Urban preparedness, for me, includes having a vehicle that is in good repair and outfitted with some basic tools, including jumper cables and a tire compressor.

My tire compressor ("Slime" brand), a few years old, recently failed so I'm shopping for a new one. Any recommendations? I don't need it to be the fastest at inflating car tires but would like one that is more durable. These "Vair" brand have good reviews on Amazon but I'm not yet persuaded.

https://www.amazon.com/VIAIR-85P-Portable-Air-Compressor/dp/B0036E9VB6/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1473774317&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A4707240011%2Cp_89%3AViair



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I have the Costco jumpstarter/tire-inflator/area-light/charge-your-stuff gadget in both cars. They seem to last four or five years, need to be charged once a month, and work a treat. It's MUCH easier to jumpstart a car with something like this than with jumper cables (which we also have in both cars).

I have a previous generation the Viar 70P (80 psi max pressure) with an adaptor to connect it directly to the battery. I have zero complaints with it. It's a lot faster and quieter then the generic Target or Costco compressors.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012WHBSO

https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-Battery-Cigarette-Lighter-Extension/dp/B00JOY6U7U/

Viair compressors are highly regarded in the off-road and overland expedition communities. If it's in your price range, go for one that hooks directly to the battery for faster airing up, especially if you're working on a big tire. Lots of threads on Expedition Portal if you search for Viair.

I have the Vlair 88P and am pleased. There is a good review on Amazon that comprehensively compares various models. I also wrote a review somewhere in there.

Spend the extra $16.00 or so and get the Viair 88P. It is a much better compressor in terms of max PSI and CFM. This higher capacity compressor will inflate just about any tire that you may come across in the future, whether it be your own or another persons vehicle. As it draws more amps, you will not be able to use a 12 cigarette style power outlet. Instead the 88P connects directly to the vehicle battery.

I currently have a 2 cylinder compressor with slightly higher CFM specs. If this compressor ever goes south, I would not hesitate to purchase the 88P.

I have several 12v compressors -- and I have seen several more fail.

So, for years I have carried a decent quality high-capacity bicycle floor pump. It has never let me down. Perhaps not ideal for a mondo balloon tire 4x4, but for passenger vehicles I already have the tire topped off when others are still fiddling with cords and lighter plugs.

Regarding portable stations, I have had a few high quality ones and am never buying another one again. I used each station exactly one time to try it out. The next time I needed it, the battery was toast, thereby defeating the purpose of the portable station.

On a related topic, I also refuse to buy cordless drills anymore for the same reason. I have a powerful cord drill that is way less expensive and gives me full power every time.

Yeah, I'm that guy.

Sounds like a battery maintenance issue. Those 'old' styple jumperpacks use AGM batteries and just like any kind of lead battery needs to kept charged or else the plates have sulfation and not work anymore. Best way is basically have them trickle charge/battery maintainer connected to them all the time. Lead acid batteries deteriate with time, so you will need to replace the battery inside the jumperpack every few years. You don't have to replace the entire thing.

These days lithium jumperpacks are on the market, that won’t need to be charged all the time (and shouldn’t!). Generally without any compressors or those kind of features. Lithium batteries will degrade with time too, but are far more user friendly maintenance wise. You do see a lot of (too) cheap Chinese ones...

Just keep in mind battery, just like the battery in your car will not last forever. When you buy them, it will be just for a few years.

I agree with the latter part of your post. The battery will eventually degrade no matter what, regardless of how well you maintain it. That is my point. My power stations were for rare emergencies. I took care of my batteries better than an average consumer would. Nevertheless, the battery eventually degraded because that is what any battery does. For people like me who only will use the power station for a rare emergency, a power station is basically a bad investment.

I have had a similar experiences with those backup battery power supplies that you use for computer equipment. I had two of those. The battery eventually degrades. The average consumer will not know the battery is toast until there is a power outage. Anyway, my power outages were so rare that it only came in handy once. Even then, having my computer equipment running was not necessary.