You might not think you know the name Wolf Tooth – but you could be more familiar with the US brand than you think. Its custom components have been paraded around France for the past two Julys, as an official partner of the Visma-Lease a Bike team of Jonas Vingegaard.
The Minnesota-based company makes a vast array of tools, components and gadgets, from aero chainrings, to bags, to the clever multi-tool in a mini-pump that we have on test here.
Its products are made in the USA, which is part of the reason that it doesn't really do 'budget'. But it's high-quality stuff, designed to be serviceable and repairable, rather than replaced at the first sign of wear.
Wolf Tooth's USPs with just about all of its products are neat, efficient and high-quality, and this is true for its tools as well. It has developed its EnCase system to house an array of different tools within a cylindrical sleeve, for use either as a stand-alone tool, within a handlebar end-plug, or a pump, as featured here.
The pump comes in three different guises, each featuring a number of tools. You can have the basic pump on its own, or with a tubeless tyre plug tool, or in the guise featured here, which carries a full complement of hex-keys, a chain tool, and the tyre plug kit.
Construction
From the moment you pick it up, it's clear that this is an item of the highest quality. The whole shebang weighs a claimed 260g – a fair bit of that coming from the tools within – which lends it a quality feel. But on top of that the finish is superb and, giving it a few practise 'air pumps' the action is flawless.
The pump is constructed mostly from 6061 aluminium, with only the seals and the chuck made of plastic.
One of the pump's chief claims is its weatherproofing, to which ends Wolf Tooth employs its proprietary 'Envirolock' sealing system to prevent the ingress of any nasties and pretty much anything at all in fact, between the handle and the barrel.
It works using a knurled and threaded sleeve which slides tightly around the barrel, with the handle threading onto it. Once again, it's simple, but high quality, and it feels like it seals well.
The weatherproofing continues at the chuck with a robust and well-fitting urethane cap, and it's a similar story at the top of the handle, where the tool sleeve enters the pump, with a neat-fitting cap sealing the deal on top.
This is where the pump pulls a trick or two. That sleeve of tools is housed along its entire length and, aside from the thick barrel, you'd never know it was there.
Pull out the sleeve though, and you reveal a host of potentially useful – ride-saving, even – gadgets, all cleverly housed in a pair of cylindrical tools.
One houses the tubeless tyre plug insertion tool plus a selection of plugs, with the chain tool on top. The other boasts 14 functions: Allen heads (2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8mm); Torx heads (T10, T25, T30), Phillips and flat-head screwdriver bits; plus spoke wrench and valve core wrench.
As you will have surmised, it's all very much geared towards tubeless tyre use at off-road type volumes – so gravel, mountain bike and even fat bike. As such it has a claimed 70psi limit. You should be able to achieve get-me-home pressure with road bike tyres though, especially if you're running wider rubber – 30mm upwards.
In use
The first thing I did with this pump was to put it to work on a 45mm gravel tyre. The chuck simply pushes onto the valve – job done. No threading and no levers. The seal seemed perfect and in the air went. It didn't surprise me in the least that the action was positive, smooth and efficient. The tyre inflated from zero to my usual 35psi in 80 strokes. Not bad.
When it came to trying it on my 28mm road bike tyres though, things didn't go so smoothly. Even with the tyres deflated, I couldn't get any air in without a fair bit of wiggling and even then it was with a fair bit of friction, with the pump becoming overly warm almost straight away.
Slightly deflated by that experience (pun most definitely intended, sorry), I tried on a different road bike, and then another. No issues at all, so perhaps that first bike will remain an unexplained anomaly.
Other than that, the only fly in the pump-related ointment is that I found the Envirolock collar gets in the way when pumping – I ended up having to grasp it along with the barrel. Not a major problem but slightly annoying at higher pressures when you have to grip hard.
Next, I took out the cylinder of tools and put those to use. Which proved easier said than done as I struggled to remove the bits from the cylindrical retainer. They are held in by a pair of rubber O-rings and a magnet and fit quite snugly – the upshot being they're not that easy to get out without a fairly decent set of fingernails.
I eventually managed to prise one out but it was more convenient to fetch a small screwdriver from my toolbox for the remaining maintenance tasks. So a miss for the Encase, though a simple paper clip would do the job if you experience similar issues.
Once ready to use though, I had no complaints. The cylinder acts as a nicely ergonomic handle and gives plenty of leverage too.
The chain tool works well too, once you have extracted the Allen bolt head you need to drive it. In fact, it's easier to use than the dedicated tool I own, with the cylinder grip giving plenty of leverage.
Conclusions and value
If you can stretch to it, there is something quite special about owning a boutique item such as this. Of course, if you're going to pay £145 / $159.95 for a mini pump and tools, it needs to be blindingly good in every way.
The Wolf Tooth EnCase ticks the majority of boxes in that it looks great, feels great in the hand, but for me I'm not sure the practicality quite matches the high-end price tag. I could live with the rather fiddly Allen key bits – but those O-rings feel eminently loseable, especially out on the trail.
Additionally, the idea of clipping it onto the frame mount next to a bottle cage is all well and good, but if I've just spent that much hard-earned on it, I'm not sure I want it constantly bombarded by rocks and mud, even if it is totally weatherproof. I accept this is a personal preference though.
The EnCase is not the most expensive item on the market. One Up Components has a similar set-up, including a 100cc pump, for £159.97 / $175. At the other end of the spectrum, you could put together a very useable pump-multi-tool pairing using Topeak's Hexus multi-tool and Gravel 2-stage mini-pump for around £60 – though together these would take up more room than the EnCase, of course.
