Hands-Free Inflation of Your Ultralight Float Tube
Looking for even easier inflation & deflation of your Wilderness Lite ultralight float tube? Here's a lightweight rechargeable lithium battery powered pump which functions both as an inflation pump and as a vacuum pump for float tube deflation.
The Flextailgear Max Pump 2020 (available on Amazon for ~$30) weighs 5.5 oz, and the nozzle fits the adapter tubing we supply with our ultralight float tubes with a tight fit to the valves of the Backpacker Pro. It fills the main bladder in about the same time as hand pumping, about 5-6 minutes, and the backrest bladder in less than a minute. Rather than draining its battery by continuing filling to 100% with the Flextailgear, we turn off the pump & top off the main bladder with the hand pump to get a tight, firm consistency for the best performance of the Backpacker Pro on the water. Moving the nozzle to the intake port on the Max Pump 2020 enables it to function as a vacuum pump which deflates the Backpacker Pro in 5-6 minutes. For best results rolling up the wings a couple times during deflation is important to move air toward the valve, so the two sides of the bladder don't get pulled together and block the outflow of air to the vacuum pump. This enables you to multi-task and maximize your time on the water. You can begin hands-free deflation of your Wilderness Lite Backpacker Pro right after leaving the water while you change out of waders, etc as the pump deflates the Backpacker Pro. And it's blaze orange, so easy to find if left along the shoreline. They are made in China, unfortunately, and one pump has come apart needing some glue for repair. In their third year of use the connection for recharging no longer functions on either, so we've had to purchase replacements, which hopefully, will last another 3 years. Bottom line: if you don't mind carrying an extra 5.5 oz, the Max Pump 2020 is a nice convenience, but I would NOT head into the backcountry without your Wilderness Lite double action hand pump.
