Big Agnes  Pumphouse Ultra

I LOVE this thing. It's a great dry sack that can also inflate your mattress, saving you some breath and a little time. During the day, I store my sleeping bag in it keeping it nice and dry, then it's right on hand when I'm ready to blow up my mattress. It's far lighter than most other dry sacks out there as well. I wouldn't trust it submerged, but to keep clothes or your sleeping bag nice and dry in your pack while you get soaked, it works like a charm. It seems the poor reviews on here relate either to not checking for compatibility with non-Big Agnes gear or the expectation that this would inflate your mattress in seconds. Both things are pretty hard to blame on the sack.

Works great for inflating my AirCore Ultra air mattress, and makes a great stuff sack for my sleeping bag as well. Wouldn't recommend using it as an inflatable pillow as the manufacturers suggest, though, as it tends to deflate during the night no matter how well you seal it up. Honestly I think a regular, breathable stuff sack would make a better pillow, as even if you stuff this one with clothing to fill it out, the clothing will get compressed as you sleep on it and the whole thing will be rock hard by morning. Considering how well it works for its primary two functions, however, it's hard to knock this.

Fits fill port 1-3/16” or 30mm ID

I used this on my last trip and it was excellent! Inflates my super thick QCORE SLX pad in 4 or less fills. I also used it as a Drybag for the tent body and any clothes I need quick access to. It was so nice to not have to blow air into that giant thing each night. Make sure to fully unfold the extra length of nylon before inflating your pad. I also prefer not to blow any air into the bag. Instead I cup the air before rolling down or allow the wind to do it for me. I highly recommend this for anyone with one of Big Agnes's newer pads.

I have used this on a few trips now and love the convenience of it. Typically I hike / camp with one of my young sons which means that I have two air BA air pads to inflate. Other than not wanting to exhaust myself airing them up, I worry about the condensation build up on the insides of the pads. This pump sack has resolve both issues plus, I've been using it to store my quilt in when not in use since it is waterproof and going with me anyway. If you have a comparable BA pad, I recommend this product.

This pumps up my AXL nicely and fairly quickly. As a stuff sack, it takes a bit of work to compress down contents. The air tightness of the sack keeps air from being compressed out when rolling the top down, so I have to release aie through the valve and move the contents around so air can escape. That being said, it does not retain this “air-tightness” for more than an hour. So, if I don’t get it in my backpack and the backpack compressed fairly quickly, the sack starts to take on air. This also means that as a pillow it is pretty much useless unless you like your head ending up on the sleeping pad with fluffy sack material all around your face.

I purchased the Big Agnes Q-Core SLX earlier in the Summer of 2016, and one of the minor problems I ran into was filling the sleeping pad with air. I was getting incredibly lightheaded attempting to fill the sleeping pad with my own breath. It would typically take me about 23 full breaths to fully inflate the pad. After recently purchasing the Pumphouse Ultra, the use of my lungs has been taken out of the equation for inflating my sleeping pad. With my testing, I can fully inflate my Q-Core SLX sleeping pad with about 4-5 fill-ups of the bag. The bag has a valve at the bottom that is a direct male port to the SLX pad's female input port. The connection is very secure and there is a Snap that you here when it is locked in place. The bag is securely connected to the pad's port while you inflate the bag with air. Right now it's use and functionality is clear. I am hoping to see more accessories for this product, such as a shower valve adapter, that might fit on the end of the valve. Otherwise, great product!

Works great. However, the product video mostly skips over one of the most critical parts of how to use this product. Most people want to wrap the bag against their face and around their mouth, then blow. However, that is no different than blowing directly into the pad and takes more air. The idea is to hold the bag open wide, about 6-10 inches away from fact, then blow - this entrains surrounding air with your breath and fills the bag with more air than you are actually blowing.

I did a little bit of research to see what this pumphouse was all about. At first, I thought it would be a waste of space but it proved otherwise. I found that you can use the pump as a pump, of course, but also as a dry bag AND outdoor shower. I carried the pump (and the BA insulated AXL air pad) during a 31 day 3000km solo self supported bike tour of New Zealand. Not only was it CRAZY easy to use, It also ended up saving me from the rain. After 12+ hours of riding a day I'd set up camp in total exhaustion. The pump was so easy that I actually looked forward to sleeping on my pad each night, unlike the old pads you had to actually blow into!!! When the endless rains of New Zealand hit I found I was short a dry bag and my sleeping bag was going to get soaked. I didn't know how much of a dry bag the pumphouse would be, especially in the day after day downpours of rain. But it worked great and kept my sleeping bag dry. I also used the pumphouse as a bag to keep my wallet/passport/goods in while exploring the towns/cities of New Zealand. It's super handy, multi-functional tool and I will deficiently take it with me on my next adventure.

This is the smartest idea I have ever seen for blowing up a sleeping pad without passing out. And it is usable for other things also.