Slime Digital Pro Power Tire Inflator Hands-On Review: Set It And Forget It

Out of necessity, I was an early adopter of portable tire inflators like this Slime Digital Pro Power. Almost 30 years ago I bought a Porsche 911SC. Instead of a space-saver donut, it had a collapsable spare tire in the frunk that required filling before use. The compressor I carried in my car was the size of a small suitcase. It weighed a good 10 pounds. It could fill one of the chunky-boy rear 245/45-16 tires in as little as 5 business days. Mine was the same exact model as the OE unit, just without the Porsche crest sticker on it. And if I remember correctly, I still paid over $60 in 1990 dollars for it. Since then, I’ve always had an inflator in my trunk, even in cars with full-size spares. It sits right next to my jump starter, which is also something I don’t leave home without.

This compressor is the first of a few products that Slime sent over for review. This seemed closest in specs to the Viair 84P that I carry in my car. It seemed like a good starting point. Retail price for the Digital Pro Power is $99.99 but it’s pretty easy to find on sale for at least $10 off of that. For reference, my Viair 84P is normally $70-ish.

What are the Specs of the Slime Digital Pro Power Tire Inflator

It’s smaller than it looks in photos. It measures 8.5×6.0x4.5 inches—and I will give you a second to go through all the jokes possible after that sentence. For no other reason other than to give some scale, my Viair is 8.5×5.3×3.0 inches. These are approximations as the actual size depends on your cable wrapping abilities, and both units include a soft-sided bag. Slime claims the Digital Pro will put out 1.23 CFM without load. The only power source option is a 12V socket. Although Slime has a good selection of units that will connect to your battery with alligator clips. Some that have an AC plug, along with a couple that work with both AC and DC sources.

Along with the compressor itself, you also get a coiled hose that can stretch to 15 feet and a couple of adaptors if you want to fill sportsballs or things like pool floaties. Just a top tip from personal experience, there are better devices for blowing up unicorn life preservers and backyard splash pools; you want high-volume, not pressure, get something like this pump that I use.

How quickly will this Slime Inflator fill a tire?

As is completely normal and totally sane for every car enthusiast, I have a set of track tires and wheels in my garage, for a car I no longer own. The setup is an 18×8 inch OZ wheel with a 225/40-18 Bridgestone tire. Although a 25 inch rolling diameter is a very common size for most compact cars, it’s relatively low volume compared to all the CUV/SUVs out there with a similarly-sized wheel, but a tire with a 30 inch or bigger rolling diameter. Am I the only one who remembers when even truck guys looked at a 30 inch tire as an offroading upgrade?

I deflated the tires to 9 pounds; verified with a few pressure gauges. I set the target pressure using the Up+ and Down- buttons to 35 psi and let it go. It took 1 minute, and 54 seconds to reach the target pressure, at which time it turned itself off. I haven’t mentioned that being able to set your desired final pressure is one of the key differences between the Slime and my Viair inflator. I repeated the same test with my 84P, although this time it required me watching the pressure gauge on the Viair. It was slightly faster, averaging 1 minute and 42 seconds to go from 9 to 35 psi. Both units slowed significantly right around the 30 psi mark, and both compressors had heat sinks that were too hot to touch, after a single tire.

How do I use a portable tire inflator?

I shouldn’t assume everyone knows how to use any portable tire inflator. If you do, you can skip this part. If you’re still reading and admitted you aren’t sure how to use one of these, there is no shame in that. No one is born knowing how everything works.

The first thing you need to know is what your tire pressures should be. Cars will have a sticker that has this information. That sticker can usually be found in one of the door jambs, on the inside of the glovebox door, on the inside of the fuel door, or sometimes under the hood. If all else fails, grab your owner’s manual and look in the index. Once you’ve located the sticker, it may have a few recommended pressures for different tire sizes, higher loads, and in some cases high-speed pressures. Your tire size is written on the sidewall of your tires is you need to reference that. In most cases, the standard weight and speed recommended pressure is what you want.

If you’re ready with the pressure, plug the inflator into the 12V socket. You will probably want the engine running because you can drain your car battery just topping off all four tires. Ask me how I know. The display on the Slime Pro Power will light up as soon as you plug it in. Using the arrow keys, set your desired pressure. Attach the chuck to your valve stem, and then flip the power switch. It will start inflating and will automatically shut off when it reaches the set pressure. Move to the next tire, rinse, repeat.

Slime Digital Pro Power Tire Inflator: The Verdict

As mentioned above, I consider a tire inflator a mandatory accessory to have in your vehicle. Like so many other products, Amazon and other online retailers have literally hundreds of choices. I’ve tested far more of these than I can remember and some of the units from the brands you’ve never heard can be pretty good. Others, have trouble pumping up the pneumatic donuts on a hand truck. I’ve mentioned Viair in here multiple times. Having used them both personally and professionally for a couple of decades, I consider the brand to one of the standards in the industry. This model from Slime is definitely a competitor.

The Pro Power provides the speed of inflating I would expect. The digital preset, I believe Slime refers to it as Inflate-Right Technology, is a great addition. That function isn’t unique to Slime, but it is a bonus that I will probably add to my “needs list” the next time I buy an inflator. The form factor on the Pro Power is a little more consumer oriented than some of it’s competitors. There’s just enough metal showing to allow the heatsink to work. I’m sure they could have slimmed down the packaging a little, but the design wouldn’t look as clean. The specs tell me this unit is a few decibels louder than the Viair, but honestly, standing right next to them, I didn’t notice a difference. Both the Slime and Viair have 1 year warranties, and both are made in China. 

It’s hard to find fault with the Slime Digital Pro Power Tire Inflator. I have a few others that I will be reviewing in the in the near future that are lower priced with fewer features. Even at a hundred dollars for this one, it seems like a good value. We will see how the others compare in terms of functionality and ruggedness. Those future reviews will also give me an excuse to give you an update on how this has held up to months of use, instead of just a couple of weeks. Overall, I like this product and I recommend it.