Outdoor Master Shark 3 Electric Pump Review – Overview
Outdoor Master is one of the top brands making electric SUP pumps these days, and there are a lot of brands making them. For years, they’ve been refining their designs for better speed, quieter operation, flexibility/portability, and almost everything else.
Electric SUP pumps have typically been considered “slow.” Yes, many people can inflate their iSUP faster with a hand pump than most electric pumps, but it takes a lot of energy and prevents you from using that time for other preparations.
Outdoor Master has cracked the code for iSUP inflation speed with the new Shark 3 battery pump. This thing is ridiculously fast. It has an internal battery, and they’ve even been able to change the pump’s sound to be a little quieter and less grating during operation
Specifications
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 13” |
| Width | 7.5“ |
| Height | 7“ |
| Weight | 6.4oz |
| Capacity | |
| Max Pressure | 20 PSI PSI |
| Internal Battery Capacity | 72Wh / 6800 mAh |
| External Battery Capacit | NA |
| Buying Info | |
| List Price: Pump | $180 |
| List Price: Battery | Included |
| Warranty Period | 2 years |
| Returns period | 30 days |
— Outdoor Master Shark 3 Battery Electric Pump Review Summary and Ratings —
Outdoor Master Shark 3 Battery Electric Pump
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Features
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Portability
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Usability
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Inflation Speed
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Battery
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Warranty & Customer Support
Overall Score
The Shark 3 is an incredibly fast electric SUP pump that doubles as a power bank for other devices.
Pros
- Built in battery lets you inflate your board anywhere
- Incredibly fast inflation time
- 20 PSI maximum pressure and user-selectable pressure cutoff works with any iSUP
- 6200mAH battery can inflate 4 paddleboards between charges
- Active cooling fan keeps the pump from overheating
- Different mode settings to for SUP, Wing/Kite, and Mattress
- USB port to charge other devices
- 2 year warranty
Cons
- The Shark 3 is very large. It also comes with a lot of accessories (a good thing), but no bag or case to help manage them.
- The LCD screen is large but difficult to read in sunlight and the battery indicator is not entirely intuitive.
Outdoor Master Shark 3 Battery Electric Pump Review – Features, Usability, and Portability
The Outdoor Master Shark 3 is quite large but is packed with features and accessories.
Let’s talk about size. The Shark 3 is big. 13” long, 7.5” tall, and 7” wide. It’s also heavy at 6 pounds 7 ounces. While it’s far from the incredibly small Outdoor Master Cachalot 2S, the Shark 3’s performance makes up for every inch and ounce – but more on that in a minute.
n the front of the pump, we’ve got a standard inflation and deflation port. There’s also a small rubber flap that covers the two charging ports. The first is a USB-C port compatible with up to 45W fast charging systems. It also doubles as a power-out port to charge your phone or other devices.
The second connection is for a 12v input. Like the Cachalot, Thurso, and Sea Gods electric pumps, the 12v input will slowly charge the pump from your car or other 12v power source with the included cigarette lighter/accessory plug. However, unlike those other pumps, the Shark 3 can use that 12v plug to run the pump if the battery is dead (but does so at a slower pace). That is a nifty feature, as I’ve occasionally found myself getting ready at the beach only to realize that I forgot to charge the pump the night before.
There is a large nylon handle strap on the Shark 3’s back; however, it does not come with a bag or case to keep the pump, hose, adapters, and two charging cables together. The Shark 3’s hose has 7 valve adapters for use with various types of inflatable products.
The “selector” button (two circling arrows) has two functions. Holding the button changes the pressure units from PSI to Bar and vice versa. Pressing it normally cycles the Shark 3 between its three different modes: SUP, KITE, and Mat.
The + and – buttons will adjust the pressure (or time) up or down. You can select the exact pressure down to 0.1 PSI/Bar increments, and holding the +/- buttons will rapidly change the pressure setting.
SUP mode is fairly self-explanatory—use it to inflate your iSUP or inflatable kayaks. The Shark 3 will start in its high-flow/low-pressure first stage and then switch to the low-flow/high-pressure second stage as needed.
KITE mode is essentially the same. The Shark 3 still uses both pump stages, but this lets you choose a different pressure setting for your kite or wing, and it remembers that setting between uses.
MAT mode is for low-pressure inflatable devices like air mattresses, pool toys, and floats. Rather than setting the specific pressure, you set how many minutes the pump will run in its low-pressure first stage. If you plan to use this mode, keep an eye on your inflatable device, as the Shark 3 will not turn itself off until the timer is up.
All three modes save your latest setting and remember it for the next time you turn the pump on.
The orange bars around the screen indicate the current battery level. I did not know this when I first unpacked the Shark 3, and there is no information about the battery level indicators in the user manual. The indicator has four segments, so I assume that relates to about 25% battery life for each segment, but there’s no way to tell. The Cachalot uses a standard battery icon with 3 bars inside to indicate the level. Several pumps we’ve tested include voltage readouts and others give a more accurate percentage indicator.
Outdoor Master put a very large LCD screen on the Shark 3. It’s quite easy to read indoors. However, it is incredibly difficult to read outside, even in cloudy conditions.
The screen is simply not bright enough to read while outdoors without completely shading the screen. I’m unsure why Outdoor Master has decided to use this screen on the Shark 3 and Cachalot 2S. I’d much prefer a smaller monitor with a regular LCD screen that is easy to read in bright light.
These small issues make me scratch my head. The Shark 3 is a great pump, but these small UI choices needlessly hamper it.
Outdoor Master Shark 3 Battery Electric Pump Review – Inflation Speed and Battery Life
The Shark 3 pump uses a two-stage, dual-piston pump powered by an internal battery to rapidly inflate your iSUP.
The first stage is a rapid-inflation low-pressure/high-flow mode. It takes just over a minute to fill a standard all-around iSUP (11’ x 32” x 6”) and bring it to 1 PSI.
That’s where the second stage takes over. The dual pistons kick into high gear with a low-flow/high-pressure mode, bringing your iSUP to the set pressure (up to 20 PSI) extremely fast before automatically shutting off once it reaches your chosen pressure.
The Outdoor Master Shark 3 has not only taken the top spot for the fastest pump we’ve tested at InflatableBoarder.com, but it nearly halved the time of our next fastest pump.
When running on its internal battery, the Shark 3 inflated our test iSUP (11’ x 32” x 6”) to 15 PSI in 4 minutes and 44 seconds.
Then it did it again in just 4:54, 5:12, and 5:30. It finally ran out of juice on its fifth inflation attempt at 4:03 and 11 PSI—nearly there! Those times are all significantly faster than our next fastest pump (which peaks at 8:23 in the same test).
The Shark 3 reliably inflates 4 normal-size all-around iSUPs with enough juice to deflate them all at the end of the day.
But the Shark 3 doesn’t have to stop there. If you run out of power, you can plug in the included 12v power adapter and continue running the pump from your car or external battery pack.
When powered by 12v input, the pump is limited to using just a single piston. This slows the Shark 3 significantly, and it takes just over 11:30 to fully inflate our test board from completely empty to 15 PSI. That puts the Shark 3 in the middle of the pack for speed when operating on the 12v input.
When I began comparing electric pumps, I tried measuring the sound output using a decibel meter on my phone. Almost every pump had about the same volume output (around 89db). But the Shark 3 seems to be a little quieter and has a much smoother sound during the second stage. Don’t get me wrong—everyone in the parking lot will still know that you are inflating your board, but it is noticeably quieter than most other electric pumps.
Outdoor Master Shark 3 Battery Electric Pump Review – Warranty and Customer Support
Outdoor Master offers the longest warranty on an electric pump that we’ve found – 2 years for the pump itself when purchased from Outdoor Master. Additionally, they offer a 30-day return period, and sell replacement hoses and adapters separately if you lose or break them. If you have questions about your Shark 3 pump, you can reach Outdoor Master via email, phone, website form, or social media.
Outdoor Master Shark 3 Battery Electric Pump Review – Final Thoughts
The Outdoor Master Shark 3 is big, but the tradeoff for its size is some truly impressive performance. It can inflate your board faster than you can put on sunscreen, and do it four times before running the battery empty. But it can still be used when the battery is dead! It’s somehow faster and quieter than other electric pumps, and it will save multiple settings for different inflatable devices. I wish the screen were brighter and the battery indicator clearer, but even with these “cons,” the Outdoor Master Shark 3 is still my go-to pump.
Outdoor Master Shark 3 Battery Electric Pump Review – FAQ
How fast is the Shark 3 Electric Pump?
The Shark 3 takes around five minutes to inflate a standard all-around iSUP to 15 PSI.
How long does the Shark 3 Electric Pump work using its battery?
The Shark 3 can reliably inflate and deflate four standard all-around iSUPs on a single charge. If the battery dies during inflation, you can plug it into a 12v power source (like your car’s cigarette lighter/accessory port) and continue to use the pump at a slower speed.
Is the Shark 3 Electric Pump loud?
The Shark 3 is noticeably quieter than other electric SUP pumps. However, it is still loud when compared to hand-pumping your board.
Can I use the Shark 3 electric pump with a 12 volt power source like my car?
Yes. The Shark 3 will run on 12v power but at a slower speed. It will also charge the battery from the 12v power source, but charging with a fast-charge USB-C cable is much quicker.
What plug/wattage would you recommend to charge the Shark 3 pleas
Hi there,
The Shark 3 charges with a USB-C cable up to 40W.