Earlier this month, we received our first shipment of 2018 Red Paddle Co inflatable paddle boards with updated Titan pumps. First developed in 2015, the Titan pump was touted as a game-changer, with the ability to cut inflation time in half.

For years, the standard inflatable SUP pump was the Bravo HP single-action, high volume/low pressure pump, a squatter, thick-barrel single-action pump designed to put in more air volume, which in turn took more effort to reach higher pressures. Higher pressures in an inflatable board vastly improve the board performance, by increasing rigidity (reducing flex).

In 2013, Red Paddle Co introduced the HP EZee single-action, low volume/high pressure pump, a taller, thin-barrel single action pump designed to put in less air per stroke, thus allowing one to more easily pump to higher pressures. As the pros and cons of each are obvious – one fills a board up more rapidly, while the other takes longer but is less of a struggle to reach 18-20 PSI – numerous paddlers opted to purchase both pumps. In response, some manufacturers expanded the slim-barrel design to a double-action pump, putting air in on the up and down stroke. While theoretically this will put air in twice as fast, in actuality it becomes a struggle on the “up” stroke.
In 2015, Red Paddle debuted the Titan pump. What made the Titan different? The Red Paddle Co Titan pump is an amalgamation of the two pumps. The Titan pump has two chambers, basically one side is a high volume/low pressure, and the other a low volume/high pressure. A unique double gear system actually combines the two chambers, so that when initially pumping, paddlers are using BOTH chambers to fill the board, allowing them to put in a whopping 4.71 liters, compared with just over 2 liters for the standard HP pump. When the pumping starts to get tough, one can switch the internal gear over to the high pressure chamber, allowing one to easily attain higher PSIs with less effort. An integrated pressure gauge allows one to monitor the process.

Over the past three years, Red Paddle has continued to tweak the inner design and construction, resulting in a killer pump with wider applications.
We had the opportunity to test out the most recent iteration when inflating our 2018 Red Paddle Voyager 12’6″. Following is an update from our initial review of the Titan pump.
The new Titan pump – included with most of the boards – arrives rolled up inside the Red Paddle SUPs. If purchasing separately, the pump arrives in a box 24 x 13 x 6 inches weighing 6.2 lbs. Inside is the pump body with integrated pressure gauge, a detachable hose and a series of adaptors. Pump dimensions

Original Source: AirKayaks >>