While earning her degrees, Grace worked in research laboratories for smart textiles and nanotechnology and held internships at Open Style Lab and Rent the Runway. These inflatable beds can stand up to everyday use, camping trips and more. In past testing, some of our tall testers disliked the built-in pillow because they felt that it pushed them too far down the mattress, causing their feet to hang off the end. Airbed mattresses generally use either foam, latex or some combination of both in order to keep your mattress’s comfort rating highly customizable. The best way to guarantee yourself a great deal is to make your purchase during an annual sales event, as stated above.
We do wish that the carrying case included a handle to make it easier to transport around the house or in and out of the car while camping. Like other mattresses we tried, it did move an inch or two when we jumped on it during stability testing. We suspect that a grippier bottom or more flocking would help the mattress hold its position better. And with its weight capacity of 600 pounds, this is also a great option for couples.
The Coleman SupportRest Elite Double High Airbed with Built-in Pump was the previous runner-up in this guide. It had a noticeable dip on the surface after eight hours with the 125-pound weight test, bestway twin air mattress and it arrived without a patch to fix any leaks. Before you use your mattress for the first time, stretch it out over a 48-hour period by fully inflating it and continuing to top it up periodically.
The top of the mattress has a powder-blue flocked velvety material that keeps sheets from slipping around, provides a softer feel, and minimizes the impression one might have of sleeping on a pool float. We had no problem getting our queen-size fitted sheets to grip the mattress snugly, which wasn’t always the case with other testers. We also like that the SoundAsleep comes in five sizes (including full and twin XL), compared with the King Koil, our runner-up, which comes in only three. The most important qualities an air mattress has are reliability and comfort. No air mattress is going to be as comfortable as a real mattress, but the SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress comes as close as possible—it doesn’t lose air overnight and feels supportive. In 2017, my husband and I slept (uncomfortably) on an air mattress in our basement for 21 consecutive nights as we waited for construction to be completed in our home.
The queen-size King Koil model is slightly larger than the Sound Asleep mattress, which made it difficult to fit a pad and sheets over it. (This will, however, vary depending on the sizes of your bedding, which varies from brand to brand.) Keep this in mind if you have smaller queen-size sheets. There’s no such thing as a perfect air mattress, but we’ve been testing the SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress since 2016, and it still holds air after many, many uses. How long your air mattress will last will depend on how much you use it. Regular and consistent use offers more opportunities for punctures or holes to develop in your mattress. Alternatively, if you only use it once a year, you can expect to hang on to it for a long time.
While not all air mattresses are equipped with this feature, the Insta-Bed Raised Air Mattress is our top recommendation for those that are. In our overnight evaluation, this option bestway twin air mattress lost less than 1 inch of height while holding 100 pounds of weight. So if sleeping on a deflated mattress is a concern, the dual pump is very effective at preventing that.