Best Budget Low-Profile Air Mattress – Review of Intex Classic Downy Queen Air Bed

Intex Classic Downy Queen with 2 Pillows

I’ve been a camper throughout my childhood and adulthood, so I can remember when air mattresses were still pretty new on the market. As a kid, I mostly used sleeping bags, and I can still remember the frustration of trying to sleep comfortably on bumpy ground, the stuck zippers, and knotted drawstrings around my neck that I couldn’t undo!

I still loved camping, though, and I even managed to turn it into a career by selling camping gear. It’s not everybody’s dream job, but I consider myself incredibly lucky. I spend my working hours talking with people who share my passion, and I get to share the knowledge that I’ve been collecting over the years about camping equipment.

Intex Classic Downy Airbed

If you aren’t an experienced camper, you may be surprised by how much equipment is available to help make your holiday in the woods comfortable and convenient. The one piece of equipment that practically everyone cares about most is the camping bed.

This review of the Intex Classic Downy Queen Airbed is mostly aimed at couples. Full disclosure: if what you really want is a high-end mattress, and you’re willing to pay more for more features, then this bed is probably not what you’re looking for. Check out my review of the Insta Raised Queen Bed and Never Flat Pump instead. You pay quite a bit more, but it really does deliver a luxurious experience.

Back to the review of the Intex. This really is a decent bed, priced to fit most budgets and as a standard queen size, it’s good for most couples.

Here are some benefits that this airbed offers:

It includes a powerful hand pump with which most people can fully inflate the mattress in less than 15 minutes. (If you’re athletic, you can probably do it in about 10 minutes.) The unusually large valve is the secret to this relatively easy inflation.
The purchase also includes a pair of inflatable pillows, so you won’t have to pack your own bulky and space-wasting pillows.
The mattress is waterproof (which is a necessity for camping)
The plush flocked top adds to the comfort and also keeps the sheets from slipping around while you sleep.
Deflating the mattress is easy too, and it only takes half the time that inflating it did. It’s also easy to roll it tightly enough for storage once it is deflated.

Some Drawbacks

There have been some customer complaints about the pillows, which are not firm enough for everyone’s taste. But you can still use them as cushions for sitting on, so they are still useful to have.

The mattress is not prone to puncturing, but if you use if for more than a few days you’ll probably have to top up the air at some point. However, this is true of most air mattresses on the market.