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Raft pump

27K views 32 replies 28 participants last post by  protechie 
#1 ·
Anyone have recommendations on a pump? I'm looking for something to top off the raft when needed. Going to keep/transport my raft inflated. Just raft so I'm looking for something that will last.
 
#3 ·
electric or manual?
I roll with a K-pump 200. K pumps are great: compact, low maintenance, they float and no hoses to tie up or put holes in. They have a number of models and sizes and come with a storage bag that can be rigged almost anywhere and easily reached on the fly. Required on-river equipment anyway.

My electric is a coleman-air-mattress-no-balls-hair-dryer-sounding-gizmo that plugs into the cigarette lighter in the truck. The thing can't even push enough pressure to open a closed leafield valve so I use it to blow the majority of air in with the valve open and then do the quick close and top off with the k-pump. I had it left over from car camping days before I discovered river sleeping pads but it beats the heck out of spending $120 plus on the NRS electrics. Yes they will push a leafield valve open but electrics don't top off like a manual does at least in my private boating and guiding experiences.

Can blow uninflated 13' raft and top of in less than 10 minutes.
 
#6 ·
Never got too worked up over a pump. I think the one I use is a Sevylor double action pump I got for $19.99. They are probably $29.99 these days. I think mine is ten years old.

One of my sons was giving me a hard time about it because it's "so cheap". So I put a big NRS sticker over the sevylor label. I think it's worth $89.99 now.

That said if I had to do more than top off I would want something higher volume or electric.
 
#7 ·
I also use a Coleman air mattress pump and then top off with a AAA barrel pump. The Coleman does the job just fine, I personally wouldn't spend any big money on a fancy electric pump. If I had it to do over, I would get a k pump instead of the AAA. I got the AAA pump before I realized how well the Coleman electric one would work, so I thought I would be using it a lot more. Now I wish I had a k pump instead just cause it's more compact and would do just fine for topping off.
 
#8 ·
Water in pump = water in tubes if you use it... Dry bag (tent bag works for bigger pumps) is a good idea. I keep my K-pump in dry box, handy if needed.
Another reason to go with K-pump: they're a family business, and will service your pump free of charge (you pay postage, I've even had them pay that for return) for pretty much forever. I bought my first one in 2006 or 2007, have rebuilt it twice myself and sent it in when developed a hairline crack in the top piece due to over-enthusiastic "help" - they sent me a new pump.
Agree with others in this thread about blowers: whatever is cheapest and gets your boat full. That said, I've had good luck for many years with LVM, just DO NOT hook to battery with engine running. They're designed to run on 12V, not the 14 your battery is receiving from alternator.
 
#10 ·
When at home, I typically use a shop-vac to inflate.
For put-in and take-out, I use a Dewalt blower. The Dewalt will inflate at least 4 rafts with one of the larger 20v batteries. I really like this solution, and take it down the river in a dry box instead of a large pump.
For top-off, I use a K-pump knock-off made by AAA inflatables. The AAA pump is so far more durable than the K-pump.
I have a K-100, but the inflator end broke out on it. I attempted to contact the manufacturer a couple times, and did not get a response, so I fixed it myself after a trip to the Home Depot plumbing department.
I prefer the K style pumps for top-off since they are much easier for a person to use on their own.
 
#12 ·
I have never had a bad experience with my DRE barrel pump, I have also never needed to service or repair it in over 4 years of lots of private boating. I have however had many not so good experiences with k pumps. Thwarts are hard to inflate with one, the tip does not fit nicely into the valve, making for a lot of wasted energy, and It doesn't seem to push the volume like a good old barrel pump.


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz
 
#16 ·
k-pumps are crap when your valves are outside the boat because you cant get the right angle on it unless you're in the water. You also cant use k-pumps when your valves are buried under your gear pile.

I'll take a WonderPump any day for a top-off pump. They are cheep, small enough to pack away, and double action.

 
#17 ·
k-pumps are crap when your valves are outside the boat because you cant get the right angle on it unless you're in the water. You also cant use k-pumps when your valves are buried under your gear pile.

I'll take a WonderPump any day for a top-off pump. They are cheep, small enough to pack away, and double action.

Wonder pumps suck... A K-pump can do anything any other pump will do, all you have to do is add a hose, then you have a pump that can pump outside or into tight spots and you don't have to have a place to set the base when pumping. To each their own but I went away from the wonder pump many years ago.... For a similar price a Bravo 2 is much better, has a hose but only requires foot power. In either case I feel the K-pump is much superior.
 
#18 ·
K-pumps are the way to go. I have a K-pump that has dual pistons, and use the smaller piston for topping off the double ducky. The owner of K-pump is awesome, and sent me a replacement part/upgrade kit at no charge, and QUICKLY. I have used it to top off my 156d for a couple years now, and it is the bomb. Angle is no problem on my boat, even with four chambers at odd angles to the pump. Big piston too much to pop, then use the smaller piston and do a few more strokes. The pump is bomber, and the man standing behind his product is the best. Nuff said.
 
#22 ·
I don't usually trash stuff online and AAA makes some other stuff that is really nice, but the AAA barrel pump is a pile of shit. I bought one last year and instantly regretted it. They made the o-ring so tight inside the thing that even with constant greasing you wear yourself out after 10 pumps. You actually have to put your back into it and pull up, whereas every other pump I've used extended effortlessly. Every person who tried that pump hated it and ended up worn out after just topping their boat off. I tried using it to fully inflate the boat once and made it halfway through one tube before giving up and waiting for another dude to finish using his Carlson pump so i could use it.

When I brought it back to AAA and expressed my concerns they told me something about "going for efficiency instead of ease of use" or something like that. They regreased it for me and I said I'd try it on one more trip but nothing changed so I brought it back and took a 20% restocking fee hit and they only gave me store credit.

Do yourself a favor and get the DRE or Carlson one or even the NRS one. The DRE one is only $10 more and has pretty much become the industry standard. AAA has some great products...but that certainly isn't one of them.
 
#21 ·
I own a K-40 and echo what elkhaven says about adding a hose and being able to pump from inside the boat. Much much better than a wonder pump in my opinion. I was looking at adding a K-220 for my 2 inflatable sups and sent a message last night and got a response from the owner within an hour. When I called the store this morning to discuss an issue with the website he answers and discusses the pro and cons of different pumps and gauges. I love doing business with an American company and one that is friendly, answers your questions without making you feel like a knob and then ends the conversation by thanking me for my business. His wife then called me back 5 min later and fixed the shipping issue. Quality product with top notch service. Why go cheap?
 
#26 ·
If you are looking for a pump to top off and leave it in the truck, or have dry box space to haul it, carlson pretty much lasts a lifetime, and are nice to use.

If you're going to carry it on the river for day trips, then a k-pump would be much easier to pack.
 
#28 ·
Off brand K pump?

I bought this pump because everyone seems to love the K pump and because I'm poor and was really hoping to save some cash.

http://cascaderivergear.com/shop/cascade-22-top-off-pump/

I haven't used a K pump, so I can't compare it that well, but I have to say it takes a lot of effort to get much air in my whitewater raft when I use it as a top off pump. Not entirely sure if it's just me or partly the pump, but I'm now often debating bringing my larger pump with hose since it's much more efficient at pumping the boat up.

Anyone else have this pump by chance and able to tell me if they like it? I'm constantly wondering if I'm somehow just not using it right because it really doesn't do much when I try and use it. Even filling just a thwart takes a lot of work.
 
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