Which Air pump To Buy?

[Mike]

Re: Which Air pump To Buy?

I don't know about you, but for me, camping is often a wet, damp experience. Maybe it is because I am in Wisconsin and it rains a LOT here.

Even the best electric air pumps are affected by this moisture and the parts rust. So, my experience is that buying a low cost battery air pump is a wise choice because it will last about as long as a better and more expensive unit.

Walmart has Ozark Trails battery pumps for under $20. The grump I have is the expensive D cell batteries they use.

[tplife]

Re: Which Air pump To Buy?

We use a volumetric hand pump (used for raft inflating) when we go tubing in the Indian Reservation's waterfalls, the 12V dc's just don't cut it. And it's too cold in our local mountains to sleep on an air mattress when temps drop below 50-degrees F. Why would I want to double or triple-up on sleeping bags to get a 5.0 R-Value when a few puffs inflates the Therma-Rest??? (insert your favorite self-inflating sleeping pad here) They are probably the best investments in camping gear we ever made, and with lifetime warranties to boot. Zzzzzzzzz....

[MountainMama]

Re: Which Air pump To Buy?

I like my 22" air mattress with the built in pump. Just leave it plugged in and I can reach over and add or remove air without getting up. Obviously only for camping with electricity.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Which Air pump To Buy?

For years I used the same pump as MacGyver, they work pretty well even on the thick air mattresses; then someone "borrowed" it and I had to get another.
The second had a plastic screen over the intake that needed to be cut out/off to get decent airflow.
I replaced the cigarette lighter plug with clamps to easily run off any 12 Volt battery (the polarity doesn't matter).


Enjoy!