It’s New Year’s Eve. Your friend through one hell of a party with lots of stories, laughs, and plenty of booze. As the countdown strikes midnight, a new countdown begins: sleep. If you’re like me, you know sleeping arrangements would be tight, so you planned ahead and brought your barely used air mattress. You even sprung the extra money to buy the airbed with the built-in pump.
As the party winds down, Dan passes out on the couch, Mike takes the extra bedroom, and there’s the living floor… completely wide-open spare a few empty cups and the coffee table. You move the table to the wall and push the couch Dan’s in to give you a few more inches. You pull the air mattress from the bag, roll it out, and plug it in. Huzzah! The air bed is inflating without issue. Dan cracks open an eyelid to see what the hell is going on before tossing over to tune out the noise. Once the air mattress is firm to your liking, you unplug and jump right in. You pass out into that sweet sweet sleep oasis.
4:00 AM you wake.
Staring at the ceiling, you realize somethings not right. Your back feels like concrete and that kink in your neck returned. You look over and your worst fear is realized: Your mattress is now airless.
If you’re like me. You love the luxury of a good air mattress, but this is probably the fifth one you purchased in 3 years. Every time you try to find the leak but to no avail. The patches they give you might as well be worthless stickers. No matter the proper care you’ve given it, the air mattress always finds a way.
Airbeds are not practical. Like a balloon, air will condense as the air cools at night (the important time when, you know, sleep). And adding pressure simply means the air is forcing itself out, and eventually air will.
So that sought me out to a more practical alternative to an air mattress that is as affordable but ten times more reliable. My first impulse was to purchase a roll-up mattress, whose benefits of being lightweight and portable should go without saying.






The prices were a complete sticker shock. For the equivalent of a queen-sized air mattress, I could purchase a single person roll-up bed for the same price. However, if I wanted to rid myself of the frail life of an air mattress, I needed to bite the bullet. Most roll-up mattresses these days are made with a type of memory foam. Guaranteeing a comfortable experience but explains the price point. However, the idea that only a few inches separated me from the ground caused me to rule out the roll-up.
The next air mattress alternative I sought out is a seasoned camper’s dream–a cot.
A cot is like a firm, portable hammock. They are quick to setup and keeps you away from the cold, hard ground. To my surprise, someone invented a two-person cot, which would work perfect for my girlfriend and I. So we purchased the Double Cot from Kwik-Cot. When collapsed, the cot measures about 4 feet long, which is kinda big for traveling but I had no trouble finding room in my compact car.
Once out of the provided travel bag, the Double Cot sets up in seconds to provide a comfortable sleep 18-inches off the ground. I have taken the cot camping, to friends house, and have used it as an emergency bed for the occasional overnight guests. Although it is a two-person cot, it is still perfect for one person. The only problem with the Double Cot is that one piece of fabric is used for both sides. So if one person gets off the bed, you will sink down. Although this hasn’t been much of an issue for me, but something to keep in mind.
It’s been nearly a year since I purchased the cot, and I’m been nothing but thrilled with it’s long-lasting durability. I’ved probably stuck in nearly $500 in air mattresses over three years, buying from the cheap brands from Target to the high-priced “guaranteed” models online. Thanks to my double-cot, the only thing deflated is my airbed.
Last update on 2025-02-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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