PROS
This is one of the only air mattress products we spotted that comes with a built-in headboard that offers added support for users. It’s comfortable enough for everyday use and durable enough for any type of overnight guest.
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Best Air Mattress
UPDATED January 2020
The best air mattress is one that inflates easily and comes in the size that you need.
BEST AIR
MATTRESS 2019
BOTTOM LINE
One of the best options for any type of sleeper is the Dream Series from SoundAsleep, which comes in a queen size. Individual air coils inside and two different chambers make this bed more durable for sleepers of different heights and weights.
PROS
This air mattress features 40 coiled pockets across the top that increase the comfort of sleepers and make the bed last longer. It has two individual chambers inside that you fill with air to keep the mattress from moving.
CONS
Many shoppers claimed that the mattress took too long to inflate. There were some complaints from shoppers about the mattress deflating on its own.
BOTTOM LINE
Any guest will feel completely comfortable in your home with this air mattress, which is roughly the same height as their beds back home. It features one simple outlet that you use to fill the mattress with air and to deflate it later.
PROS
Standing at the same height as a traditional bed, this elevated air mattress will make any guest feel at home. It comes with a flocked surface that is waterproof and a duffel bag for storing the mattress between uses.
CONS
You may find that the mattress deflates in the middle of the night, especially if two or more people sleep on it. Another issue is that sheets and blankets can slip right off the mattress.
BOTTOM LINE
This Serta air mattress comes with Never Flat technology that monitors the bed for any air loss and automatically adds more air as needed. Its unique top helps sheets stay on and features coils for added comfort.
PROS
Serta lets you use two pumps at the same time to inflate this mattress as quickly as possible. It has monitors that let the mattress fill with more air to keep guests from sinking down in the middle of the night.
CONS
Holes, rips and tears can easily develop across the top and along the seams of this mattress. Though it’s quite similar to other products, this one costs more than other beds do.
BOTTOM LINE
Suitable for kids and single guests, this air mattress folds into a compact package that you can easily store anywhere in your home. Its smaller size and built-in electric pump let you inflate it in two minutes or less.
PROS
The built-in electric pump on this mattress makes inflating it easy. This bed weighs just 10 pounds when deflated but can support a sleeper of up to 400-pounds in size.
CONS
This mattress comes in a smaller twin size and sits lower to the ground than you might like. Some shoppers complained that the seams on the mattress broke or split.
BOTTOM LINE
Feel comfortable as you fall asleep and help guests feel comfortable in your home with this air mattress. It’s tall to mimic the look and feel of traditional beds and comes with its own headboard.
CONS
Dozens of shoppers found that this air bed lost air overnight. A small number of people also complained that it had an odd smell that clung to the mattress.
Shopping Guide for the Best Air Mattress
Buying one of the best air mattress 2018 products is an easy way to make guests feel at home in your house. While you might have an old futon in your office or a sleeper sofa in your living room, those surfaces are often lumpy enough that guests have a hard time falling asleep. Even if you don’t have space for a full guestroom, you have enough space to set up the best air mattress.
The chart we created and put at the top of this page includes the top five air mattress 2018 models. We recommend looking at the pros and cons of each bed and checking out the bottom line before you read our in-depth product reviews. You will find other information on this page too, including how much it costs to purchase an air mattress and the top features that shoppers like yourself find appealing and important.
Use our chart to get an idea of the best products that are worthwhile for your home. You can easily find an air mattress that you can easily set up and inflate for your guests and deflate once they leave. The top products come in different sizes too.
Selection Criteria
Finding the right air mattress for your home can help you feel confident inviting guests to spend the night with you. You might invite friends over to hang out and watch movies, or you might offer family a place to stay. Many shoppers look at multiple air mattresses and pick one that is cheap or one that looks like it might meet their needs.
We understand that you want to spend more time preparing your home for overnight guests than on searching for a place for them to sleep, which is why we did all the research that you need when looking for the right mattress for you. Our search led us to the hundreds of products available online and the thousands of reviews that customers posted. After weeding out the mattresses with poor to bad reviews, we weeded out those with average reviews, which let us focus on only the top products available.
The list we created includes primarily queen-size mattresses that can support one to two adults, but we also added a twin-size model that is perfect for a single person. After looking at our chart and reading more reviews, check out all the other helpful information we found.
Signs of a Leaking Air Mattress
- A hissing noise coming from somewhere on the bed
- Guests roll towards the middle of the bed as they sleep
- The bed sits closer to the ground after several hours
SoundAlseep makes a number of air mattresses that you can set up in minutes, but many shoppers recommend its Dream Series product. As a queen-size bed, it can easily support the weight of two adults or multiple children. It is compatible with the same queen sheets that you use on other beds in your home too. Though the mattress features a beige base, it comes with a thick blue waterproof liner on the top that adds more support and comfort to the bed. Inside the bed are 40 coils that fill with air as you inflate the mattress. Those coils create a softer and gentler feel that helps guests drift off to sleep.
On the very top of the mattress is a series of multiple layers that protect the bed. Those layers work together to keep keys or other objects that sleepers carry and use from puncturing the mattress. It comes with a simple pump that remains attached to the mattress at all times. You turn the knob one way to automatically inflate the mattress. When you turn the knob in the opposite direction, the pump will automatically remove air and deflate the mattress for you in minutes.
Benefits of a New Mattress
If you have an older air mattress in your home like one you used for camping, you might consider why you should invest in a new one. Some of the top benefits of new air mattresses include:
- Stores easily: Most models now come with some type of bag that lets you store the mattress anywhere in your home once you deflate it.
- Easy to use: Using an air mattress for an overnight guest is as easy as finding a spot for the mattress, unrolling it and inflating it to the perfect height.
- Custom support: Another advantage is that you can adjust the amount of air inside the mattress to get the perfect amount of support that you or a guest needs.
- Long lasting: With one of the newer air mattresses on the market, you get a bed that you can use for years to come without worrying about punctures or scratches damaging the bed.
- Fast guestroom: A simple air mattress lets you create a new guestroom quickly. You use one in any room where you have enough space for the mattress.
What Not to Use on an Air Mattress
- Pillows and other bedding with metal snaps
- Sleeping bags with zippers
- Metal utensils
- Computers and other electronic
devices with heavy cords
Many shoppers prefer air mattresses that sit higher off the ground because that height makes it easier for them to get in and out of bed. The Intex Elevated Comfort Plus has an elevated design that lifts it off the ground and makes the top sit at the same height as a standard bed. It sits approximately 22-inches from the floor. The top of the mattress features a waterproof layer that keeps spills and accidents from damaging the bed. It also has indented sides that let you use this bed with any queen bedding without worrying about the sheets sliding off the bed as guests toss and turn. One of the top features of this mattress is the included electric pump, which inflates the entire bed in just 4.5 minutes. You can sit on the top of the mattress and turn the pump off when the bed reaches the firmness that you or a guest desires. This same pump will deflate the mattress just as quickly. The manufacturer includes a duffel bag with this model for convenient storage. You can safely use this model to support up to 600 pounds without breaking or deflating the mattress.
How Many Coils Do You Need?
– Adults: 30-45+ coils
– Children: Up to 30 coils
How Do They Work?
Despite what you might think, there really isn’t any trick to using and sleeping on an air mattress. As long as you have enough space to set one up, you have enough room for you or a guest to sleep. Many mattresses come with a built-in pump. You’ll plug the cord of this pump into a nearby outlet, turn the knob on the pump to inflate and press a button. The pump will slowly inflate the mattress. This same pump will remove all the air from the mattress and deflate it when you adjust the knob.
Older air mattress and those that cost less do not come with a pump. You’ll either need to use your mouth or a separate pump with these mattresses. When using a pump, plug the pump into an outlet. You can then insert the mouth of the pump into the air intake hole on the mattress. It’s important that you keep an eye on the mattress. If you use too much air, you risk the mattress exploding or splitting along its seams. Some pumps are manual and let you inflate the mattress by hand, which is helpful when camping or if the power is out.
How to Repair a Leaking Air Mattress
- Identify the hole or leak
- Remove the patch and patching material from your repair kit
- Apply a small amount of the patching material to the leak
- Cut the patch to the size needed for the hole
- Press the patch against the bed
- Let the patch and patching material cure for several hours before using the mattress
The odds are good that you either have a Serta mattress in your home or that you slept on one in the past. This major manufacturer of mattresses now makes air mattresses like this elevated option that lifts your guests off the floor. It is part of the company’s Never Flat line that keeps you and your guests from waking up on the floor. This system features a monitor that keeps a constant eye on the air pressure inside the bed. When the system detects the bed deflating, it will automatically add more air to help you get the sleep that you need. A built-in pump helps you inflate this queen-size bed in minutes, but the pump also deflates the bed quickly too. The pump will automatically shut itself off when the mattress finishes deflating or inflating. This model comes with a nice and soft surface that feels more like a traditional bed than an air mattress. That surface also holds your sheets in place, no matter how much you toss and turn. Also included with this model is a duffel bag carrying case. You can roll the mattress tightly before slipping it inside the bag.
New Features Found on Air Beds
- List Item USB ports that let guests charge electronic devices like tablets and phones1
- Built-in nightlights that give them some extra light
- Built-in pillows that inflate at the same time as the mattress
How to Set One Up
- Find the right spot for the air mattress before you do anything else. The space you choose should be free of any furniture or metal objects that can puncture the mattress.
- Remove the air bed from the included storage or duffel bag. Unroll the mattress across the floor, making sure that you keep it as flat as possible. You may need to unfold the mattress before unrolling it, but this depends on how you store your mattress.
- Turn on the pump and let it slowly inflate the mattress. If you use a separate pump or a manual pump, you’ll need to watch the mattress and either turn off or stop the pump before the mattress over-inflates.
- Sit down carefully on the top of the mattress as you keep your feet flat on the floor. Check the support that the mattress offers to determine if you need more or less air. You can easily add a little bit more air while sitting on the bed until you get the support that you need.
- Get the bed ready for a guest or for yourself with the addition of a flat and a fitted sheet, a comforter and one or more pillows.
Some people prefer sleeping on an air bed because these beds offer a lot of support. Whether you want an air bed for yourself or your guests, you might like the AeroBed Comfort Anywhere. It’s the only air bed on the market that comes with its own built-in headboard. This headboard is great for leaning against while watching television or reading, but it won’t get in your way when you lay down. The headboard will also keep both sheets and pillows from sliding off the bed. This bed actually features two different chambers of air that make the bed look and feel like it consists of both a mattress and a box spring. The bottom portion is resistant to punctures and strong enough to support the weight of almost anyone sleeping on top. It also has a pump built into this bottom base. A feature that many shoppers like is the control wand that comes with this mattress. That wand attaches to a cord and allows sleepers to add more air based on how comfortable they feel. They can also use the wand to slightly deflate the bed when they prefer less support.
Insider Tip:
If you have an air bed that works well but doesn’t feel as comfortable as you would like, you can use a foam mattress topper or a topper made from another soft and comfortable material. Place the topper directly on top of the air bed before covering it with a fitted sheet. Make sure that the topper you chose does not have any sharp edges or pieces.
How to Take Down an Air Mattress
- Using either a built-in pump or a separate pump, turn the knob on the pump to the deflate option. If you use a separate pump, you’ll need to insert the pump into the air intake valve.
- Let the pump run for between four and 10 minutes. Some pumps will automatically turn off when they can no longer remove any more air from the bed.
- If you have a queen-size or king-size mattress, you’ll want to fold the bed in half before putting it away. Smaller models do not require any folding.
- Roll the mattress flat, starting at the foot end of the bed and working your way towards the head end. You generally want to start at the end opposite from the location of the pump or intake valve.
- Place the rolled mattress inside your protective duffel bag or case. If the mattress does not fit inside that bag, you’ll need to roll it tighter.
Deflating an Air Mattress Without a Pump
- Open the air intake valve or hole on the air mattress. You’ll find this valve on the side of the mattress, but you may need to remove a piece that keeps the valve sealed.
- Lift one of the shorter ends of the mattress. Press down with your hands to push out as much air as possible.
- Carefully roll this end of the mattress up towards the opposite end. Keep pressing down to remove air from the bed as you roll.
- Roll the mattress as tightly as possible until you reach the other end. You can then store it in the included bag.
Depending on the age and the size of your overnight guests, you may find that you don’t need a queen or king mattress. This SimplySleeper air bed comes in a twin-size that is just right for a single guest. Both adults and kids will feel comfortable sleeping on this one.
Made from a material that combines both laminate and polyester, this mattress is quite durable and can stand up to daily or regular use. It features three layers of materials on the top, sides and bottom that are resistant to punctures and other common forms of damage. Though you can use the mattress as-is, you can also stack two mattresses together to raise the height and keep your guests from sleeping close to the floor.
Included with this mattress is a built-in electric pump that turns on quickly to inflate the bed in right around 2.5 minutes. The pump uses just the right amount of pressure to make the bed feel as firm as your guests want. This pump also deflates the mattress after your guests leave. The manufacturer provides you with detailed instructions on making repairs and two patches that will quickly seal leaks.
How to Find Leaks in an Air Mattress
- Mix a solution of soap and water
- Apply a dab of the solution along the seams
- Check for any bubbles forming in the solution
- Repeat these steps anywhere you think you might have a leak
- Bubbles form where air leaks from the bed
Features to Look For
- Size: Air mattresses come in standard sizes like queen and twin, but you may find some in double and king sizes too. Pick a mattress based on how many it can sleep and how many guests usually visit your home.
- Height: Though many people think that air mattresses only sit a few inches off the ground, many products now sit up to 24-inches off the floor or even higher. The taller the bed is, the easier guests can sit down when going to bed and the easier they can get out of bed the next morning.
- Deflated size: Looking at the measurements of the bed when it’s deflated tells you how much space you need to store it. You may want one that is smaller and lighter for carrying on camping trips.
- Warranty: Checking out the warranty is especially important when buying an air mattress with a built-in electric pump. You want to ensure that the warranty lasts for at least one full year and that the warranty covers both the mattress and the pump.
Insider Tip:
Camping air mattresses are those designed for use in the great outdoors. These products are often more durable than the ones you use in your home are, but many do not come with a pump.
How Much Should an Air Mattress Cost?
There really is no set price that you’ll pay for an air mattress. The price depends on the features of the air bed and its overall size. You’ll generally pay less for a twin-size mattress that can sleep just one person than you would for a bed that can sleep two or more people. Twin mattresses can cost as little as $20. Our top choice for a twin-size retails for less than $100.
Buying a larger model in a queen-size or a king-size will cost more. Many of the products that we found retail for $75 to $150, but you’ll find some air mattresses that cost even more. Some manufacturers offer models that retail for $300 to $500.
You can get a basic model that sits higher off the ground for between $100 and $300. If you want a more stable and durable model that you can use every night in your own bedroom, you’ll want to spend more.
Frequently Asked Questions
A: While you can use an air mattress as soon as you finish filling it with air, you should consider waiting at least 30 minutes before climbing or sitting on the top. Waiting just a short period of time lets you see if the mattress has the support that you need or if you need to add more air.
A: You should clean an air bed each time you use it and before you put it away. Take the time to brush off any crumbs or debris from the surface of the bed. You can also use a vacuum to remove debris. If the bed feels sticky to the touch or has any stains on the surface, using a wet rag and some soap will clean the bed without damaging it.
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