Park Tool PFP-7 Pro Floor Pump Sometimes you just don’t get what you pay for. I took a bike to Cuba so that I could ride it while I was there on holidays; riding in Cuba was a great experience but that’s another story. When it came time to head home I left the bike with my Cuban friend along with some tubes, tires and other biking needs. I had a nice PFP-8 Park Tools pump that I had bought several years earlier. I paid a fair amount for the Park tools pump but was never really happy with it so decided I would leave it for my friend and buy a better one when I got home. I patted myself on the back for being such a swell guy. When I got home I decided my act of kindness surely should award me the best pump on the market. Still being a believer in the Park Tools hype, even though the last pump was so- so; I turned once again to Park Tools for my reward. I bought the Park Tool PFP-7 Pro Mechanic Floor Pump expecting reliability but it is seriously the worst pump I have ever used for many reasons. I’ll skip the creative jargon and get right to the flaws in the design. The pump has a built in pressure gauge. The gauge never reads correctly. A reading of 35 PSI on the pump gauge could actually be anything from 40 to 60 PSI as I found out using my automotive pressure testing gauge. The barrel of the pump is small so the user has a lot of up and downs to pump up a tire. The head of the pump rarely connects to the valve correctly. Connecting requires some trial and error until you find that sweet spot that will put air in the tire. At times the pump will open the valve on the wheel but the pressure from the tire will backfill the pump cylinder forcing the pump handle straight up; air cannot go in or out once it locks up in this manner, so it’s disconnect and try to find that sweet spot. The pump looks good with its Park Tool logo boosting quality but that’s where it ends. I have been a fan of the Park Tools company for many years because I believed they make quality products so I contacted the manufacturer and made my complaints. The rep heard me out and sent me a new head from a different model of pump. The new head arrived but none of the issues were resolved by changing the head. Park Tools must be facing a lot of competition from off shore companies who are selling cheaper tools that get the job done just as well as Parks expensive brand name products. The only hope of survival for companies like Park Tools is their reputation for quality products. Businesses like Park get by on that reputation to sell product for them but once that’s gone they are just another tool company with over priced tools and it’s all downhill from there. Park Tools has lost this customer and likely any other consumers who have bought one of their floor pumps. Don’t buy the Park Tool PFP-7 Pro Mechanic Floor pump.
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January 2024
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