Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress Review: I Bought & Tested It
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Rating and Summary
The Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress is a super-thick (20% thicker than regular!) PVC air mattress, so it’s super sturdy with minimal bouncing. When you buy this, you will get the full package as well – like the air mattress, a stuff sack, a pump, nozzles, charges, and 2 repair patches.
However, I’m not a big fan of the plug-type valve, and because its PVC, it’s one of my heaviest and bulkiest mattresses. Would I still recommend this? Read on to find out!
*I bought the Queen sized Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress.
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Product Details
Here’s what we’ll discuss here:
- Unboxing
- In the Box
- Specifications
Unboxing
I bought the Etekcity Upgraded Camping Mattress in a Queen size from Amazon, and here’s what it looked like:
In the Box
After unboxing the Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress, I got a pump with 3 nozzles, an AC charger, a DC charger, 2 repair patches, some instructions, and of course, the inflatable air mattress inside a stuff sack.
Specifications
Here are my personal measurements and timings of the Etekcity Upgraded Camping Mattress (in a Queen size):
- Thickness: 9 inches
- Loft: Air
- Length: 80 inches
- Width: 59 inches
- Weight (Mattress): 13.4 pounds
- Weight (Stuff sack): 3.5 ounces
- Weight of pump (with detachable nozzles): 16.8 ounces
- Weight of pump chargers (both AC + DC): 4.1 ounces
- Packed Size: 13 by 17 by 12 inches
- R-value: None
- Material: PVC
- Valve: 2-in-1 plug-type valve
- Storage Pouch: Yes
- Pump: Yes (rechargeable)
- Features: 20% thicker than traditional air mattresses
- Fastest Inflation: 2 minutes (with included pump)
- Fastest Deflation: 2 minutes 45 seconds
Testing and Performance
I put the Etekcity Upgraded Camping Mattress through these 5 tests:
- Comfort
- Ease of Use
- Portability
- Versatility + Sizing
- Quality
Here’s how the Etekcity Mattress performed.
Comfort
Thickness and Loft
The Etekcity Camping Air Mattress gets me about 9 inches off the ground. When inflated fully, my body does not touch the ground whether I’m sleeping on my back, stomach, or side. Even when I was leaning on my elbow or sitting down, I could not feel the ground.
Dimensions
The Etekcity Camping Mattress measures about 80 by 59 inches, which is very close to a Queen size, so it’s pretty spacious for 2 people for sure.
Surface
When the Etekcity Mattress was inflated fully, the baffles get super firm and pretty pronounced. I felt that they pressed too much against my back and I got body aches from sleeping on my back on this air mattress.
Personally, I prefer flatter and softer sleeping surfaces, but this is just my opinion. Sleeping on my side was pretty comfortable though.
The surface is also flocked, which helps to reduce the noise from the mattress when moving around in bed.
Bounciness
Because the Etekcity Air Mattress is super firm, there’s not a lot of bouncing even when there’s another person sharing the mattress.
Ease of Use
Valve
The Etekcity Camping Air Mattress has a 2-in-1 valve along the side of the mattress, which sticks out a bit and is not really flushed with the surface.
Inflation
To inflate it, you can pull off the top flap, which opens the 1-way valve.
Using the included pump, it usually takes me about 2 and a half to 2 minutes and 45 seconds for the full inflation.
You can also use the bottom 2-way valve for inflation, which is underneath the 1-way valve.
It has a bigger opening, and takes me only about 1 and a half minutes for the full inflation. Air will leak out when you remove the pump, so quickly close the valve after inflating. If you find that too much air has leaked out, you can use the 1-way valve to top off the air after. It usually doesn’t take me very long, maybe 30 seconds. So, altogether about 2 minutes.
Adjustments
Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to make micro adjustments to the firmness of the Etekcity Camping Mattress by letting out just a bit of air. The 2-way opening lets way too much air out at one time.
Deflation
To deflate the Etekcity Camping Air Mattress, just pull off the cap to the bottom 2-way opening, fold the mattress in thirds, and use your body weight to push the air out.
Fold it in thirds again, push more air out, and then flip it over so that the valve faces upwards. Push more air out, and then half it. This will get most of the air out, and takes me about 2 minutes or so. Folding and storing it will take me another 45 seconds, so altogether about 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
Stuff Sack
The Etekcity Mattress comes with an oversized storage bag, that makes it easy to fit the mattress back in, even if it isn’t fully deflated. The storage bag also comes with handles for easy carry.
Portability
Packed Size
After deflating, the Queen-sized Etekcity Camping Air Mattress has a packed size of about 13 x 17 x 12 inches. Here’s what it looks like beside the included pump, and a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle.
The packed size will change depending on how you fold it and how much air you push out of it.
How to Fold
After pushing most of the air out (as explained earlier in the Deflation section), I just fold it in half one more time, push more air out, and then keep it up into the storage bag.
Weight
The Etekcity Camping Mattress weighs a whopping 13.4 pounds for just the air mattress alone, the storage bag weighs about 3.5 ounces, the rechargeable pump with the 3 detachable nozzles weighs 16.8 ounces or slightly over a pound, and the pump chargers weigh about 4.1 ounces together.
Versatility + Sizing
Usage
Since the Etekcity Camping Mattress is an air mattress, I don’t think it’s insulated, so it’s best to use this during the summer. It’s definitely way too heavy for backpacking, so you’re limited to car camping.
2-Person Tent
Here’s what the Etekcity Camping Mattress looks like inside a Coleman 2-Person Sundome Tent.
It fits just nicely into the tent, but there’s no space for gear at all.
The Etekcity Mattress is about 9 inches high, so it reduces livable space a little, and extends all the way up to the bottom of the tent’s door. When I’m alone in the 2-Person dome tent, it doesn’t feel too claustrophobic, and I can sit up with a few inches of space above me. I can also somewhat crouch.
But with another person sharing the 2-Person tent and the Etekcity Camping Mattress, when I sit up, my head will brush against the wall of the tent, and it definitely feels very tight. Also, if you’re tall and using this Coleman 2-Person Sundome Tent, you might find the dome tent’s sloping walls brushing against your head, which can be annoying.
One more thing is that inflating this inside the Coleman 2-Person Sundome Tent can be a pain. When inflating, I was squashed between the mattress and the tent.
I also couldn’t inflate it fully, because I had to squeeze out after. I then got on top of the mattress and used the 1-way valve to inflate it fully. Honestly, I’d prefer to use this mattress inside a bigger tent.
4-Person Tent
Here’s what the Etekcity Mattress looks inside a Coleman 4-Person Dome Tent when placed vertically inside the tent.
There definitely isn’t enough space to fit 2 of these mattresses, but having just 1 mattress gives me plenty of space for my camping gear. I also have lots of livable space and can crouch inside the tent.
Quality
Material
The Etekcity Camping Air Mattress is made of PVC. The top is velvety and soft, while the bottom feels plasticky.
This Etekcity Camping Mattress is apparently 20% thicker than traditional air mattresses. Judging by how massive and heavy this thing is, I think it’s probably true, and it definitely feels sturdier than my 2 other PVC air mattress.
There’s the usual PVC smell of course, which is strongest out of the box, but it does fade after a few days of use.
Valve Quality
The valve is made of a rubbery plastic, and I haven’t had any issues with leaking so far.
Air Retention
Air retention is good, and I slept on the Etekcity Camping Mattress with another person (about 300+ pounds together) 3 nights in a row without having to top off any air at all. But I had to use it a couple times to get the material to stretch out first.
Pump Quality
The pump has an internal rechargeable battery, and is very high powered, but I do have to hold the pump in place while inflating the Etekcity Mattress.
The charger comes with an indicator light, red for charging, and I assume green means fully charged and that’s when I usually take it out.
I can’t use the pump when charging though, and the pump itself doesn’t have any indicator lights to show how much of a charge is left.
Pump Durability
I’ve had this pump for a couple years now, so the battery is pretty worn out. Originally, it took a few, maybe 3, hours to charge this, I can’t really remember, but now it takes only 45 minutes for the light to change from red to green.
The charge it holds is really short now, and the pump loses about 95% of its power at around 4 minutes in. So, I can inflate the Etekcity Mattress fully only maybe 3 times or so before the pump completely dies. Not the best, but it’s pretty old.
One more thing – the pump needs to be charged for 5 hours before the first use.
The stuff sack feels like thick canvas and seems to be pretty strong.
Pros and Cons
Pros
For pros, I found that the Etekcity Camping Mattress has minimal bouncing, so this works well for people who toss and turn in bed a lot. It’s also pretty much a Queen size, measuring about 80 by 59 inches. Inflation is fast as well, and it takes only 90 seconds if you use the 2-way opening.
Cons
As for cons, I’m not a big fan of the valve, it’s more of a plug-type valve, and I prefer screw-on Boston valves. These plug-type valves seem weaker, and also, I could not make slight adjustments to the firmness of the air mattress.
Another con is that it’s huge. This Etekcity Camping Mattress is my heaviest mattress, and the packed size is as big as my self-inflating Exped MegaMat Duo 10 Medium.
It’s also made of PVC, which I don’t really like, because PVC is naturally heavy, doesn’t pack down small, and smells for quite a few days.
I also didn’t think it was very comfortable when firm, but most of the reviews do say that it’s comfortable, so feel free to ignore this.
Recommendation
Overall, the Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress has as many pros as it does cons, and I think it’s great for some people but not so much for others.
For me personally, I’m honestly not a huge fan of it because it’s humongous, and I’d pick my Exped MegaMat over this any day.
I also don’t like PVC, and this is a little pricey for a PVC mattress, I think.
The bottom line is that I’d recommend this for people who toss and turn in bed a lot, who prefer higher profile beds, who have a lot of space to store this, and who don’t mind the PVC material. It’s great if you need a spare bed at home or you enjoy glamping, but just remember it’s not that great for camping inside 2-person tents.
Bonus: Must Read!
To find out how the Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress compares against the competition, here’s a blog post where I bought, tested and compared 10 of the best camping mattresses for couples.
Or, check out the Etekcity Upgraded Camping Mattress:
