![]() You'll find more advice on how to choose an air pole tent at the bottom of this article, but if you're all clear, let's take a look at the best inflatable tents on the market today. ![]() If speed is your priority and you're happy to keep things cheap and basic, you might be better off consulting our best pop up tent guide. At the moment, they're also typically a fair bit pricier than traditional poled tents. This makes inflatable poles brilliant for larger, family-camping style tents, where weight doesn't matter, and low maintenance and quick-pitching are a real boon. The main downside to inflatable tents is that really reliable, robust air poles aren't actually as light as you'd imagine, typically making inflatable tents on the heavier side – if that's an issue, head to our best tents guide for some alternatives. Just rock up, peg out your home for the weekend, pump up and enjoy. The main attraction of air poles is that they're super-simple to put up, making for a less intimidating experience for camping newbies. I measured 11A current draw at 7PSI output pressure.Technology has advanced to such an extent that today's best inflatable tents are incredibly durable, too. Since this unit is rated by their own admission at 13.5A, the 10A relay is likely to take a real beating over time. This also gives a hint to the actual manufacturer of the pump – with the model number HB-630A. Here’s an overall view of the power control board, with a better view of the pressure sensor & relay. Power is handled by a small linear regulator at the bottom edge of the board, with a couple of large electrolytics for filtering. The pressure sensor is on the right, although I haven’t been able to decode the laser-etched number on the top. The microcontroller is an Atmel ATTINY24A with 2K of onboard flash. I’m not going to take this one off, as zebra strips don’t usually work properly once removed. Underneath hides the LCD controller itself. The display is a standard 7-segment LCD, with a zebra strip connection to the PCB. The power control board has a 10A relay to switch power to the motor, along with a small microcontroller & pressure sensor, which is under the plastic adaptor on the PCB. The electronics are on a pair of PCBs tucked into the upper cover, one dealing with the pressure measurement, microcontroller & power control, and the other dealing with the display & buttons. ![]() The 20 minute limit on operating time most likely has a lot to do with the almost entirely plastic construction – the adiabatic heating of the air as it’s compressed will make short work of the relatively low melting point of the Nylon. Plenty of grease has been applied to the moving parts at least, to help keep the friction down. The working cylinder & piston are also made of plastic, so I don’t hold up much hope of this unit wearing well, even though the plastic feels like Nylon 66, glass fibre reinforced. Ball bearings are used on the crank gear, but it appears that the big end bearing is a simple bushing on the steel pin. The driven gear is made of plastic, most likely nylon. CrankshaftĪfter the cover has been removed from the pump unit, the main drive is visible. This motor does have some cooling from a fan on the armature. The drive motor has the same model number as the overall pump, likely made specifically for this unit. The outlet valve is hidden inside the tube. The valves are located on the end of the cylinder, the right hand on is the intake valve, the right is an pressure relief valve. The internal parts of this pump are almost entirely made of plastic – not what I’d expect for an air compressor. I expected this to be a centrifugal blower, but instead it’s a large reciprocating air compressor – even if the construction quality is a little dubious for a device that costs over £70. ![]() Here’s another piece of tech, the electric air pump that’s available as an optional extra with Airbeam tents.
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