Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress Review: A Spacious Queen-Size Bed for Car Camping

Introduction

The Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress is a queen-size inflatable bed built for car camping and spare-bed duty rather than backcountry travel. Inflated, it measures about 80 by 59 inches, which sits very close to a standard queen size, and it lifts a sleeper roughly nine inches off the ground. The package arrives with a rechargeable pump and three detachable nozzles, an AC charger, a DC charger, two repair patches, printed instructions, and the mattress itself inside a stuff sack.

That bundle matters, because the pump is the part that determines how quickly the mattress goes from packed to sleepable. With the larger bottom opening, a full inflation takes around 90 seconds. With the narrower one-way valve on top, the same job takes roughly two and a half to two and three-quarter minutes. Either way, the mattress is ready fast enough that setting up camp at night does not become a chore.

The mattress is made of PVC with a flocked, velvety top surface and a smoother, more plasticky base. Etekcity describes it as around 20 percent thicker than traditional air mattresses, and the construction does feel sturdier than typical PVC mattresses of this type. There is the usual PVC smell when it comes out of the box, strongest on the first day, and it fades after a few days of use.

Who This Mattress Is For

This mattress suits a fairly specific camper. It is a good match for anyone who sleeps on a higher profile bed at home and wants something similar in a tent, and it works well for people who move around a lot during the night, because the firm baffled surface produces very little bounce when one person shifts or when two people share the mattress. The flocked top also cuts down on the rustling noise that slick air mattresses make when you roll over.

It is also a reasonable option as a spare bed at home or for a more comfortable glamping setup, where weight and packed volume matter far less than they do on the trail.

It is not a backpacking mattress. At 13.4 pounds for the mattress alone, with the pump adding slightly over a pound and the chargers adding about 4.1 ounces together, this is firmly car camping territory. The material is also not insulated, so it is best used in summer conditions.

Main Strengths

The strongest arguments for this mattress are space, stability, and speed. At about 80 by 59 inches, it genuinely fits two adults with room to spread out. Because the baffles firm up considerably when it is fully inflated, there is minimal bouncing, which makes it a practical choice for restless sleepers and for couples who do not want every movement transferred across the bed.

Air retention is solid once the material has stretched. Used with two people across three consecutive nights, the mattress held its pressure without needing a top-off. Early on, it may need to be inflated a couple of times to let the PVC relax into its final shape.

The oversized storage bag is a small but genuinely useful detail. It has handles for carrying and enough room to fit the mattress back inside even when it is not perfectly deflated, which removes a lot of the frustration that usually comes with repacking an air bed.

The stuff sack feels like thick canvas and appears strong enough to survive regular use. Inflation is quick by air mattress standards, and the pump itself is high powered, though it does need to be held in place against the valve while it runs.

Setup, Inflation, and Deflation

The mattress uses a 2-in-1 valve positioned along the side. It protrudes slightly rather than sitting flush with the surface. Removing the top flap exposes the one-way valve, which is the slower but more controllable option. Beneath it, the bottom two-way valve has a wider opening and fills the mattress in roughly 90 seconds.

Because the opening is large, air escapes the moment the pump is pulled away, so the valve needs to be closed quickly. If too much air is lost, the one-way valve can be used to top the mattress back up, which usually takes about 30 seconds. The trade-off is that there is no practical way to make micro adjustments to firmness. The two-way opening releases too much air at once, so softening the mattress slightly is not really an option.

Deflation takes about two minutes with a simple routine: open the bottom two-way cap, fold the mattress in thirds and press the air out with body weight, fold it in thirds again and press again, flip it so the valve faces upward, press more air out, then fold it in half. Folding and storing it in the bag adds roughly another 45 seconds.

Packed down, the queen version measures about 13 by 17 by 12 inches, though the final figure depends on how tightly it is folded and how much air is pushed out. The rechargeable pump is straightforward to charge, with a red indicator light while charging that turns green when ready. It cannot be used while charging, it has no indicator to show how much charge remains, and it needs a five hour charge before first use.

Comfort, Firmness, and Sleep Feel

Fully inflated, the mattress provides about nine inches of clearance, and there is no sense of the ground beneath you whether you lie on your back, your stomach, or your side. Sitting on it or leaning on an elbow does not bottom out the surface either.

The firmness is the detail worth thinking about carefully. When the baffles are fully pressurised they become pronounced, and for sleepers who prefer a flatter, softer surface, that firmness can press against the back and lead to aches after a night on it. Side sleeping tends to feel more comfortable because the body weight is distributed differently across the baffles. If you like a generously firm bed, this will feel right. If you prefer a softer, more forgiving surface, it may not.

Inside a two-person dome tent, the mattress fits neatly but leaves no room for gear at all. Its nine-inch height reduces usable interior space, and it extends all the way to the bottom of the tent door. Alone in that tent, it still feels workable, with enough room to sit up with a few inches of clearance and to crouch somewhat. With two people on it, sitting up means brushing against the tent wall, and the space feels very tight. Taller sleepers may also find the sloping walls of a small dome tent pressing against their head.

Inflation inside a two-person tent is awkward as well, since there is barely room to work around the mattress, and it is often easier to finish the job through the one-way valve after getting on top of it. A four-person dome tent is a much better pairing. One mattress leaves plenty of space for camping gear, keeps the interior feeling open, and still allows you to crouch inside.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Size and weight are the first considerations. This is a large, heavy mattress, and its packed size is comparable to a big self-inflating mat, so it needs real storage space at home and a vehicle with room to spare.

The valve design is the second. It is a plug-type valve rather than a screw-on Boston valve, which some users find less reassuring, and it does not allow fine firmness adjustments.

The third is the material. PVC is naturally heavy, does not pack down small, and carries an odour that lingers for a few days after unboxing. It also makes the mattress feel a little expensive relative to what a PVC bed normally costs.

Finally, the pump deserves a realistic expectation. It is powerful and the battery is rechargeable, but it has to be held in place during inflation, it cannot run while charging, and there is no remaining-charge indicator. Battery capacity also declines with age, so an older pump will inflate the mattress fewer times per charge before it needs to be recharged.

Buying Advice

This mattress makes sense if you want a wide, high, firm sleeping surface and you have the space to store and transport it. It is a strong choice for people who toss and turn, for couples who dislike bounce, and for anyone who wants a comfortable spare bed at home or a more civilised glamping setup.

The most important purchase decision is the tent it goes into. Pair it with a four-person dome tent or larger, where there is room for gear and enough headroom to move around, and it works well. Put it inside a two-person tent and the experience becomes cramped, both for sleeping and for inflation. If you are backpacking, or if you want a mattress that packs small and avoids PVC, this is not the right product, and a lighter insulated option will serve you better. For car camping and home use, it delivers on space, stability, and quick setup.

Conclusion

The Etekcity Upgraded Camping Air Mattress gets the fundamentals right: near-queen dimensions, a firm surface with very little bounce, fast inflation, dependable air retention, and a generous storage bag. Its limitations are equally clear: considerable weight and packed volume, a plug-type valve with no fine firmness control, PVC construction with a lingering smell, and a pump that needs to be held in place. Buy it for car camping with a roomy tent or as a spare bed at home, and it will do its job well. Buy it for backpacking or a small two-person tent, and its bulk will work against you.