I’ve spent the last couple of days researching air mattresses and want to share what I’ve learned. Maybe it will help out someone else on their search. There are a lot of options out there!
My partner and I decided we wanted an air mattress. We went to the local Sleep Number store and tried all the beds. The sales people are very nice and try hard to sell you a bed. Whatever you do walk away! Don’t make a big purchase like this quickly. I went online and started researching other brands and quickly realized there are much cheaper options!
This website and others were great for learning what actually makes up a bed. Learn as much as you can. Get up to speed on foam types. Figure out what you like and try some out in a store. I wanted a firmer bed and my partner was on the softer side. I like latex foam and partner wants memory foam
Here are the websites I looked at:
http://www.selectabed.com/adjustable_air_beds.htm
I was generally frustrated by poorly designed websites, lack of specifics, and grainy pictures. There is a pattern that emerges from these websites. The beds are the same on Best Beds, Air Beds Unlimited, and Innomax. Personal Comfort and Habitat have their own unique type of mattresses (although I think they have the same pumps and bladders). But, Selectabed and Mattress Mill are in a whole different ball game! The offer independent lumbar support.
This made all the difference for me. You can adjust the lumber region (middle third) of the mattress independently. The head and foot regions share the same pressure. Because of this I focused on Selectabed Air-Pedic and Mattress Mill.
Air-Pedic compares their beds to the Sleep Number categories. They use traditional foam only. I called to ask about foam density and they sales guy didn’t know any densities, just that it was poly foam. They don’t offer latex at all.
Mattress Mill was amazing on all fronts. They offer latex and memory foam. They custom build the mattress with the comfort layers you want. Platinum mattress has two layers of 1.5" foam of your choice. They really seem to care about your comfort and satisfaction. I bought a king Infinity Platinum air mattress with medium latex + firm latex on one side and memory foam + medium latex on the other. I fully expect this bed to be better than the i10 Sleep Number bed. Mattress Mill’s comfort layers are set up so you can change them around or add/remove layers as you see fit. Truly customizable. I’m hoping this means I won’t feel like needing to return the bed because it’s to firm/soft.
Mattress Mill is a standalone store Montana. Seemed like real people running an honest mattress business (do these actually exist?!). I don’t think they do a lot of online sales. I spent a good bit of time talking with the Nan on the phone. She was very helpful and knows her stuff. She was able ship across the country and meet my delivery dates.
Warranties appeared similar for the vendors. A couple years of full warranty and the pro-rated for the rest. Make sure it covers dips and sags over ¾".
Since its an online purchase I wanted a good return policy. My favorite was when they picked it up for a flat fee. I think Sleep Number does this for $180 and Selectabed was $400. Most required you pay return freight. From what I can figure this is probably around $400 for a king mattress. Mattress Mill said they would work with me and help me arrange freight company if it came to that.
Overall, with delivery and tax, Sleep number quoted $5,300 for i10 mattress, Selectabed quoted $3,396 for Air-Pedic 800, and Mattress Mill quoted $3,480 for Infinity Platinum. Besides the prices, difference makers were Mattress Mill’s lumber support (better than Sleep Number), latex foams (better the Selectabed’s poly foam), and amazing customer support.
