Airace Infinity Turbo Steel Floor Pump

This sturdy floor pump is great and makes you wonder whether there's any point in paying more.

What's good? Funny you should ask... For a start, both the base and the 30mm-diameter barrel are steel, and fairly hefty steel at that. You're going to have to do something pretty darn careless to wreck either... and that's coming from a man who can break most things without trying.

The handle is plastic with an elastomer inlay in the top that stops your hands from slipping. Rather than bending about like some handles when you get a bit of force behind them, it holds firm which bodes well for durability. In my experience, flexy handles always fail sooner or later.

You get just one small rubber stud on each side of the base for grip. That seems a token effort but it's not really a problem – foot slippage has never struck me as the biggest concern when it comes to floor pumps. Even if those studs don't last forever, it's really not going to affect the overall performance much.

The hose comes out of the top of the barrel and it's about 1m long which is ample. The pump head is a chunky, confidence-inspiring piece of work with a single 'Clever Valve' that fits Schrader and Presta inner tubes equally well. The tough lever on the back of the pump head tightens the rubber seal inside and holds it firmly in place so it doesn't shoot off across the garage at high pressures.

The gauge sits at the top of the barrel too so it's easily read, and you can turn a dial on the outside to your target pressure to make things even simpler.

Airace give a maximum pressure of 160psi (11 bar, give or take) and, for once, that's accurate. Sometimes a manufacturer will claim a figure and it's just about achievable if you and a friend both jump on the handle at the same time. Not here: I pumped some 22mm tubs up that high with no trouble at all – no sweating, no cursing, no nothing. It took 32 strokes – if you're interested, like. If you accidentally put in too much air, a little bleed button on the back of the pump head allows you to let some out easily.

What else do you need to know? Ah yes, you can get spares too. So, if the rubber in the valve eventually goes kaput, you can spend a few quid on a new one rather than having to replace the entire pump. That's good for your wallet, the environment, your grandchildren and all the rest of it.

Oh, I do have one complaint: they spelt the name wrong on the barrel... Unless they did actually want to call it the Infinity Tubo.

Verdict

Sturdy Schrader/Presta floor pump that can comfortably handle 160psi; it makes you wonder if there's any point paying more.