A tyre inflator earns its keep every time you air down. We had small AstroAI inflators before, and they worked well for trips up the north coast with the odd bit of beach driving. Before our big trip last year we upgraded to the San Hima 12V Jump Starter With Air Compressor, and it’s been fantastic: still portable, but powerful enough to pump all four tyres back up in under 10 minutes. It cost us $190.
What’s in the box
The SH2500JS is three things in one box: a cordless air compressor, a 12 V jump starter and a power bank, with a 74 Wh lithium battery, a display and an LED light. It comes with an air hose and four valve adapters, a lead with clamps for jump-starting, USB-C and USB-A cables, a storage bag and a manual.
What we like
- 4 tyres, 20 to 40 PSI in 10 min
- Cordless: no clamps or socket
- Stops at the pressure you set
- 2500 A jump starter built in
- Power bank with 60 W USB-C
- LED light with SOS
What we don’t
- Gets hot: let it cool down
- Heavy for its size: 1.6 kg
- 1-year warranty only
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | San Hima |
| Model | SH2500JS |
| Weight | 1.6 kg |
| Battery | 74 Wh lithium-ion |
| Air flow | 35 L/min |
| Pressure range | 10 to 150 PSI |
| Charging | USB-C 60 WAbout 1.5 hours |
| Ports | USB-C (60 W)USB-A18 W |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Features | Jump starter (2500 A peak)Power bankLED light |
Inflating
This is what we bought it for, and it’s quick. It takes all four of our Prado’s tyres from 20 to 40 PSI in under 10 minutes. Set the pressure on the display, connect the hose and press pump, and it stops by itself when it gets there. Without a pressure set, it won’t stop, so set it first. It does get hot after a full round of four tyres, but it never struggles; we just let it cool down a bit before packing it away.
Battery life
There’s no lead to the battery or the 12 V socket, so you can carry it to each wheel. One charge lasts us three or four sessions of pumping up all four tyres, each time adding 15 to 20 PSI. A full charge takes about 1.5 hours with a 60 W USB-C charger, and in the car it lives on the roof shelf in the back, ready to go.
Jump starter
It doubles as a jump starter in case of an emergency. The clamp lead plugs into a port on the side, and San Hima rates it at 1500 A starting and 2500 A peak current for 12 V engines, with up to 50 starts on a charge. It’s good to know it’s there on a remote trip.
Power bank and light
As a backup power bank, it charges a phone or a tablet through the 60 W USB-C port or the USB-A port, under a rubber flap on the side. The LED light on the front gives 300 lumens, with constant, strobe and SOS modes, handy for a flat tyre or a breakdown after dark.
Size and weight
It weighed 1.6 kg on our scale: heavier than a mini inflator, but it’s a compressor, jump starter and power bank in one, and it still fits on the roof shelf in the back of our Prado.
Vs our other inflators
We’ve reviewed three other inflators. The AstroAI Portable Air Compressor and the AstroAI 12V Car Tyre Inflator are the small 12 V socket inflators we used before, and the Bosch EasyPump is a cordless top-up pump. The San Hima is the only one that’s also a jump starter.
This review San Hima 12V Jump Starter |  AstroAI 12V Car Tyre Inflator |  AstroAI Portable Air Compressor |  Bosch EasyPump | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jump starter | Yes | No | No | No |
| Power | Built-in battery, USB-C | 12V socket | 12V socket | Built-in battery, USB-C |
| Max pressure | 150 PSI | 100 PSI | 100 PSI | 150 PSI |
| Air flow | 35 L/min | 25 L/min | 35 L/min | 10 L/min |
| Weight | 1634 g | 640 g | 760 g | 293 g |
| Price paid | $190 | $40 | $40 | $120 |
| Our score | 9.2 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 8.5 |
Conclusion: San Hima 12V Jump Starter With Air CompressorConclusion
The San Hima 12V Jump Starter With Air Compressor is the best upgrade we’ve made to our tyre kit: a cordless compressor that takes all four tyres from 20 to 40 PSI in under 10 minutes and stops at the pressure you set, plus a 2500 A jump starter, a 60 W power bank and an LED light. One charge lasts three or four sessions. It gets hot after a full round and weighs 1.6 kg, but at $190 it replaces three things in the car.
A cordless compressor, jump starter and power bank in one: four tyres from 20 to 40 PSI in under 10 minutes, three or four sessions per charge.
It gets hot and weighs 1.6 kg.
- 4WD tourers
- Beach & picnics
- Car campers
Yes. $190 buys a fast cordless compressor that also jump-starts the car and charges your phone. It's dearer than a plug-in inflator, but it does far more.
