Review: Benjamin High Pressure Hand Pump (for filling BCA canisters)

**jvskinn** · 01-22-2016, 09:02 AM

Got a chance to use my new toy this morning, thought I'd post some info:

Height: 5'8"
Weight: 178lbs
My style: Pump for a while, take a break, pump for a while
Pumps I have/have used and enjoy: A cheap one off of amazon for my bike tires
Pumps that don't quite fit the bill for me: n/a

Review: I've always hated either having to send off my BCA canister or drive to the nearest filling station, so I got really interested when BCA posted this: http://backcountryaccess.com/powder-...cylinder-pump/. I immediately ran out and bought the pump and recommended desiccant cartridge.

Overall, the pump seems simple and well built, there's not a lot of plastic, assembly was easy, and it seems to be pretty tough. My only complaint is that the base could be bigger making the whole thing more stable, but it didn't negatively affect operation.

Filling the desiccant cartridge was straightforward, but I reccomend doing it carefully so as not to drop the little pieces. Attaching it was a piece of cake, you'll need a wrench to unscrew the part that it replaces on the pump.

Attaching the cartridge to the pump again was very straightforward, it uses the same quick connect that you use to connect the cartridge to your airbag.

Now the pumping, after looking at Lou Dawson's review, and reading reviews on amazon, I assumed this would be a painful slugfest to get the thing full, but it really wasn't. I poured a cup of coffee, and got to work, pumping for a few minutes, then taking a break for a few minutes. It's tough, but it isn't so hard that you can't knock it out pretty easily in 30 minutes (faster if you'd like to/aren't taking breaks). If you're used to filling up bike tires, it really won't seem too much more difficult than that.

I found the most important thing to remember is to make sure you're doing nice steady full range of motion pumps. When I tried to hurry up, I ended up doing shorter pumps, and the canister was filling slower. It was better to make nice long consistent pumps.

Once I was in the green, I did a test run with the airbag pack, and it worked exactly as it's supposed to, filling completely.

Ideal uses: I think this thing would be perfect for the car camper type, who may be far away from a refill center when they need to refill their canister. Also, if you live in a place where it's just a hassle, it's really pretty simple to use. It's pretty heavy, so I wouldn't want to bring it on a hut trip or anywhere where I had to haul it under my own power, but maybe it would be worth it a sled based trip.

Recommendations: I chose to use it this morning with a cup of coffee, but it became immediately clear that it would be better to have a beer or three while filling the canister. Refer to the "some damn good IPA's out there" thread.