Can anyone recommend a good quality air bed. I am fed up of buying rubbish off Amazon (Bestway beds), they don't last one camping trip before they start going down. We have two Hi-Gear airbeds that are 6-7 years old and are fine but the new products, even hi-gear just don't last. We are take care of them when in use and pack them away carefully but they still develop leaks.
Any suggestions would be appreciated, ideally we would want a standard good quality air bed not a sims or those huge double height ones!
I bought a double air bed in France last year for E20 in a sale. My camping companian had a bad back and couldn't sleep on camping mats.
It's yellow and has a flock surface, it seems well made and fills the floorspace of a 3 man tent.
Since I don't have an air bed pump am wwilling to part with it.
I'm very much a fan of air beds, and always had really good sleeps on them for many decades of camping, so not the least bit of negativity towards them as a bed, but finding a quality one these days, I don't hold out hope!
We often go away as a crowd of up to a dozen of us, and it's pretty much a certainty that a trip out to the shops to buy a replacement bed is necessary for somebody, at least one or two will fail during our few days stay! Origins of the beds range from 'quality' well known brands to obscure unbranded ones, it doesn't seem to dictate which ones fail!
I'm now cynical and take two with me, plus puncture repair stuff, to ensure I get through my stay with a functioning bed!
First thing to remember is that the PVC material they are made from is not entirely airtight, at a molecular level, air permeates slowly through the material and they deflate over time, so a periodic 'top up' is normal and to be expected.
Secondly, what can be a comfortable inflation at overnight temps can be seam straining overinflation during warm/hot days! Tents interiors can get incredible hot on sunny days (40 odd degrees!), that causes air to expand and that effectively overinflates the bed, couple that with the significant softening of the PVC material at those temps and you have the perfect storm to pop a seam! A lot of people seem to overinflate beds for use anyway, they 'ping' like a drum skin! I always like a little give in mine, that gives more scope for the increased daytime inflation to be tolerated.
As to buying quality? Price is not always much of a guide, with a big brand you pay for the brand name on top of the article itself, not necessarily getting you a better quality bed! I've settled for Aldi/Lidl middle aisle ones, moderately good quality at a good price, AND often a 3 year warranty, so exchange/refund at least if (when?) it does fail.
Reached an age where the old bones protest a bit at the getting up and down from a all so low air bed, so invested in a fold up camp bed, which has yet to be used in anger, as last couple of camping trips cancelled, time will tell if as comfortable, but higher hopes it won't collapse under me!
In our camping days, we found that our airbed had several punctures. Spent ages mending it, put it on the car roof rack. When we arrived at our destination, it wasn't there. I hope a cow in a field at the side of the motorway appreciated it.
It's been a good few years since we needed a camping bed, but by far the most comfortable we had were the Outwell self inflating mats, I think they're called Dreamcatcher nowadays. Not cheap but you do get what you pay for. They also take a bit of getting used to as you're closer to the ground.
I'm glad I've got a caravan. Sorry but my camping days have long gone. For what I remember that all the air beds i used to deflate over a couple of days. Happy Camping.
We use a Vango extra deep double, used it for 2 years now best nites sleep camping and very comfy. Was expensive but worth it. Can't remember the model name of it but it has a built in pump and it detects any pressure loss as automatically tops the pressure up as needed. Only Any good if you are on electric hook up.
Even if there is no puncture, they would still deflate over time if they are made of PVC or other plastics that are permeable to air.
Better quality ones may be laminated or made with plastics that are less permeable to air to minimise air loss, however, I would not trust them not to fail.
Whereas SIM could still be used on top of a camp bed to provide some sort of comfort and insulation even when they leak.
DK
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Quote: Originally posted by dk168 on 04/3/2025
No to airbed, sorry.
Even if there is no puncture, they would still deflate over time if they are made of PVC or other plastics that are permeable to air.
Better quality ones may be laminated or made with plastics that are less permeable to air to minimise air loss, however, I would not trust them not to fail.
Whereas SIM could still be used on top of a camp bed to provide some sort of comfort and insulation even when they leak.
DK
We went from an outwell posada double bed with Outwell 10cm dream catcher Sims was so comfy but took up a lot of room in the trailer.
The air bed is on par if not comfier in my opinion and my other half sleeps much better on the air bed as she suffer with a
Bad back and has done for.years she sleeps better when we are camping on the air bed than she dose in the bed at home, even after spending £1100 on a decent mattress!
When we camped, we used a double airbed - just whatever Argos was selling, no idea what make it was. They lasted enough seasons for us to forget how many years we’d had it. We slept really well on them. (Only stopped camping in a tent because we wanted to tour & pitching / de-rigging took us several hours.)
Worth remembering for those that extoll the virtues of SIMS over air beds - a SIM is only in effect a thin airbed with a bit of foam in it to inflate it instead of using a pump - that's where the 'self inflating' bit comes in! If it gets a puncture, it deflates and becomes ineffective just the same as an air bed! - and quite a number seem to!
The pros and cons of one or other come down to convenience of setting up, but little more.
We have one that we bought in Costco that is great quality. We used to use it when my parents came away with us in the caravan and we gave them the fixed bed and slept in the awning. It was extremely comfortable and has lasted well.
A camp bed would be ideal, but space constraints when travelling are a limiting factor.
I guess for now I will keep buying Amazon airbeds and adding to landfill!
We've had dozens over the years ...
Last 5 years with the best ever, and very comfortable:
From Decathlon ... the inflatable frame and a separate top mattress (slimmish)
The frame units are single beds, but get two and they strap together to make a double ... all visitors has proclaimed them super comfy and they are very hard wearing, plus, allow storage space under the top mattress ... within the inflatable frame Decathlon base
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Air Beds
via mobile 04/3/2025 at 12:33pm
