Pump It Up — Fanttik Tire Inflator — CleanTechnica Tested
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Pump, pump it up! This little gadget (the X9 Pro Air Inflator) packs a punch for pumping up tires of all sizes. We were lucky enough that Fanttik sent us one to test out.
The inflator itself is compact, sturdy, and has a very easy-to-read display. It’s also simple to use; I didn’t need to check the instructions before I used it (maybe not advised, but no ill effects). The X9 is lightweight and comes with its own charging cable and a couple adaptors for different types of tires. The inflator has a 5V/2A USB charging port, so if you (hypothetically) lose the charging cable, you can still charge it up with the myriad charging cords you no doubt have in your home somewhere.
The X9 Pro Air Inflator is marketed for motorcycle tires, but I don’t have one of those, so I tried tires on either side of the motorcycle spectrum: automobile (a 1963 VW van, baby!) tires and my street bike (a Specialized) tires.
Bike Tire Testing
For the bike, the X9 was awesome. You enter the desired PSI (100 PSI, in my bike tires’ case), slip the inflator valve over the stem of the tire tube, and BAM! The tire gets pumped up to the desired PSI in seconds, turning off automatically when the desired inflation level is reached. The inflator is a little loud – surprisingly so for its size, but certainly not unbearable. I had a bit of trouble keeping the valve on the tire’s tube stem, but I likely needed a different adaptor. I was able to get the tires inflated to 100 PSI, even with the trouble with the adaptor.
VW Van Tire Testing
When I tried the inflator out on a completely flat tire of the VW van, the X9 functioned, but it was very slow. I let it go for at least 5–10 minutes, and it still didn’t inflate the tire completely. My impression is that this lil’ gadget isn’t really designed to pump up a van tire from being completely flat, so it’s not a huge surprise it took a while.
Other Thoughts
The X9 has a built-in 5000mAh (2*2500mAh) large-capacity battery offering long life and a cooling system, so it can inflate for about 23 minutes. It also has an auto shut off. Once you plug in the desired PSI, it reaches that number and turns off, so no need to worry about over-inflating. One feature I really like is that removing and inserting the inflator hose into or out of the body of the inflator automatically turns the product on and off, respectively.
Overall, this product is great for bicycles, and likely motorcycles, I just didn’t try it on a motorcycle tire. It’s not quite robust enough for an automobile tire, though it would certainly work in a pinch. I’d recommend the X9 Pro Air Inflator for traveling (things like motorcycle or dirt bike trips) and easy bike tire inflation at home, too. Happy inflating!
This article is sponsored by Fanttik. Fanttik provided a product free of charge to the author for the purposes of this review.
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