2025 test18 productsJump Starters & Car Power
Which Tire Inflator Brand Wins?
We compared 18 tire inflator options head to head. NOCO Air 15 came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping hand held tire inflator, air pump for car tires, car tire air pump and car tire pump land here for the head to head that settles it.
Winner
NOCO Air 15
Price shown in test: $143 without a coupon, around $100 with a coupon
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Weight | Noise | Power draw at approximately 35 PSI | Gauge accuracy | Car tire, flat to 35 PSI (test 1, 200 W supply) | Car tire, second high-pressure-section measurement (test 2) | Truck tire, 50 to 60 PSI | Truck tire, 0 to 60 PSI (fastest-four final test) | Air hose temperature after the 35 PSI speed test | Truck tire, 50 to 60 PSI (adding 10 PSI to an already-inflated pickup tire) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1NOCO Air 15$143 without a coupon, around $100 with a coupon | 5.75 lb | 91.4 dB | rated at 15 A but actually drew 20.6 A / about 247 W, well over its rating; a 200 W power supply could not keep up and a 600 W supply was needed | off by 0.4 PSI; auto shutoff engaged at 35.5 PSI | 2 minutes 53 seconds, fastest of all 18 pumps | close to 1.5 minutes, fastest of all 18 pumps in this section too | not separately stated for this narrower range; see the 0 to 60 PSI truck tire test | about 10 minutes 45 seconds, fastest of the four finalists | about 114 F, 2nd coolest behind DeWalt | not tested |
| 2GSPSCN$50 | 5.32 lb | 82.6 dB | 192 W or 16 A; narrator notes 25 A could be a problem for some vehicles | small analog gauge, hard to read, but appeared accurate | 3.5 minutes, tied for 3rd with Asani | 2 minutes 15 seconds, described as finishing in the top three and moving into the lead at that point in the video; this figure conflicts with the 3.5-minute figure from test 1 for the same brand and is preserved verbatim rather than reconciled | not isolated as a separate figure in this section | 13 minutes 30 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 3DeWalt$99 (AC adapter sold separately; battery and charger not included) | 5.55 lb | 81 dB, relatively quiet | about 118 W or 9.8 A | in 100 percent agreement with the test equipment gauge, the most accurate of all 18 pumps | close to 7 minutes | just under 4 minutes, a few seconds faster than the Craftsman | not isolated as a separate figure | not tested | about 84 F, coolest of all 18 pumps | not tested |
| 4Viair$65 | 4.23 lb | 93.2 dB, loud | about 210 W or 17.5 A, same as the second AstroAI | off by around 3 PSI, the least accurate of all 18 pumps | 3 minutes 15 seconds, 2nd fastest | just under 2 minutes, 2nd fastest for speed in that section | not tested | 12 minutes 14 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 5Asani$41 | 5.84 lb, heaviest of all 18 pumps | 76.8 dB, quietest of all 18 pumps | just over 204 peak W or about 17 A, near the fuse limit for some vehicles | off by 1.5 PSI | 3.5 minutes, tied for 3rd with GSPSCN | just over 3.5 minutes | 2 minutes 26 seconds, moved into the lead at that point in the high-pressure test | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6UUP$50 | 5.26 lb | 82.5 dB | 217 W or just over 18 A, thirstiest of all 18 pumps | off by around 2.5 PSI | close to 3 minutes 33 seconds | trailed Asani by just a few seconds | 2 minutes 35 seconds, trailed Asani by just a little | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7AstroAI dual cylinder, 2nd unit tested$56 | 4.67 lb | 92.6 dB, loud | close to 210 W or 17.5 A | off by 1.2 PSI | 4.5 minutes, about a minute slower than Asani and GSPSCN | about a minute slower than GSPSCN, but performed very well under pressure, described as just as fast as GSPSCN that time | not tested | about 38 seconds slower than GSPSCN's 13.5 minutes, roughly 14 minutes 8 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 8Avid Power$60 | 5.12 lb | 84.7 dB | 124 W or 10.3 A | off by 0.8 PSI | close to 7 minutes | 3 minutes 42 seconds, trailed the leader by over a minute | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9Craftsman$79 | 4.93 lb | about 90 dB | around 126 W, about the same as Avid Power | off by 0.3 PSI; powered itself down just past the 35 PSI target | 7 minutes 50 seconds | close to 4 minutes, trailed the leaders by several minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10AstroAI single cylinder, 1st unit tested$32 | 1.88 lb | 88.9 dB | 110 W or 9.2 A | off by 0.3 PSI | 7 minutes 35 seconds | about a minute slower than EPAuto | 4 minutes 5 seconds, best performance yet at that point in the high-pressure test | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 11EPAuto$32 | 3.09 lb, heaviest yet at that point in the video | 84.3 dB | close to 142 W or 11.6 A | off by 0.7 PSI | very close to 6.5 minutes, fastest so far at that point in test 1 | around 2 minutes faster than the previous five brands | really struggled with high pressure, around a minute slower than the previous five brands | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 12Yungtee$40 | 5.14 lb, heaviest yet at that point in the video | 84.7 dB | 183 W or about 15.3 A, right at the 12V accessory fuse limit for some vehicles | off by about 1 PSI | close to 5 minutes 8 seconds, moved into the lead at that point in test 1 | just over 5 minutes | does not like high pressure, performed the same as the roughly $20 price range pumps at 4 minutes 15 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 13R8$25 | 1.81 lb | 87.6 dB | close to 103 W or 8.6 A | off by only 0.1 PSI, most accurate of all 18 pumps | 8 minutes 43 seconds | a little slower than FBK and FADAK WALT | close to 4 minutes 15 seconds, same as FADAK WALT, handled high pressure nicely | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14FADAK WALT$23 | 1.54 lb | over 90 dB, loudest yet at that point in the video | close to 111 W or very close to 9.3 A | off by 0.3 PSI | 8 minutes 24 seconds, slower than FBK | performed almost the same as FBK | 4 minutes 15 seconds, tied with FBK | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 15FBK$22 | 1.69 lb | 85.7 dB | close to 94 W or 7.8 A | off by 0.2 PSI | 8 minutes 8 seconds, about 30 seconds slower than Carsun | a little slower than Carsun | 4 minutes 15 seconds, moved into the lead at that point in the high-pressure test for handling high pressure well | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 16Powools$25 | 1.45 lb | 88.4 dB | 101 W or 8.4 A | off by 0.4 PSI | close to 8.5 minutes | performed about the same as FADAK WALT | a little slower than FADAK WALT at 4 minutes 22 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 17Carsun$21 | 1.625 lb | 87.2 dB | close to 137 peak W or 11.4 A | off by 1.4 PSI | 7.5 minutes, about 4 minutes faster than Slime | outpaced Slime by 4 minutes | just under 4.5 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 18Slime$20 | 1.14 lb, lightest of all 18 pumps | 85.7 dB | 84 W or 7 A | off by around 1 PSI | about 11.5 minutes, slowest of all 18 pumps | 11.5 minutes, same as test 1 | not tested | not tested | about 120 F, 3rd coolest | over 8 minutes |
How it was tested
- no-load specs: weight, sound level at 24 in, and power draw (watts and amps) measured at approximately 35 PSI using a 200 W AC-to-12V-DC converter
- pressure gauge accuracy vs a pair of calibrated reference tire pressure gauges
- speed test 1: time to inflate a car tire from flat to 35 PSI on the 200 W converter rig, plus resulting air hose temperature
- speed/high-pressure test 2: a second car tire timing pass alongside a load range G truck/pickup tire inflated from 50 to 60 PSI
- fastest-four final test: the top 4 finishers (NOCO, Viair, GSPSCN, AstroAI dual cylinder) timed inflating a 17-in pickup truck tire from 0 to 60 PSI
“the Noco came in on top with the best average finish in the graded categories of 2.6”