While people are fairly fussy about things like bicycle tire pressure, they tend to be a lot more blasé when it comes to inflating basketballs – even though a ball's pressure can greatly affect its performance. The Innoflate Perfect Pressure Needle is designed to help … by whistling.
Users simply screw the Innoflate onto a third-party pump's hose, in place of the existing inflation needle. They then use it to inflate a basketball as usual.
The Innoflate's bulb will subsequently emit a whistling noise, once the ball's air pressure reaches exactly 8 PSI (0.6 bar) – this is the sweet spot for basketballs, as the recommended air pressure is generally considered to range from 7 to 9 PSI.
According to inventor Grahm Roach, his product is much more accurate than other methods, such as squeezing the ball or dropping it to see how high it bounces. And while it certainly is possible to periodically check a ball with a separate pressure gauge as it's being inflated, the fact is that most people don't bother doing so.
If you're interested, the Innoflate needle is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of US$15 will get you a pack of three, when and if they reach production. Models calibrated for use with volleyballs, footballs and soccer balls are in the works.
You can hear the whistling noise, in the video below.
Source: Kickstarter
