Sales of air beds have, ironically, exploded. There are various theories as to why – from the increased popularity of staycations and camping holidays to post-lockdown get-togethers – but generally speaking, if beds are limited, an air bed becomes the next best thing.
The good news? They’ve come a long way since the days of paper-thin rubber, leaking valves and the need to spend an entire day inflating them with a foot pump.
These days, built-in pumps are incredibly common, allowing the bed to be inflated with a flick of a switch once it’s been attached to either mains power or a battery pack, although these types will always be compatible with standalone pumps, too.
Or for nights under canvas, you should also consider self-inflating mattresses. These feature a thin layer of foam through which air circulates, and they are becoming increasingly popular. Typically, they’ll have a small valve which needs to be opened to kick-start the inflation process, before the firmness can be increased with a few breaths of air.
Finally, a top tip, which will be especially relevant if you’re using an air bed during a camping holiday: always place a rug or blanket beneath the air bed. “Convection currents can easily form in the trapped air, and these will sap body heat,” says Clive Garrett, Oase Outdoors’s in-house camping expert. “These are created as body heat is pulled towards the cold ground. Putting a blanket under the airbed will stop these from forming.”
How we tested
We’re not going to lie. This particular job involved a lot of lounging around, dozing and generally making sure we tested each bed’s comfort levels thoroughly. But our process also involved a lot of exertion – with self-inflating mattresses for example, we were keen to see precisely how many puffs of air were needed once the bed had inflated, and we spent hours unrolling and rolling our air beds in order to test how quickly and easily they could be stowed away
In other words, after our rigorous testing process (interspersed with occasional dozes) we now consider ourselves airbed experts.
The best air beds for 2022 are:
- Best air bed – Active Era king size comfort plus air bed: £114.99, Activeera.com
- Best for neck support – Silentnight camping collection flocked airbed with built-in electric pump: £120, Silentnight-bedding.co.uk
- Best for camping – Therm-a-Rest neoair xlite sleeping pad: £125.96, Alpinetrek.co.uk
- Best budget buy – Mountain Warehouse flocked double air bed: £33.99, Mountainwarehouse.com
- Best for easy storage – Coleman extra durable raised double airbed: £62.91, Amazon.com
- Best for ease of use – Quecha self-inflating camping mattress: £149.99, Decathlon.co.uk
- Best for comfort – Jysk air bed velour comfort: £65, Jysk.co.uk
- Best for single sleepers – Outwell sleeping 10cm single self inflating mattress: £80.99, Outwell.com