Air Mattress Like Sleep Number – Review Personal Comfort, Overstock & Sleep Number Air Mattresses

After some pretty intensive research I think I have found an air mattress like Sleep Number for our next mattress.  In this post, I’ll dig into some of details of our current mattress, review how some air mattress compare to each other and what made our final list of new mattress choices.

Our Current Mattress

Our current mattress is a traditional one which we purchased from Mattress Firm just a few years ago and it’s not held up well at all. It’s manufactured by Corsicana Mattress Co.  Sadly, the mattress we bought (referred to in the industry as a “promo” mattress”) has not lasted anywhere near the timeframe Mattress Firm recommends you replace your mattress. It’s currently bringing us a good deal of pain/stiffness in the morning and has developed several areas of compressed material/lumps. Turning the mattress has not improved the situation and it is not a flippable model. On this basis, we don’t recommend what we believe is Mattress Firm’s Corsicana manufactured Hampton & Rhodes mattress line. If you do decide to buy a traditional innerspring mattress, try the national brands. Test several different models starting with the least expensive. And shop a few different stores.

If you do decide to buy a traditional innerspring mattress, try the national brands. Test several different models starting with the least expensive. And shop a few different stores.

How We Decided on an Air Mattress as a Possible Replacement

My research started with the major innerspring mattress retailers and manufacturers. I looked at several models and wasn’t satisfied I had found the mattress for us. I then turned to Consumer Reports. In the mattress data, they ranked Sleep Number’s air mattress very high. With this new found knowledge, I went to the Sleep Number website to learn more about their products. After deciding that I might want to buy one, and figuring out that the nearest store was an hour away, I started an online chat session. The chat agent was very nice and indicated that he could take my order.  But, when I inquired as to the delivery date, what I discovered was alarming.

Sleep Number is currently experiencing a MASSIVE production delay due to a switch over in inventory/production software. According to the chat agent they would take the FULL amount of the purchase on that day and could not guarantee delivery at any time in the future!

I asked the chat agent if the air mattress could be delivered in 18 – 22 weeks, they replied no. So, that took Sleep Number out of the running.

I researched several other air mattresses online. Some were more expensive than Sleep Number and some were less.  After a lot of comparing and reading, I narrowed the list to two brands (keeping the Sleep Number on the list for comparison sake):

• Personal Comfort Air Mattress
• Overstock.com’s Better Snooze Air Mattress

Comparing & Reviewing Sleep Number, Personal Comfort and Overstock’s Better Snooze Air Mattress

A straight ahead comparison of Sleep Number to other air mattress was tricky. Some features like number of comfort layers were, in the case of Sleep Number, off in a PDF as an illustration in setup instructions. Others, like Overstock’s Better Snooze, didn’t include information on their product page about the type of remote controls included with the mattress. I reached out to Overstock via Twitter and they eventually updated the air mattress item detail page. As an aside, in my communication with Overstock, I shared with them a Personal Comfort page as an example. They were also nice enough to email me the manuals. I found Personal Comfort’s air mattress product pages to have the most complete information available among their competitors. However, their comparisons using Sleep Number’s mattress numbers seems a little underhanded and possibly inaccurate.

After a lot of comparing comfort layers, thickness, and other points, I arrived at three similar models to compare in Queen size with similar attributes.

Sleep Number C4 Air Mattress

Price (without base): $1,499
Overall thickness: 10″
Number of comfort layers: 1
Comfort layer type(s): 2″ comfort layer
Remotes: 1 wireless remote
Warranty: 25 years
Product page link: http://www.sleepnumber.com/sn/en/Beds/Classic-Series-Beds/p/c4?size=Queen&base=None

Personal Comfort A3 Air Mattress

Price (without base): $899 (with current 25% promo)
Overall thickness: 9″
Number of comfort layers: 1
Comfort layer type(s): 1″ Evolution Foam Comfort Layer
Remotes: Dual touch screen
Warranty: 25 year (pro-rated)
Product page link: http://www.personalcomfortbed.com/products/A3.html

Overstock’s Better Snooze Air Mattress

Price (without base): $919.00
Overall thickness: 13″
Number of comfort layers: 2
Comfort layer type(s): memory foam and convoluted foam
Remotes: 2 digital remote controls with LCD color display
Warranty: 5 years
Product page link: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Better-Snooze-Air-Comfort-Queen-size-Adjustable-Air-Mattress/7472533/product.html

The Facebook Factor

I put a post out on my Facebook page soliciting feedback on mattress choices. I received a bunch of input on different mattresses. The responses broke down as

• Innerspring mattress from Spring Air, Tuft & Needle
• Organic latex mattresses
• Memory foam mattress, Tempurpedic was mentioned a few times.
• Memory foam and foam mattress

Our Shortlist of Mattresses

Our final list of mattresses includes

• Overstock Better Snooze Air Mattress
• Sleepwarehouse Sensus mattress with replaceable foam

What mattress do you like best?  Tell us about it in the comments below.

Note: All brands, companies names and the like are the property of their respective owners. I have not been paid or, otherwise remunerated for this blog post. None of the retailers in this post have given us anything to influence this post or, our decision.