I Found the Best Air Mattress on Amazon — and Slept on It for 3 Months

Nicola Fumo
·3 min read

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EnerPlex Air Mattress with Built-in Pump tout
EnerPlex Air Mattress with Built-in Pump tout

Amazon

Most people buy an air mattress to accommodate weekend guests or make a camping trip more comfortable — a short-term solution for a few nights. Not me.

After moving across the country for the third time in two years, I found myself furnishing yet another apartment from scratch, and I had mattress paralysis. There just are so many to choose from and I couldn't decide. I thought in the meantime, I'd get an air mattress as a quick fix while I browsed the "best mattress" guides and sorted through the online offerings.

I headed to Amazon and searched for air mattresses, and the EnerPlex Double Height Air Mattress is what I landed on. I liked that it was tall, so I wouldn't feel so close to the ground, and that it had cushioned coil beams for the support of a regular mattress. It also had a built-in air pump that seemed promising, as the air mattress deflating in the middle of the night was one of the main issues I hoped to avoid. It also had more than 30,000 five-star ratings and ranked as the number one seller in the air mattress category, so I figured it would be worth a shot.

EnerPlex Air Mattress with Built-in Pump
EnerPlex Air Mattress with Built-in Pump

Amazon

Buy It! EnerPlex Double Height Air Mattress, $59.99–$207.99; amazon.com

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The air mattress is available in a few different height options — 13-inch, 16-inch, and 18-inch — as well as four sizes from twin to king. I chose the 13-inch queen, and when it arrived a day or two later, I pulled it out of the included travel bag (a huge tote sized to fit the air mattress folded up) and unraveled the built-in cord, adjusted the inflation valve, hit power, and let 'er rip. In just a few minutes, the mattress was fully inflated.

I was immediately impressed by how sturdy and supportive it was. I ordered a pair of my go-to sheets — the cotton-blend option from Amazon Basics — in a warm beige color, plus a set of pillows, and more or less, forgot I was sleeping on an air mattress. It held its shape remarkably well, rarely needing to be re-inflated. I slept soundly through the night for the first time since arriving in my new home, and woke up without any aches or pains I feared may come with sleeping on an inflatable mattress. I felt rested and was seriously surprised by the quality of the mattress. I thought about the leaky, uncomfortable air mattresses I'd suffered through when staying with friends and wanted to tell everyone to upgrade to this model immediately.

I eventually realized, though, I needed to finally pull the trigger on a real mattress — I couldn't subject my boyfriend to sharing an air mattress with my dog and me any longer, so it was time to upgrade. I ended up sleeping on the air mattress from early March until the end of June, about three months in total. This still shocks me, because, in my memory, it was just a month or so. The mattress was so comfortable, I had completely forgotten it was inflatable.

I hope you never wind up sleeping on an air mattress for a quarter of a year. But if you do, or are just in need of something for guests or a trip, I can put my full weight behind — and on top of — the EnerPlex Double Height Air Mattress.

Nicola Fumo is a writer and editor who has covered fashion and lifestyle for 10 years. She occasionally receives products to review and writes about her favorites.

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