Airbank Puffer Pro Rechargeable Electric SUP Pump – Test and Review

Updated December 4th, 2024

The Airbank Puffer Pro is a very compact electric inflatable paddleboard pump that is jammed full of features. It is smaller than almost any other electric SUP pump out there. It has an internal battery that can inflate 1-2 paddleboards. It can inflate up to 20 psi. It doesn’t have enough battery to inflate larger 12’6″ touring boards to 20 psi. It can inflate any 10’6″ all around board up to 20 psi with no problem. It is a great combination of small size and cordless versatility.

Specifications

Max Pressure – 20 PSI
Inflation Speed Test – 7 min 27sec
Inflate Multiple Boards – Yes 1-3
Size – 7.5 x 6.5 x 3.4 inches
Weight – 2.8 lbs
Battery – Yes 4000 mah

Airbank Puffer Pro Review and Test

Airbank approached and asked us to try out their latest small compact rechargeable electric paddleboard pump, the Puffer Pro. We accepted and went to work trying it out.

We have been using the Puffer Pro on every trip to the lake for a couple months now to make sure the pump is durable and works well before sharing it with our readers. We feel confident recommending this pump now for anyone who wants a small compact pump to inflate 1 or 2 boards.

Let’s get into some features of the Airbank Puffer Pro electric inflatable paddle board pump.

1 – Compact Size

The Puffer Pro measures in at 7.5 x 6.5 x 3.4 inches. For comparison, an Outdoor Master Whale is 14.5 X 8.75 X 6.75 and a SereneLife SLPUMP50 is 9.9 x 6.9 x 5.2. The Puffer Pro is tiny compared to any other rechargeable pump out there. You won’t struggle to fit it inside the bag of any inflatable paddleboard or kayak.

The below image shows the Puffer Pro sitting with an iRocker Pump and a typical double barrel hand pump. The hand pump dwarfs the Puffer Pro. The iRocker electric pump was already one of the smaller electric pumps out there and doesn’t have an internal battery or separate cooling fan. The Puffer Pro is at least 25% smaller with a battery and cooling fan inside.

2 – 20 PSI Max Pressure

The Puffer Pro is capable of inflating boards up to 20 psi. It can do it off a 12 volt power supply or its internal battery. It doesn’t have enough battery to inflate larger boards to 20 psi on a single charge. It can inflate large boards to 20 psi on 12 volt power.

2 – Rechargeable Battery

The Puffer Pro has a built in 4000mah internal battery pack that can be used for inflating. It is not as big as the 6000 mah or greater pack used in the Outdoor Master Whale and SereneLife SLPUMP50. It still has enough capacity for inflating 2 smaller boards.

We were able to inflate a 10’6″ x 32″ inflatable SUP to 15 psi 2 times. It only made it to 4.9psi on the third try before the battery ran out.

We have been able to inflate a 12’6″ x 32″ board to 20 psi at home on a single charge one time. We have tried several times at the lake and the battery always dies before the board gets fully inflated.

The Puffer Pro has no problems inflating a 10’6″ x 32″ Red Paddle Co 10’6″ Ride to 20psi on a charge. It can’t do it twice on one charge.

6 – Speed (9.5/10)

We did our standard paddleboard inflation test with the Puffer Pro. We inflate a generic 10’6″ x 32″ all around paddleboard to 14psi. We inflate a 12’6″ x 32″ touring SUP to 15 psi and 20 psi. We time how long it takes. We use a 12 volt power supply for these tests to be consistent with all pumps we have tested.

The Puffer Pro took 7 minutes and 27 seconds to inflate the 10’6″ board to 14 psi. This was only 22 seconds slower than the iRocker electric pump, which is the fastest pump we have tested, which completed it in 7 minutes and 5 seconds. Overall this is really good.

The Puffer Pro took 9 minutes and 8 seconds to inflate the 12’6″ touring board to 15 psi. It took 12 minutes and 48 seconds to get it to 20 psi. This was 58 seconds slower than the iRocker pump to 20 psi. This is still much faster than average.

See the below table for a comparison of inflation times with all the pumps we have reviewed.

Internal Battery

We repeated the tests using the Puffer Pro internal battery. It adds about 30 seconds to all the timed tests. This is still a fast pump when running off of its internal battery.

7 – Multiple Boards (9/10)

The Puffer Pro has a separate cooling fan to keep it from overheating if you inflate multiple boards in a row. Its compact size does create some cooling challenges. It does state in the manual to not recharge the battery right away after inflating boards. Wait at least 30 minutes. We damaged our first Puffer Pro by not reading that part of the manual and trying to recharge it right away. It turned it into a 12 volt only pump that would not recharge. Airbank replaced the pump and our replacement has worked flawlessly.

You can inflate boards continuously until the battery dies. Do not recharge it right away after doing this.

8 – Ease of Use (9.5/10)

The Puffer is very easy to use. It has 5 buttons for controlling it.

• + and – buttons for adjusting pressure
• Power button for turning on and off and to start and stop inflation
• Light button for turning on and off the LED light to use as a flashlight
• Mode button for switching units from PSI to Bar

The battery can be charged using either a 12 volt cable or USB cable. Both are included. The pump recharges several times faster from a 12 volt outlet. The USB charger takes 7-8 hours to charge from fully dead and will leave you wondering if it is charging at all. It only takes 2 hours to recharge from dead with a 12 volt source.

10 – Cord Storage (9/10)

A nice little storage bag is included that can hold the pump, charging cords, air hose, and inflator nozzles. It gives you a nice small and compact package you can easily fit into the corner of your inflatable SUP bag.

11 – Durability (9/10)

As previously mentioned, you must be careful recharging the Puffer Pro after use. Wait at least 30 minutes. Most of you probably won’t read the manual that close to catch that warning. We didn’t. This killed the rechargeable battery on our first Puffer Pro. It still works great as a 12 volt pump. It will not recharge ever again.

Airbank sent us a replacement after we had problems with our first pump. The second one has had no issues at all. We’ve been taking it on every trip to the lake to inflate our Red Paddle Co Ride 10’6″ to 20 psi. We usually have enough charge left to inflate a Nixy Tahoe kayak to its recommended 4 psi.

The size is one of the best things about the Puffer Pro. It also means it needs some care with heat dissipation because it’s small. I’m surprised that a pump this compact can inflate multiple boards at all but the Puffer does it and keeps doing it.

Recommendation – Buy or No Buy?

If you want a small compact electric paddleboard pump with a rechargeable battery then check out the Puffer Pro. It can easily inflate 10’6″ all arounf boards to 20 psi on its internal battery. It’s small enough to fit inside almost any inflatable SUP bag with the board. If you need to inflate larger 12’6″ touring boards, it doesn’t have enough battery to inflate them to 20 psi.

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Ryan Craig
Chief Editor

I am a total gear nerd and love learning how things work and thinking about how they could be improved. Nothing excites me more than trying out new gear. I’d rather spend 3 hours taking my bike apart and learning how to change something than go to a bike shop. These days, I reside in Michigan by the Great Lakes and go skiing, biking, and boating as much as possible. Visit our About Us page and learn more.

ryan@greatlakesbikeskiboat.com