Flextail Tiny Pump 2X

This is currently Flextail’s lightest and smallest mattress inflator/light. Exactly what you want for backpacking,

On the web I found out about backpacking mattress pumps. I decided to investigate and ended up buying this model—I checked out many others, but they were too big and heavy for my backpacking use.

It arrived and I charged it up. When charged I inflated my Sea-to-Summit hiking single-person air mattress. It comes with 5 nozzles of different sizes. One fit perfectly. Next I tried the pillow. None of the ridged nozzles is small enough for my Sea-to-Summit pillow. So I used the flexible rubber attachment to go over the inflation hole rather than into it. Bingo this worked. Inflation pressure is an amazing 4kPa so in the field I may have to let some air out for comfort. Mission accomplished as advertised.

For my camping gear I always like to choose gear that can serve more than one purpose. So a camp light. You can use it as a light with three brightness levels. In the field I will use the light after I inflate my mattress and pillow.

Question: how long does the light last on the 40 Lumen setting after inflation? The manual says that after a full charge the light will last 10 hours on the lowest setting. This is wrong. After inflation without recharge, the light has a useful life at 40 lumens of 29 HOURS!! That’s one extra item I don’t need to carry on my next camping trip. I definitely do not need to carry an extra tent lantern! Wonderful. Incidentally it charged back to full in less than 3 hours.

Background

Tested as described in review. Yet to take it on a camping trip. After mattress and pillow inflation 29 hours of useful light at 40 lumens.

Lightweight and effective option for quick inflation/deflation of air mattresses and other items.

Over the years, with the advent of backpacking air mattresses, I have progressed from simply blowing earlier mattress designs up by mouth, to more recently using complementary air-pump bags that allow sizeable volumes of air to fill the mattress without the introducing moist blown air.

Such bags are super light and tend to work well. However, due to their largish size such bags can be cumbersome, requiring elbowroom for inflation of the pump bag prior to squeezing it into the increasingly inflated mattress. Maneuvering these items can be especially awkward when weather is poor, and filling a mattress in the more cramped confines of backpacking tent is preferred.

This little pump helps address that issue. Once attached to the mattress using one of the included nozzles, my S2S mattress fills in about 45 seconds. The biggest downside is the loudness of the pump when on. The pump can also be used for deflation by putting the nozzle on the other end of the pump. I haven't tended to use it for deflation, because my mattress deflates fast enough on its own.

All in all, a nice option for certain conditions, and one that saves a little bit of hassle.

Inflates a sleeping pad with less effort than using a stuff sack or your lungs! Total game changer!

When charged the Flextail pump has never failed to operate. It's lightweight and small enough to fit pretty much anywhere in your pack or pocket. It weighs about as much as an energy bar. I have had it several years, I also have a backup.

I was so impressed I bought two to give as polyannas last holiday season, and both people are still bringing them on every backpacking trip they go on.

Background

Used to have a small battery-operated pump. However, I live in a cold, humid climate where it rains almost daily in the summer and autumn months and it snows all winter and spring. Batteries go bad quickly in below 0°F or the batteries rust and corrode in the dampness. My air pads are insulated and blowing into them causes the insulation to clump or mold.