Hey everyone

So I finally took the plunge and bought my first Wind Wing!

Just wondering which battery powered pumps are good and which should be avoided??
thanks!

The AIRBANK Puffer pro looks great - Kitepower sell them, I pump manually myself, but a buddy with the Airbank loves it

I use a Ryobi One+ to get close then a hand pump to get exact

This is very funny, I've been using electric pumps for over 20 years and was laughed at for being lazy.
I looked at it as efficiency as my kite was rated to 12 psi plus I could put my wetsuit on etc while the kite inflated. I also stated to get a few friends who after changing kites a few times asked if they could use my electric pump.
Now 40% plus and increasing have electric pumps.
It could be just me as I've had an electric Fliteboard and now a FDA, a battery watch and pphone but holding off on an electric car.

Good warm up exercise pumping up the wing.
Electric pump not good if you have to walk a long way to the beach, hand pump much lighter.
Never seen one used at all the beaches I have been to around Oz. personally I would be embarrassed to pull one out

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hilly said..
Good warm up exercise pumping up the wing.
Electric pump not good if you have to walk a long way to the beach, hand pump much lighter.
Never seen one used at all the beaches I have been to around Oz. personally I would be embarrassed to pull one out

Time will tell

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hilly said..
Good warm up exercise pumping up the wing.
Electric pump not good if you have to walk a long way to the beach, hand pump much lighter.
Never seen one used at all the beaches I have been to around Oz. personally I would be embarrassed to pull one out

On my spot many guys use them, including myself. I don't have time to feel embarrassed in front of people I don't even know, I need to get set up as quickly as possible for surfing

These pumps take actually less space and are easier to carry than a handpump. I have the airbank puffer pro and I'm very happy with it.

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pacoz said..

hilly said..
Good warm up exercise pumping up the wing.
Electric pump not good if you have to walk a long way to the beach, hand pump much lighter.
Never seen one used at all the beaches I have been to around Oz. personally I would be embarrassed to pull one out

On my spot many guys use them, including myself. I don't have time to feel embarrassed in front of people I don't even know, I need to get set up as quickly as possible for surfing

These pumps take actually less space and are easier to carry than a handpump. I have the airbank puffer pro and I'm very happy with it.

Haha great name puffer pro

I received my RideEngine pump today and put 8psi into my 4.5m unit.

All I can say is I have not been hand pumping my wings hard enough.

Small and easy to use.

Well my hand pump does NOT have a guage so I'm inclined to put the money towads an elec pump.
not embarrassed about it... setup the wing, pump on, back to boot get foil setup, check pump, get wetsuit on... go. might save 5 minutes but pressure would be right and easy. local shop has some for $250.

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berowne said..
Well my hand pump does NOT have a guage so I'm inclined to put the money towads an elec pump.
not embarrassed about it... setup the wing, pump on, back to boot get foil setup, check pump, get wetsuit on... go. might save 5 minutes but pressure would be right and easy. local shop has some for $250.

How do you pump up next to the car? Don't you have to walk down to the beach? Sand not good for the pump?

Are gauges on electric pumps any more accurate than those on hand pumps? TBH that would be my only reason for buying one. Its no great hardship to pump a wing by hand and I don't have to worry about flat batteries or sand buggering up the pump.

I just got one last month after 25yrs of pumping kites and wings. Much better in every way than a hand pump, why didn't I do it earlier???????

My understanding is that the Ride Engine pump is just a rebranded (and pricer) version of the $70 Topump you can get on Amazon. kiteforum.com has a looooong thread with lots of tips for these. Seems like Topump and Airbank are the recommended models, but you need to modify them with an intake filter to prevent sand from destroying them.

Part of me is curious, but the more cynical part of me says that retailers are pushing these on the market when they aren't really necessary.

Are you sure the battery is the same?

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wingedsurfer said..
Are you sure the battery is the same?

Im not 100% sure, but people on kiteforum seem to think its identical and there seem to be very favorable reviews of the Topump.

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Velocicraptor said..

wingedsurfer said..
Are you sure the battery is the same?

Im not 100% sure, but people on kiteforum seem to think its identical and there seem to be very favorable reviews of the Topump.

Actually there are about 16% highly negative reviews on Amazon due to pump failure for various reasons. However many of the same reviewers said that ToPump customer service was very good about replacing the pump.

I've always been curious about whether product "rebranding" is really just a name change of the exact same product or something that is often produced to a higher specification for an international customer. Perhaps negotiated in the production contract?

Has anyone flown with a battery powered electric pump like the RideEngine? I am flying to NZ next week and trying to figure out if I can pack it with my gear. Thanks in advance.

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MrChaud said..
Has anyone flown with a battery powered electric pump like the RideEngine? I am flying to NZ next week and trying to figure out if I can pack it with my gear. Thanks in advance.

I've taken mine to Hawaii twice in carryon, I don't think you can check it in. No issues in carry on though, I just took the hose off and put it in the bottom of my laptop pack

I kited for years without one because I thought it was a good idea to use pumping up as a way of warming up. After finally breaking down and getting one for winging I've never looked back and use it all the time. While my wings are pumping up. I'm setting up my board and foils and putting on my wetsuit. The main thing I would look for the accessories that come with it to make sure that they will match up with your valves. There are a few products on Amazon that don't come with an A2 valve adapter - these are the adapters needed on Cabrinha, North, Ezzy, And I believe Armstrong.

I've had the TopPump for going on a year and it's been great, battery is fine and will pump several wings. I do find it more or less convenient depending on the spot, at my normal spot I just pull out the wing in the rigging area, start the pump and then go back to my car to set up my foil and get my wetsuit on while it pumps up... At other spots where it's more of a hike or you have to pump up on the beach you just sit there watching it pump up so not quite like having a wing caddy. If I'm on the the beach, I put the pump inside my wing bag to keep sand away while it's pumping, but a filter on the intake is probably a good idea.

How frequently do you have to recharge the Topump T260?

In terms of time saving I can't really see the point. It takes me 50 pumps to inflate my wings (same pumps for each size because the smaller ones are much higher pressure than the larger ones). That's less than 2 minutes and negligible effort. Nowhere near the effort of pumping off the surface with an underpowered wing.

On the other hand, being able to have two pumps in the car for not a lot of extra clutter would be a great thing. I usually have enough gear with enough range to be able to cover any eventuality. The only thing I have one of is the pump.

The other benefit would be the constant air flow would give a more accurate pressure reading, which is a problem with small high pressure wings. There's a fair bit of black magic involved in trying to do a smooth pump. The down pump always gives a higher number than the up pump.

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Gorgo said..
How frequently do you have to recharge the Topump T260?

In terms of time saving I can't really see the point. It takes me 50 pumps to inflate my wings (same pumps for each size because the smaller ones are much higher pressure than the larger ones). That's less than 2 minutes and negligible effort. Nowhere near the effort of pumping off the surface with an underpowered wing.

On the other hand, being able to have two pumps in the car for not a lot of extra clutter would be a great thing. I usually have enough gear with enough range to be able to cover any eventuality. The only thing I have one of is the pump.

The other benefit would be the constant air flow would give a more accurate pressure reading, which is a problem with small high pressure wings. There's a fair bit of black magic involved in trying to do a smooth pump. The down pump always gives a higher number than the up pump.

I charge it every 5-10 wings

I like the idea of having a more accurate pressure reading from an electric pump to get the most out of my wings. But I'd feel like the guy going to the gym and getting the closest parking spot to the entrance because he doesn't want to walk. Which I've done ??

Any updates on the reliability of the Topump Tps260 or Ride Slingshot pump or other recommendations?

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warwickl said..
Any updates on the reliability of the Topump Tps260 or Ride Slingshot pump or other recommendations?

No experience, but the TPS260 has 32% 1 and 2 star ratings on Amazon in the US (out of 911). That's very high, other pumps have better ratings (e.g 12% 1 and 2 star for Airbank Puffer Pro), but also cost more. Seems most ratings are for SUPs, which have higher volume and pressure, although the charging issues in the bad ratings probably would happen with wings, too.

We have sold electric pumps for over a decade, and before the RE/Puffer Pro models they were quite heavy with motorcycle sealer lead acid batteries. Some have been quite good and we have had excellent service from Island Inflatables. Now though the only pump thats selling well is the Puffer Pro, its light, and will pump 5-6 big kites or a similar number of wings, You can charge it from any USB C outlet, I use my laptop charger, but also charge it in my car.
My only criticism is the lack of filter and the fact that if you put it on the sand it will suck in sand and crap and ruin the compressor.
Awesome back up service from the importer, but we have only had one out of well over a 100 we've sold now that had an issue and it was replaced no questions asked.

We have learned that the RE pump and Puffer Pro are from the same manufacturer and that the Puffer Pro has a larger battery and sells for less.
The gauge does seem to be quite accurate.
The Puffer is so light you can easily just hold it with one hand to keep it out of the sand.
The island Inflatable is still faster to pump and has more capacity, mine will regularly pump 6-8 large kites (12-17M)

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KPSS Used said..
We have sold electric pumps for over a decade, and before the RE/Puffer Pro models they were quite heavy with motorcycle sealer lead acid batteries. Some have been quite good and we have had excellent service from Island Inflatables. Now though the only pump thats selling well is the Puffer Pro, its light, and will pump 5-6 big kites or a similar number of wings, You can charge it from any USB C outlet, I use my laptop charger, but also charge it in my car.
My only criticism is the lack of filter and the fact that if you put it on the sand it will suck in sand and crap and ruin the compressor.
Awesome back up service from the importer, but we have only had one out of well over a 100 we've sold now that had an issue and it was replaced no questions asked.

We have learned that the RE pump and Puffer Pro are from the same manufacturer and that the Puffer Pro has a larger battery and sells for less.
The gauge does seem to be quite accurate.
The Puffer is so light you can easily just hold it with one hand to keep it out of the sand.
The island Inflatable is still faster to pump and has more capacity, mine will regularly pump 6-8 large kites (12-17M)

I bought these from you a few years apart many years ago. I now have the 20 psi Bravo single stage SUP pump, which stopped but dismantled it and now fixed, its been very reliable for many years and gets a lot of use. I became quite an expert at fixing the old Bravos and one still sort of works.
I may contact you for a price on the Puffer and see if I can trade in the 2 old Bravos.

I've managed to keep one going up here too, but when it stops next time its going in the recycle bin. I think we could pay you not to bring those old Bravo's in!

I've been using a Airbank Puffer Pro the last few months and have been very happy with it.I'm not what you would call "lazy" but I've really enjoyed being able to set the PSI and start the inflating of my wing while getting the rest of my gear ready so I can hit the water sooner.It has also made me more inclined to do a mid session wing change if the wind changes where as previously I might have just stayed out on the wrong wing.

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KPSS Used said..
I've managed to keep one going up here too, but when it stops next time its going in the recycle bin. I think we could pay you not to bring those old Bravo's in!

I sent you a message yesterday, waiting for a reply, ?? thx