Staun Tire Deflators

The Flat Maker

Quality - 5/5 stars

These deflators are relatively simple construction. The plunger has a rubber o-ring at the base to seal off air and allow for the plunger to operate against the tire pressure. It also has a spring which, when caught between the tire pressure and deflator cap, will release air from the tire until the right pressure has been achieved. They feel pretty solid but they are brass, a relatively soft metal, so I would take care not to drop them and be sure to monitor the o-rings for wear over time. I expect they will wear out eventually

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Usefulness - 5/5 stars

Whether you have had to deflator your tires already or not, if you have ever done so manually, you can already understand how nice it is to have a set of these available! Just thread one to each tire valve and they will drop the tire pressure to the setting without you needing to check up on it. 

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Cost - 3/5 stars

The cost, surprisingly, was pretty high for what they are. Given this is basically a no frills set I probably would have expected paying 70%-80% of what these were priced at. As always, I'm not an expert in pricing. What I do know is, for a low-tech solution to deflating tires without having to monitor the pressure yourself, I wouldn't go with anything else as they are pretty beefy both inside and out. There has to be quality in there somewhere, right? 

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Overall - 5/5 stars

Where I live, we see snow. Not enough to warrant a set of snow tires but more than enough to give you trouble if not prepared. Given deflating your tires increases your contact patch with the ground while giving you traction, I will probably fear the snow a lot less when all I have available is a set of highway tires. Outside of snow use, I know these will come in handy when I hit the sandy beaches and dunes in the near future! Just be sure you have an air compressor with you to air back up when it's time to hit the pavement again!