Portland Design Works has decided to enter the increasingly popular electric tire inflator market with their own Essentials Electric Pump. This is a portable and affordable tire inflator that has PDW’s signature user friendly twist on it. Retail price for the pump is a competitive $85 which includes a waterproof and fabric storage bag. PDW has incorporated a color screen with premium touches like a startup animation, progress bar while inflating and an intuitive layout. The pump has a maximum pressure of 120 PSI and comes with an extension hose as well as Schrader, Presta and a needle valve adapter.
The Portland Design Work Essential Electric Pump combines long battery life and an intuitive user interface.
| Retail Price | $85 |
| Rating | 9.0 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 180 (pump), 6 (Presta Adapter), 13 (Hose) |
| Likes | + Competitively priced compared to other pumps + Clever four mode presets to switch between different style bikes + Color screen with intuitive user interface |
| Dislikes | – Relatively large in size – Slight kick-back when first turning the pump on from the motor |
| Where to Buy (US) | Portland Design Works |
UNBOXING
The PDW Essential Electric Pump comes in a compact cardboard box with bright yellow and blue stripes printed on it. Once you open the box you’ll find:
- Essentials electric pump
- Schrader extension hose w/ Presta adapter
- Black Schrader + blue Presta adapter to attach directly to pump
- Needle valve adapter
- USB-C charging cable
- Waterproof storage bag
- Fabric storage bag
- User manual
We were surprised to see PDW include both carrying bag styles with the sleek black fabric bag and a semi-transparent clear waterproof bag to carry the pump or store it.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the PDW Essentials Electric Pump has a rectangular profile with plastic exterior semi-gloss finish. To match PDW’s blue branding, the buttons and USB-C port cover are a light blue along with PDW printed on the side. Admittedly, the Essentials Electric Pump is fairly large and heavy compared to other portable electric pumps with exterior dimensions of 86 x 38 x 52 mm (i.e. 3.4 x 1.5 x 2 inches). The pump is designed with screw on nozzle adapters on the back face and the screen and buttons placed vertically on the side. To keep temperatures under control, there are vents cut into the front and rear of the body along with grooves to help with grip. A USB-C port is located on top of the pump with a rubber cover to keep debris out. PDW has also added a flashlight below the nozzle to help with inflation in low light situations.
As far as nozzles, the PDW uses adapters that screw onto the body of the pump. There is a blue color coded Presta adapter and a black Schrader adapter as well as needle adapter for inflating balls. For additional versatility, there is also a 11.4 cm / 4.5 inch extension hose that helps access recessed valves with an additional Presta adapter. The Schrader and Presta adapters have a rubber gasket with internal threading to lock onto valves to help make it air tight while you are inflating. There is no built-in storage so you’ll need to make sure you do not lose the small accessories.
USER INTERFACE
The user interface on the PDW Essential Electric Pump is one of the most interesting features. Unlike most pumps, this has a four button interface along with an integrated flashlight. The buttons are arranged in a row with a left arrow, power button, U button and a right arrow. Holding the power button turns the pump on or off with a fun PDW graphic on startup and shutdown. The screen is well sized with the current pressure shown in white on the bottom left, target on the bottom right in green. Battery status is displayed with three bars in the top left corner along with the display units and current mode on the far right.
This is the first pump we’ve seen with a mode selector that lets you choose between four color coded modes: road, city, gravel and mtb. Each mode can have its own saved target pressure which makes it easy to switch between different bike styles. Pressing the U button cycles through the modes while holding the button switches between PSI, kpa, kg/cm2 display units. Double pressing the U button toggles the flashlight on and off which allows the arrow buttons to be only used for increasing or decreasing the target pressure.
It’s a relatively straight forward design but it does overload the U button with multiple functions that are not obvious. The screen even shows a flashlight icon when the flash light is on which is a nice touch you don’t typically see on cheaper pumps. While you are pumping, there is also a horizontal progress bar that fills in as you approach the target pressure. This isn’t quite as slick as the arc design of the Fanttik X10 pumps, but it gives you nice feedback.
ON THE BIKE
Right off the bat, the PDW Essentials pump is quite a bit larger and heavier than other portable electric pumps. It’s clear PDW has prioritized battery life, heat management and speed instead of focusing on weight. That means if you are a weight weenie that rides without a saddlebag, the CYCLPLUS AS2 Ultra is still your best option. However, where those smaller pumps tend to only have enough battery life for 4-5 inflation of a 700×28 tire from 0-65 PSI before they shutoff, the PDW Essentials clearly has far more battery capacity. We were able to inflate the tire 6 times and only showed one bar reduction in battery so you can easily use this pump on multiple bikes and days without a recharge. It’s quite impressive and makes the Essentials a great alternative to a home floor pump.
Compared to pumps from smaller brands like the COOPO X1 or even the Magicshine Airro, the PDW Essential feels more polished. Small details like the startup animation and larger size of the buttons are features you typically only see from pumps like the Trek Air Rush or the Topeak E-Booster Mini. The pump is also quite powerful with inflation time of around 41 seconds for a 700×28 tire which is faster than any pump we’ve reviewed. However, the more powerful motor does have a bit of kick-back when you first turn it on which is something we haven’t experienced with other pumps. Otherwise, PDW has done a nice job optimizing the speed and runtime of the pump which helps make this a great alternative to traditional floor pump.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Portland Design Works Essentials Electric Pump to be well designed and versatile pump. It’s clear PDW has prioritized performance over size as the pump is slightly larger and heavier than many of the mini pumps on the market. While it won’t win the hearts of weight weenies, the larger battery means you don’t have to have anxiety about running out of battery mid-ride. We were impressed with the long runtimes and the user-friendly design with large buttons and a mode selector to switch between different bike styles. The only downside, aside from the larger size, is that there is a slight kick-back from the motor turning on. That said, if you’re looking for a solid and intuitive tire inflator than the PDW Essentials is an impressive first electric pump for the brand.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Portland Design Works. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.