When it comes to putting together my packing list for a backpacking trip, I always make sure every item serves an important purpose, or even several. According to this principle, I would never pack a pump to blow up my sleeping pad.
But after trying out mini pumps from EXPED and Haven Tents on backpacking trips this summer, I have become a full convert.
And I’m not the only one: Thru-hikers have increasingly embraced ultralight mini pumps, choosing to add an extra ounce or two for the sake of convenience. A few cottage producers have redesigned and innovated the humble pump to make it a handy gadget to have on trail.
Why Use a Mini Pump?
To understand the inspiration behind these ultralight pumps, GearJunkie spoke with Tom Liggett, founder of Alpenglow Gear.
The brand makes the Alpenblow Lux Micro Inflator ($60), a tiny but mighty pump that’s powered by your phone (or power bank) via USB-C cable, and only weighs 0.5 ounces. Liggett was inspired to make his own gear while he was recovering from shin splints during the Pacific Crest Trail.
He designed the first model of the Alpenblow during that break, and then used it on trail for 2,000 miles. When you’re blowing up a backpacking sleeping pad every day for months, bringing along a mini pump makes sense.
“You’re going through high altitudes and the Cascades and Sierras, you’re going through smoke, you just have so much dust in your lungs that at the end of the day, wheezing into a pad is really, really unpleasant. Like more unpleasant than is normally experienced,” Liggett said.
On a long backpacking trip, you have plenty of time, making speedy inflation less important. So Liggett chose to optimize the pump for weight and efficiency, rather than speed. Once you’ve hiked 20 miles and it’s time to set up your tent for the night, it doesn’t matter if your pump takes an extra minute or two to inflate your pad. Liggett estimates that fully inflating a pad only uses around 1% of your phone battery.
Smartly designed pumps can also offer additional features. Liggett’s mantra while designing the Alpenblow was “software doesn’t add weight,” so he designed the pump to have several other features. For starters, it has a light. By attaching the pump to a water bottle via a thin, flexible plastic band, it turns your bottle into a surprisingly bright lantern. There’s also a white noise mode, which runs the pump on half speed for 30 minutes, and then turns off automatically.
“That was inspired by a night on trail. You know, you’re at camp, and you have a really noisy neighbor,” he said. “Maybe it’s a squirrel in the leaves, maybe it’s a deer. In my case, it was an entire troop of Boy Scouts.”
Even as the ultralight ethos continues to dominate the world of backpacking, mini pumps like the Alpenblow prove to be popular. Liggett said that his main customers are thru-hikers, but he designs each product to also appeal to a wide variety of backpackers. On a weeklong backpacking trip, the convenience of a gadget like this makes it worth the tiny bit of extra weight.
Other Mini Pumps on the Market
A few other brands have made their own version of this handy gadget.
FLEXTAIL’s Zero Pump 2 ($57) only weighs 1.7 ounces, with an impressive flow rate of 200L/minute. Its battery lasts for around 30 inflations. With a double-click, it can also quickly deflate pads. The brand’s Tiny Pump X ($27) comes in at the same weight, with the addition of a light that the battery can power for 22 hours.
Popular sleeping pad brand EXPED also makes a small but powerful device.
The Ultra Pump ($60) clocks in at 3.5 ounces and can run for 25 minutes on one charge. It also includes a handy light with three brightness settings. The mini handle makes it easy to hang from inside your tent.
