Air Mattress Reviews, Ratings and Comparisons

About Air Mattress

COMPETITION: See Mattress Type Comparison to get detailed reviews about how Air Mattresses compare to other mattress types.

BASIC INFO: Air mattresses, namely airbeds, are inflatable mattresses using air for main support instead of springs or foam. Users can adjust comfort by adding or removing air with the help of the electric pump.

Overview

Price & Value

Airbeds often charge $500 to $4000+ depending on model, size, and brand. In addition to the initial price, users need to take the long-term cost of paying for replacement parts into consideration which often cost hundreds of dollars.

Lifespan

Airbeds often have a longer lifespan than any other types of mattresses mainly due to airbeds' parts like mechanical parts, pumps and controllers can be replaced by new ones provided by the manufactures.

Ease Of Initial Use

Airbeds often need to be assembled which may take up to 2 hours depending on different models and the number of chambers. Models with more chambers will cost a longer time than other models.

Motion Isolation

Airbeds with two chambers tend to provide superior motion isolation, and sleep number mattresses have been focused on producing beds with adjustable comfort on both sides.

Middle Area

Two air chambers often come with both pros and cons which mean they provide good motion isolation at the consequence of producing middle area uncomfortableness. Since two sides are adjusted with different firmness, the middle will become lumpy.

Air Loss

Since airbeds are mostly composed of air, the air loss problem can be common to see due to faulty air pumps, loose connections, air bladder leaks, and malfunctioning controllers. Air loss may cause discomfort or even back pain, so airbeds need constantly inflating to keep a flat surface and firm setting.

Conforming & Back pain reduction    

The conforming ability of air mattresses falls in between memory foam and innerspring mattresses. Air mattresses perform mediocre regarding back pain reduction, and a few owners report that they may even cause back pain.

Sleeping hot    

Sleeping hot problem mainly happens when the bed uses thicker comfort layers.

Odor & Noise    

A few owners report that air mattress smells like rubber for a few weeks. Airbeds tend to squeak when they are moved and pump noise are also complained.

Edge support  

Many airbed brands adopt edge-to-edge designs to provide some edge support.

Sex suitability    

The middle area uncomfortableness reduces sex suitability to some degree.

Need for topper    

Generally speaking, airbeds with thinner comfort layers have a higher need for toppers.

Different sleep position

• Airbeds are best suited for back sleepers.
• Sider sleepers need airbeds with thicker comfort layers.
• Good support is required for stomach sleepers.

Easy to move, transport    

Since air is the main content of airbeds, so they are much lighter than other mattresses which make the bed easy to move.

Maintenance    

Airbeds need some extra cost for long-term maintenance due to its material manufacturing process.

Warranty

Most airbeds cover a warranty scope of 10-25 years with only the first 2-3 years non-prorated which means owners need to pay about 20% of replacement or repair fees. Know more at Mattress Warranty: All You Need to Know.

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