OlarHike Double Airbed at £59.98: Why Half the Buyers Love It and Nearly a Quarter Send It Back

The Specs That Matter and The Ones The Listing Gets Slightly Wrong

The claimed dimensions are 190cm long, 140cm wide, 46cm high, with a 300kg capacity, a flocked top, anti-slip base, built-in electric pump and a carry bag. OlarHike back it with 2-year manufacturer support and explicitly warn that the PVC will stretch on first use, so an early softening isn't automatically a leak.

Worth knowing straight away: one verified reviewer measured the double at 180cm x 130cm rather than the advertised 190cm x 140cm. Another reviewer measured theirs at 170cm x 137cm, which is smaller again. I wouldn't assume everyone gets the smaller size, but if you're over 6ft tall or two averagely-built adults planning to share, the king size is the safer bet. Multiple reviewers explicitly say so: "if you are wanting a size for 2 adults to share then order a KING SIZE" comes up more than once, and another notes the baffled sides of the double push two sleepers uncomfortably close together.

The 46cm height is a useful number. It's roughly the height of a standard bed, which matters a lot if you have guests with mobility issues, older relatives, or anyone recovering from an injury. One buyer specifically picked it for a sister with a broken leg, and the long-term reviewer who uses it weekly for grandchildren confirms her adult son has slept on it without sagging too.

What The 5-Star Reviewers Actually Get

Strip out the one-word reviews and the 5-star column tells a consistent story. The pump inflates the bed in under 3 minutes at the push of a button. Deflation takes roughly the same and vacuums most of the air out when you roll, which is the bit that makes it fit back in its supplied bag. Comfort is called out repeatedly: "firm but still has a bit of give", "no roll-together with two sleeping", "feels like a normal bed". Several reviewers use it as their primary bed for weeks or months during house moves, partner stays, and in one case a house fire, and report no problems.

The longest-tested positive review runs to 2 years of weekly use, inflate-deflate every weekend, with the seams and valves still holding. Another buyer has used theirs 35+ times and it's still going. A former military reviewer has been topping up once a week for 3 months and describes it as sturdy and comfortable enough to replace a super-king while caring for a terminally ill wife. These are the success cases, and they're not a small group.

Two recurring tips show up in the good reviews: add a mattress topper (airbeds feel cold from the base even indoors, and a topper fixes it), and roll it up while the deflate button is still running so it actually fits back in the bag. Neither is a complaint about the bed itself, just small learnings worth knowing on day one.

The Deflation Problem: What The 22 One-Star Reviews Are Really Saying

This is the section that will decide whether you buy this or not, so it's worth being precise about it.

The one-star complaints cluster into three distinct failure patterns, and they're not the same problem. First, and most commonly: gradual deflation starting somewhere between 1 and 4 months in. Typical phrasing is "after 2 months it started deflating" or "3 months before it wouldn't stay inflated". The buyer usually can't find an obvious hole. Second: pump failure, where the built-in inflator stops responding to the buttons after 1 to 4 months of use. Third, less common but brutal when it happens: visible seam separation or stitching holes appearing along the edges, sometimes after only a handful of uses.

One reviewer who bought this three years ago and used it 4 or 5 times total described holes appearing along the stitching, and quoted the customer service response: repair patches aren't sold separately, and even if they were, patches don't reliably seal stitching-line damage. Another buyer tried the included repair patch on a slit and reported the air pressure blew the patch off within 5 minutes. That's a legitimate warning for anyone expecting the repair kit to save a failing bed.

The 2-year manufacturer support OlarHike advertise does appear to work for some buyers (one 5-star review specifically calls out excellent customer service after initial issues), but responses are inconsistent. A reviewer stuck with a non-working warranty claim simply got no reply.

The UK Plug Warning Nobody On The Listing Tells You About

Several buyers have received the airbed with a 2-prong US-style plug rather than a UK 3-pin. It's not mentioned in the listing. If you're expecting to use this the same evening a guest arrives, and you haven't got a travel adapter to hand, that's a real problem. One reviewer had their guest turn up before the adapter did.

Not every delivery has this issue, but it's come up enough times across recent reviews to mention here. If you're ordering specifically for an upcoming visit or festival weekend, either order early enough to return if needed, or keep a spare universal adapter with the bed.

How It Holds Up For UK Camping Specifically

Most of the reviews are from indoor guest-bed use, which matches the listing's emphasis, but a reasonable number of UK buyers take it camping. The findings are worth paying attention to because UK pitches are not forgiving.

The bottom is the weak spot for outdoor use. One reviewer flagged it directly: "if used camping definitely make sure the ground is clear of puncture risks. The bottom of the bed is not well protected and could be damaged quite easily." That matches what you'd expect from a flocked-PVC indoor-design mattress. A foam-backed groundsheet or cheap EVA mat under it isn't optional; it's the difference between this lasting a season and giving up on the first damp grass pitch with a hidden bramble root.

The 46cm height is actually a camping plus, because it keeps you well clear of damp ground seepage, which is the reason most cheap airbeds feel cold in UK conditions even when they aren't leaking. Pair that with a mattress topper or thick sleeping bag liner for base insulation and the bed performs well in a family tent. One reviewer who tested for camping reported needing a small top-up after three or four days rather than the week the instructions suggest, which is consistent with what most buyers describe.

For festival use, size is the bigger issue than durability. A 140 x 190cm bed plus the supplied bag is not a tiny carry, and if you're cycling or walking in, you'll feel it. Car campers and motorhome buyers won't care.

Who This Airbed Actually Makes Sense For

Based on which buyers end up happy and which don't, the pattern is clearer than the average rating suggests.

It's a strong buy if: you want a spare bed for occasional guests (say, 5 to 15 uses a year), you value the 46cm height for older guests or anyone with mobility issues, you're happy adding a mattress topper for comfort and warmth, and you understand that the PVC needs re-inflating slightly during multi-night stays. Most 5-star reviewers fit this profile. The grandmother doing weekly weekend inflations is the outlier at the top end; the once-a-month overnight-guest buyer is much more typical.

It's a weak buy if: you need a reliable nightly bed for more than about a month at a stretch, you've had a previous cheap airbed fail on you and want something unquestionably better-built, you're tall (over roughly 185cm), or you're planning two full-sized adults sharing regularly. For any of those, the king size from OlarHike (not the double reviewed here) or a proper rollaway bed are better fits. One reviewer explicitly regretted buying the blow-up bed after the third failure and switched to a pull-down wheeled bed instead; their point stands if you need a reliable daily solution.

The Small Stuff That Doesn't Get Its Own Section

A few quick points that come up often enough to be worth flagging: the pump is audible but not loud, running about as noisy as a standard hairdryer on a low setting for its 2 to 3 minutes. The flocked top grips sheets reasonably well, but most reviewers recommend throwing a sheet over it anyway for skin comfort. The secondary manual valve is there if the electric pump ever fails, which is a small but meaningful bit of redundancy. The carry bag is fine; it's not clever; you'll need to fold tightly or you won't win the zip battle.

The repair patch supplied in the box is, by multiple accounts, of limited use. If you want repair confidence, buy a proper PVC repair kit separately and keep it with the bed. It's a £5 purchase that could save the £59.98 one.

The Verdict at £59.98

The OlarHike double is a properly comfortable airbed with a quick pump and a reasonable design, priced fairly for what it is when it works. The problem is that a meaningful chunk of buyers see failure within months. Even allowing for the fact that disappointed buyers write reviews more often than happy ones, the 22 one-star and 9 two-star reviews out of 96 aren't noise; they're telling you something real about quality consistency. It's a straight trade-off between price and reliability.

If you buy one, do the things OlarHike recommends on the listing: test it fully the day it arrives, re-inflate when it softens rather than assuming a leak, use a groundsheet or mattress topper for comfort and protection. Register for the 2-year support if they let you, and keep the receipt. For occasional guest use at £59.98, the odds are on your side. For daily long-term use, look elsewhere.