Raised Air Beds

The first time I used an air bed mattress, I was about 16 years old. I was staying at my grandparent’s condo in Florida. The place was very small, about 500 square feet with only one bedroom. The living room / dining room / kitchen had a hide-a-bed that slept two people.

My parents got the pull out bed and I slept on the bedroom floor on a cheap air mattress. This thing was more like a floating-air-water- sun-tanning-thing. I don’t remember if it had one of those drink holders built in or not. All I can remember was it was very thin and when I would roll over on my side the mattress would compress and I could feel the floor. It was maybe 4 inches thick at best. Not fun to say the least. That was a long 6 night stay. I would nap during the day in the sun to catch up on my sleep.

The next time I used one was about 30 years later, I was staying at a friend’s house because my wood floors were refinished and the house smelled form poly urethane fumes. He had just bought an Intex raised air bed from Costco a few months earlier. It was a queen size airbed that when filled would sit about 14 inches tall. Not bad for getting in and out of bed. The electric pump was efficient enough to fill the airbed in less than 5 minutes. I liked that it was a double-decker style that mimicked a standard box spring and coil mattress. The only negative it had was the lines (or cracks) that ran length-ways were deep enough that you could feel them. I can see why some people place a 4 inch foam mattress pad under the sheet to smooth out those dips. Other than that, I was amazed at how hard and comfortable it was to sleep on the entire night. Much nicer than a couch our sleeping bag on the floor. I’m a light sleeper and I slept almost as well as in my own bed. I used it for 2 nights and was so impressed the next time I was at Costco I bought an air bed mattress like Steve’s for myself. Since then I’ve used it a few times on trips to visit friends. They laugh at me when I bring my own bed. No more cheap air mattress for me!

Here's a way you can inflate yours if the pump ever fails, funny!

I’ve noticed since I bought my airbed, the prices seem to have dropped $30+ or so. I paid over $100 for my Intex raised air bed 3 years ago. It has the reversible electric pump with the velvet flocking on top, not a cheap air mattress. Many of the online sites have much better prices than local stores at least in my area. If you’re in the market for one, make sure you get a double stack style queen size mattress. You may pay a little more but they are very durable and easy to use.

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Other Resources Online

• Get a Good Nights Sleep With a Memory Foam Mattress Pad
• Support for a mattress without a box spring « US-Mattress's Blog
• Intex Raised Downy Queen Airbed with Built-in Electric Pump | Chinook Plaza
• New Foam Mattress Pad Advice « cDigg. Article Digging Gone Mad!

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 12:53 pm and is filed under Air Bed Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.