Dream Mattress

Abstract quiet crescent illustration in violet and pale lilac on white — decorative header for Air Mattress ' Airbed Reviews, from the Spec Sheet

Air mattresses and airbeds: height, pump, and how long it holds air

An air mattress is a PVC or TPU bladder with a pump. For a guest it is a bed for a week; for a campsite it is insulation from the ground. The specification sheet is a height, a pump, a weight rating and a material, and the last two predict whether it is still inflated in the morning.

What the category is

Raised airbeds stand 18 to 22 inches, the height of a real bed, with a built-in electric pump, for guests. Low airbeds at 8 to 10 inches pack smaller and take an external pump. Camping mattresses and sleeping pads are thinner, lighter and insulated, and are rated by R-value. Most are PVC; the better ones use TPU or a laminated fabric that stretches less and smells less.

How to read the spec sheet

Height: 18 inches or more is a bed you get out of like a bed; 8 to 10 is a bed on the floor. Double-height models are two chambers stacked, and the sheet says whether the top chamber inflates separately.

Pump: built-in electric (mains) is the guest-room convenience; a built-in rechargeable pump adds camping use; an external or foot pump means the bed is lighter and slower. Inflation time in minutes is on the good sheets.

Weight rating: 300 pounds is common on a queen and is the total, not per person; 600 on the heavier-duty models. It is the figure that keeps two adults off the floor.

Material and internal structure: PVC thickness in gauge, a flocked top for sheets to grip, and the internal support — I-beams, coils or fibre-tech beams — that keeps the surface flat. TPU and multi-layer laminates stretch less, which is what “holds air” actually means.

Size: twin, full, queen, and whether the queen is a true 60 by 80 or a few inches short, which matters for fitted sheets.

Camping pads quote R-value (3 to 4 for three seasons), packed size and weight, and an R-value is the whole reason to choose one over a guest airbed.

Who it suits

A raised built-in-pump airbed for guests a few nights a year; a low airbed for a tent with a car nearby; a sleeping pad for anyone carrying it; a heavy-duty rated bed for two adults.

Who should skip it

Anyone sleeping on it nightly: an air mattress is not a mattress, and a cheap foam bed or a topper on a futon is better for the spine and the money.

Where to start

Or answer four questions and let the mattress finder narrow the 122 to the ones that fit how you sleep.

Six of the 122 air mattresses & airbeds mattresses and the things you sleep on reviewed on this site, one per model, across manufacturers. Every review is written from the manufacturer’s published specifications — how, and what that leaves out.

All 122 air mattresses & airbeds mattress reviews

Newest first. Consumables, accessories and parts that were once filed here are excluded.