Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I wanted a portable, reliable, high quality, quick & powerful tire inflator. This product has all of those qualities in spades! It is probably way more compressor than I need for my three passenger vehicles: a small commuter car, a minivan and a full size van. This obviously durable product comes with a quality carrying/storage case. It inflates fast! Do not walk away from this product while it is in use (there is no auto-shutoff and, again, for normal size passenger tires it will quickly raise pressure). It is also surprisingly quiet while operating compared to the cheap inflator I purchased at Lowe's (two of which broke down on me in as many years, which prompted my search for a quality product). This is easily a 4.5 star product, but I'm consciously choosing to not round up to 5 stars because there are some design flaws that should be addressed: 1) The 25' long extension coil hose that comes included is really only going to give you 12 feet or so of working distance (i.e. for those working solo). You won't be comfortable stretching the coil out all the way. Even if you tried, the tension would cause the portable compressor to be dragged around on the ground. You can get further distance with a second person - one to hold & operate the compressor and one to attach the tire chuck & read the pressure gauge (keeping hold of the coil to relieve tension from the tire valve). I understand that these coiled hoses are designed to operate this way, but ideally the power cord, the coiled hose itself, or both would be longer. The easiest solution would be to double the length of the power cord - it is not bulky and the carrying case would easily accommodate the added length. The current design is unable to reach from my full-size van's battery to the opposite rear tire. Another reviewer provided the ingenious solution of using jumper cables to extend the working distance of the portable compressor - it was a brilliant suggestion that worked perfectly for me! 2) Oddly, the clamp-on tire chuck ("lever style tire chuck") is a bit deep. What I mean is that the tire valve must be inserted into the chuck quite far for it to engage properly to allow air flow. I purchased this particular Viair model in large part because I wanted the clamp-on style chuck versus a screw-on connection. Unfortunately, my van has chrome valve stems (see picture) that are beveled just enough, such that I cannot get the tire chuck on far enough to properly engage. My solution was to purchase an adapter (Fafada® Motorcycle Motorbike Tyre Valve Extender Adapter Car Bike 2 Pcs/Pair (90 Degree)), but that means I'm back to a screw-on connection. Too bad - it seems like being able to insert the entire threaded portion of the Schrader valve into the tire chuck should be enough, but it's not. 3) One must turn the compressor off to get an accurate tire pressure reading. The power switch is, naturally, on the compressor, but the pressure gauge is way over at the tire. The whole 25' coil is pressurized at the same pressure as the tire. It would make more sense to install the gauge at the end of the coil that attaches to the compressor (where the on/off switch is). This would make for better control and easier monitoring. A longer hose or power cord as discussed above would make this a non-issue. The three flaws above are the difference between an excellent product and a perfect product. While they prevent me from giving a perfect 5 star rating, they should not deter anyone from purchasing this excellent portable compressor.