Air mattress - any buying advice?

[Best Aunt]

I'm probably having house guests, and I only have one guest bed. I was thinking of picking up an air mattress at Wal-Mart. I assume a college student would be okay on that for a night or two. Any buying advice?

Wal-Mart had four Coleman models in their camping department. One comes with a 4D pump. One comes with a 120V pump. Two don't seem to come with a pump at all, based on the box anyway.

I was thinking of Wal-Mart instead of Amazon because I can bring it right home and air it out. I understand that these things have a plastic smell when taken out of the box. I don't want to order online and wait for it to arrive.

Any advice would be appreciated. I know people sometimes take them to Disney World so their kids don't have to share a bed, so I thought this would be a good place to ask.

 

[Narnia_girl]

We've had several air mattresses because we are a family of five. Over the years all our kids have slept on them. Higher quality is better but as they've gotten older, our kids actually prefer the floor to an air mattress.
You might also consider an Japanese floor futon/mat.

 

[robinb]

Do you think you will use the air mattress in the future, or is this just a temporary thing? If you're going to use it more than just a couple times I would invest in an AeroBed. We've had a twin sized for sleep overs for years and it keeps on going! My Coleman & Embark (Target brand) have all failed in that same period of time.

 

[robndani]

AeroBed!

 

[englishteacha]

We have an Intex double-high airbed with a built in pump we've had for several years. It did get a small pinhole in it and I was able to repair it. It also got dropped once and got a small crack in the plastic by the pump, but we were able to fix it with duct tape.

We don't have a guest room, so if we have guests, it's the couch or the airbed. Your guest might have their own travel bed they can bring, so ask before you buy something! (we used to do a lot of volunteering before we had our child and we always brought our own airbed. Much more comfy than whatever church basement floor or host home couch we were usually provided!)

 

[newbie2disney]

We also have an Intex double-high airbed (queen) with built-in air pump purchased at WalMart. Very handy & comfortable!

 

[ilovedisneymm]

Coleman Deluxe Cot.

 

[mondragon]

We had several people stay with us not too long ago and we only have 2 spare rooms (one is an office). We just needed one air bed so my BIL got one of those Coleman. What a piece of junk. Would not hold air. I went to bed bath and beyond and got a nice queen aerobed. Much better quality. The bad thing is when my BIL tried to return his air bed to Walmart I think, they would not take it. Lady told him they do not accept returns on airbeds.

 

[teller80]

When you say 4D pump, do you mean you need 4 D batteries? I'd stay away from that one. I have 2 that I bought from Sears (Swiss Gear) that have a self-inflator in them and they've held up for years. This is the time of year for camping supplies to go on clearance, you might be able to find a good deal.

As for cots, I bought one from Gander Mountain that I'm not very happy with, one of the supports is in the middle of the bed and it's uncomfortable.

 

[1buckeyegirl]

I just bought this one http://www.walmart.com/ip/Intex-Queen-Dura-Beam-Airbed-with-Pump/33563031
I got it to go camping this week and it was really comfortable. The built in pump and firmness adjuster was awesome! Just plug it in and turn it on and it does all the work. When your done it deflates itself. Price was great, reviews were great and I got a 2 year warranty for $4!