So, I've always had a bit of a portable lifestyle. I don't have much furniture. Even when I had a 1 bedroom apartment, I had an entire living area that was empty. My bedroom consisted of a futon. As for clothes, I use plastic drawer bins I got at Wal-Mart. Only real furniture I have is a desk which I have all my computer junk on. My nomadic philosophy is "if it takes more than 1 car filled trip to move...then I own to much shit."
In moving, though, the bed was always a pain in the ass. I grew up on a waterbed, and it wasn't exactly firm or easily portable. But, it was comfortable (as long as the heater worked and it didn't leak). I also slept on the floor, futons and regular mattresses over the course of my adult life. The futon was semi portable (it was a single-sized frame), and the mattresses were actually quite comfortable. But, the organic/cotton-filled original quickly lost it's cusiony'ness. You could literally feel the boards of the wooden futon unit I was sleeping on after a few months. I got a synthetic fiber cushion, and it was all right. It still lost its cushiony'ness after a couple of years, but for $150 it was a pretty good deal.
I eventually got rid of the futon and inherited an old bed. It was gently used, and was really only being given away by my mother since she wanted a bigger bed, not because it was bad. The bed was ok, but it was really firm, to the point of almost being painful. It also had a nasty habit of squeaking when I'd turn over, which would sometimes wake me up. So, after several years with it, I got rid of it recently. (I free-cycled it on CraigsList to some guy who's using it to upgrade his daughter from a Twin to a Full ... it feels good knowing it'll be put to use instead of just tossed in landfill with mileage still left on it. However, this also underscores the longevity of mattresses ... they do last and can be a good investment if you get the right one, since 1/3 of your life is spent unconscious on it. They're just not very portable.)
And thus, I had to look for another bedding solution. Since I like to stay portable (and remembering how much of a pain in the ass it was to move the mattress set last time I did), I decided to try an air bed. However, I'm not going over-board and getting one of those Sleep Number whatevers that costs as much as a regular mattress (and is basically like a regular mattress except with air bladders instead of springs). I'm going cheap. Or rather, inexpensive. ("Cheap" is something that cost little, and is or poor quality. "Inexpensive" is something that cost little, but is higher quality ... a "good deal".)
The goal was as follows ...
1) has to be less than $100
2) has to be durable enough to be used every day (most air beds are just meant for occasional guest/company use)
3) has to be comfortable enough to be used every day
4) I'd like it to last at least a year (but not really getting my hopes up, as they all eventually leak, so I hear)
The biggest issues, though, (as far as I'm concerned) with an air bed is...
a) the inner air takes on the ambient temp of the room. Thus if you're running the AC during summer, the bed will get ice cold and you'll feel like you're sleeping on an ice cube. This isn't the kind of cold that can be defeated by just adding more blankets on top. This is like laying on the ground outside, with the cold seeping into you, penetrating your body so when you wake up, you feel like your very soul has been frozen. Likewise, if the room is hot, the bed will get hot (especially with you sleeping on it). So, you could wake up in a pool of sweat. Regular beds / mattresses do a good job of ventilating air and staying cool/warm, but not overly so ... just comfortable. Air beds have a hard time doing that by themselves. (So, you have to get creative).
b) air beds are prone to leaks. Some just lose some air over time naturally. Others bust a seam, or some how get these little pin holes (even though you're extra careful) and just start leaking. Even with all the science and technology we have these days, they can't make an air bed that eventually won't leak. Damn.
With all that in mind, it was time to go shopping.
~~~
Mistake #1 ... I just headed to Wal-Mart and started looking at the air mattresses without really researching them online first. However, with my past experience with them, I figured I'd bypass the "made for house guests" variety and go straight to the camping section. Surely the camping air mattresses must a) have evolved by now, and b) be more durable than occasional house-hold air beds.
Well, they had some interesting options. I was looking at queen size beds, since they're long enough to fit me. (My old mattress was a Full, and it was just short enough to where either my head or feet would hang off...damn annoying. However, never had any complaints during or after sex.) Also, the queen size was meant to fit 2 people, so the had higher durability standards. I figured if I got a queen size, but only slept 1 person on it, it might increase the life of the product.
The 2 options I found were a Coleman Queen size quickbed, and an Ozark Trail queen size bed. They had single-layer versions which were low to the ground, but I decided to go with one of the elevated versions...because, you know, I wanted there to be MORE seams involved that could potentially go bad earlier on. Actually, I just wanted an elevated bed. It's nice to sleep on something that feels like a regular bed. Well, I decided to get the $40 elevated (dual-layer) Ozark Trail one, because it was less expensive than the $55 Coleman, and it had a built in pillow thingy (the head end of the mattress was elevated like a pillow).
Mistake #2 ... the damn thing didn't come with a pump. So, i had to pay $15 extra for a pump. After that, it was about the same price as the Coleman version, so price was no longer a consideration. The Coleman was flat all across, so I thought the Ozark Trail one would be cool with the head-rest thingy.
Mistake #3 ... The head-rest thingy fucking sucks. For starters, you air the bed up and lay on it, it's like putting your head on a piece of wood. It curves just perfectly so it pushes right into that part at the back of your skull right where your spine comes out ... you know, the part that gets annoying when something not-so-comfortable pushes against it. Wonderful. I put my pillow on top, and it's finally bearable. However, I'm elevated a bit, as if I'm sitting in some damn, elderly Craft-Matic 2 adjustable bed.
Well, first night's sleep I learn several things from the experiment ...
1) Even with advances in air beds (flocking on the top to keep sheets / you from sliding around and to provide insulation), it's still damn cold as always. I woke up after only 1 hour of sleep, freezing my ass off. I had to go take a hot shower to warm back up (my roommate likes to sleep with the AC on high during the summer, so the bed got pretty damn cold.)
2) That head rest thing makes it very, VERY uncomfortable to sleep on your side or stomach. On a flat bed, you can just wad up or toss away your pillow to do so. On this thing, you have this huge lump in the way, forcing your head and neck into positions that probably wouldn't be healthy for you unless a Chiropractor was supervising the whole operation.
Ok, lesson learned. I need to ...
a) get rid of that damn head-rest
b) get something to warm the bed up (or at least insulate me)
Well, I went back to the store and got a "made for home" air bed for basically $100. (It was $99, so it was still under $100. But, add in tax, and I basically broke my under $100 rule.) It came with its own pump, however it doesn't have a universal nozzle on the bed. So, if the pump goes out, you're screwed. However (there's a lot of addendum's, see) the pumps are known to outlast the beds, so I wasn't really worried about the pump.
This was a queen size Simmons Beautyrest Pillow-Top Sky Rise. Again, an elevated bed, since it's nice to sleep up off the floor and not have to do a squat in the morning to get off the bed. By this time, I had already researched beds online, and there wasn't much in the way of reviews save for customer reviews on Amazon.com or such.
However, a few sites did make some good points...
1) Materials Make the Difference ... Get a PVC or rubber/latex air mattress, since they're sturdier and should last longer. Vinyl ones will stretch out over time and eventually lose their "tone". (Well, shit, the Simmons I just got was a Vinyl one. Crap. The Coleman, which I was debating on getting vs. the Simmons, was PVC & heavy-duty. And 1/2 the cost of the Simmons. Crap again. Live and learn.)
2) Set Realistic Expectations ... Reading customer reviews...the bed will eventually leak...get over it. It might be tomorrow, it might be 6 months from now. But it seems it will only last up to a year if you're lucky. Air beds are normally only for temporary use; they're not exactly designed to be filled & used year-round. (Well, at least used ... some can stand staying blown up, as long as no extra pressure is on them daily, they'll last a long time. But adding 200lbs+ weight onto it daily adds pressure to the seams, and that's usually where the structural failure occurs. So, expecting a product meant for casual use to be used full-time, is going a bit over-board.) You have to take this with a grain of salt. Some folks aren't exactly the most tidy individuals in the world, nor do they have the most common sense. I imagine that some live like pigs, and have all kinds of crap on their floor the bed is sitting on, some of which could poke a hole in it given time. Others are probably treating it like a regular mattress, having marathon humping sessions with their gf/bf (or orgies...whatever), or using it like a trampoline, or flopping down on it hard, or they're overweight and think "we'll I'm 30lbs under the weight limit, so this should hold me forever". Give me a fucking break. The problem with customer expectations is that they're varied and subjective. Some customers think a $50 air bed should last forever. Others are elated that it only loses a little air after 3 months. I'm a tidy person, and not over-weight (by much .. 215lbs on a 6' frame), and got beds that hold 650lbs. So, I'm expecting something in between. I don't expect the bed to bust a seem on the first night, but I'll probably expect it to start leaking sometime in 3-6 months. Unfortunately, the vinyl Simmons one will probably start contorting before then since it's Vinyl. So, with those expectations, I'll be annoyed if it pops in a week (bad quality), but I won't feel so bad if it degrades in 6 months.
3) Don't Inflate 100% ... One reviewer had some very good advice. He said the first and fatal mistake most folks make is to fully inflate the bed right off the bat (which already taxes the structural integrity), then flop down on it which overloads the already fully inflated bed. He said to inflate it 80% of the way (so it's still partially spongy), and try it out. Inflate a little more, little by little, until you get the firmness you want. But don't fill it to 100% Shamu the Whale inflation level, then flop 2 big folks down on it and expect it to last more than a week w/o busting a seam. That's good advice. I think I inflated the Ozark Trail a bit much the first time, so sleeping on it as-is was a bit lumpy. The Simmons I just inflated about 85%, then rolled onto it to try it out. It was so cushy and nice, I left it like that the first night. After the first night, it was dipping a little low for my taste, so I added a little more air and now it's good. But I didn't fill it to full and then flop down on it. If you fill it up, and without anyone being on it, you press down on it and it doesn't really give much ... you're over-filling it.
4) Get a damn mattress overlay in addition to a mattress pad. A mattress pad is usually put over the mattress as extra stain protection and to provide a little more cushy. But a mattress overlay is usually some kind of 1 or 2 inch thick foam/latex/whatever pad you lay down first, then put your mattress pad on top of in order to a) add a lot more cushy, b) add insulation between you and the mattress, and c) even out the lumps in the mattress (since some air beds have weird ridges, circular indentations, etc from structural supports). I got some "cheap" $35 memory foam + egg-crate foam pad and tossed it on the Simmons. This thing insulates very well, and makes it feel like I'm sleeping on a normal bed.
5) When all else fails, use a heating blanket. Now, nobody else has said this. I didn't read this in some review. I just came up with it on my own. My brother got me a queen-sized electric blanket for one Christmas, and it's been one of the best gifts I've ever received. It's nursed me through some really bad colds/flus, and has always been an asset in winter. What I did was layer it on top of the air bed, then put the foam overlay on top of it, then put a comforter down (as a mattress pad), then layer bedding on top. This is really comfortable just as-is. But if the bed gets cold, I just turn the electric blanket on the lowest setting, which emits a very low, gentle heat, to not only warm up the bed's air, but to provide a warming layer between me and the bed. Now, the PROBLEM with this is that the bed is vinyl and the foam pad is like polyurethane or something. Both of which are known to be flammable when exposed to extreme heat. I don't plan on cranking the blanket up to "the sun is scorching the earth" level, but I am a bit concerned about the fire hazard I've just layered between two flammable layers of plastic/synthetic bedding. I once messed around with a cigarette lighter and a drinking straw, and accidentally melted the plastic onto the top of my finger. It's not pleasant. It burns like a mother fucker, and it keeps on burning because you have plastic on top of the wound. I really don't want to end up a plastic-covered tostito. So far, I haven't needed to use it. However, it's not winter yet. I was going to try turning the blanket on during the day when I'm awake and can monitor it to see how it does. I highly doubt it will catch the bed on fire, but I'm still concerned it could weaken the structural integrity of the air mattress, since it might weaken the seams. If it works out great, though, then it'd be like having a heated water bed.
6) It's ok if you have to add a little more air to the mattress several times the first week or so. Again, from the reviewer that says not to 100% inflate the bed. These beds are made out of plastics or rubbery materials. They're going to stretch a bit until they're "broken in", much like putting on jeans right out of the washer that are tight until they're worn a bit and loosen up. It's natural for the bed to stretch out a little when first used several times, thus increasing in volume. This makes you think it's losing air, but actually it still has the same air in it, it's just got more area to put it now. Just break out the pump and air it up a little more until you're back in business. You might have to do this a few times during the first week or so that you have it (depends on the material and how much pressure the bed is under). Now, if the bed loses like 1/3 of its volume in 1 night, that's probably a problem. You should take that one back for an exchange or refund. But, it's ok if you wake up and it's dipping a little more than previously. Over time, it'll naturally lose air, too, so expect to add more air occasionally.
7) Practical shopping advice dictates NOT buying a product that looks like it's been re-sealed. This is just common sense. If you're looking at air beds, and you notice several of the boxes on the shelves look like they've been taped closed by the store (IE: the original packaging has been tampered with or re-sealed), then it's a good sign that maybe somebody has previously used that one and returned it for some reason. Maybe there's someone out there that just didn't want it. Or some cheap-skate got it when company came for the weekend, then returned it after they left to get their money back (you know, like some chicks do with nice dresses). If it's just 1 box out of several that looks like this, then just pick one of the untampered boxes. But if you notice like half the boxes look resealed ... move on to a different product. There's something fishy going on with that one.
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So, it's an experiment. The goal is to keep it inexpensive and portable, but still feasible for every day, comfortable use. I almost feel like a "It's the 21st century ... WTF?" situation, since, well, it's the 21st century, and yet we still have these air beds that fall apart too easily. Damn, we're supposed to be in this whole "space-age materials used by NASA" bullshit era of advancement, but we have air beds that spring leaks, have to be treated very gently and even then won't last past a year (when, conveniently, the warranty usually expires.)
I haven't taken the Ozark Trail bed back yet. I was going to see how the Simmons does, and if it springs a leak in 5 days, then I'll take it back for a refund, and exchange the Ozark Trails one for the Coleman at the same time. However, folks haven't given the Coleman good reviews either. Of course, like I said, you have to take that with a grain of salt. Some of these folks have over-inflated (hmmm) expectations, like over-filling it, tossing it down on broken beer bottles by the camp fire, and then two 350lb hefers fucking on it all night like it's some back-alley hooker mattress, and bitching when it busts a leak. Mine is kept indoors, on carpet, and just has one 215lb guy on a 650lb weight limit mattress.
I'll see how this goes and report in later (like after several months), seeing as how there's little long-term reviews for these mattresses. (Sure, folks are elated the first week they have it...but 6 months from now? I may just be pissing away $100 every 4 months, in which case it would just be worth investing in a decent, normal, latex mattress which is pricey, but will last 20 years).
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EDIT (Jan 1st, 2009):
So, it's been almost 6 mo's or so, and the Simmons Beauty Rest is still inflated and working out. I keep the floor vaccuumed, and I've only inflated the thing a few more times. Once the material breaks in, you really don't have to re-air it much. I think I add a little air every month or so.
Again, I'm a 200lb guy sleeping on a load-tested 650lb queen-size mattress. So, it's not like I'm greatly taxing the bed. And that was my intent. Likewise, the vinyl really hasn't misshapen much. The bottom layer bulges out on the sides a little more than when I first got it, but that's because the material has given a little. But, it's not like it's really noticeable or problematic.
My biggest issue with the bed is that even when fairly inflated, I end up with shoulder problems while sleeping on my side. That's due to the way I sleep, though. I like to curl my arm up under my head when sleeping on my side. When sleeping on the air bed, there's a little bit of a valley in the middle (not much) which kinks my shoulder. Over time, this has caused a bit of hyperextension in the socket or something, and my shoulder gets painful. At first, I thought I pulled something at the gym. But then I slept on a regular mattress for a week at one person's place, and I thought their mattress was humped in the middle. This made me realize that, no, their mattress isn't humped in the middle, my air bed is just dipped in the middle some. So, sleeping on their mattress which was firm and straight flat, my shoulder could countour down properly without hyperextending like it does on the air mattress. Within a week of sleeping on that regular, flat mattress, my shoulder pain was practically gone.
So, that's an issue if you sleep like I do. If you sleep on your back, it's a non-issue. However, I do make sure I avoid sleeping on my shoulder like that now while on my air bed. And, the next air bed I look for, I'm going to make sure it has more of a flatter top when inflated. I think the problem I'm having is just from the way the Simmons Beauty Rest is built...it has rows running down the middle, and an air ridge around the edges. This makes it sturdy, but it also seems to promote a bit of the dip in the middle. I didn't notice any dipping in the middle when I slept on the Ozark Trails camping mattress.
So, again ... opinions are subjective. Others bitch about air beds leaking first night, but I've had mine for 6 months or so and haven't had bad leaks or major issues. The bed is still up, I sleep on it, and I just re-adjust the air in it once a month. No big deal. And for $100, I'm definitely getting my money's worth.
I've read more advice from folks who've slept on air beds for years, and here's another tip that's handy...
* When you first get the bed, air it up 80% like I said, but don't flop on it at all. Give the material (vinyl, PVC, etc) time to relax and stretch. Basically, check it after an hour, add a bit more air, let it sit for another hour, more air, etc, and then after 3 hours or so you can roll onto it and see how comfortable it is. Some folks pop that sucker out of the box, air it up to bursting, flop down on it, and since the material hasn't had time to relax & break in, it's straining and can cause seems to burst/leak, etc. This isn't something written in air bed instructions, but should be, since it does help. Even after storing the air bed for a while, it's good to go through this "break in" exercise again, since a deflated, stored air bed can lose it's "tone".
Take care of your air bed and it will take care of you.
ONE MORE EDIT ...
I decided to splurge on an extra-comfy memory foam mattress topper, the kind I was sleeping on for that one week. Your mattress, regardless of whether it's a real one, an air one, whatever ... is really just a foundation. You can layer all kinds of shit on it to make it as comfortable as you like.
For an air bed, I recommend at least a cotton/poly mattress pad to help cushion and insulate from the air bed itself, which can get cold. But adding a good-quality mattress topper, those foamy things that go between the mattress and the mattress pad, can help add a lot of extra comfort.
The original one I got was a cheap POS from Wal-Mart. I realize that now. Wal-Mart is ok when you need cheap things really quickly. But, Wal-Mart only sells cheap shit. The clothing brand they sell wears out after 6 months. The shoes they sell wear out after 6 months. The furniture they sell is that cheap screw-together particle board crap, or real wood that feels light and cheap, and is designed to tear up easy. Wal-Mart specializes in selling cheap shit, and they do so by selling low-quality shit. It's not "inexpensive", which would be low-cost, high-quality stuff, it's cheap, which is low-cost, low-quality garbage.
The egg-crate foam thingy I got has a paltry 1/4 inch memory foam layer on it. Regular foam (the egg-crate part of the topper) quickly degrades and wears out. And, after researching, not all "memory foam" is made the same. Tempur-Pedic is very high quality, high density, medical-grade memory foam ... the de-factor standard of memory foam. It's also expensive as hell. To get a 2" queen size mattress topper, you'd spend ~$900+. For that price, you could buy a fucking mattress.
Well, needless to say the egg-crate/cheap memory foam thing I got was a waste of $30. It's quickly worn out. There's noticeable indentation and ripples in the middle, which gets the most wear and weight. Wal-Mart sells "higher quality" memory foam mattress toppers, but they're cheap imitation memory foam. Basically, good-quality memory foam has a higher density (like 4-5lbs for a 12"x12"x12" block). The ones sold at Wal-Mart...and Target for that matter ... are only like 3lb density. They're cheap crap, low density, and low density wears out quickly. Some are, like the egg-crate foam thing I got, a thin layer of memory foam on top of a thick layer of regular, crappy foam. Again, Wal-Mart stuff is designed to quickly wear out, bringing you back to buy it over, and over and over again. You don't want that. A good-quality memory foam mattress topper should last you years, not A YEAR, so avoid cheap-o Wal-Mart and Target. (I get shoes at Wal-Mart, though, because their cheap and also because they do wear out quickly. In about 6 mo's, shoes have gotten sort of nasty and odory, so it's time to chuck them anyways. However, good-quality dress shoes, which Wal-Mart does NOT sell, have leather insoles, which don't get odory. I get sneakers and casual shoes at Wal-Mart, but good-quality dress shoes I get at quality shoe outlet stores ... Giorgio Brutini, etc. You get "dress" shoes at Wal-Mart if you're working fast food or cheap retail sales, but if you work in an office, pop the $50 for a good pair of dress shoes which will last years if taken care of.)
Anyways, I decided to check out Kohls, which is sort of like Ross, where they sell higher quality, name-brand things for cut-rate. (Basically, retail stores hand off their over-priced crap to outlet stores, and if it doesn't sell there, it ends up at a "bargain basement" store like Ross or Kohls. It's out-of-date stuff by the time it gets there, but some things you don't need to be current/fad on ... like a memory foam mattress topper.) Kohls had a higher-quality memory foam brand name, Absolute Comfort. They had a 2" queen memory foam mattress topper normally $350 on sale for $150 (basically getting rid of their excess stock due to holidays). It's real memory foam, it's actually queen-size (unlike other places which say they sell a queen-size and it turns out to be the smaller, full size instead). It's a little less dense than the Tempur-pedic foam (I used to have a Tempur-pedic pillow, so I can tell the difference), but it's definitely many steps up from the cheap-o egg-crate foam topper I've got.
So, even though you're sleeping on an air bed doesn't mean you're a homeless bum. You get a good-quality air bed for $100 that's durable and holds air in (EG: Coleman camping bed, or the Simmons that I got). You get a queen-size for a single person, that way you're not pushing the load-tested amount and over-straining the bed. You spend the extra money to get a good-quality mattress topper, pad and electric blanket ... about $200-300 for the topper, $50 for the pad, and $50 for the electric blanket. You get some nice 300+ thread-count cotton sheets ... ~$40-50. Basically the topper is the most expensive, but it makes the most difference. In the end, you may be sleeping on an air bed, but it'll feel like you're sleeping on a real bed, and for way less money. And, you can always get rid of the air bed and get a normal bed, while keeping the topper to use on it. The topper really is a good investment, since it's very insulating on the air bed, and with a cotton mattress pad on top of it, it'll keep your temperature balanced as if you're on a real mattress.
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