The Avid Power Tire Air Compressor Is Both Too Small and Too Big: Review

At-home inflators aren't your typical gas station ones. They're small, portable, and can either plug into you wall or your 12-volt socket to ensure your tires are always up to snuff. There's just one issue: there's literally (figuratively) a million options to choose from. There's stuff from name-brands we all trust, inflators with 10,000 reviews on Amazon, and then there's the odd-balls no one has ever heard of. And then there's this Avid Power Tire Inflator we picked up on Amazon for $59.49 at the time of writing. Why'd we pick it? Well, it had over 5,400 reviews, a 4.5-star rating, it's near the middle-upper range of tire inflators, and we're suckers for the color red. 

Given we've be testing tire inflators for a hot second already, and the above specs, features, and hue, we figured it was time for a proper test of the Avid unit. But would it hold up to our exacting standards? Would it fail to even inflate a Crosstrek's tires? Would the 12-volt cord delaminate and shock us into becoming the Flash? Well, we're reminded of the classic children's fable of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Let's talk about why.

The actual box will not inspire you with colorful graphics or make you anticipate what you’re about to reveal. It’s just a plain cardboard container with black line drawings of the inflator and descriptions of its capabilities. Useful, not inspiring — at least the compressor inside the box looks impressive. 

With neatly stored attachments, a built-in digital pressure gauge, an array of switches and indicator lights, rubber feet, and LED work light, this thing clearly means business. The 12-volt and 110-volt cords are tidily wrapped into detents in the case, as are the hoses for high-pressure items such as tires and sports balls and a low-pressure, high-volume hose for things such as air mattresses. A sturdy-feeling, molded-in handle makes moving the six-pound unit around very convenient. A clear plastic compartment at the front shows off storage for the three included nozzle adaptors. 

And that's about it. It's a compressor, what more are you looking for?

Since filling your tires from zero isn’t something most people need to do with a portable compressor, making pressure adjustments was the thing I wanted to deal with first. After dropping the pressures in my Subaru Crosstrek’s tires by 5-10 psi, I set about pumping them back up to recommended pressures using the Avid Power’s gauge and automatic shut-off feature.

First, I used it with 110-volt power by plugging it in and setting the appropriate switches for the power source. The air nozzle attaches firmly to your tire valve with the snap of a lever, and your current pressure appears in the built-in digital gauge. Plus and minus buttons allow you to set your desired pressure, then a series of green lights flash for a couple of seconds as the inflator stores the information. When the lights return to steady, your current pressure is once again displayed, and it’s time to start pumping up.

Anyone who’s used an air compressor knows that noise is part of the operation, and this one is no different, although, based on previous experience, the Avid does seem quieter than larger, less portable types I've used in the past. The inflator itselt did its job as advertised, and automatically shut off when the pressure reached the desired setting. However, there did seem to be some variance in how accurate the shut-off turned out to be, usually to the lower side as when checked with my own tire-pressure gauge, I found results of exact to 0.5 to 1.0 PSI lower than the inflator’s gauge indicated. The lesson here is simply to recheck the pressures with your own gauge after filling your tires but that's definitely a knock against.

Then it was time to try the unit on 12 volts by plugging it into an outlet on the vehicle’s dash and flipping the power-source switch. With the same inflation tasks, I didn’t find any measurable difference in the speed of operation from 110-volt use, meaning it was rather slow. At just under two minutes to add 10 psi, both the 12-volt and 110-volt took exactly the same time to pump the tires up, and because of the time it takes to pump up low tires, I’d recommend starting your vehicle before using the inflator to avoid flattening your car battery as well as your tires.

This machine is easy to use, feels reasonably sturdy, and has a number of extra features that add to its versatility. The ability to use 110-volt power when you’re in the garage or 12-volt power on the road and in case of emergencies is great. If you notice a leak in your tire and need to inflate to safely drive to a place for a fix or tire change, having this portable air source is invaluable.

The built-in light can certainly be helpful if you need to air up in the dark and don’t have a flashlight handy. Beyond automotive use, the Avid Power Inflator comes with attachments for sports balls and has a low-pressure, high-volume mode that allows you to inflate or deflate things such as air mattresses and rafts.

There are a few things that detract from the goodness of this inflator. First, it’s rather slow to inflate. Additionally, the hoses for both the high-pressure tire function (28 inches) and low-pressure inflatables function (19.3 inches) are quite short, meaning that you have to get the compressor close to what you’re filling. The low-pressure hose for inflatables is made of a semi-hard plastic rather than a softer material, so it seems likely it might start to crack after too much use. Another rather minor gripe is that the display for the gauge can be hard to read from many angles, but shifting your position or the unit’s position solves that.

The whole unit is also rather large and heavy for keeping in your vehicle at all times. The size is fine if you’re in your garage or at home, but can take up too much precious space in your trunk or storage compartments which sorta defeats the purpose of it being portable. Unless you’re likely to need to pump up your soccer ball or raft while on the road, which are certainly plausible scenarios, a smaller unit without the extra features and abilities is a better choice to carry for emergency use.

This is a nice item to have for just adjusting your tire pressures and doing other inflation jobs at home. It's is on the bulky side for keeping in your vehicle at all times for emergency use, it's heavy, and though the wealth of features makes it a nice companion for a number of tasks, don’t expect speedy inflation performance from it. 

And because of that, if you’re planning to pump up a bunch of tires from zero, you probably should be looking at much larger, even less portable compressors. The Avid is a middle of the road compressor, neither being portable enough for your car use, nor large enough for your garage and larger projects. Would we recommend it? No, get yourself something smaller if you want an emergency compressor for your vehicle or a larger one for your home garage. Either will be better suited for the tasks you demand of it. 

You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers.

A. It has a maximum pressure of 80 psi for automobile tires.

A. The 12-volt cord is 9.8 feet and the 110-volt cord is 9.18 feet.

A. The low-pressure, high-volume hose has an 1-inch outside diameter.

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