Short and sweet: The Silca Tattico is the mini-pump you want. manufacturer link More details below.
That's it in the^^^ picture. As you can see, it'll tuck into a Camelbak with no problem, or can mostly fit into a jersey pocket. I'm not completely sold on the bottle cage mount, too much grit spray down there when I'm riding in the real world, although the seals (more on this below) would mostly keep things out.
Regarding the advertised features, it grips well and is easy to pump. There are rubber seals that can mostly close things up around the sliding parts. These would probably do well enough on a bike path, but I'm not so sure about on a sandy mountain bike trail. No matter, it's small enough to go into the Camelbak, and the seals are welcome protection there too. The grips and built-in heat sink actually do keep this thing cool, at least where you're having to grab on. After pumping the CX bike's tires this morning, the barrel was very warm, but the grips and all else were well.
Now for the interesting part, the internally-stowed air hose. It's a slick design, mounted on a sliding end for the pressure cylinder, with a tight-fitting rubber cap to close things off for storage. When pumping, the 6" of hose gives enough play that the chuck doesn't get pulled around and off of a valve stem. That alone puts this ahead of Silca's more expensive Imperio model. The chuck itself is a little delicate – the lever on my first one broke on me, which Silca warranted cheerfully. The chuck only needs to go over the small end of a presta valve, and only a light touch is needed to close it. If you need to press any harder, don't, but back off a little on the valve and try again. Main things here are that this hose stows neatly and it allows for leak-free pumping.
It's definitely a mini pump. In the 60 psi range, it takes about 30 strokes to add another 10 psi on the CX bike's 700cx40mm tires. For that and because it's very light and hence a little delicate, it's no substitute for an everyday floor pump, but Silca's got you covered on that base too.
Bottom line is that for $55, Silca has made the perfect everyday mini-pump. They do make a slightly more upscale version with a Bluetooth pressure gauge that links to your phone for $120, but I don't need all that. But they have several other mobile options, so you should look around before taking my word as final. Pretty much though, this is the mini-pump you want.
OK, enough praise for this pump. On to the company. As I'd mentioned above, the first chuck broke. An email, a second email with a picture of the parts, a nice email back saying "your replacement is on the way," and a pre-printed/pre-paid return label for the box, and all was wrapped up. That's top-notch customer service. Finally, I have to hand it to Silca for dropping the price on their basic Pista floor pump to $99. No, that price is not cheap, but then neither is the pump. My Pista is 30 years old and still working beautifully, after one rebuild at the 15 year mark. And that's the point, these things last for decades and are worth rebuilding. These are the pumps you want, and this is the company you want to do business with.
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