We have used the sleep number beds for many years and we have had great results. We have three of them, in full size and queen size. They seem to last forever. One mattress has been in use for 22 years, the other two for almost that long.

 One mattress finally developed a leak last year -- after  21 years! Rather than patching that leak, I bought a replacement bladder.  I figured that, after two decades of service, that mattress didn’t owe me anything. 

Unlike regular mattresses, the SN beds do not need to be flipped or turned. If something should spill on them, they can easily be washed. They are infinitely adjustable for firmness and of course they do not sag. And they are portable -- if we should move to a different house the mattress can easily be deflated, folded up and put into box. They do not require any sort of box spring or other support.

One possible disadvantage: unlike regular mattresses, the SN mattresses are very light. If you do lots of trashing about in bed, the mattress may end up slightly off-center -- obviously, a minor inconvenience. 

I was initially skeptical about buying a bed with air bladders. But the SN mattresses have proven themselves. They are a good example of the principle that it is cheaper and better to buy top quality. (I have two high-quality cars that are 34 and 23 years old, respectively. Both are in great shape and will probably outlast me.) 

It’s been a long time since I last bought a mattress so I have not followed the pricing, but I believe that these mattresses are expensive. Ours are the simplest models -- no remote controls, pillow tops or other fancy goo-gaws. I guessed that they use the same manufacturing processes for all of their models.

I wish that everything I have spent money on was as good a value as these beds.