Air beds?

[embrassezla]

Anyone ever sleep on one of these? I'm thinking about buying one for overnight guests but I want to make sure I get one that's comfortable. Apparently, consumer reports tested air mattresses back in 2004 but not since.

[blueyes]

You mean, you're buying the kittahs a mini-moon bounce. :p (tell me you wouldn't die laughing if P-man and Bean did Battle Royale on one of those things.)

Dean has one which is UBER-comfy and it's an AeroBed. I've slept on it and it's the most tolerable thing out there.

[pisces2473]

Apparently, consumer reports tested air mattresses back in 2004 but not since.
Looks like you've got some work to do!

[pisces2473]

I have one, and I haven't used it in ages. It is a bitch to pump up. If you wind up getting one, get one that's easy to set up and all of that...because chances are, you won't set it up until your guest is ready to sleep, and it'll be late, and you'll be tired, and it's not fun.

[embrassezla]

You mean, you're buying the kittahs a mini-moon bounce. :p (tell me you wouldn't die laughing if P-man and Bean did Battle Royale on one of those things.)

Dean has one which is UBER-comfy and it's an AeroBed. I've slept on it and it's the most tolerable thing out there.
DAHAHA!! Oh god, what a great mental image. Although I should probably be worried of cat claws, this is true. Crap.

[embrassezla]

I have one, and I haven't used it in ages. It is a bitch to pump up.
LULZ. Yep, it looks like you can get em with built in pumps that inflate/deflate the things in mere minutes.

[pisces2473]

Embra, just declaw your cats. ;)

[embrassezla]

Embra, just declaw your cats. ;)
NOH!!

[pisces2473]

NOH!!
Come on, you KNOW I was kidding. :p

I wouldn't do it either. Some airbeds have extra tough exteriors to prevent popping.

[blueyes]

Srsly, AeroBed.

The one Dean's got has a pretty tough exterior which I think even Q would have a hard time piercing. It's also a self-inflatable one - it poofs up in under 3 minutes, if I'm remembering correctly. If you're still uneasy about claws vs. air mattress, you can get a liner-type thing to put over the air mattress when it's fully inflated to add an extra layer of protection.

It is rather small, though - Dean only got a twin sized one for some unfathomable reason. Spring for a queen sized one (at least!).

[embrassezla]

Plus, duct tape fixes pinholes.
That's EXACTLY what I was thinking.

[embrassezla]

The one Dean's got has a pretty tough exterior which I think even Q would have a hard time piercing. It's also a self-inflatable one - it poofs up in under 3 minutes, if I'm remembering correctly. If you're still uneasy about claws vs. air mattress, you can get a liner-type thing to put over the air mattress when it's fully inflated to add an extra layer of protection.

It is rather small, though - Dean only got a twin sized one for some unfathomable reason. Spring for a queen sized one (at least!).
Yeah, I'd be going for a queen, and the liner isn't a bad idea! Someone must make something like that.

[vxmike]

I sleep on an air bed as my permanent bed. It's queen size, probably 18" thick, and has an electronic pump. It pumps fully in under 5 minutes and holds air very well - I haven't had to add air in over three months.
Mine is like this model but without the head-raising part. Very luxurious and quite comfortable. I only paid $50 though.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=191746

[wordsmith]

They're totally comf.

[embrassezla]

I'm reading the reviews on Amazon, and it looks like most of them are prone to slow, hard-to-find leaks, making multiple re-inflations during the night possible. That's no good.

[blueyes]

Ahem, may I point out that the majority of the leaky user reports are from people who HEAVILY use the air mattresses (to the point of being the sole mattress they use)? :p Heavy use isn't what these bad boys are for - but for occassional use, they excel.

[embrassezla]

Yeah, this would be very intermittent use, but could be several days in a row. Lots of the reviews reported air loss on the first few uses.

My dad will be staying with us next month (along with my mom & sister), so he'll be the one using the mattress, and he likes a FIRM bed. It would be crappy if he had to reinflate the thing during the night.

[blueyes]

I say give him kittahs and he won't even KNOW he's sleeping on an air mattress.

...mostly b/c he won't be sleeping.

[vxmike]

Ahem, may I point out that the majority of the leaky user reports are from people who HEAVILY use the air mattresses (to the point of being the sole mattress they use)? :p Heavy use isn't what these bad boys are for - but for occassional use, they excel.

I've been sleeping on mine for almost a year now and I have no leaks at all. Haven't even had to inflate once in the last several months.

The key is to buy a high quality air bed.

[embrassezla]

The key is to buy a high quality air bed.
Well, this is kind of obvious, right? I mean, the real question is how to determine which ones are high quality.

[wordsmith]

Right, and I feel like inconsistent manufacturing makes that pretty tough sometimes. Be it product, car, attire, shoes, whatever, you will get glowing testimonials from some camps on an item that just as many people report is a piece of junk. You could probably hodl up the same air mattress and have equally vocal camps saying, "It's awesome, I slept on one for five years while resting it on a bed of hot volcanic rock and shards of glass, and not one leak!!" and "It's crap, it deflated nearly AS I was blowing it up."

[embrassezla]

That's exactly what I'm reading on the Amazon reviews. Half the reviewers love it; the other half sprang a leak on first use. Argh!

[steph78]

Let us know when you pick one and tell us how it does - I am sort of passively looking for one as well, and if you strike gold I may go with your recommendation! I am thinking that would be a good option to use when my husband's brother and his fam come to visit us once a year or so - they have four kids, and we definitely don't have beds for six extra people in our house! The littlest ones are probably good in sleeping bags, but the 12-year old might appreciate a bed, even if it's inflatable. And I'd like one that is high quality enough that adults would be comfortable on it.