise increase.

I admire old all metal fans that are built to last, but I fear that they might be too noisy for my applications.

That Rowenta is interesting, I like the clear blades. Actually some of the older metal fans are very quiet. Especially the ones with a deep blade pitch. My Emerson from 1953, you can barely hear on low and it still puts out a lot of air at any speed.

Actually the blades are transparent light blue. I quite like a fan with blue blades, I might try to get a vintage one on eBay someday...

It's nice to know the old metal ones can be quiet, provided nothing has bent a blade or so.

I know the ones you mean, the Galaxy and Lasko ones were some. My grandma had one and I wished I had kept it.

I do have one blue bladed fan with the plastic blades but the rest of the fan is actually metal.

I have two 12-inch Comfort Zone fans, one at work, and one on my bedside table at home.  I use a 16-inch Lasko floor fan at the lake house.  All three fans are three speed.  When it's warmer outside, I like the gentle "whoosh" of a table or floor fan while I'm sleeping.