Does it Work?
How Fast?
Weight?

When used as a pillow, does it hold air all night?

Other considerations?

Thanks.

Hi Greg!

>Does it work?
Yes.

>How fast?
I haven't timed it, but I certainly don't think it's slower than using the inflation/stuff sack that comes with the mattress. I personally find it easier to put in X small but fast puffs with the pillow pump than Y larger, slower "whooshes" with the big bag. (Where X >> Y)

>Weight?
I've got 5.5 oz. plus 0.5 oz. for the stuff sack, but I'd question those based on the cheapness of my scale.

>When used as a pillow, does it hold air all night?
Yes; no problems yet.

>Other considerations?
It can make packing these mattresses lighter if you're taking two of them, no mattress stuff sacks, and one pillow pump to inflate them both.


John A

Edited by JohnA on 03/09/2010 20:16:52 MST.

The new models don't have the pillow pump. The pump is integrated into the side of the pad. It is rather ingenious and cool...

I've got a BA Pumphouse pump. Works fine, much like the old stuffsack pump Exped used to include with their mattress. Only weighs 1.5 oz. About 12-15 pumps to fill up my Bender Newbie DAM (72x20-somethingx3.5")

I find the Stephenson "stuff sack inflator" to be a real PITA, hence my query for a real, and efficient, and light pump for any DAM.

The Pumphouse seems to be the same as the stuff sack approach. Has anyone used both?

Thanks

Hi Greg,

I'd say the Pumphouse certainly is the stuff sack approach, so if you don't like those you probably wouldn't like the Pumphouse.

Okay -- 28 pumps, one minute on the dot.
(DownMat 9)

John A

Edited by JohnA on 03/10/2010 10:08:37 MST.

Bamb!

Boy do I like hands on testing!

PillowPump, right?

Thanks.

Yes, that was the time with the pillow pump. I started timing from just before the first pump, after getting the pillow out and connected. The Downmat had been sitting out uninflated for some time, not freshly unstuffed and unrolled.

Thank you, John.

8 pumps and two minutes to the same inflation level with the pump sack option.

John A

John,
How big is the Pumphouse?
How do you 'inflate it' between pumps?

(The Stephenson sack is a Big floppy beast that is very unwieldy. "Grabbing" a bag of air is every inefficient. It is almost impossible to use inside a solo tent.)

Greg,

Mine isn't the Big Agnes Pumphouse; it's the stuff/pump sack that came with my Exped Downmats. It's big enough to store both Downmat 9's rolled, as long as I don't want to close the sack. It weighs 5.5 oz. on that unreliable scale I mentioned a few posts ago. The bottom half of it contains foam inside the wall of the cylinder to give it a sort of structure to help it open up. In-between pumps I open up the roll top opening and stick my hand inside giving it a little shake to help increase the volume before grabbing the opening closed again to give it another rolling pump.

John A

"...foam wall..."

Got it.

Thanks again.

"How big is the Pumphouse?
How do you 'inflate it' between pumps?"

Dimensions: 19.5" long. 12" wide at the open or top end, tapering down to 8" wide at the bottom.

All I do is open the top and give it a shake or two, then roll it closed and inflate. Repeat until the pad is inflated. The trick is to not hold it 'up and down' but rather laying it on its side as you inflate. Holding it up and down pinches off the 'tube' that carries air into the bag.

I received my Exped Pillow Pump today and I am a happy camper!



The Exped "business end" of the Pillow Pump is smaller than the receiver of the DAM. However, Exped includes something they call and "adapter tube" that – surprise – gets everything to fit. I cut it down a bit to make the field assembly easier. It can't stay on the inflator port because the port has to mate with a cap so that when in "pillow mode" it holds air. So, a little bit of field futzing is required.


The PillowPump is on the left. Red port is the fill socket for the DAM. The adapter tube is in between.




With the adapter tube in place, the fill tube fits snugly into the socket.


It takes me about a minute to pump up the DAM.

As a pillow, it is a little low, but it is more than adequate. It has 2 small holes punched into the edge so it can be lashed to a mattress. It comes with a repair kit.

The weight is 5.7 ounces. The weight of the Stephenson stuff sack is 2.3 ounces and a Montbell pillow is 2.6. So the weight is a wash.

Does anyone know the Intended use of the Adapter Tube?

Edited by greg23 on 03/17/2010 20:21:02 MDT.

"adaptor tube"
Some older Exped mats used the smaller valve
Franco

So do at least some POE and Thermarest mats. My pillow pump is my luxury item.

Greg,

Does the pillow pump have a valve that allows air into the pump between push's? I have the old style Exped Stuff-sack Pump and really find it a pain at times. I already carry a MontBell pillow so maybe I can just switch.

I just got a custom down pad from Kooka Bay which has a different sized inflation valve than most pads, but it comes with a Shark-bite adapter to bring it to the same size. But then I found a pump that went to one of my kids slumber-party air mattresses and found that the adapter will go right into the tube. The plastic air pump weighs 2.3 oz and has two valves, one pushes air out, the other in. I am going to take it to Mt San Gorgonio next Friday along with the new pad to try it out. Here is a shot of the pump with the Shark-bite attached.

Raymond,
I've got a pump exactly like that for one of those big exercise balls. I can disassemble mine to remove a large metal spring inside, which reduces the weight, and still works fine.

"Does the pillow pump have a valve that allows air into the pump between push's?"

Raymond,
Nope. No one-way valve, just a "port" with a cap, in the body of the pillow. Very similar looking to what you see on the Stephenson DAM above, but without the flap valve visible at the bottom of the port on the DAM.

I cover the port with my hand as I push down. And when I lift up the foam expands and the air rushes in. It works.

(For pillow mode the port is capped/plugged shut, and the two pieces on the business end of the pillow are mated together to form a seal there.)

Edited by greg23 on 03/20/2010 10:46:57 MDT.

Yeah, these don't have a spring, they rely just on the shape of the plastic to work the belows action. I have another one (of course, as I have twins...) that has a different end that will work on my Exped DownMat 9 and BA DualCore pads. But I need to run a little bead of silicone around it to make it seal. Right now I have to hold my hand around it, but it works. I blew up the DownMat quite easily last weekend.

My kids think it is so funny that I have their old pumps.

Does anyone have any before-and-after experience seam-sealing the bag that comes with the Stephenson? I agree that unsealed it's an incredible PITA, and takes forever.

Raymond,

I have the same pump :) I would like to try this out this weekend with a BAIAC. What is the shark-bite piece made from?

I think the SharkBite tube is made from cross-linked polyethylene (also known as PEX). It is often used as home water piping/tubing. You can buy the same brand material at Home Depot.

Thanks Marc! I am going to look for that today

Edited by heathpitts on 05/10/2010 07:53:45 MDT.

James,
I considered seam sealing the Stephenson bag, but if you close it off and lean on it, it does nto lose much air through the seam. So, IMHO, seal sealing is not going to get you very much, especially when you consider the entire "filling" process.

I got a Pillow Pump. It's fast. It's effective. I like it.

Edit: If you haven't looked back at Page One of this thread, do so. An abundance of pictures and comments.

Edited by greg23 on 05/10/2010 09:01:23 MDT.

Has anyone here tried the Exped shrink bag and pumptube combination? The total of both items would be > 7 oz but for me this might be worth it. This would replace the exercise ball pump and large waterproof liner for my sleeping bag and clothes bag. That is nearly 6 oz in my pack with the existing pump weighing 3.1. I could possibly drop my clothes stuff sack with this combo as well.

I tried the exercise ball pump on my last trip and inflating my big Agnes IAC took as long or longer than simply blowing it up by mouth.

Hopefully someone has tried this shrink bag/pumptube setup and it works great :)

Edited by heathpitts on 05/24/2010 03:00:31 MDT.