Hi-Gear Deluxe Single Air Bed with Built-in Foot Pump and Raised Pillow, Single Air Mattress, Single Inflatable Bed, Ideal for Camping and Festivals, Camping Equipment, Grey, One Size

Product Information

The main difference between an air mattress and an air bed is that the former is designed to be used indoors, while the latter is for outdoor use. What is the lifespan of an air bed? I may not have my priorities right, but the first thing I wanted to do when inflating the Intex was to give it a stroke. Its top layer of wonderfully smooth fabric feels good to touch. Team that with the vertical lines spanning the bed’s length, and the Intex looks and feels very enticing to sleep on. Whether you're off on a family camping trip, heading to a festival with your friends, have unexpected house guests, or you're just planning on having a cosy night in your living room watching Netflix, having the right air bed is essential. Whether it's a single, double, or something a little bigger, the following factors are non-negotiable if you want to guarantee a good night's sleep: comfort, quality, and materials.

Supplied in a carry bag that’s around the size of a pillow, this camping mat has two valves to make inflating and (importantly) deflating super simple. If you wait for an hour, air will naturally be drawn inside and it will just need a few big breaths to top it up to the firmness you like – or, if time is tight, it doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes to inflate manually. It can also be clipped to a second mattress to make a double, which is a well thought out bonus. Air beds range from simple air-filled lilo to ones that look like beds in size and height. Look for built-in pillows and good edge support to stop you rolling out of bed. ‘The outer casing can be made from vinyl, PVC or rubber and the base should be tough,’ says Jessica Alexander.

Air bed FAQs

READ NEXT: The best inflatable tents to buy The best air mattresses and sleeping pads you can buy in 2023 1. Snugpak Air Mat with Built-in Foot Pump: Best lightweight easy inflation air mattress That got us thinking though, that we’re looking at every possible item from Hi-Gear so it would be good to narrow our search down even further and only look at Hi-Gear branded products within the Double Airbeds category. The cost of Hi-Gear Double Airbeds

Price – as you’d expect the price of a product can be an instantly recognisable factor on what sort of quality you can expect. Whoever came up with the phrase “you get what you pay for” pretty much hit the nail on the head. Whilst it’s not always the case and there are many bargains to be had, you can as a general rule, expect the higher priced products to offer better quality than a the cheapest option. We’ll dive into the price of Hi-Gear Hi Rise Foam King Size Air Bed in more detail in a moment.The top surface can be a soft, non-slip material, for example, brushed cotton. Some contain additional comfort materials such as a layer of memory foam. Sometimes the inside of the mattress is divided into chambers - either vertically or horizontally arranged - to ensure better support.’ One of the most common worries for would-be campers is whether they’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep in a tent – after all, a family holiday or a festival weekend isn’t much fun if you’re not getting proper rest. And the best way to make sure you sleep well in the great outdoors is on a decent air bed. I chose a range of double, king and queen air beds from the likes of Argos, Decathlon, Dreams and Active Era that have built-in pumps and can be manually pumped up too. I rated each air bed on its design, warmth, comfort, portability and assembly. I took into consideration pillow and edge support, how easy it was to get in and off the bed and whether it came with extras such as a puncture patch or storage bag.

The raised sides, to stop you rolling out at night, are quite thin compared to other air beds I tried, but this does give you more surface area to sleep on – something my 6ft partner Daniel, who also tested the bed, appreciated. My tester friend Tina also pointed out that she liked the feel of ‘wave beam’ structure on the top, as it made her feel secure.

The best air mattresses and sleeping pads you can buy in 2023

I slept comfortably on this bed overnight and didn’t need to inflate it in the morning. A two-minute bounce from Bethany and William soon changed this, but overall I was impressed at how well it retained its firmness. There was the odd squeak when I turned from side to side, but I managed to dampen this with an extra blanket on the bed. When buying Double Airbeds, the quality of the product is going to be one of the factors that you really scrutinise before you commit to buying. To give that price some context we then looked at all of the products available from Go Outdoors in the Double Airbeds category. We found 6 items in total. What’s the price of Double Airbeds? Much like the Dreamboat Double from Outwell, this mattress is not compact or lightweight, but what you lose in portability, you gain in plush, 10cm-deep foam padding and a generous layer of air.

Most manufacturers advise that children under eight should not sleep on an air bed. Each design will also have a maximum weight capacity for the user. The Bestway Fortech design has a total weight capacity of 350kg (55 stone), for example. The Touchxel seemed a little noisier than the average air bed I tested, but this may be down to the fact that at the time of inflation it was late and I was tired. It’s constructed with 42 air coils for comfort, but I found the grooves on the top layer a little less inviting than some of the more streamlined designs. These grooves do provide grip, however, and kept me securely in place during the night. If you’re looking for a blow-up mattresses for the great outdoors, you can discover more in our feature on best air beds for camping. For this review, we’ve mainly focussed on large air beds with built-in electric pumps. There is some crossover: respected camping brands such as Vango, Bestway, Hi Gear and Intex also offer blow-up beds for home use that have the height of a standard bed and are roomy enough for two.

A good air mattress will transform how well you sleep outdoors – here are the best mattresses and pads for any budget

Air chambers: Air beds with vertical air chambers are more comfortable because they work to distribute the weight. It’s worth noting that while air chambers that run side to side look more comfortable, they can sag when you lie down. Height: A taller mattress is likely to be more comfortable, as it has more air, but, of course, it will be more cumbersome. So, if portability is important, you may want to consider a thinner air bed.