Sometimes house guests can leave your house feeling cramped, especially when it comes to sleeping arrangements. That’s where air mattresses come in.
Consumer Reports says its latest tests of air mattresses found you don’t have to sacrifice comfort to get a good night’s sleep. Testers looked at both double and single height air mattresses, which is an important distinction you’ll want to consider.
“Double height mattresses tend to cost a little bit more but they’re easier to get out of compared to single height mattresses,” said Haniya Rae, Consumer Reports home editor.
Testers weigh, measure, inflate and deflate both types of mattresses. Then they get down to what’s really important: the deflection test. Testers place a weighted disc on the air mattress then measure how much the mattress sinks. The more it sinks, the less support you have.
Mattresses with a small amount of deflection provide the most support.
Consumer Reports found not all double height mattresses deliver. The $160 King Koil sank almost six inches.
“Not only is the King Koil the most expensive mattress that CR tested, it sank the most in the deflection tests. It also is the heaviest mattress so if you’re trying to move it around your house it can be a little inconvenient,” said Rae.
In the end the Simmons BeautyRest double height air mattress for $110 is Consumer Report’s top-rated mattress.
If a single height mattress will do consider the Coleman for $45. It performs well and stores easily.
Another word of advice?
“You want to buy an air mattress that comes with a pump so you’re not scrambling at the last minute when guests come over trying to blow it up yourself,” Rae suggested.
Consumer Reports says you might want to keep pets like cats and dogs and anything sharp or pointed away from the air mattress.
In its tests it took very little force to puncture a hole in any of the air mattresses.
