I watch my friends go through annual changes of new generation pumps while I still pound away on my older pumps. Come to think of it my pumps are still here even though the bikes they've inflated are long gone:
--I've got a 1971 Wald (not that Wald) pump (made in USA) that was race prize as a junior racer. Steel barrel, aluminum foot and cap with a solid hickory handle. It's taller than a Silca by a foot and with the addition of a Silca gauge in the '80s it's a "7 strokes and you're at 110# pump." Fortunately I have a stash of leather plungers that'll last me the next 30 years.
--I've got various Silcas in color from orange to pink that have found their way to my home from garage sales or because friends have replaced them with newer pumps they thought we're better. They serve special purposes now: one is my travel pump, one has a Silca "crack pipe" disc wheel brass head, one has Schrader head, etc. You need a pump for every purpose. With every conceivable part available from QBP, among others, they'll be passed to my heirs in better shape than financial portfolio.
--I've got a Peter Johnson-style double action, stainless steel beauty built by one of the N Calif. guys from "California Peddler" back in the 80's. Looks impressive but the Wald always beat it in efficiency.
My newest toy for low-pressure cyclocross tire inflation is the Craftsman Die-Hard 19.2V Inflator. With a specially constructed hose with Silca "crack pipe" head it's great for precision inflation with the digital readout. Plus, it's as much of a head-turner at a race as my 1971 Wald is but in a whole different way.
Brook Watts
Longmont Colorado USA