Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The other day my new car's pressure monitoring system announced I had lost pressure in one tire. I checked it, and sure enough, it was down about nine pounds -- so I set about finding a local gas station with an air machine. Two were down with malfunctions, and another had a huge line. The next day, both broken ones had been "fixed," but neither seemed able to muster enough pressure to fill my tire. So I actually bought this machine to fill a specific tire. The same day it arrived, I took it out of the box, surprised at how small it was -- maybe the size of a hardcover book -- and connected it to the car in the garage. You have to connect it to the car's "cigarette lighter" adapter and turn the accessory power on with the key. The cord is nice and long and easily sat on the ground next to the rear tire. It added the nine pounds I needed in less than a minute. I like the ability to set the pressure you want, although you have to time it a bit -- you want to remove it from the valve as soon it's done or some air can leak back out. It worked so well I topped off my other tires, then backed my wife's car out of the garage and showed her how to use it. Her tires all needed a few pounds, and the machine filled them all at just a couple of minutes each. It was actually much faster than the newer, weaker machines at the gas stations recently. This is a lightweight device, which is convenient for carrying -- it would almost go in a large glovebox -- but I do wonder about durability. Still, for the price, filling five tires easily and quickly at home vs. waiting in line and / or paying $1 per minute makes it a no-brainer. Maybe look for a more reliable brand though (see below). UPDATE: This device worked just as well as I described, then quit after two years of very light use, but the manufacturer saw my review and replaced it with a new, redesigned unit, which was nice, but then that unit died even more quickly; during the first or second use.