The Rootless Bed

There are so many places one could go with that title ....

I'll give you a moment.

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This post is a review of the air-bed I bought when I moved to Alamogordo.

Intex bed. Credit: Amazon

It's an Intex Deluxe Pillow Rest Rising Comfort Twin bed. For about $35.

I've been sleeping on it for three months now.

The advantages are: 

• Easy to inflate or deflate
• When deflated, fits into a tidy bag (that comes with the bed) that's smaller than a rolled sleeping bag
• Sturdy
• Not quite as high off the floor as a real bed, but pretty close
• Easy to move when you vac or sweep the floor
• Budget price

The minimal disadvantages are: 

• It's a bit tricky to put on a fitted twin sheet, but that's just a minor inconvenience, and once you get the fitted sheet on, it stays on
• Because the bed's interior is air, you can get cold at night, but I solved this issue by laying a thin blanket underneath the fitted sheet
• Although durable, it's not furniture that one feels confident in employing for calisthenics

When I first put up the bed, I needed to add a little more air each night for, I don't know, maybe up to a week. Since then, though, I think I've only had to add some air once or twice. The vinyl stretches in the beginning, so there's a breaking-in period that requires that air replenishment until the stretching process completes.

Adding air couldn't be simpler: Plug in the built-in cord to your electrical outlet, push a button, allow the air to run a few seconds, push the button again, and unplug the cord.

To deflate, you do all of the above, but just change the dial from inflate to deflate.

I like this bed very much. If my next residence is a place I drive to, I'll be taking it with me.

Update 18 March 2013: The bed lasted six months, a good run for the money. There was a small, L-shaped tear that I couldn't fix.