Air mattresses are often times used for short term circumstances such as vacationing, or spending the night at your friends house after being kicked out by your girlfriend for forgetting your special day. Coincidentally, they are not necessarily thought to be the ideal of comfort and health- but in specific cases they certainly do provide a lot of pluses.

Post graduate students who are short on funds may select for air mattresses for an extended time because they provide good value with a rather top notch night's sleep. The difficulty is air mattresses tend to be fragile, so while you are lugging it around be cautious not to scrape the sides of the air mattress, or else it will not remain a bed but rather covers for the ground you will be sleeping on.

Perhaps you are going on a road trip and/or vacationing. Air mattresses are certainly a nice option to have when you are on the road in general so that at least you will have a nice cushion to rest on after a long day's hike.

If you are looking to buy an air mattress (it's good to have one in storage in case you need it), there are a multitude of online sites that will allow you to compare prices, and read other people's assessments based on their own experiences.

Typically speaking, these types of mattresses can fit into a minute area (probably the size of a medium to large-sized duffel bag), and are very light (once the air is released of course). Even with the air fully pumped into the air mattress, it's still fairly easy to carry. Just don't jump on it or allow your pet to play around or near it.

The cheaper air mattresses probably don't come with their own electric pump. In which case you will need to use a separate air pump such as the one you use for your tire or recreational sports balls like basketballs and soccer balls. Usually it takes 2 minutes to 7 minutes depending on the mattress brand, and your own power levels.

Taking good care of your air mattress is vital if you want to increase it's lifetime value to you. However you will find that after using most to any air mattress for a while, they will eventually tire out and deflate frequently. The common place air mattress should last you at least 6 months to a year and much longer depending on how well you take good care of it.