REVIEW – We recently went on a family vacation to a state park and stayed in the park cabins. While we had a great time, the beds were awful. Plastic prison mattresses with broken springs that poked all night and made awful noises. This is a trip we take every year and we knew the beds were going to be bad, but they had gotten worse. Some members of the family were seriously contemplating the three hour round trip to the nearest big box to get an air mattress. Just as we got back from that trip, the offer to review the Cherimor air mattress with built-in pump appeared in my inbox. I wish it had come a few weeks earlier.
What is it?
It’s a queen sized air mattress with a built in air pump for inflating and deflating.
What’s included?
- Cherimor mattress with built-in pump
- Storage and carry bag
- Piece of adhesive patch material
Tech specs
Click to expand
Material: PVC with a velvet-like fabric on the top
Weight limit: 800 lb
Dimensions (for the queen): 80″L x 60″W x 18″H (claimed – see the review below)
Design and features
We’ve owned and used many air mattresses in the past. The Cherimor has two features which set it apart. First, it has a built-in pump. The pump runs on regular 110V household power, so unless you have a generator or power bank, don’t plan to use the pump while camping. But it does have a “regular” inflation valve so you can use whatever else you have available to inflate. But the built-in pump is really nice. The cord for the pump stores in a nifty compartment as well, so it’s out of the way.
The second feature that my slightly-over-half-decade-old body appreciates is that it’s 18 inches thick. That means no climbing up off of the floor in the middle of the night. It’s sturdy enough and high enough that you can swing your legs over and just stand up.
Cherimor claims the mattress is “waterproof,” and I suppose it is, also being air tight. I’m not sure why they even claim this because while the mattress could probably make a great pool float, the electric pump would not like that at all, and the pump is not removable. So just plan to use this as an indoor mattress and not as a water toy.
The mattress comes in a storage bag, and packs down surprisingly small. The pump can be reversed to remove all the air, allowing you to really fold the mattress up tightly and fit it back in the bag without any issue.
Performance
For an air mattress, it’s quite nice. In the name of science, my wife and I slept on the mattress for two nights, and we took it camping and had friends sleep on it. Inflating the mattress with the built-in pump takes about 3 minutes. The pump is loud, but not painfully so. Once inflated, I noticed that the mattress is a few inches smaller in length and width than claimed. A standard queen size mattress is 80 inches x 60 inches. The Cherimor mattress measured in at 78 x 57 inches. It’s not a huge deal, but your sheets might fit at little loosely.
Once inflated and made up into a bed, it’s time to sleep. The mattress is very comfortable. My wife and I noticed two things about the mattress. First, it makes noise on a hard floor. The PVC material squeaks a bit on the floor when you move. This is easily fixed by putting the mattress on carpet or placing a blanket under the mattress. The second thing we noticed is that when your partner moves, you feel it. We’ve been sleeping on a high-end memory foam bed for the last several years, and have really gotten used to how the foam isolates movement. The Cherimor air mattress seems to actually amplify your partner’s movement. It was kind of like sleeping on a water bed at times. This is not a problem unique to the Cherimor, but is a common occurrence with all air mattresses. I think it may be enhanced a bit with the Cherimor because it is 18 inches thick. There are baffles built in to try and prevent this, but it’s still noticeable.
The Cherimor air mattress holds air well, but needs to be topped up every day, like any air mattress. That’s easy with the built-in pump.
Once it’s time to put the mattress away, just reverse the pump and it deflates the mattress completely. Surprisingly, this takes a few minutes longer than inflating the mattress – about 5 minutes this time. But it really does get all the air out so you can fold it up tightly and fit it into the included carry and storage bag.
What I like about Cherimor Air Mattress
- Built in pump is quick and convenient!
- 18 inches off the floor makes getting up easy
What needs to be improved?
- Maybe some more baffles to prevent movement transfer.
Final thoughts
If you’re looking for an air mattress with some nice features like a built-in pump that won’t make you climb up off the floor in the morning, the Cherimor air mattress is a great choice. It’s available from twin to California queen.
Price: $69.99 (queen)
Where to buy: Amazon or Cherimor
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Cherimor. Cherimor did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
