A decent hand pump is any riders' best friend but as always, some are better than others. We've waded through the weedy and frustrating to pick the best mini pumps that'll get you rolling again with the least effort, whether you're inflating chunky mountain bike tyres or skinny gravel rubber.

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The best hand pumps we've tested

• Truflo MiniMTN 
• Bontrager Air Support HV Pro
• Topeak Mountain TT_G
• Crankbrothers gem S 
• SKS Injex Lite 
• Topeak Mini Dual

Need to know: mini pumps

Not every mini pump is built equally. Pricier pumps are often built with better, more durable materials while cheaper pumps, while they might perform well, they may not be as hard wearing.

As with track pumps, their smaller companions are built with different kinds of valve heads. While universal heads are attractive and seem like a no brainer, they're often hit and miss with their engagement so they become more of a faff than those where you have to open the pump up and switch out a rubber insert.

Again, as with serious floor pumps, hand pumps come in high volume or high-pressure varieties. High pressure being great for skinny tyres, while high volume will make light work of the chunky tyres found on modern mountain bikes. High volume pumps often include the abbreviation 'HV' in their names and 'HP' for high-pressure, low volume pumps.

Truflo MiniMTN

£25

Sometimes great things come in small packages, and that's absolutely the case with the Truflo MiniMTN. It’s a super-compact little pump that extends to nearly twice its size in use and takes little effort to work. It even has a retractable hose to protect your valves – the only thing missing on the MiniMTN is a pressure gauge.

• For the full review of the Truflo MiniMTN click here

Bontrager Air Support HV Pro

The Bontrager Air Support HV Pro is a lightweight mini pump that’s small enough to stash in a pocket, but capable enough to inflate large-volume tyres with ease. The design and build are impressive, and it does almost everything you need – the only thing holding it back is the lack of a pressure gauge.

• For the full review of the Bontrager Air Support HV Pro click here

Topeak Mountain TT_G

£36

The Mountain TT_G by Topeak is a brute of a minipump that's designed to fill large volume mountain bike, fat bike and gravel bike tyres with minimal effort. Thanks to the built-in Twin Turbo technology, it delivers air volume in spades.

• For the full review of the Topeak Mountain TT_G click here

Crankbrothers Gem S

£21

The Crankbrothers Gem S pump is a small but wide pump which pumps efficiently at either high volume or high pressure. The pump shaft isn’t that long though so it’s a bit tiring to use, if this is really a problem though you can always buy the Gem L which is a tad longer.

• For the full review of the Crankbrothers Gem S click here

SKS Injex Lite

£17

SKS’s Injex Lite is a lightweight, sturdily built little pump that gives great value for money. The ergonomics are well-thought-out, making it a comfortable thing to use, which is good as it’s not the most efficient pump out there.

• For the full review of the SKS Injex Lite click here

Topeak Mini Dual

The Topeak Mini Dual is a bare bones, basic pump with one clever trick up its sleeve – it pumps air on both the in and the out stroke. For its size it’s efficient and the action is smooth, but for high-volume mountain bike tyres it's just a little bit too slow.

• For the full review of the Topeak Mini Dual click here

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