air mattress pump?

[Frank Deland]

Anyone use a more efficient pump than the Big Agnes air sack method?

http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/product_Big-Agnes-Pumphouse-Pad-Pump_10043754_10208_10000001_-1_?cm_mmc=PPC-_-GooglePlusBox-_-Big%2BAgnes-_-Big-Agnes-Pumphouse-Pad-Pump&ad_id=GooglePlusBox&adtype=pla&gclid=CNeGndWYmLsCFYVZ7Aod_jAA6Q

[Franco Darioli]

Take a look at the Instaflator.

[hwc 1954]

This weighs 2.3 ounces instead of 1.5 ounces, but is a lot easier:

Thermarest Pump

[Greg Mihalik]

Exped Pillow Pump –

This works on the any valve close to what you see – but not a "thermarest" style twist valve.

[M B]

Lungs

Takes me right at 55 sec to blow up a full length xlite with 18 breaths.

Weighs nothing.

If moisture ever contributes to delamination of the foil stuff, Ill get it replaced.

[Mark Ries]

I made my own out of my pack liner which is a nylafume bag I picked up a rubber stopper from ace hardware that was 3/4" on the small end I drilled a 1/2" hole through the center and on the big end I bore the hole a little larger with a 5/8" bit. The big end works on my neo air the little end works with my synmat. I cut the corner of the bag enough that the stopper would wedge in the corner but not push through then I sealed it with a couple of wraps of electrical tape this will fill a full size 20×72 mat with less than two bags in less than one minute I can't imagine any thing easier, faster, lighter or cheaper and it works as my pack liner I will see if I can post a pic. Also it is shorter and larger in diameter than a instaflater and makes it easier to use in a tent

[Nick Gatel]

Well MB,

+1 !

I love the Camptek Microburst for winter time inflation of my TaR Xtherm.

[hwc 1954]

The Thermarest pump is a rebadged Camptek. They are even the same price.

[Justin Baker]

Noob question here, what's the point of a mattress pump? Can't you blow it up manually?

[Franco Darioli]

3 possible reasons.
1) some find it hard to inflate 2" plus mats
2) you avoid blowing moisture/bacteria inside the mat
3) by pumping ambient air you may not have to top it up when the temperature drops.

[Hiking Malto]

4) some HATE to blow up a full full length mat after hiking all day and trying to get bedroll out to sleep.

Ok, its my one "namby" item.

[Jeff McWilliams]

I like the instaflator. It's light. I've purchased 5 or 6 of them and given them out to friends as gifts. The one I have developed a "blow-out" in the thin plastic close to the nozzle, but it was easily repaired with a piece of duct tape. It's been fine ever since.

[USA Duane Hall]

+1
I only use the Instaflator for my XTherm in frozen/snow camping conditions. Not suited though to use as the mattress stuff sack as the first time I did so, it shows signs of stretching/wear, so it just gets thrown in the pack now. I also cut it down some, its bad enough now looking like one of the skinny figures waving outside a business, kept inflated by a blower. :)
Duane

[Phillip Asby]

I have an Exped synmat 7 with the build in pump that works well for cold weather – been trying to decide on the solution for my UL7 synmat – I prefer not to blow moisture in given the choice, it inflates just fine manually but I don't like adding moisture to a pad with synthetic baffling…

As for efficiency I think the Exped shnozzle is pretty good – I think 1.5 "pumps" is all it takes!

[Frank Deland]

Thanks for your recommendations . Justin, Phillip answers your question. One's breath gets moisture into the fill (down in some case). I found the fill-and-roll with the bag method was just too slow and tedious. If you blow into a transparent bag, you can see that quite a bit of moisture gets into the air.

Nice idea, Mike R.!

[USA Duane Hall]

I insert my opened hand into the Instaflator pump I have, to open it up, then roll it closed. Down side is in a wind, the wind will partially collapse the bag some. It is slow, less than 5 minutes maybe, won't be fun this winter I'm sure. My old Exped Dam used the stuff sack but it all was heavy, sold it for the much lighter system I use now for winter/snow trips.
Duane

[d k]

That's why I broke down and got the Exped mini-pump (used with the tubing from the Xtherm stuffsack/inflator, it fits Neo-Airs). At 1.4 oz, it's not too bad and is less tedious for me than getting air in the instaflator or the Xtherm stuffsack and rolling the air into the mat. I'd started seeing spots of reflective coating wearing off the Xlite after a few times of blowing it up by mouth, so decided it might be better not to inflate by mouth.

But I'd be interested in seeing the nylofume bag adaptation…two rounds of filling is more like it.

[J R]

"some HATE to blow up a full full length mat after hiking all day and trying to get bedroll out to sleep."

then add altitude to the equation…

[Mark Ries]

All I did was get a stopper or rubber cork and drill a hole through it. The first one I made I used a 3/8" drill it worked OK but the larger 1/2" hole sure let's the air out of the bag and into the mat faster and easier. Sorry for the crappy phone pic this was my first attempt stopper with 3/8" hole the small end will plug in a synmat, drill the big end to 5/8" and it will go over a neoair not sure about bog Agnes. Its best to drill the whole stopper to 1/2"

[Rick Adams]

my massive gear collection includes camptek, instaflator and shnozzle. I modded my synmat ul with a TR replacement valve and mostly use the camptek. An added benefit of the mod is it is much faster/easier to deflate the synmat. I would rank camptek 1, instaflator 2, and shnozzle distant 3.

[Shawn Bearden]

Open valve, hold overhead, run very fast until inflated. If that doesn't work, then I use my lungs, or (more rarely) a Thermarest pumpsack.

[Idan Y]

Wish those pumps would deflate too..

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