These days, the market is flooded with portable tire inflators. Sorting through them can be a headache, especially if you’re not buried in spec sheets every day. Most people just want something that works, and that’s not easy to judge from a product page. GooLoo recently asked if I’d try its GT160, a compact inflator with eye-catching specs and a price to match. I was curious whether the performance would justify the cost, so I took them up on it.
Let’s start with the basics. As the name implies, the GT160 is rated to 160 psi. GooLoo claims it can take a car tire from 29 psi to 36 psi in under a minute, which matched my testing. If outright speed is a priority, there are faster options like the GT160 Dual, but for most buyers the GT160 is plenty quick. Going from 30 psi to 36 psi in half the time might be nice; at a track day, it could be the difference between making a session and missing one.
Personally, I don’t obsess over inflation time. Most drivers won’t notice whether all four corners take four minutes or ten. For those who do care, the GT160 backs up the claim. I tested it on two vehicles, even deflating a tire on purpose, and it consistently outpaced the cheap inflators I’ve used. In terms of raw performance, there isn’t much to nitpick.
Feature-wise, it checks the right boxes. You dial in your target pressure, hit go, and it shuts off automatically when it gets there. The standout difference from many competitors is power: this one has a built-in 7,500mAh battery, so you’re not tethered to a 12V outlet. GooLoo says a full charge can handle up to four car tires, though that will vary. In my testing, one charge comfortably handled four top-offs from 30 psi to 35–36 psi, plus another set of four going from 10 psi to 34 psi, and it still showed half a battery left.
That internal battery is a bigger quality-of-life upgrade than I expected. Older units that rely on the car’s outlet mean dragging a cord around the vehicle, which never seems long enough to reach every wheel without some juggling. With the GT160, you just walk to each tire. The only trade-off is remembering to charge it. I didn’t see any meaningful idle drain, but if it sits for a month or more, give it a maintenance top-up so it’s ready when you need it.
Noise levels are in line with most inflators I’ve tried, outside of a few quieter models from NOCO. GooLoo cites up to 80 dB. I don’t have a calibrated meter to verify, but it felt typical for the category. It vibrates a bit in use, yet not enough to be a concern. I wouldn’t call noise a differentiator here either way.
My biggest gripe is the air hose length. On a car with 20-inch wheels, when the valve stem was at 12 o’clock, the hose wasn’t long enough to let the unit rest on the ground. I ended up holding it during inflation to avoid letting it hang. You can roll the car a touch to reposition that one wheel, but that can throw off the others. It’s not a deal-breaker if you’re only topping up from 30 to 36 psi, though it’s more noticeable when you’re going from 10 to the mid-30s. On the plus side, the clip-on chuck is excellent—much faster and easier than screw-on designs.
The GT160 isn’t just for car tires. It’ll handle motorcycles, bicycles, and things like sports balls, and GooLoo includes a useful set of adapters: British valve, short and long tapered nozzles, Presta valve, and a ball needle. You also get a USB-A to USB-C charging cable and a storage bag. The unit is compact enough for a glove box, weighs a little over two pounds, and measures 7.09 x 2.17 x 2.44 inches.
As the name implies, it’s rated up to 160 psi, which is overkill for most people, but it’s nice knowing the ceiling is high. The inflator doubles as a power bank via its USB ports, and there’s a built-in flashlight with multiple modes, which adds a bit of emergency utility. Think of it like a streamlined version of a portable jump starter’s accessory feature set.
One note on usability: the color LED display can be hard to see in bright sunlight. In practice, that didn’t bother me much since you set the target pressure, start the pump, and let it handle the rest.
Bottom line, the GooLoo GT160 is a well-rounded, high-performing portable inflator. It’s geared toward buyers who want a faster, nicer experience, and are willing to spend more for it. I do wish the air hose were longer, and I’m curious how the internal battery will age over a couple of years—that’s been a weak point on some portable power products I’ve used. It’s something I’ll keep an eye on.
At the time of writing, the GT160 is listed at $59.99 on GooLoo’s site. Whether it’s worth it comes down to how much you value speed and the convenience of a cordless design. I like having a compact inflator in the glove box for those inevitable moments, and not being tethered to a power cord makes roadside stops a lot less annoying. If you’ve ever had to air up on the shoulder at night, you know exactly why that matters.
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.
