Yellowstone Self Inflating Mat With Pillow An...What does California know that you don’t? Readers from all over have long wondered at this or a similar warning: “This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.” They’ve seen the words on products as varied as a flashlight, an eyeglass repair kit, a beach ball, a garden hose, a fishing rod, and—more troubling—on a coffee cup, a water bottle, a steering wheel cover, and an ointment to treat diaper rash. “We certainly want what’s best for baby,” said a New Yorker who bought the ointment, “so this product is going right in the trash!” In California the warning is even placed on some buildings.The answer is Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. It was a California ballot initiative (voted on by the public) and requires the governor to publish an annual list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.
The latest list includes hundreds of chemicals from A-alpha-C to zileuton. (Among the better-known entries are asbestos, benzene, lead, PCBs, and several phthalates.) Manufacturers must include the warning if exposure to one or more of those chemicals exceeds “safe harbor levels” adopted by the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Prop 65 lists four things that can prompt the listing of a chemical. If evidence changes, chemicals may be delisted. Although the warning is required only on products sold in California, companies may use it on all of their products to avoid creating different packaging for sales in that state.“Consumers can decide on their own if they want to purchase or use” a product that bears a Prop 65 warning, says the OEHHA. Although the wording certainly gets your attention, it may not mean that the product violates a federal safety standard. Since businesses aren’t required to say exactly why a warning is on their product, the agency suggests that a concerned buyer contact the manufacturer to find out.
The list of covered chemicals is available at the OEHHA website.When extended family descend for the festive season, like modern-day innkeepers, we must find room for them all.But while the term ‘air-bed’ was once synonymous with lack of sleep, today’s inflatable mattresses are so comfy your guests may stay well into the New Year.Here, ALICE SMELLIE grabbed the electric pump and tested out six... This clever blow-up bed can be used as a single or a double bed and took just under two minutes to inflate Two single mattresses that can be used alone or zipped together to form a double bed. Alternatively, stack one on top of the other and fasten together with the attached straps to make a thicker mattress.Each bed is 19cm high, 188cm long and 74cm wide and weighs 3.3kg. It took just under two minutes to inflate both with my electric pump. Alice says she found the bed perfectly comfortable and airtight, but commented that it was close to the ground The word ‘convertible’ conjures up images of luxury cars, but this bed is sadly less than five-star and the mattresses look grey and limp when lying unmade-up.
I found them perfectly comfortable - though if you sleep like a starfish you’ll find your hands and feet on the floor because it’s so low. But in terms of versatility, they’re genius. Put two small children in different rooms, separate grumpy teenagers or sleep in solitary luxury on the double mattress. A double-lock valve ensures they’re airtight. Easy to deflate by pulling out the valves, then roll up small. I even manage to fit it back into the box. This bed stands almost half a metre off the ground, keeping bottoms well protected from cold stone floors or carpets scattered with pine needles. It took Alice six minutes to inflate using her pump including unwrappingAn astonishingly large and light bed weighing just 3.5kg. It stands almost half a metre off the ground, keeping bottoms well protected from cold stone floors or carpets scattered with pine needles.: 47cm high, 198cm long and 137cm wide. It took six minutes to inflate using my pump - including unwrapping and unfolding.
I had low expectations because it looked so small when deflated, but this is the Doctor Who Tardis of the air-bed world.When tucked into the little carry wrap it hardly looks large enough for a toddler, never mind a teenager or aunt. However, when inflated it expands quite astonishingly into a high and full-sized double bed, which feels sturdy and as comfortable as though spending the night on a well-sprung mattress. The brushed polyester surface makes it feel deliciously velvety and it doesn’t have the strong plastic scent familiar to other beds.This extra surface on top of the PVC also makes the bed more puncture resistant, lighter and stronger - with 32 coils of PVC within it to provide structure. It’s fairly easy to let the air out and wrestle the bed back to its small form. I used my body weight to push it down and was almost, but not quite, able to squish it back into the bag. A massive green inflatable sofa with drinks holders, which folds out into a double air bed.71cm high, 231cm long and 193cm wide, which makes it bigger even than a super kingsize.
12 minutes, including 30 seconds of removing my sweater as I got so hot manhandling this behemoth. The Whopper is a massive green inflatable sofa with drinks holders, which folds out into a double air bed This huge bed needs two people to get it through the door once inflated. Lying on it, it feels a little unstable - as though my buttocks might soon make contact with the floor - and I wonder whether it might lose air, especially if people bounce around on it as my children did.Fantastic if you want to put loads of kids in front of the telly or for a nap, while grown-ups chat on Christmas afternoon. Though the air is released easily enough, folding this back to its initial packing size appears impossible. I end up staring in despair at a great heap of green plastic. The Aerobed Platinum takes just four minutes to assemble, including putting on sheets, and uses a remote This looks and feels like a luxurious double bed when made-up - both in height and quality of bounce. Comes with a valance and a padded top sheet.56cm high, 188cm long, 137cm wide.
Four minutes, including putting on sheets. It comes with a plug-in internal motor and remote control, which inflates it within a minute and a half.Should it go down at all (I don’t think it will), you can re-inflate to the perfect firmness by simply pressing the button for a few seconds. Alice says this blow up bed is the most bed-like air bed she has ever seen and that it is very comfortable‘Why have you put a double bed in the hall?’ asks my husband irritably. Of course I haven’t. This is simply the most bed-like air bed I’ve ever seen.As well as being comfortable, it’s recommended for those with bad backs, for whom a change of bed can mean days of discomfort. Press the deflate button and within a couple of minutes the bed is flat. I just about manage to fold it into its bag. The ReadyBed blue airbed double is a basic, blow-up mattress that slots into a material pocket beneath an all-in-one sleeping bag, saving you the faff of sorting sheets, pillows and a duvet A basic, blow-up mattress that slots into a material pocket beneath an all-in-one sleeping bag, saving you the faff of sorting sheets, pillows and a duvet.20cm high, 180cm long
Though it comes with its own battery-operated pump, I decide it will be quicker to use my own. It’s suggested that it only takes a minute to blow up, but takes me 14, including an interim where I remove the pump nozzle and all the air shoots out like a wind machine. There is a clearly a technique I cannot master. Alice Smellie thinks the built-in duvet is an excellent idea, but it’s too thin for winter, so you might need extra bedding anyway. However, she loves the fact that the bedding is easily machine washableThis looks exciting - making-up beds is tedious. Once I have wrestled the plastic mattress into the pocket, I clamber on.Because of my hopeless inflation, my buttocks hover perilously close to our stone floor. The built-in duvet is an excellent idea, but it’s too thin for winter, so it might need extra bedding anyway. I love that it’s machine washable, though. Incredibly easy to deflate and I can fit both cover and bed back into the bag. This mattress took took five minutes to inflate with its own in-built pump and folds itself up with one button Stored in a massive suitcase-like box, simply unzip, plug in to the mains and watch as the bed expands to full size all by itself.