Short answer. For a backpacker the choice is between two. The Zero Pump 2 is the lightest (48 g with battery, 3.5 kPa). The Tiny Pump 3X is 19 g heavier (67 g, 5 kPa, 300 L/min) and has a built-in lamp. The Max Pump 3 (122 g, 5 kPa, 500 L/min, up to 60 minutes) suits car camping and air beds, not a solo pack. Flextail does not say which pressure or airflow a given pad needs, so ask your pad's maker.
This page is for someone who has decided to carry a pump and wants the right model. Everything below is from Flextail's own spec pages, read on 2026-11-01. A blank means the page states nothing. We have not tested any pump.
The six pumps, side by side
| Zero Pump | Zero Pump 2 | Tiny Pump 3X | Tiny Pump 2X | Max Pump 3 | Evo Pump 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 33 g without battery | 29 g without battery; 48 g with | 67 g | 100 g | 122 g | 350 g |
| Does weight include the battery | No | Both stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated |
| Max pressure | 2.5 kPa | 3.5 kPa | 5 kPa | 4 kPa | 5 kPa | 5 kPa |
| Air flow | 180 L/min | 200 L/min | 300 L/min | 180 L/min | 500 L/min | 1,000 L/min |
| Run time | 25 min | 22 min | 20 min | up to 30 min | up to 60 min | 20 min |
| Battery | 2.4 Wh | 3.33 Wh | 3.89 Wh | 5.92 Wh | 7.215 Wh | 14.43 Wh |
| Nozzles | up to 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | not stated |
| Light | none stated | none stated | lamp, up to 400 lm hybrid mode | lamp, 230 / 120 / 30 lm | lamp, 3 brightness levels | not stated |
| Deflates | Yes (vacuum bags) | Yes | Yes | Yes (storage bags and inflatables) | Yes (5 kPa) | not stated |
| Pad inflations per charge | maker says up to 25 pads in a row; 50 s per pad | maker says 30 pads in a row; 45 s | maker says 100+ inflations | maker says over 105 air pillows (a different unit) | not stated | not stated |
| Pad volume or size behind those counts | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated |
The Evo Pump 3 page says it is not suitable for balloons or tires. Flextail's page for it states weight in pounds (0.77 lb) and grams (350 g).
How to choose
- Grams first: Zero Pump 2. 48 g with the battery, the lightest figure on any current page. Its pressure is the lowest of the current backpacking models (3.5 kPa). One reviewer on the page said it fills a 3-inch pad in a little over a minute, and another said it does not reach a firm pressure. Both are customer reviews on the maker's site.
- Pump and light in one: Tiny Pump 3X. It costs 19 g more than the Zero Pump 2 (67 - 48, our arithmetic). It is the only one of the six whose page lists five lighting modes with a 15 lm glow stated for up to 50 hours. If you would carry a tent light anyway, the one unit may replace it.
- Not a solo pack: Max Pump 3 and Evo Pump 3. At 122 g and 350 g they are for a packraft, a group air bed or a car. One Max Pump 3 reviewer used it on a packraft and another on a motorcycle trip.
- The original Zero Pump. It has the lowest pressure (2.5 kPa) and the page states weight only without the battery. We would pick the Zero Pump 2 unless you already own one.
What the pages do not say
- Which pressure a pad needs. Pad makers publish that, not Flextail.
- Run time at the pressure you will reach on a real pad. The spec run times do not name a test.
- Whether weights include the battery, for four of the six pumps.
- A cold-weather performance figure for any pump.
- A pump pouch for the Tiny Pump 3X: a reviewer said none is in the box.
The cheaper or simpler option
A pump sack weighs about the same as the Zero Pump 2 and needs no charger, and your pad may have come with one. See Flextail against a pump sack, a foam pad or your lungs. For the weight sums, see the grams question.
The three pumps most backpackers would weigh up
Our reason to click: each page carries the full spec block used in the table above, so you can confirm the numbers before you choose.
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Sources
- Flextail product pages for Zero Pump, Zero Pump 2, Tiny Pump 3X, Tiny Pump 2X, Max Pump 3 and Evo Pump 3 (flextail.com/products/..., shown as text), read 2026-11-01.