Air Mattresses

Custom comfort is the main advantage

Air mattresses aren't as popular as innerspring or foam mattresses, but they do offer some advantages over more traditional beds. Air mattresses sold for everyday use look much like innerspring beds on the surface, but they have inflatable air chambers rather than springs under the foam cushioning. The main benefit to these beds is that the firmness is adjustable, so if medium-firm feels too soft but firm feels too hard, it's possible to get something in between. Some air mattresses have two chambers that can be adjusted separately, so that the two sides of the bed can be set to different levels -- a major benefit for two people who have different preferences as to firmness. If your partner likes a firm mattress and you like a soft mattress, no one has to suffer; you can each adjust your own side to your liking.

When you hear "air mattress" you may think of inflatable guest beds such as the AeroBed (*Est. $55 and up, queen size), but these are not reviewed here as they are not meant to replace a regular bed. (ConsumerSearch has a separate report on this type of air bed.) These can be inflated and deflated as needed. Chiropractors say that inflatable beds don't offer enough support for long-term use.

The most well-known air mattress is the Select Comfort Sleep Number bed (*Est. $700 to $4,000, queen size). Sleep Number beds come with an automated pump to increase or decrease the level of inflation. Settings ranging from zero to 100 represent a combination of mattress comfort, firmness and body support for each side of the bed. However, SleepLikeTheDead.com notes that owners who use two different levels of firmness are much more likely to be dissatisfied with their Sleep Number beds than those who use only one setting. Some owners complain that the foam-filled strip between the air chambers in dual-adjustable models is uncomfortable.

According to SleepLikeTheDead.com, about 78 percent of owners are satisfied with their Sleep Number beds. However, the site also notes that it's "the most polarizing mattress included in our research; those who approve of the bed tend to love it, while those who don't approve tend to hate it." Other reviews mirror this point. In a consumer survey, about 57 percent of users who purchased a Select Comfort mattress say they would definitely buy the same mattress again, making this the second-highest-rated mattress brand in that study. However, in nearly 500 reviews at Epinions.com, Sleep Number beds receive an average rating of only 2.5 stars. In a brief buyer's guide to air and foam mattresses, Better Homes & Gardens editors single out Select Comfort beds for their unique design, but there is no indication that editors tested the mattress or compared it to other brands of air mattresses.

We found many complaints from owners at Epinions.com about mold growth in Select Comfort air mattresses, particularly between the air chambers and the foam padding. In 2008, this problem gave rise to a class-action lawsuit in California against Select Comfort on behalf of owners who purchased mattresses between 1987 and 2005. As of February 2011, this case is not resolved and continuing. A website devoted to the case has been taken down. However, Select Comfort has put up a website of its own, which attempts to refute the charges made about its mattresses. The manufacturer claims, first, that mold in mattresses is extremely rare; second, that it's no more common in their mattresses than in any other brand; and third, that it isn't harmful to health. These claims seem somewhat dubious, given that Select Comfort is the only brand about which we found any mold complaints at all. Select Comfort does note that any customer who experiences mold problems can contact the company and ask to have the affected parts of the mattress replaced. However, several of the reviews we read at Epinions.com indicate that this process isn't always straightforward, and many users seem to believe that the company should have replaced the entire mattress or refunded their money.

A similar dual-chambered air bed, the Comfortaire Cerulean (*Est. $1,200, queen size) receives an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 from more than 50 owners posting to Epinions.com, as well as an 83 percent owner-satisfaction rating at SleepLikeTheDead.com. Although Comfortaire is a much smaller company, it is considered Select Comfort's chief rival in the airbed market. One major advantage of the Comfortaire mattress (which it shares with other airbeds) is that each individual part of the mattress can be replaced as it wears out, greatly extending the lifespan of the bed. Unlike the Sleep Number mattress, the Comfortaire cannot be automatically set to a given level of firmness; it must be adjusted manually using a pump. Many owners at Epinions.com say this is easy to do, although some find the pump a bit noisy. The majority of reviewers find the bed very comfortable and a great value for the price.