After making a big impact with their high-end X8 Apex Air inflator, the young brand Fanttik has launched another tyre inflator in the series, the entry-level X8 Air inflator. The company seems to have adopted some consumer suggestions and redesigned the air inflator to be more portable and easier to use. 

The new X8 reserved power inflation and many of the same features as the premium X8 Apex but surprisingly at a lower price point. 

Compared to the X8 Apex, the X8 air inflator is even more compact and well-built. It inherits the design style of the X8 Apex. The X8 is divided into two parts on the front: the upper part of the LED panel showing the battery level, air pressure, and inflating modes, and the lower part retains exactly the same control buttons as the X8 Apex.

As it is comparable in size to a power bank, it can not only be a useful tool in your car trunk, but even can be a portable emergency tool in your pocket. The 5.5-inch x 3.35-inch x 1.7-inch unit just redefined our view of a full-functioned air inflator.

Like the X8 Apex, the new X8 packaging also includes an air tube with different valve adaptors for inflating cars, motorcycles, bicycles and balls. And thanks to the high-performance chip and 150psi high-pressure capacity, the inflating speed achieves up to 15L/min for different inflating demands. Although we didn’t inflate everything mentioned in their promotion, it seems the impressive maximum pressure of 150psi could cover most stuffs in daily life. 

In the actual test, it could fully inflate a motorcycle tire in just around 2 mins. 

With the 5200mAh battery, it supports inflating more than 2 standard car tires from 0-100%, or more than 4 motorcycle tires or 7 bicycle tires, or 26 basketballs in each full charge.  

To make it easy to use for novices, the X8 also comes with four smart modes – Car, Motorcycle, Bicycle, and Ball with typical preset pressure. Or if you knew the exact pressure you want in the tire, the manual mode would be a better option for you. Once you choose the right adaptor with the preset readout or the mode you want, just press the power button and the inflation will be done quickly. 

One of the biggest problems of compact air inflators is poor accuracy, but the X8 seems to fix it well for professional use. Fanttik claims that the current and target pressure readouts are shown on the LED screen with ±1psi accuracy. When you need your tires to be safe to run on a specific road, the good accuracy won’t disappoint you. 

Now if you’re still confused about buying the X8 or X8 Apex, here are my suggestions. Compared to the X8 Apex, the compact X8 costs less but has a smaller battery capacity with a slower inflation speed (X8 Apex: 7800mAh+32L/min). And it cannot charge other devices acting as a power bank, since the single USB-C port doesn’t support power out. On the other hand, the X8 is upgraded with built-in flashlights on the top, which are much brighter and more useful as a hand torch for emergency use. So if you’re satisfied with the changes in details, the cheaper X8 could be a better option. 

But it has the same problem as we experienced on the X8 Apex, which is the noise. Although not as loud as the X8 Apex, it’s still a bit loud during working. Again, I would still suggest avoid using it at places and times when you need to be quiet. But if you’ve used other traditional inflation devices and compare it with them, the noise is quite bearable.   

To conclude, the X8 air inflator retains almost all the important features inside its compact body. As a simplified model in the X8 series, it does the job well, and more importantly, offers a cheaper option for those who require the basic features from an air inflator. It will be a useful tool and excellent companion for people on their driving or riding journeys. And even if most of you, just like me, don’t hit the road often, it would still be a reliable tool in the garage and one day it will come in handy.