The best tyre pumps to keep your tyres in working order

• Never be with a flat tyre again
• A complete buyers guide
• Best tyre inflators recommended

Written by Ryan Gilmore Published: 31 August 2022 Updated: 11 March 2024

Without a tyre pump, a flat tyre can really ruin your day. It’s when a situation like this arises you realise just how important those four tyres on your wheels really are. Imagine being sat at the side of the road in miserable weather, waiting for the roadside mechanic to turn up in their van and breathe new life into your deflated tyre when you could be on your way again so much sooner if only you had a tyre pump. You can get run-flat tyres, but these tend to be a bit more expensive, can’t usually be repaired and are mostly found fitted to higher-end vehicles.

Tyres with the correct pressure last longer and get fuel efficiency, saving you serious money. Properly pressured tyres are also more effective if you need to slow down or stop in an emergency. In short, it’s a good idea to keep a tyre pump in your car at all times to make sure your tyre pressure is correct.

Best tyre pumps at a glance:

Editor’s choice: Ring RAC 610 – Buy now from Amazon UK

Best for basic functions: AA 12V Digital Tyre Inflator – Buy now from Amazon UK

Best cordless tyre pump: Enntas Cordless Tyre Inflator – Buy now from Amazon UK

Most tyre pumps will do the same job but with varying degrees of efficiency and flexibility. Do you need different types of adaptors, or would you prefer a cordless device? We’ve had a look at some of the best tyre pumps available.

Best tyre pumps

Ring RAC610 In-Car Air Compressor

Editor's choice

Rrp: £15.47

Price: £12.57

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A good choice for everyday use, this tyre pump is capable of re-inflating a mid-sized tyre in four and a half minutes. With 12V (standard in most cars), this inflator can be kept at home or placed in your car to keep your tyres full of air. Its compact size and shape means it's easy to store and keep handy. The power cable is almost 3m long, which is enough to reach all four tyres on most cars.

Pros

Easy to operate
Compact size

Cons

Analogue display

NORSHIRE Tyre Inflator

Best for stylish design

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The most stylish tyre pump available, the Norshire hand-held tyre pump is a powerful option. Able to inflate a tyre in under 5 minutes and capable of 175psi, it is a stylish option and compact enough to store in the car easily. It operates from the car's 12V cigarette lighter, and it can be charged via the supplied USB lead for cordless operation. It comes with plenty of attachments, so can be used for many other household tasks.

Pros

OLED touchscreen control
0.1 PSI accuracy

Cons

No storage for the supplied accessories

AA 12V Digital Tyre Inflator

Best for basic functions

Price: £26.92

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A simple-to-use 12V operated tyre pump, this pump from AA will ensure that your tyres stay filled with air. With a programmable automatic shut-off setting, it'll stop you from overinflating your tyres, too. The small size makes it easily portable and easy to store so that you can keep it handy in the car. It comes with an LED lamp with three settings - Illumination, flash and SOS.

Pros

Comes with handy LED illumination
Digital readout

Cons

Can be a bit slow

Enntas Cordless Tyre Inflator

Best cordless tyre pump

Rrp: £21.99

Price: £19.54

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This stylish, cordless inflator is fitted with a 6000mAh rechargeable battery that can provide up to 30 minutes of continuous operation with a car cigarette lighter connection as backup. It'll deliver a maximum pressure of up to 150PSI, and it takes only 6 minutes to inflate a tyre (0-36PSI) fully. It can display four pressure units (BAR, PSI, KPA, Kg/cm²), and the digital display makes it easy to read.

Pros

Stylish and compact design
Powerful output

Cons

Slower than some others

Xiaomi Electric Air Pump

Best for flexible use

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Perfect for small cars as well as bicycles, motorcycles and mopeds, this gadget may be slower and less powerful than others, but is so much more compact and easy to store; in fact, it can easily be carried in a suitcase or clipped onto a backpack. The auto shutoff function means it stops when the preset pressure is reached. The powerful 2000mAh rechargeable lithium battery is charged via a USB port, and it can be used as a power bank for Android and iOS devices or digital equipment. The Xiaomi Electric Air Pump will inflate a mid-sized tyre in roughly eight minutes.

Pros

No external power supply is needed
Can be used as a power bank

Cons

Lacks battery charge level indicator

What you need to know about tyre inflators

Before you go about checking your car’s tyres, there are a couple of things to remember. There are two main methods of measuring how much air is in your tyres: pounds per square inch (psi) or barometric atmospheric pressure (bar). Be sure to check which measurement the tyre pump uses before buying (although some offer both measurements).

The pressure your tyres should be set to can be found in your car’s handbook. There are usually two figures shown, one for normal use and another for high-load situations. Be sure to regularly check your tyres (once a month should be enough) to make sure that they stay at the correct pressure as air leaks out over time.

Ryan Gilmore is the Deputy Autos and Tools Editor for Parkers and CAR, specialising in car cleaning and hand tools. With an MA in Automotive Journalism, when he’s not testing buckets he can be found looking at old Porsches.

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