Arguably, the worst part of setting up camp while camping or backpacking is blowing up inflatable sleeping pads. They take time to inflate (time that could be spent snacking), often make one lightheaded when huffing and puffing, especially at altitude, and blowing into a non-breathable pad has the potential to cause a build-up of mildew thanks to moisture from your breath getting trapped inside. Fortunately, these ultralight pad pumps are lightweight, make quick work of inflating sleeping pads, and free you up to do other things. Like start dinner or roll out your sore muscles with your Nalgene.
Are they better than the pump sacks that come with most pads now? I say yes. Because while those floppy bags may save you a little breath, they don’t save time. And they can occasionally be a bit on the heavy side (for ultralight backpackers, anyway). Also, battery powered pumps feel like a lifesaver if you have asthma or other lung-related conditions. Or if, like me, you develop a cold during an intense four-day backpacking trip in Chile and feel like you’re dying and have no breath to spare.
But it’s all personal preference. That said, many of these are light enough you may not even notice the extra weight.
And while we don’t always love ultralight backpacking gadgets, we tested all of these to see what makes each unique, how long they take to inflate an average pad, what other implements you may need to make them usable, and of course, how much they weigh. So read on, and if you’re ready to let the scenery take your breath away instead of your dang sleep pad, one of these should do nicely.
Alpenblow from Alpenglow Gear
Weight: 0.3 oz | 8.5 g
Price: $60
This is our favorite ultralight pad pump for one reason: it’s super duper ultralight. In fact, it’s lighter than some pump sacks that come with inflatable pads! But we wouldn’t carry it if it weren’t also functional. Sure, it took a little longer to fill up an inflatable pad than some of the other options on this list, but when we’re backpacking, speed of inflation isn’t really an important metric, frankly.
What is an important metric is whether it works with plenty of different brand pads. And it does. In fact, the pump comes with four lightweight 3D-printed adapters that work with most (six) of the most popular sleeping pad brands, plus you can buy an additional adapter or two if you have one of the less common pads. It doesn’t have a built-in battery, so it requires a small cable and access to either your phone or an ultralight portable power bank. We’re fine with that because we’re bringing a backup battery along anyway to keep our phones charged and a super short cable adds negligible weight and is necessary for charging other devices.
The only downside we can see is that because the Alpenblow is made of lightweight plastics it may not be as durable as other options. But treat it well and it should last many seasons! Also worth noting: it doesn’t have a deflate option (but some pads, like from Big Agnes, don’t deflate via any pump, so take that into consideration).
FlexTail Zero Pump
Weight: 2.2 oz | 63 g
Price: $53
It’s fast and it’s light; what more could you want? No it’s not quite as light as the Alpenblow, but it is made of metal and is completely self-contained, meaning it doesn’t require any external batteries or cables to inflate your sleeping pad: just the device and the right adapter. The rechargeable battery inside is removable (in fact, you have to remove it to charge it via USB-C cable), which means you can replace just the battery if necessary, not the whole device.
Speaking of adapters, we didn’t love that they all looked so similar and even with the printed instructions it was difficult to figure out which adapter we needed for any given sleeping pad. That’s not a huge deal if you only have one brand or one pad, but if you have multiples for different seasons like we do, it means you have to try a bunch of them to find the one that fits.
That said, the pump made quick work (a minute or so) of any inflatable sleeping pad we hooked it up to, including the roomiest rectangular pad. There’s also a deflator on the other end in case you need it. It comes with six nozzles that work with six different brands.
Nitecore AP05C
Weight: 1.9 oz / 53 g
Price: $43
If you can get over the name (Nitecore names almost all their products with a practically indescipherable combo of letters and numbers), this little carbon fiber pad pump is worth a look. It comes with four adapters that fit a variety of the most popular sleeping pads, plus one for inflatables like inner tubes, which none of the other options have. And yes, it also functions as a deflator.
Our gripe with this one is that it doesn’t come with a battery; you have to supply your own. And it’s not one you probably have lying around the house: RCR123A. That means the pump itself is not inherently rechargeable nor does it take batteries that are easily replaceable (you can’t get them from any old corner store). You can, of course, buy the battery separately from Nitecore.
That said, it was still a highly capable pad pump that inflated *some* sleeping pads with ease. That said, we tested it on three big brand pads and it only fit perfectly and worked hands-free on the Therm-a-Rest. On a Nemo and Big Agnes pad we had to hold the pump in place and there wasn’t a good seal, meaning some energy would go to waste during most pumps. For those reasons, it got the lowest rating of the pad pumps we tested. But if you need a pump that also takes inner tubes and such with ease, this one can handle it.
Bottom Line
Sure, ultralight pad pumps won’t be worth the weight for everyone. But if, like me, inflating your sleeping pad manually is your least favorite camp chore, these are more than worth their weight. So we’ll be packing one (likely the ultralight Alpenblow) on every camping adventure from here on out. Wander on.
Looking for more ultralight backpacking gear reviews? Check out our list of favorite ultralight backpacks, trekking poles, headlamps and tents!
