Air Dragon is a handheld air compressor that automatically inflates to a set pressure and then shuts off. Does it work? Read our Air Dragon review.
About Air Dragon
Air Dragon is a portable handheld air compressor. The official product website was buyairdragon.com, which was registered in April 2016. As of this 2020 update, that website now forwards to Bulbhead.com.
Claims & Features
- Portable
- Can inflate a tire
- Attachments for balls and other inflatables
- 12 volt power adapter
- Inflates to desired pressure, then shuts off
Cost
Air Dragon was sold for $39.99 plus $9.99 shipping. I found it at BulbHead for the same price and in February 2017 I spotted it at a local Bed Bath & Beyond for $39.99. As of June 2020, it does not appear on Amazon or the Bulbhead website.
Air Dragon Review
At first glance, Air Dragon resembles a cordless drill. Upon closer inspection, however, you’ll find that this is in fact a handheld air compressor. I purchased it online and posted my video review, as shown below. This review summarizes those results.
The advertising states that you can fill tires, basketballs, and other inflatables using Air Dragon. You simply set the psi, press the trigger, and it will fill until the set number is reached, and then shut off automatically.
For my first test, I partially deflated a basketball to see how well it would inflate it back to 8 psi using Air Dragon. The first problem I encountered was that the compressor turned on almost immediately after I plugged it in. It seems as though the compressor is constantly looking for a load, even when it’s not attached to anything. Adjusting the safety switch and pressing the trigger didn’t seem to stop it from continually turning on and off. Pressing the psi adjustment buttons would temporarily stop it from blowing air. It did inflate the ball, but the process wasn’t as smooth as the advertising looked.
Next, I attempted to top off a tire from about 29 to 32 psi. Once again, the compressor kept running when not attached to anything, regardless of the safety switch setting. And, once again, it did inflate the tire, although I had to disconnect it and check the pressure with a different gauge.
In an attempt to be fair, I took the Air Dragon to be evaluated by a shop foreman at a local Chevy dealership. We attached it to a tire that had been deflated to 10 psi, then inflated it back to 32 psi. For this test, Air Dragon seemed to work about as advertised. It ran constantly for about 15 straight minutes, then turned off at 32 psi. I noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the unit just as it turned off, and the unit was quite warm (the instructions do state that it shouldn’t run for more than 15 minutes). A professional tire gauge was used to check the psi of the tire, which was actually 35.4, thus it appears that the gauge Air Dragon uses to determine proper pressure is not highly accurate.
In the end, my friend at the dealership said he didn’t mind some of the problems I had with Air Dragon, and would probably find it useful to have in the trunk of his car. I feel like it has some sort of calibration issue, along with an iffy gauge, so I’m not sure this would be my first choice.
Alternatives
The other portable air compressor advertised on television is Air Hawk, which offers many of the same features as Air Dragon, other than its power source. You can see my review of that product below. A popular choice on Amazon is this $62 model that offers home and car adapters. It currently sports a 4.8 star rating among over 100 reviews.
Video Review
Air Hawk Pro Review
You may be interested in this hands-on review of the similar Air Hawk Pro.
Your Air Dragon Reviews
Have you used Air Dragon? Tell me what you think in the comments below.
Thanks for the well done review.
Biggest piece of crap I’ve ever used. A push pull bike pump works better
I made the mistake of buying this a few months ago without looking for reviews. Got it in the mail and tested it out. It scared the crap out of me when I plugged it into my car and it immediately turned on. Understandably, it’s very loud. I couldn’t set the desired pressure, and when I began inflating my tires, it took 5 minutes to go up one PSI and I gave up from there. I called customer service to send it back to them. The person on the phone suggested I keep it and give me half of my… Read more »
Absolute rubbish , it’s going back.