Photo credit: Jason Siu / FlatSixes
Nowadays, there are more portable tire inflators available than I can count. Shopping for one can be a dizzying experience, especially if you’re not well-versed in the technical specs. Most consumers just want one that works, and even that’s hard to determine just by reading product descriptions. Recently, GooLoo reached out to me to see if I would be interested in testing its GT160 tire inflator, a unit that benefits from using a built-in 7500mAh battery instead of needing an external power source. It is, however, one of more expensive units on the market. Interested in seeing whether it was worth it, I agreed to receive a unit for review.
To kick things off, the GooLoo GT160 provides 160 PSI max pressure, as its name suggests. GooLoo claims it’ll take less than a minute to inflate one car tire from 29 PSI to 36 PSI, which is in line with my testing. There are faster and more powerful options out there, like the GooLoo GT160 Dual, if inflation time is valuable to you. For most users though, this is more than adequate, although if you’re at a race track, quicker inflation could be essential.
That being said, I don’t put a lot of weight on inflation time because I believe the average consumer won’t care whether it takes four minutes to inflate all their tires or 10. For those who do, though, know that the GooLoo GT160 does work as advertised. I tested this across two different vehicles, purposely deflating a tire in one of them. It works quickly compared to cheaper units I’ve tested. There’s basically nothing to complain about regarding this unit’s performance.
Photo credit: Jason Siu / FlatSixes
The GooLoo GT160 has all the features you’d want from a competent portable tire inflator. You can set the tire pressure you need and let the unit do all the work. It’ll automatically shut off once it reaches that value. Compared to other units, though, the GooLoo GT160 doesn’t need to be plugged in for power, thanks to its built-in 7,500mAh battery. It’s advertised to inflate up to four car tires on a single charge, but that’s highly variable depending on use. On a single charge, I comfortably went from 30 psi to 35 to 36 psi on four tires, and from 10 psi to 34 psi on another four. At the end of that testing session, the battery indicator showed half charge. In other words, it performed better than what’s claimed, but that all depends on your use case.
There’s one big benefit to using a tire inflator with a built-in battery. Previous units I’ve tested that require running a cable from your car’s 12V outlet are comparatively annoying. You have to run the cable to each side of the vehicle, since it’s never long enough to reach all four corners without some adjustments. There’s a trade-off, though, as you will need to charge the GooLoo GT160 from time to time. Based on my testing, the battery doesn’t drain significantly when it’s idle, but if you’re not using it for a month or longer, you’ll want to do a maintenance charge to make sure it’s topped off when you do need it. I didn’t realize how convenient it was to not have to deal with a power cord until I used this particular unit.
When it comes to noise, the GooLoo GT160 is pretty comparable to other tire inflators I’ve tested, except for NOCO’s offerings. With its dual-cylinder design, it’s no surprise it’s on the louder side, with noise ramping up to 80 dB, according to GooLoo. I don’t own an accurate sound level meter, so I can’t get that technical with how loud the unit is, but you’re going to get a similar experience with nearly every tire inflator on the market. The unit does vibrate a bit while it’s in use, but not enough to worry about. Again, you’ll get a similar experience from all the various tire inflators on the market, so I wouldn’t say GooLoo wins out in the noise department.
Photo credit: Jason Siu / FlatSixes
My biggest criticism of the unit is the length of the actual air hose. On one of my 20-inch tires, the valve stem was at the 12 o’clock position on the wheel, and the hose wasn’t long enough for the unit to sit on the ground. This meant having to hold it the entire time it was inflating, as I didn’t want it dangling on its own. This can be mildly inconvenient because your main option is to move the vehicle slightly for that specific tire, which could offset the others. Your alternative is to hold the unit while it inflates, and while that isn’t an issue if you’re going from 30 psi to 36 psi, it can be if you’re going from 10 psi to 34 psi. It’s something to keep in mind if you’re running larger wheels. I did love that the air hose uses a clip-on chuck to clamp onto the valve rather than screwing on. It’s very convenient and a much better design.
Keep in mind that this inflator can also be used to inflate motorcycle and bicycle tires, as well as household items like a basketball. It comes with a variety of adapters: a British valve adapter, a short tapered nozzle, a Presta valve adapter, a ball needle adapter, and a long tapered nozzle. It’s a very high-quality unit that also includes a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging and a storage bag. The size is just right to fit inside a glove box, and at just over two pounds, it’s a relatively lightweight unit. Official measurements are 7.09 inches by 2.17 inches by 2.44 inches.
As its name suggests, the GooLoo GT160 is capable of inflating up to 160 psi, but very few general consumers will ever need that capability. Still, if you want a unit that you know will comfortably handle any situation thrown at it, this is it. For emergencies, you can also use this as a portable power bank via its onboard USB ports, and there is a built-in flashlight with several modes. It’s similar to many of the portable jump starters out there, with the extra utility.
Photo credit: Jason Siu / FlatSixes
It’s also worth mentioning that the onboard full-color LED display can be a bit dim in broad daylight. I don’t consider this a major issue, though, since you generally just need to set the tire pressure and put the unit to work.
All in all, the GooLoo GT160 is an impressive portable tire inflator. It has all the bells and whistles and definitely appeals to the crowd of users who simply want the best, no matter the cost. Despite its built-in battery design for added convenience, I wish it came with a longer air hose. I’m really curious to see how the internal battery holds up after a couple of years, since that is the biggest issue I’ve run into with some portable jump starters from other companies. I’ll be sure to update this review if there’s noticeable battery degradation over time.
At the time of writing, the GooLoo GT160 tire inflator is available for $59.99 on GooLoo’s website. Whether it’s worth it comes down to how much value you put on faster inflation and the portability of the unit. For me, I love knowing that I have a portable tire inflator handy in my glove box, ready to go in case of emergencies. If you’ve ever had to pull over to the side of the road at night to inflate a tire, you’ll know the value of having an inflator that isn’t tethered to a power cord.
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Disclaimer: GooLoo provided the GT160 seen in this review for evaluation. GooLoo, however, was not allowed to view this article prior to publishing and had no influence on the review.
Updated: October 15, 2025 – We erroneously had the specs for the wrong product in our review. This did not affect the testing and evaluation of the product, but the specs have been updated to reflect the correct product.
