Select Comfort

Full review
I've had my Select Comfort 3000 queen size bed for five years now, purchased to relieve back pain that chronically interfered with my sleep. Overall, I've been satisfied with it. Reading some of the very negative reviews, I have some suggestions to avoid becoming one of those unsatisfied customers.

WHAT IT IS

Select Comfort beds are easily adjustable air beds. The Select Comfort 3000 is the basic, least expensive model. I purchased mine for $500 five years ago; the current price is about $600. It includes the air chamber itself (or dual chambers, if you prefer), foam pads that form the sides of the mattress and give it its "mattress" shape, a zippered padded cover, the air pump and the firmness control. (From the company's web site description of this model, they may have added some additional padding since I purchased mine.)

If you've seen the ads on TV, be warned that this model does NOT allow you to select a number. The control is unnumbered; you just push the button until you are satisfied with the firmness. For an additional $200, you can purchase a numbered firmness selector.

BENEFITS

1. Comfort: I first discovered the comfort of sleeping on air when I became ill during an out-of-town visit. I was sleeping on an Aerobed, and after three days of being bed-ridden, I was astonished to feel no back pain. Back home on my expensive foam mattress, back pain drove me out of bed after six hours at most, and often forced me to leave bed in the middle of the night to finish my night in a recliner. On my return home, I bought an Aero-bed and slept comfortably on that for nearly three years. However, they are hard to make and eventually will develop slow leaks. The Select Comfort seemed like a good alternative.

Compared to innerspring or foam mattresses, both of which I had tried in fairly expensive models, air beds have proven far more comfortable. BUT EVERYBODY'S DIFFERENT when it comes to beds, and I had the benefit of trying it out. I recommend that to everyone. If you've never used an air mattress, borrow one from a friend or buy a relatively inexpensive Aerobed to try out before investing in a Select Comfort. The Aerobed will come in handy for visitors later, anyway. I've found that 30 days is not an adequate amount of time for trying out a new bed - 90 days is better.

2. Adjustability: This is probably the greatest advantage of an air bed - the ability to adjust it to your needs, which do change over time. Experiment with the firmness of your air bed, and do it without preconceptions. I always thought firm beds were better for bad backs, but that proved not to be true for me. Chances are good you WILL find a firmness that will suit you.

3. Easy to move: For people who find it necessary to move from time to time, the Select Comfort is a blessing. Its shipping weight is something like 30 pounds, and whether inflated or not, it is easy for one person to move from room to room. Deflated, it will easily fit in your car trunk.

4. Easy maintenance: Air beds are easier to clean and refresh. The cover pad can be washed. The foam pads can be aired and vacuumed. There are no deep inner places for dust mites to hide or liquids to seep in and mold. The mattress doesn't need to be rotated, although in theory I suppose the foam pads that form the edges could wear unevenly. In practice I've seen no sign of that. The bed is easy to assemble; it took me about 20 minutes, if I remember correctly. Warning: The components on this basic unit look cheesy and cheap. Looks aren't everything.

5. Durability: Unlike innerspring and foam mattresses, the air chamber is never going to compress or wear out. Just keep sharp objects off the bed, and if it will be on a platform over particle board, I'd recommend putting a blanket or other padding between the bed and the boards. I've had my bed at the same setting for over two years with no loss of firmness, so the air chamber seems to be very resistant to leakage.

6. Relatively inexpensive: OK, I know Select Comfort sells beds for up to $5,000. At their core, however, for all of them, the "mattress" is the same - one or two air chambers. The price differences mostly seem to be for the luxury of the cover materials and for various attractively-named pillow-tops - what I consider sucker-bait, if you'll forgive me. Once you buy the bed and put sheets on it, you'll never see the cover material again. And built-in pillow-tops actually detract from advantages 2, 3, 4 and 5 above. If the basic bed is not plushy enough, instead of spending $1,000 - $2,500 for a pillow-top, spend $100 - $200 for a 1, 2 or 3 inch memory foam topper. Your top will wear out before your air chamber, anyway, and you may find that the pillow-top, for all its luxurious feel, detracts from your back's comfort. When I tried beds at the store, it was immediately obvious to me that the pillow-top ones were less comfortable for my back than the plain one. A 1-1/2 inch memory foam pad gives the plush surface feel, without affecting the firmness unduly. Some of the negative reviewers who found the bed uncomfortable may have had more pillow-top than was right for their backs.

There is one option I would consider. For an additional $200, you can obtain the numbered firmness selector. I wish I had it. Trying to find your ideal firmness without having a numbered scale is impossible, and when you decide you might want to try a different firmness for a while, it's not easy to go back and find the exact firmness you liked before.

You will need either a platform or box-spring. As long as nothing is poking out of the box-spring, you don't need anything fancy.

DISADVANTAGES

Haven't experienced any.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

I visited a showroom and tried out the different models before ordering online; I'm glad I did or I might have been tempted by a pillow-top because they do look and sound so much better than the basic model.

The TV advertising and website for Select Comfort beds makes a very big deal of the ability to select your comfort number. The online description of the beds mentions that the number system is not standard with the 3000 model, but it would be easy to miss this major difference, or underestimate the effect this has on getting and keeping the most comfortable selection for you.

The online ordering process was straight-forward, confirmation and delivery were prompt and as promised. I did not order set-up, and can't imagine why you would need it: the boxes and components are light and easy to handle and the assembly is simple. The instruction and care booklet that came with the product was informative, but not much more than you can find on their website.

During the ordering process you will be offered the opportunity to finance the purchase by opening a store credit card. I declined it. READ THE FINE PRINT. Some models offer promotional no-interest periods of up to 18 months, but not all of them. Also, interest is assessed retroactively to the purchase date if the account becomes delinquent during the promo period or if it is not paid in full at the end of the 18 months. The interest rate currently is almost 23%, and almost 29% if delinquent, so the cost of any slip-up in payments is very high.

I have had no reason to contact customer service for any follow-up and did not attempt a return, so I can't speak to those issues.