Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump Review: The Honest Truth After Weeks of Testing

There’s a universal moment of dread that every camper, festival-goer, or occasional host experiences: the setup of the temporary bed. It’s often late, you’re tired, and the last thing you want is a wrestling match with an unwieldy air mattress and a separate, noisy electric pump. We’ve all been there—searching for a power outlet in a tent, manually puffing until light-headed, or simply giving up and sleeping on a lumpy, half-inflated bed. This search for a simple, reliable sleeping solution is what leads many of us to products like the Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump. The promise is alluring: an all-in-one, easy-to-inflate mattress that offers comfort and convenience without the fuss. But as we’ve learned through rigorous testing, the gap between promise and reality can sometimes be a rude awakening in the middle of the night.

What to Consider Before Buying an Air Bed

An air bed is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for providing temporary, comfortable sleeping arrangements where a traditional bed isn’t feasible. Whether you’re accommodating overnight guests, setting up a base camp in the great outdoors, or need a quick bed for a weekend festival, a quality air mattress is an investment in rest and well-being. The main benefits are clear: unparalleled portability, adjustable firmness, and the ability to transform any space into a bedroom in minutes. Forgetting these factors can lead to sleepless nights, back pain, and the frustration of a product that fails when you need it most.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing a need for flexible, temporary bedding. This includes families who host guests during holidays, avid campers seeking a comfortable buffer from the hard ground, or students in small flats needing a guest bed that can be stored away easily. However, an air bed might not be suitable for those who require a permanent sleeping solution or have specific orthopedic needs that demand consistent, long-term support. In those cases, a folding guest bed or a quality futon might be a better investment. For the occasional user, though, the convenience is hard to beat, provided the product delivers on its core promises of comfort and reliability.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Space: Always check the fully inflated dimensions (191cm x 137cm for this model) against your available space. Consider not just the footprint, but also the height (28cm here), which affects how easy it is to get in and out of bed. A double bed offers ample space for one or cozy quarters for two, but make sure it fits comfortably within your tent or guest room without blocking walkways.
• Inflation Method & Speed: Air beds come with external pumps, built-in electric pumps, or, like this model, a built-in foot pump. Electric pumps are fastest but require power. Foot pumps are self-contained and quiet but require physical effort. Consider where you’ll be using the bed most often and which inflation method best suits that environment.
• Materials & Durability: The vast majority of air beds are made from Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Look for features like durable PVC, welded seams, and a flocked top surface. The flocking adds comfort and prevents sleeping bags or sheets from slipping. The thickness of the material and the quality of the seams are direct indicators of how well the bed will resist punctures and hold air over time.
• Ease of Use & Maintenance: Beyond inflation, consider how easy the bed is to deflate, fold, and store. A good air bed should come with a carry bag for tidy storage. Maintenance is typically simple—wiping with a damp cloth—but always check for an included repair patch for emergencies, as even the toughest materials can be punctured.

While the Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump aims to tick many of these boxes, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: Unboxing and Initial Setup

The Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump arrives in a surprisingly compact box. Inside, the mattress is tightly rolled within its own carry bag—a nice touch for portability and storage. Our first impression of the material was positive; the flocked grey top felt soft and velvety, a significant step up from the slick plastic feel of older air beds. The PVC used for the sides and bottom felt thick and substantial, and the welded seams looked clean and robust. Unfurling it, the bed laid flat, ready for inflation. The built-in foot pump is integrated seamlessly into one corner, and a separate standard valve is located nearby for quicker deflation or use with an external pump. The design is thoughtful, with a built-in raised pillow section at one end, theoretically saving you from packing extra pillows for a camping trip. Initially, everything about its design and materials suggested a convenient and well-made product, which you can see in its full feature set and user reviews.

A Deep Dive into the Hi-Gear Air Bed’s Performance

An air bed has two fundamental jobs: inflate easily and stay inflated. While the Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump showed initial promise, our extended testing revealed a critical failure in the most important area. We spent several weeks using this bed in various scenarios—as a guest bed in a spare room and on a weekend camping trip—to truly understand its capabilities and, ultimately, its shortcomings.

Inflation and Deflation: The Promise and Peril of the Foot Pump

The headline feature of this air bed is its built-in foot pump. On paper, it’s the perfect solution for off-grid use where power isn’t available. Upon first use, we were cautiously optimistic. To inflate, you simply uncap the pump’s valve and begin stepping on the integrated foam pump. Each compression forces air into the main chamber. The process is straightforward and quiet, a welcome change from the high-pitched whine of an electric pump. However, it’s a workout. We found it took a solid 5-7 minutes of continuous, rhythmic stepping to get the double mattress to a medium-firm state. While “minutes” is technically accurate as the description claims, it feels much longer when you’re eager to get your bed set up.

The real issue, however, isn’t the effort, but the system’s integrity. The pump mechanism, being part of the main body, introduces another potential point of failure—another seam that must hold under pressure. For deflation, the bed has a standard, wide-mouth valve. Opening this allows air to rush out, and by folding and rolling the mattress, you can expel the remaining air relatively quickly. Packing it back into the carry bag was achievable on the first try, which is more than can be said for many tents and sleeping bags. While the inflation concept is clever, our experience suggests the complexity may compromise the bed’s overall robustness. For those considering this model, it’s worth weighing the convenience of a built-in pump against the potential for failure; you can check the latest price and availability to see if the trade-off is worth it for you.

Comfort and Surface Feel: A Good Night’s Sleep… While It Lasts

When fully inflated, the Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump is genuinely comfortable. The 28cm height provides good insulation from the cold ground and makes it easier to get on and off than a simple sleeping pad. The flocked PVC top surface is the standout comfort feature. It’s soft to the touch, warm against the skin, and provides excellent grip. We tested it with both a standard duvet and a slippery nylon sleeping bag, and in both cases, the bedding stayed put throughout the night—a common frustration solved. The internal structure provides decent support, preventing the “taco” effect where the sides bulge and the middle sags, at least for a single occupant. With two people, there was a noticeable dip towards the centre, but it was manageable.

The built-in pillow is a clever, if divisive, feature. It’s a raised section at the head of the bed that’s firm enough to support your head without a separate pillow. For a minimalist camper, this is a brilliant space-saver. However, if you’re particular about your pillow height or softness, you’ll find it restrictive. We found it comfortable enough for a night or two but would have preferred our own pillows for any longer. The real tragedy is that this initial comfort is fleeting. The pleasant, firm support we enjoyed upon going to bed was a distant memory by morning, undone by the bed’s primary, critical flaw.

The Critical Flaw: Durability and Air Retention Under Test

This is where our review takes a sharp turn, and where our findings align distressingly well with the negative user feedback we’ve analyzed. An air bed that doesn’t hold air is not an air bed; it’s a groundsheet with aspirations. On our very first night of testing, we inflated the bed to a comfortable firmness around 10 PM. By 3 AM, I woke up with my hip touching the floor. The bed had lost at least 50% of its air, transforming from a supportive mattress into a saggy, uncomfortable hammock. We meticulously checked both the foot pump cap and the main deflation valve, ensuring they were sealed tight. We couldn’t hear or feel any obvious leak. We re-inflated it, and the same thing happened the next night.

This experience is almost identical to that of one user who reported, “it deflated after 3 hours and woke me up.” Our suspicion is a slow leak from either a faulty valve or, more likely, a weak point in one of the many welded seams—a flaw that’s nearly impossible to locate and repair. This wasn’t a one-off event. Over several uses, the problem persisted and, if anything, worsened. This aligns with another user’s report that their bed became unusable after only “4-5 times maximum before it got torn.” While our unit didn’t physically tear, the consistent, catastrophic loss of air renders the product fundamentally unfit for its purpose. The “durable PVC” and “welded seams” touted in the description did not translate to real-world reliability in our testing. The initial promise of the Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump dissolved into disappointment, leaving us with a product we simply cannot recommend for a reliable night’s sleep.

What Other Users Are Saying

Our experience with the Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump is not an isolated incident. The user feedback available paints a clear and consistent picture of a product with fundamental flaws in durability and air retention. One user succinctly captured the frustration, noting the bed had “Decent fabric, but absolutely useless.” This perfectly summarizes our own findings: the surface feel and initial design are good, but they are completely undermined by the product’s failure to perform its primary function.

Another user provided a more detailed account that mirrored our test results precisely: “After trying to sleep on this it deflated after 3 hours and woke me up… I checked both air inlets were closed properly before laying down on it I couldn’t hear air coming out.” This highlights the insidious nature of the problem—it’s not a user error or an obvious, hissing puncture, but a slow, silent failure that ruins a night’s sleep. When multiple independent experiences point to the exact same critical flaw, it moves from being an anecdotal issue to a significant product defect.

How Does the Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed Compare to Alternatives?

Given the significant performance issues we encountered with the Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump, it’s crucial to look at other options on the market. For those who need a reliable temporary bed, investing a little more in a product with a better track record for durability is a wise move. Here are three alternatives that offer different features and may provide the reliability that the Hi-Gear model lacks.

1. airzzZ Slumber Plus Single Air Bed Inbuilt Pump

The airzzZ Slumber Plus is a single-height air bed that replaces the manual foot pump with a built-in electric pump. This is a major upgrade in convenience, allowing for rapid inflation and deflation at the touch of a button, provided you have access to a power source. While it’s a single bed, it’s an excellent choice for solo campers or for hosting one guest. The focus on a non-slip flocked surface is similar to the Hi-Gear, but models with electric pumps often have more robust internal structures to handle the faster, higher-pressure inflation. This is a better option for those who prioritize speed and effortless setup over off-grid functionality.

2. Intex Dura-Beam Queen Comfort Air Bed with Pump

Intex is a powerhouse in the inflatable market, and their Dura-Beam technology is a significant step up in terms of internal support and durability. Instead of simple PVC chambers, it uses thousands of high-strength polyester fibres that provide better stability and are less prone to stretching over time. This Queen-sized bed is taller (36cm) and comes with a Fastfill USB pump, offering modern convenience as it can be powered by a power bank, car charger, or wall adapter. For anyone looking for a more stable, durable, and comfortable experience, particularly for couples or for use over multiple nights, the Intex Dura-Beam is a far superior choice.

3. Dreamcatcher Premium Double Air Mattress with Electric Pump

The Dreamcatcher Premium model elevates the air bed experience to another level. At a towering 46cm, it feels more like a traditional mattress, making it exceptionally easy to get in and out of. It features a powerful built-in electric pump that can inflate the bed in under 3 minutes. This model is designed specifically for home use as a premium guest bed. Its height, rapid inflation, and sturdy construction make it an ideal choice for hosts who want to offer their guests maximum comfort. While less suited for camping due to its size and power dependency, it represents a significant upgrade in quality and comfort over the Hi-Gear model for indoor use.

Final Verdict: A Promising Concept Undone by a Critical Flaw

The Hi-Gear Deluxe Double Air Bed with Built-in Pump is a product we desperately wanted to like. The concept is excellent: a self-contained, portable, and comfortable double air bed that doesn’t require any extra equipment. The soft flocked top, integrated pillow, and convenient carry bag all point to a thoughtful design. However, a product must be judged on its performance, and in the most crucial area—holding air throughout the night—it failed completely and consistently in our tests. The initial comfort is quickly erased by the frustration of waking up on a deflated mattress.

Our experience, strongly corroborated by other user reports, leads us to a clear conclusion. We cannot recommend this air bed for anyone who needs a reliable night’s sleep. The risk of significant air loss is simply too high. While it might suffice for a child’s short afternoon nap or as a lounging cushion at a festival, it is not a dependable tool for overnight sleeping. If you’re in the market for an air bed, we strongly suggest considering one of the alternatives mentioned above or exploring other models known for their durability. The small convenience of a built-in foot pump is not worth the high probability of a sleepless night. For a product that ultimately falls so short of its primary purpose, you’d be better off investing elsewhere. If you still wish to explore its specifications and weigh the risks for yourself, you can find it online, but our advice is to proceed with extreme caution.