"Dude, can I crash at your place?" These were the words spoken by one buddy of mine to another, right before the now infamous Couch Incident.

Without going into the embarrassing details, I'll just say the Couch Incident involved one $4000 leather couch, one very, very drunk friend, and one over-filled, under-controlled bladder. And no dog to blame it on. You get the picture. And you know it's not pretty.

The reason I bring this up, (besides the rare opportunity to embarrass a friend in front of thousands of people), is because chances are good you've had your own Couch Incident. Or know someone who has. But, as I'm sure you'll agree, it's much better to have a drunk buddy crash at your place than crash into a tree driving home drunk. But, since I also have a leather couch back at The Pad, I decided a good insurance policy was to invest in an inflatable bed.

For me, this was a no-brainer: the beds are affordable, inflate quickly, and roll up and store out of sight. And since my guest room is used more as an office than it's used to actually host guests, I don't want a full-time bed in there taking up space. Plus, around the holidays, when friends and family descend on your place, an inflatable bed is a necessity.

I tried a bunch of them and the best by far is the AeroBed DuraSuede. It inflates in under 60 seconds (before your buddy can say, "It's ok, I'll just sleep on the couch."), and is incredibly comfortable. As close to an actual bed as I've found. And the comfort control let's you adjust the firmness. Which he won't notice, but your other guests will appreciate. It's also the strongest and most durable. Perfect for when your buddy passes out on it face first, fully dressed. Provided he waits until it's actually inflated.

Various styles and sizes from $99.99-$299.99 www.thinkaero.com