Maxtrax Indeflate Review – Is All the Hype Just Good Marketing?
In this post we review the Maxtrax Indeflate, something we have been wanting to write about for some time. Mainly to discuss several of the perceived benefits and whether it is worth the money.
There are some positives to the Maxtrax Indeflate, but is all the hype from social media “influencers” and other prominent figures in the 4WD industry just good marketing? Well after a good 12-months of testing the Maxtrax Indeflate and getting plenty of feedback from other product owners, we thought we would go through the pros and cons of this product providing you with a non-biased review.
What is the Maxtrax Indeflate?
The Maxtrax Indeflate is a tyre inflator and deflator made by Indeflate in South Africa. Maxtrax has re-branded the product as Maxtrax Indeflate for sale in Australia and the US. There are now two different models of the Indeflate being the 2-hose and 4-hose models. We have been using the original 2-hose Maxtrax Indeflate.
The Maxtrax Indeflate has two 3-metre air hoses that connect to an aluminium body with a pressure gauge and dump valve. The Indeflate allows you to simultaneously pump up or deflate two tyres at the same time. This is done by connecting the two hoses to two tyres, and then either opening the dump vale to deflate your tyres or connecting your compressor air hose to inflate the two tyres. The 4-hose model allows you to do the same but to four tyres. The Maxtrax Indeflate equalises pressure between the two tyres ensuring your tyre pressures are the same.
Maxtrax Indeflate, Social Media Hype?
One thing that really annoys us, and a lot of other people out there, is glowing positive reviews on products that never discuss some of the product shortfalls. There is nothing wrong if a product has a few issues, not everything is perfect. But completely dismissing any downsides to a product diminishes any credibility you might have. In my opinion, the Maxtrax Indeflate falls into this category. Do not get me wrong, there are plenty of positives about the Maxtrax Indeflate, but is it as good as people make it out be? Yes, with some things, but no with others.
Maxtrax Indeflate is Extremely Well Made
Air Hoses
There is one thing that we cannot take away from the Maxtrax Indeflate and that is the overall quality of the product. The Indeflate is extremely well made, hands down one of the best quality products we own. Firstly, the hoses used in the Maxtrax Indeflate are the best hoses we have seen in the 4WD industry. They are extremely easy to roll back up, they do not get too hot, and they do look like they will last for a very long time. They are fantastic air hoses.
Tyre Chucks
The brass tyre chucks that are used on the ends of the hoses are also amazing. Once you clip the chuck on to your tyre valve, you can walk away knowing that the hose is perfectly connected, and no air is going to escape. In comparison to our ARB Digital Tyre Inflator, the chucks used in the Maxtrax Indeflate are on another level. We could never get a proper connection onto our tyre valves with the ARB Digital Tyre Inflator due to the poor-quality chuck used on this product. We have since replaced the chuck on our ARB Digital Tyre Inflator to the same ones used on the Maxtrax Indeflate (made by Jamec Pem), and we have since had no issues with it. Tyre chucks receive an A+.
Pressure Gauge & Bag
The pressure gauge on the Maxtrax Indeflate works well. I do like how its large size is easy to get accurate pressure readings. The aluminium body that the gauge is connected to is also well made. I can see this lasting for a very long time. Finally, the bag that is provided with the Maxtrax Indeflate is great. It is not often that a product comes with a bag that you want to keep. Usually, product bags are made as cheap as possible and do not last more than 12 months if used regularly. That is why we replace most with Australian made canvas bags. However, this is not the case with the Maxtrax Indeflate bag, it is well made with plenty of space, so it is easy to fit the Indeflate back inside with space to spare for any other gear.
Overall Quality 10/10
Overall if we were to rate the quality of the parts used in the Maxtrax Indeflate, it would easily get 10 out of 10. The Maxtrax Indeflate is exceptionally well made, and it will last for a long time.
Deflating Tyres Is Easy
When it comes to deflating tyres with the Maxtrax Indeflate, this is where the product is fantastic. We know as we only use the Maxtrax Indeflate for deflating our tyres. It is not quicker than a quick tyre deflator but overall, it is safer.
Previously we always used a quick tyre deflator as they are extremely fast. However, with a quick tyre deflator, you must remove the tyre valve for them to work fast. If all things go well your tyres are deflated super quick. Unfortunately, removing the tyre valve does create several potential issues. One of these has occurred to us on a couple of occasions. This is when you have an issue with the actual quick tyre deflator. We have had the slide out mechanism jam due to dust and sand, meaning we could not reinsert the tyre valve. As a result, we had to let the tyre completely deflate before we could manually screw the tyre valve back in before pumping the tyre back up to the pressure we were trying to originally deflate to. Another issue that has not occurred to us, but we have heard stories, is where the tyre valve is not screwed back in properly causing it to eventually come loose causing a flat and potentially tyre and rim damage.
The Maxtrax Indeflate removes these risks of a quick tyre deflator as you simply connect the two hoses to your tyres, open the dump valve and wait for both your tyres to deflate to the desired pressure. It does take slightly longer than a quick tyre deflator, but you do not have to crouch down waiting for your tyres to deflate. You can simply walk away and wait until your tyre pressures are where you want them to be. This is even better when you are towing a camper trailer or caravan.
Inflating Tyres Is a Waste of Time (In Most Instances)
We do not see any advantages of using the Maxtrax Indeflate to inflate our tyres. Now this is where we get into angry responses territory. Therefore, we included “in most instances” in our title above. Hopefully this will keep the haters at bay. Let me elaborate…
If you have a good quality high output compressor like we do, with our ARB Twin Onboard Air Compressor that has two motors, you will find that pumping up your tyres is quicker without using the Maxtrax Indeflate. However, if you have a single motor compressor, using the Maxtrax Indeflate might not be any quicker, but it will be slightly easier. The reason we say this, is that there is a bit involved when setting up your gear when inflating your tyres using the Maxtrax Indeflate. Firstly, you need to get the Maxtrax Indeflate out of its bag, then unwind the two hoses, and run them to each tyre and connect. Then you need to get your compressor hose out, connect this hose to your compressor, and then connect this to the Maxtrax Indeflate to start pumping up your tyres. There are a lot of hoses all over the place and it takes some time to get setup. Then once your two tyres are pumped up, you need to then disconnect these hoses from the two tyres, walk around your vehicle and go through this whole process with the next two tyres. There is a lot of stuffing about with hoses all over the place.
We have found that airing back up with the Indeflate is just too painful and with the amount of time stuffing about with three different hoses, it is just not worth it. With our ARB high output compressor, we find it is far quicker just using the one hose with our digital inflator to pump up each tyre individually. This is even more noticeable if you are only inflating your tyres by a small amount. If you do have a single motor compressor that does work much slower, then using the Maxtrax Indeflate to inflate your tyres is probably going to be beneficial. The reason for this is because you can turn on your compressor and walk away while waiting for the two tyres to reach your desired pressure. You can go and do something else while you wait.
Using the Maxtrax Indeflate to inflate your tyres is the one over hyped benefit that drives us crazy. It is not that much better than using a single hose to inflate your tyres. Especially if you have a high output compressor. There is plenty of messing around with all the hoses and that is a real pain that is often ignored. We are not on our own with this, there are plenty of other people that feel the same way when it comes to inflating tyres with the Maxtrax Indeflate.
Equalising Tyre Pressures
One benefit of the Maxtrax Indeflate is that it equalises the pressure between two tyres. This is beneficial in that it does allow you to inflate or deflate your tyres to the same pressure. The other benefit that is not often discussed is that it does give you some additional security in the unfortunate event if your compressor stops working. The Maxtrax Indeflate will allow you to steal air pressure from another tyre. Yes, you could just swap to your spare tyre, but what happens if your spare is already in use and the tyre sitting as your spare is now stuffed? In such a situation, you can connect the Maxtrax Indeflate to one tyre with plenty of pressure and to the other that is flat. The Maxtrax Indeflate will then equalise the pressures between the two. This is only a temporary solution, but it is still a solution to get you to the nearest town to fix the problem. Thanks to @intrepidoverland for pointing this one out to us, as we never really thought about this benefit.
The Indeflate Hook Is Pointless
With the Maxtrax Indeflate you will be supplied with a hook that can be used to secure the Indeflate somewhere on your 4WD. Usually onto the spare wheel or the front of your bull bar. This sounds good in theory as you need to put the Indeflate unit down somewhere while you wait for your tyres to inflate or deflate. We have tried to use this hook on a few occasions and again like stuffing around with all the hoses, it is another thing that you need to do that is just not necessary. The unit can simply be hung over the front of your bull bar or sit on top of your spare wheel. In reality when using the Indeflate to deflate your tyres, we usually just hold the Indeflate unit while we wait. The reason they made the hook was due to a prominent individual in the 4WD industry that requested this when testing the product. I really do not find it useful, but maybe others do.
Is the Maxtrax Indeflate Worth the Money?
The Maxtrax Indeflate costs $215, so is it worth it? Well, that is really going to depend on the individual. They are not cheap but like I highlighted above, the Maxtrax Indeflate is extremely well made using high quality fittings, so the price reflects the overall quality of the product. It really depends on whether you have the budget, how often you will use one, and your current setup.
If you are on a tight budget then do not waste your well-earned money (I am assuming you already have a compressor), buy yourself a quick deflator and make sure you have a bunch of spare tyre valves just in case. If you do not want to use a quick deflator, then look at other tyre deflators like Staun or Campboss that are also a good option although not cheap. If you can afford the Maxtrax Indeflate and you have a single motor compressor that is slow at pumping up your tyres, then you will probably find the Maxtrax Indeflate useful as you can connect it to your tyres, turn on your compressor, go do something else and come back to find your tyres inflated. If you have a twin motor compressor, as we do, you will find that using this product to inflate your tyres does not save any time. I am happy for someone to prove me wrong, but we do not see the benefit here. There are benefits to deflating tyres, even though it does take longer than a quick deflator. The big question is whether you think the benefits of deflating your tyres outweighs the downsides of inflating your tyres at such a cost. If you are older, or you suffer from a bad back or knees, then the Maxtrax Indeflate will be a good option for you as you will not need to crouch down for long periods of time. This will be especially beneficial if you are towing as you have more tyres to deal with.
At the end of the day the Maxtrax Indeflate is an extremely well-made product, and it will last for a long period of time. If you are not regularly deflating and inflating your tyres, I do not see the benefit in spending this sort of money for something you are not using regularly. It is really going to come down to whether you think the benefits it provides are worth the $215. We did not pay full retail for this as we were able to grab one at wholesale pricing being 30% cheaper. If we had to pay full retail, I am going to be honest here, we would have been happy without it. The new 4-hose Indeflate is going to cost a whopping $329, I really do not see value in that. I do believe that Maxtrax have done a stellar job in marketing the Indeflate and there are many prominent figures promoting it. So don’t just listen to what they have to say (remember they did not pay for it), think about what you need, and whether $215 for this one product could not be better spent on a cheaper tyre deflator and something else for your setup.
Thanks for reading this unbiased review on our Maxtrax Indeflate. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please send them below this post. For more unbiased gear reviews, you can read them all here. To keep up to date on our future stories, join the 4WD Adventurer Community here. For more regular updates follow us on Instagram.
To find out more about the Maxtrax Indeflate you can find it here on the Maxtrax website.
The thoughts of Peter.
21/10/2022 @ 2:27 PM
Just to confirm- so if you have an arb compressor (single or twin), this will be able to connect to the indeflate gauge/system with no dramas?
24/10/2022 @ 11:52 AM
G’day Mitch,
With any of the compressors you will still need a hose from the compressor coupling and a chuck on the end of the compressor hose to connect to the Indeflate. The standard ARB chuck works fine on the Indeflate, however I have heard some people have had issues with the digital inflator, I have not.
Cheers,
Peter
25/09/2022 @ 10:11 PM
No mention of the ARB chucks supplied with their compressors not fitting on the valve of the indeflate, and that a second chuck is required for the arb hose to connect to the indeflate. The original arb chucks do not lock onto the valve of the indefate and just blow off and leak air.
What happened to a warts and all review. ..
26/09/2022 @ 10:42 AM
G’day Krump,
The ARB chucks are no good, this is why we replaced ours on the digital inflator.
Warts and all? Was discussing the Maxtrax Indeflate here mate, not the ARB tyre inflator. We mentioned in this post how bad the ARB chucks are as well as providing a link to our post on the ARB inflator. Apologies if this was not clear enough for you. If you want to read about the ARB tyre inflator, then read our post here – https://4wdadventurer.com/gear/arb-digital-tyre-inflator-review/
That being said, before replacing our ARB chuck, we could still get it to fit on the Indeflate. And if you look at the picture in this post with us inflating using the Indeflate, you will notice an ARB chuck on the end of our hose connected to the Indeflate. I am sorry my experience might not be exactly as per yours, but I have tried to cover every aspect of my experience with the Indeflate in this post.
Cheers,
Peter