CROWDFUNDING REVIEW – We have an air compressor in our garage that we use to air up the tires of our vehicles and lawn tractor. The compressor works great, but it’s big and not convenient to use especially if we need to air up a flat tire on our lawn tractor which is stored in a barn more than 100 feet from the garage. That’s where a portable tire inflator like the OAK & IRON ONE Smart Portable Tire Inflator can become your new best friend. Let’s take a closer look at this handy tool which is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.
What is it?
OAK & IRON ONE Smart Portable Tire Inflator is a small battery-powered air pump that can be used to air up the tires on your car, bicycle, or air up basketballs and more.
What’s in the box?
- OAK & IRON ONE Smart Portable Tire Inflator
- Press-on valve/hose
- Twist-on valve/hose
- Presta valve
- Needle valve
- Adapting valve
- USB-C charging cable
- Storage pouch
Hardware specifications
Inflation Pressure Range: 3-150 psi /0.2-10.3 bar
Inflation Speed: Fully inflate a 190/65 R15 tire from 0% to 100% in 5 minutes
Pre-Set Inflation Modes and their default pressure settings:
- Car – 36 PSI
- Motorcycle – 35 PSI
- Bicycle – 45 PSI
- Ball – 8 PSI
Sensor Accuracy: ±1 PSI
Noise level while in operation: 80dB
LED flashlight: 100 Lumen
Battery Capacity: 7,800 mAh
Charging Time: 3.5 hours
Standby Battery Power: 300 Days Without Re-charge
Design and features
The OAK & IRON Portable Tire Inflators are a small device that you can easily keep in a drawer or even in the trunk of your car for those inopportune times when you need to air up your tires. OAK & IRON has two versions of their tire inflators, the ONE, and the ONE PRO. I was sent the ONE. The difference between the two devices is that the ONE PRO has a larger battery size, faster inflation speed, and a built-in carrying handle.
The ONE device shown here has a black plastic case with a display on the front and operating instructions on the back.
The OAK & IRON ONE Smart Portable Tire Inflator controls are easy to use and understand. There is a power button and pump (inflate) button in the center and surrounding the power/inflate button are -/+ buttons to customize the preset pressure, a mode button to cycle through car, motorcycle, bicycle, and ball. There is also a button that toggles the built-in flashlight on and off.
On the top of the device are the USB-C charging port, LED flashlight, and air hose connector.
The built-in flashlight is a nice feature to have since you never know what time of day or the lighting conditions you might need when using the OAK & IRON ONE Smart Portable Tire Inflator.
You’ll also notice the bright display in the image above. The top number is the pressure of the currently connected tire or ball. The number below it is the preset pressure that the unit will use to inflate whatever it is attached to.
The OAK & IRON ONE Smart Portable Tire Inflator comes with two air hoses that are about 13 inches long. One hose has a press-on valve and the other hose has a twist-on valve which you use with the included adapters (presta valve, needle valve (shown above), and adapting valve.
In addition to showing the current pressure, and preset pressure, there is a battery status indicator at the top of the display. You will also use this indicator while charging the device. Note that the OAK & IRON portable tire inflator can not be used while it is charging.
The icon above the preset pressure let you easily see what mode you’re in (car, motorcycle, bicycle, or ball).
See (and hear) it in action
Note that the flickering display in the video above is not a true life indication of what the display looks like. The flicker was from the iPhone, which I used to record the video. In real life, the display is bright, easy to read, and doesn’t flicker at all. You can see this in the images above.
It’s also important to know that the OAK & IRON portable tire inflator will not automatically stop inflating balloons, beach balls, swim rings, and similar items because the air pressure requirements for these items are below the minimum pressure range for this inflator. That means you’ll need to manually stop the inflating process before damaging the item.
Using the OAK & IRON portable tire inflator super easy and even fun compared to using my big and bulky electric air compressor. The only thing that would make it even nicer would be slightly longer air hoses. I have a little car (MINI Cooper) and the hose wasn’t long enough to allow me to rest the tire inflator on the ground while it was working. Luckily they will ship a 28 in / 70 cm hose with the final product.
What I like
- Portable
- Automatic shut-off for certain items like tires and balls
- Includes different valves
What I’d change
- Include a 12V car charger adapter
Final thoughts
The OAK & IRON ONE Smart Portable Tire Inflator is a great addition to my selection of car gear. It’s easy to use, can inflate a flat tire from 0 PSI to 35 PSI in 5 minutes, and is small enough to store in a drawer in the house, or in your car. It gets a thumbs up from me (and my American Bobtail kitten Ozzy).
Price: $99.00
Where to buy: Kickstarter
Source: The sample for this review was provided by OAK & IRON Technology.
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Vindictive company. They cancelled my Kickstarter pledge and a few others WITHOUT authorization. Granted they refunded me but they effectively shows they would rather silence complaints than constructively deal with their lack of details or admit they made a mistake. If they keep that attitude going forward, imagine what happens if you have a warranty claim or an issue with their product.
Can you tell us what type of problem you had with the unit?
They haven’t shipped their units yet. The issue is that they have a PRO and a normal version. The PRO was very limited and sold out in 3 days.
So many people said they wanted the PRO instead and some mentioned they will wait. They told people that if they pledged already to message them and they will be added to a waitlist and if they hadn’t pledged, then pay $1 and do the same and they will get added too. When asked for more details, they said to wait for an email after the campaign is over. Nothing else.
Campaign came to an end and people are still asking about the waitlist. People on the waitlist (including myself) started wondering if they’re going to ship the normal one and not get the PRO. We complained. They said they never said it would be an upgrade (true but they never clarified anything either). Most people would not need two of these anyway.
Shortly after that, I receive an email that I was refunded. The others that posted are also marked “User cancelled pledge” or their comments are suddenly “marked for review”. That’s it. I never asked for a refund. I wanted clarification or at least own up to the mistake and work something out.
I also pledged the ONE Pro on Kickstarter and received an email update just yesterday saying the ONE Pro did not pass the mass production stage. My options moving forward are 1) exchange for the ONE or 2) get a full refund.
Ugh… sorry to hear that. I’m still using the ONE (non Pro) version. I actually just used it a week ago when my regular (big) air compressor stopped working and I thought I had a leak in a tire. I really like that it can check the pressure and automatically inflate to the pressure I specify. I don’t really care to use my non-smart compressor anymore once I started using this one.