The bad thing is when one doesn’t get what they paid for. A high or higher price doesn’t necessarily mean one is getting a quality, robust, long-lasting, etc product. I think it’s more accurate these days to say that someone is lucky to get what they paid for.
I’ve had this one for years and years: https://www.amazon.com/Slime-40026-Heavy-Direct-Inflator/dp/B005Z8HAUK
Would definitely recommend, the only issue is the cable to the battery is a bit short, but at least the hose is long, it just means going back and forth between the rear wheels to monitor the pressure and the front wheels to turn it on and off. Comes in a decent case, good build quality, in general feels well designed and like they didn’t cheap out anywhere important, although I do wish there was a little more room in the case.
I use one of those to pump up tubless tires on mtb - something I just can’t do with a compressor, surprisingly. I never understood the popularity of electric pumps - I carry a floor pump in each car and they are decades old, get used a lot (to adjust pressure mostly) and always work.
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But wouldn’t it take a LOT of pumping to fill a car tire or even worse a truck tire, from flat???
For small adjustments or a bicycle tire… sure. 30 minutes and lots of pumps when on the side of the road ??.. Just not sure about that.
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I have the big Harbor Freight one: https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-150-psi-compact-air-compressor-63184.html
It does the job fine, but I haven’t tried it with a flat tire. It is slower than a real shop compressor but I can carry it around.
I don’t like how it lets air out when you screw and unscrew it from your wheel.
There is no way you can fill a flat tire with a bicycle style pump. If the pump does not die while you are inflating, you will.
That one looks decent.
The problem with the small $29 tire inflaters is that they overheat within 15 seconds, turn off, then you have to wait 5 minutes for it to cool down before you can continue again for 15 seconds.
This is why I said, before you post that positive Amazon review on the $29 compressor you purchased, try and inflate an almost flat car tire. Its truly the real test.
Funny… well, not funny haha but funny eerie… is that I looked out to get the mail today, and my right-front tire was completely flat. Not low on air, but sidewall crunkled like paper rim resting on the ground flat.
That vacuum-cleaner / airpump to the rescue! Filled it to 35psi pretty quickly ('though didn’t time it), and neither the hose nor body were hot, 'though the metal bits of the lighter-plug were cooking after I unplugged it.
Soaked it with soapy water, no obvious fizzing around the outside bead, valve, or anywhere on the exposed treads. Wasn’t gonna jack it up to just get the 10% at best that was near the ground, so will just watch it to see if it holds. If so, probably some jackass just thought it’d be “funny” to deflate it.
What is a vacuum cleaner air pump. Some kind of joke?
Thats as funny looking as the 90 million lumen flashlight on ebay.
Lol, that is serious overkill for a consumer compressor, it is not a professional item either cuz professionals, (aka mechanics) use the same air hose to inflate as they use to run air tools.
I use cheap $30 12v plug in compressor, for at least 5 years, i used it dozens of times, never had any problem with it, it does take a while to pump, since air volume is pretty small, it is somewhat loud, but it works, it is compact, takes very little space in a car. There is nothing wrong with it getting hot, compressed air always gets hot, regardless of the pump. I keep a set of plugs, and a compressor in my car, it is very helpful, saved me several times on the road.
I think what is happening here is that we are looking at the best tool for the job and the cheapest tool for the job as the same thing. They are not.
If you are low on air on the side of a highway with your whole family in the car including your dog and your flashlight, you want to have the matter resolved as fast as possible so no one rams into you.
The tire inflater like your flashlight is a tool that you need to be able to trust.
Personal and I know this remark wont be received well and I apologize in advance, i dont think relying on a vacuum cleaner to inflate your tires is a viable solution.
It may be cool watching it operate on your driveway while you are drinking a beer but thats not reality.
Reality is your family’s life being in danger and you monkeying around with something you bought on Aliexpress.
I talked to my mom about our tire pump.
When my sister was driving a subcompact Kia car, one of the tires became completely flat.
Our tire pump completely inflated the tire without overheating.
My sister then pulled forward with the Kia, and the tire went flat again because it was punctured, so we had to call AAA (partly because the Kia didn’t have a spare tire.)
I know that the car was a subcompact, but the tire pump did completely inflate the tire.
By the way, I did a fair amount of research before choosing that tire pump, and it was the best that I could find that was relatively inexpensive.
I don’t know how long our tire pump will continue working, but it’s working great right now. 
Sorry but that’s absolutely not true. I’ve done it in the past and while it took a long time I was to inflate my tire to 35lbs. And I’m still alive as well as the pump.
It’s fine to say it’s a lot of work to manually inflate a tire with a bike pump but that’s way different from “no way you can fill a flat tire with a bicycle style pump”.
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Why? Looks like any other “dustbuster” vacuum, and there’s only a nipple (heh-heh… nipple) on the back end with a gauge to even indicate it’s a compressor.
Vacuum’s so-so, at least compared to a regular house-vac, but the compressor works hella nicely.
You just do not pull off on a highway to add air or replace the tire unless you can find a safe spot, those 3-5 or even 10 min are irrelevant, when you are in a safe spot, the key word is a SAFE SPOT.
Normally you do not even enter a highway if your tire is low, and if it blew on a highway, you replace it, and fix it later. It is not about the tool, it is about YOU doing it in a safe manner.
On some highways with no shoulders, with heavy, fast traffic like NJ TPKE, you do not even attempt to change or pump up, unless you are very close to an exit and can get off safely, but best course of action call 911 and wait INSIDE the car for a tow truck to pull you off the highway, even if you have the fastest pump, makes no difference.
Interestingly enough I completely filled a flat tire with an old tire pump I had lying in my trunk. I bought it many years ago but I doubt I paid more than $30 for it. I let it run until it filled the tire to around 30lbs and then I decided to let it rest for a few minutes. I probably didn’t have to but I felt that it might be better to give it a rest. Afterwards it completely filled my tire without any issues.
Not sure why you’re making such broad statements such as them only running 15 seconds, etc. A lot of them are garbage but some are better than others and will inflate a tire when needed. How many times they will do that is another story 
Wellp, absolute worst case, I got a can of inflate-a-flat, but would rather not gunk up the rims, valve/sensor, or even the tires themselves, if I could help it. So I’m not about to keep a professional set of tools, 250buk inflator, and otherwise a rolling-workshop, just to have The Best… and maybe have some 85 bust in and steal everything. Some sumbitch already got my 12V impact wrench that way.
And I check and if needed top off all my tires every 6mos or so, even without a dashboard warning. Seasons change, pressures increase/decrease with temperature, and it’s nice to be able to even 'em out anyway. So the “toy” vacuum/pump you seem to hate gets regular exercise every now and again.
And any leak should reveal itself in plenty of time if you’re just putzing along on a trip, or if it happens so suddenly blindsided by a flat tire, chances are something catastrophic happened, like a cut-down sidewall, etc., that even the best air-pump won’t be able to help.
So might as well just haul out the doughnut tire and have at it.
And just as a last-resort backup, you can always call AA to get towed somewhere to safety if none of those options are viable.
Whole point being, even with a cheap “toy” inflator that you snag offa AX, you’re still ahead of the game, vs probably 90% of everyone on the road today, as alla them probably don’t even have that.
Anyhoo, the chances of it crapping out right at the exact time I’m hustling out of the city just minutes ahead of the Zombie Horde are pretty remote. So I’m good with a nice convenient vacuum/inflator that does both pretty well, all things considered.