Have you ever heard of paddle board electric pumps? Are you also tired of sweating while pumping before paddling? Maybe there is a solution to prepare the SUP paddle, get dressed or just watch the board fill up like magic? Well, there is: SUP electric pumping. What these little helpers can do was of great interest to us – and therefore we have tested three common models.
Our pumps in the test all have to be operated with car batteries over 12V. We have not tested any pumps with a rechargeable battery (but these do exist). Some of them can be connected to the cigarette lighter, others have to be connected directly to the car battery (for which you have to get access to the battery (e.g. via the bonnet). Sounds awkward, but it can be an advantage, because the power of the 12V socket is limited and therefore the compressor power is usually higher with the directly connected pumps.
We pumped up each of our Mistral Adventure 40 Year Edition and compared the times. 285 litres were pumped and the board was brought to 15 PSI (1bar) pressure.
Electric Paddle Board pump – Sevylor 12 V pump
The Seveylor pump is operated on the cigarette lighter, the cable used for this is long enough to use the pump with some distance from the car. The smallest and lightest pump makes a solid impression in our test. The pressure is shown on the display and can be adjusted with two keys. The connecting hose is too short and looks somewhat cheap (does it last long?). Additionally there was a second hose which can be used for dinghies, air mattresses or similar other use cases. In the pump test the board was at 15 PSI after 9:30 minutes.
Conclusion Seveylor pump: Works well enough. The pump is light. Still the pump is loud and the hose is not ideal.
Price: about 70 Euro
Weight: approx. 1.5 kilo
Electric Paddle Board pump – Bravo BTP 12
The Bravo pump comes with a shoulder bag to store the hose. The pump is clamped directly to the battery – the cable is also sufficiently long. The hose seems very neat and also long enough. Also included are adapters for inflatable boats or air mattresses. However, we had to buy an adapter for paddle boards. That probably depends on which manufacturer you buy the device from.
The Bravo BTP12 pump is offered by many manufacturers in their own bags and with or without battery (see below). We have tested it without battery. There is a pressure gauge and a rotary wheel to set the desired pressure. Air was pumped quite fast in the test. But in compressor mode it takes a comparably long time. In the pump test the board was at 15 PSI after 10:15 minutes.
Conclusion Bravo Pump: Works quite well. The pump and hose look solid and the bag is practical. The pump remains loud.
Weight: approx. 1,9 kilo (incl. bag)
Price: about 150 Euro
Electric Paddle Board pump – Jobe SUP pump 12 V
The Jobe pump also uses a combination of blower and compressor and can reach up to 20 PSI pressure. The pump can either be plugged into the cigarette lighter/12V socket or directly into the battery with an adapter – the cable for this is also sufficiently long.
The hose of the pump is neat, long enough, fits and has the correct paddle board valve adapter connection. There is a pressure gauge and a separate dial to set the desired pressure. The pump was working quite fast in the test. In compressor mode it takes longer. The pump was the fastest in the test: the board was at 15 PSI after 8:00 minutes.
Conclusion Jobe pump : Works well. The pump and hose work very solidly. This pump also is quite loud.
Weight: approx. 1,6 Kilo
Price: about 115 Euro
Overall conclusion for all electric Paddle Board pumps
We do not have a clear-cut winner. On the one hand the pumps bring a little relief of manual labor, but on the other hand the warm-up exercise to pump up the board by yourself in 10 minutes is not the end of the world.
The noise during pumping is by far the most annoying factor about them and should not be underestimated. It was almost embarrassing for us to pump up a paddle board in the parking lot.
If you have to inflate your Paddle Board very often, such pumps might be ideal for you and save time and energy. For occasional paddlers, a good double stroke pump is very sufficient.
Note: This test reflects our personal experience and opinions about this product. It is not an official product review.