Airhead SUP High Velocity 12V Pump Review

Airhead SUP has a new electric pump out and it is a good one. I have been using this pump for several months now and have been nothing but happy with it.

If you use your inflatable SUP often then you will likely get tired of pumping with the manual pump quickly and want to upgrade and spoil yourself with an electric pump.

Once you’ve tried one, it’s hard to go back to the manual labour of using a hand pump.

Sure it may be the lazy man’s way out but let’s be honest most of us want to conserve our energy for the water and not exhaust ourselves before we even start paddling!  Am I right?

I find an electric pump particularly wonderful to use on hot days where hand pumping just makes you drip with sweat.

An electric pump is also very useful if you need to inflate more than one board.

There are several pumps on the market and some are definitely better than others.

Below are the important features that make the Airhead Electric Pump a winner.

Important Features

20 PSI – This pump can inflate a stand-up paddle board up to 20 PSI, which is a good 5 or 6 PSI more than most other electric pumps for SUP’s.

Even if a board can be inflated that high, most only need to go to 15 PSI so this pump gives you lots of extra room for more air pressure if you really need it.

If you want your board inflated higher than 20 PSI, which honestly is rarely if ever necessary, then you’ll have to top it up with your hand pump.

Quick Inflation – This pump boasts a fast inflation time and I have to say I was not disappointed.

I didn’t time it, but it handles inflating two boards back to back in very little time.

Sometimes the electric pumps for ISUP’s drag and it can feel like you are standing around waiting forever.

I didn’t feel that way with this one, it works well and is quite efficient.

Automatic Shutoff – You can set your desired PSI level and once it hits that mark the pump will shut off automatically so there is no worry about over inflation.

Alligator Clips – The alligator clips are heavy duty, much better than many others I have seen. They will not melt or burn out (I’ve had this happen with other flimsier clips).

The clips attach to your car battery in order to power the pump. They work great.

Heavy-Duty Hose – 12V electric pumps often get quite hot, especially after inflating multiple boards.

These pumps can emit quite a bit of power for their small size and consequently the hose sometimes will get very hot to touch.

The hose that comes with this Airhead pump seems well made and fairly tough. It did get a little hot after inflating a couple of boards but nothing too major.

The hose feels durable and strong.

Portable – I was impressed with the small size of this pump. It is lightweight and very portable.

It has an easy handle for carrying and it comes with a mesh bag to conveniently store the pump, hose and alligator clips.

Valve Attachments – It comes with multiple interchangeable valve attachments including H-Valve and Leafield C7 adapters.

You can twist the valve in tight and leave it while it inflates your board.

Dislikes

There was only one negative to point out, nothing major and nothing that isn’t common with many electric pumps out there.

I found that with certain boards as the pump got past the 15 PSI mark it would pop off the valve.

This didn’t happen with every board I used it with so I think it had to do with how tight I was able to secure the attachment to the valve (as the valves can differ slightly on different boards).

I have seen this many times before with other pumps.. When the board is mostly inflated the pressure can sometimes push the hose right off.

Don’t worry about it, just be aware of it. You won’t likely need to inflate your board past 15 PSI anyway but if you do want to you can hold the hose for the last minute or so to keep it tightly in place.

In all other aspects, this pump rocks.

Bottom Line

I have been very happy with this pump and will continue to use it hopefully for a long time.  I would definitely recommend it.

It works great and makes getting on the water MUCH easier.  With this pump you can conserve your energy for the important stuff like paddling and having fun!

Click Here For The Best Deal On The Airhead SUP Electric Pump At Amazon.com.

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