You’ll quickly know when you’ve got a crappy air mattress—whether it has a slow, steady sink from a leak or a sputtering pump that calls it quits before the job is done.
After researching dozens of air mattresses and testing seven, we think the SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress won’t let you down. Its robust built-in pump, bedlike sleep surface, and reliable warranty make it the one to choose for guests.
There’s no such thing as a perfect air mattress, but we’ve been testing the SoundAsleep Dream Series Air Mattress since 2016, and it still holds air after many, many uses.
It was among the most comfortable air mattresses we tried (it didn’t deflate noticeably in the night and so provided better back support), and you can control the level of inflation.
This 19-inch-tall mattress comes in twin, twin XL, full, queen, and king sizes. And the SoundAsleep’s built-in pump was quieter than any other mattress motor we tried—this is a perk if you don’t want to wake sleeping children (or if you’re sensitive to noise).
In case the pump breaks or the mattress springs a leak, SoundAsleep also offers responsive customer service and a one-year warranty.
Runner-up
The King Koil Luxury Air Mattress (20-inch) was comfortable to sleep on and, like our top pick, holds air overnight without needing to be re-inflated.
The pump inflates or deflates the mattress in about 3 minutes, and we found it easy to re-pack inside the included tote bag.
In previous years, the King Koil mattress lost a significant amount of air overnight, but the company told us it has redesigned the mattress and the improvements were noticeable. However, its customer service record is spotty: Our phone calls resulted in prompt callbacks, but emails sent to service@kingkoilairbeds.com often went unanswered. (We recommend purchasing through the Amazon storefront so that you have recourse to the 30-day return window in case anything goes wrong.) We’ll keep an eye on durability and customer service while we continue testing the King Koil mattress.
Bear in mind this mattress has a designated “top” of bed with a slightly elevated built-in pillow, which means you may not be able to get the power cord close to an outlet if you are using it in a tight space.
