Firmest Mattress: Winkbed vs Plank

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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Upon searching online for the firmest available mattress, sites discussing both Winkbeds and Plank (from Brooklyn Bedding [BB]) appeared the most frequently. Consequently, I’m posting here to get feedback from board members regarding people’s preferences for both mattress types. My experience with the Plank mattress follows.

I bought a Plank mattress in 2020 and have been sleeping on it for two and half years. Recently, the sag level in the mattress has made the unit painful to sleep on, so I’m now seeking a replacement. I notice that other members have reported the same problem.

Winkbed is new to me, so I’m interested in hearing from people who are sleeping on this mattress brand now, particularly people who purchased the firmest possible Winkbed model.

One option for me is to ask BB whether they’d consider a pro-rata credit for the mattress I now own, since my experience indicates that it does not maintain its advertised status as the firmest mattress in the U.S. for anywhere its warranty period of ten years. I’ve no idea whether this will work or not. Again, if anyone has tried spoken to BB on this topic, it would be great to hear what the results were.

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Hi voyager39, and welcome back after almost a year!

As you probably already have read, any mattress you choose will be unique to you based on your Stats (height, BMI, sleeping position(s) and any underlying health conditions) and your PPP (Posture & alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). Without knowing your Stats, it’s difficult to assess how either the BB Plank or Winkbed will be compatible for you in support or comfort.

I bought a Plank mattress in 2020 and have been sleeping on it for two and half years. Recently, the sag level in the mattress has made the unit painful to sleep on, so I’m now seeking a replacement. I notice that other members have reported the same problem.

Sorry to hear of your Plank mattress ‘sagging’ after 2 years; as you say, this is unfortunately not uncommon as you can read here. Possibly the HD support foam has insufficient density for its thickness…the specifications listed on their website do not quite match what was provided to a forum member in august 2022 for the Plank Firm; we do suggest any foam in a potential mattress has no more than an inch or so of lower grade foams (for memory foam no lower than 4 lbs/cuft for normal range weights, and 5lbs/cuft for higher range weights) and if polyfoam is used, with at least 1.8 lbs/cuft density, just to ensure you have support. A higher BMI sleeper with a foam of insufficient density would likely see premature wear, for example

Winkbed is new to me, so I’m interested in hearing from people who are sleeping on this mattress brand now, particularly people who purchased the firmest possible Winkbed model

As the Winkbed is a hybrid with very little detail or transparency on the density or thickness of their components, it is also difficult to assess how this may perform for any consumer. Winkbeds is also shipped compressed, which can possibly prematurely wear some of the components depending on how long and in what environment the compressed mattress is stored.

One option for me is to ask BB whether they’d consider a pro-rata credit for the mattress I now own, since my experience indicates that it does not maintain its advertised status as the firmest mattress in the U.S. for anywhere its warranty period of ten years. I’ve no idea whether this will work or not.

I would be surprised if BB would agree to the pro-rated credit…but there’s nothing lost in trying! If you want to provide your Stats, we may be able to further assess the WinkBed and how it may work for you; also, hopefully other forum members can chime in with their own experiences with these mattresses.

~ Basilio

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I also have the Plank mattress and noticed that the regular all foam “Plank Firm” felt great at first but started to lose support after a couple of months (still within the sleep trial). I exchanged the all foam “Plank Firm” for their Hybrid “Plank Firm Luxe” and this one appears to be holding up much longer due to the coils in the middle instead of foam.

For me, the Plank Firm Luxe hybrid is the only mattress I’ve found that works for me. Every other one I’ve tried lacks the needed support and I end up with a sore back. So if you were unhappy with the all foam Plank longevity but liked the mattress itself, definitely give the Firm Luxe a try.

I tried the Winkbeds Firmer and the top layer was too thick/soft where I would sink in too far and get sore back. I am a back sleeper. While I didn’t do a sleep trial of the Winkbeds Plus, I tried one in a local online mattress showroom and it also felt like the top pillowtop layer was too thick and soft allowing me to sink in too far before hitting the firmer layers underneath.

If you like the ultra firm feel of the Plank, none of the Winkbeds choices will give you a similar feel. Frankly I’m not sure what else out there will give you a comparable feel to the Plank which is unique in the top comfort layers are firm, and are not very thick meaning you hit the support layer much sooner than other mattresses with a thicker comfort layer.

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Thanks for your reply. I have supplied below all the stats and other info I can think of.
Height: 5’6"
Weight: 180lbs
Sleep position: back (mostly) and side

Relevant health issues: lower back pain and left-side sciatica.

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How do you try a mattress at an online retail store?

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Hi dap2k20, and welcome to the Mattress Underground :slight_smile:

Of course, there’s no way to test a mattress from an online retailer if they don’t have any
showrooms to allow you to physically ‘try out’ mattresses…what you can do, however is try out different types and firmnesses of mattresses locally to get an idea of how they feel, to give you a more concrete idea of what to consider from an online seller. If you don’t know if you would like the feel of latex, or microcoils, for example, trying a latex mattress or one with a microcoil layer locally will tell you if that’s something to consider, or ‘cross off’ the list, giving you a bit more confidence while looking at online offerings from a good quality online manufacturer.

You should not consider any mattress for which you can’t find the Mattress Specifications You Need To Know. If you can’t find those specs assume that the company has “something to hide” in terms of quality of some or all of the mattress components. Once you have the specs then compare them to our Mattress Durability Guidelines. The Mattress Shopping Tutorial will also guide you how to approach shopping on line. I’d keep in mind that outside of whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP…a mattress is only as good as the quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer.

The safest route is to call online shops and determine how trustworthy or knowledgeable and transparent they are. If they give you all the specifications and satisfy you with their knowledge and comparison of other similar mattresses on the market I would rely on the advice of the manufacturer/retailer themselves. In this case I would trust that they are familiar with their own mattress designs and materials and they can use the information you provide them about your body type and sleeping positions, your preferences, your history on different mattresses, and the results of your local testing to make suggestions based on the “averages” of other customers that may be similar to you.

~ Basilio

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Bobby2478:
Thanks for your post.
I’d like to learn more about your experience with the relative firmness of the Plank Firm and the Firm Luxe. I wrote BB about the two items, and they told me that the Firm Luxe was softer than the all-foam Firm.

Was this your experience?

This is real for me as I will have to choose one in the next few days. I am sure that I will benefit from having the firmest mattress possible.

Thanks.

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Hi voyager39,

Sorry I missed your giving your Stats in the prior reply; as you do have a bit higher BMI, and sciatica, I would avoid the BB all foam unless they can provide the foam density…otherwise you may experience the same ‘sagging’ or similar wear if it’s of insufficient density, even though BB may rate it ‘firmer’. I would avoid memory foam of less tha 5lbs/cuft or any polyfoam less than 1.8 lbs/cuft- this will provide good support as well as be durable enough not to wear out quickly.

~ Basilio

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Hi Basilio,
Thanks for your reply. You suggested that I determine the density of memory foam (5 lbs/cu-ft or more) and of the polyfoam (1.8 lbs/cu-ft or more). On the ultra-firm side of the all-foam Plank, the only type of foam listed as present (on the plankmattress.com) site is “high-density base foam.”

I plan to write BB to ask what the density of this foam is. if you have any thoughts as to what the minimum density of this “base foam” should be, please let me know.

One consideration affecting my thinking is that the Plank all-foam unit worked for me for over two years, and I will be moving overseas this year, and won’t be taking the mattress with me. Hard for you to know this, but do you see any chance that the Luxe will be too soft for me based on what I’ve said?

Separately, based on my complaint, I submitted a warranty claim regarding the softening of my Plank, and it was accepted. I can choose to replace it with either an all-foam Plank or the Plank Luxe. There’ll be a warranty, but no trial period. Ah, decisions, decisions. Being a cautious type, I could end up going with the foam version since it has worked in the past (for 2 years at least). Still not sure.

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Hi voyager39,

The HD base foam is likely a polyfoam formula of some kind, so again, I would make sure it’s 1.8lbs/cuft. or above, as far as density. Great news about your claim! Not sure about the Plank Luxe vs. all foam; what we have is @bobby2478’s opinion on the Luxes’ firmness, vs BB stating the all-foam is firmest. The manufacturer should know their own products best, but this is where one consumers’ opinion vs. marketing leaves it to you alone to make the determination…and since you will be using it for only a year…takes us back to where you started. Tough call, and I would say listing the pros and cons of both and ‘going with your gut’ is as good a way to choose as any at this point.

~ Basilio

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I can choose to replace it with either an all-foam Plank or the Plank Luxe. There’ll be a warranty, but no trial period. Ah, decisions, decisions.

For the record, the above turned out to be incorrect. I thought I’d have the weekend to decide which of the Plank models to order under the warranty claim. However, the Plank Firm (all-foam) was delivered today (Sunday), thereby making any preference of mine moot.
It’s all good. I should get at least a year of use of this new Plank. If I need a more durable model later, I’ll try the Firm Luxe.

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Having owned both the Plank Firm (all foam) and Plank Firm Luxe (hybrid), the Firm Luxe isn’t meaningfully softer than the all foam. It’s still extremely firm using the ultra firm side.

I’m 6’ 220 lbs and am a combo back and side sleeper.

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In terms of where to try out online mattresses, I live in MN and there is an independent business called “Online Mattress Showroom” that has a showroom with all sorts of different online mattresses to try out. They aren’t affiliated with any company and basically work with the manufacturers to get beds to display and they get a slight commission if you elect to purchase through them (they still buy direct from manufacturer, but if you use their “coupon code” they’ll get credit for the sale).

Not all areas will have something like this available.

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Here is what I have for the Plank Firm (all foam) after chatting with Plank (BB) a few months ago. As the mattress has 2 sides, this is with the ultra firm (most firm) side up. You can flip it over for a slightly softer “firm” side (which is still very firm compared to most mattresses, just has a little more give).

.75" High Density 1.5lb quilting foam (50 ILD)
7" Ultra High Density 1.8lb support foam (36 ILD)
2" Titanflex 3.5lb cooling foam (30ILD)
1.5" High Density 1.5lb quilting foam (36 ILD)

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Bobby2478:
Thanks very much for your input. Unbeknownst to me, the all-foam Firm Plank was already on the way and was delivered the next day. So that decision was made for me. I have begun using it and it’s vastly firmer in the waist area than my used mattress.

However, I will bear your comments in mind for next time, and will take advantage of the trial period to try out the Firm Luxe to ensure it’s firm enough.

Thanks again for your input.

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Brooklyn Bedding has authorized dealers who carry their mattresses in stores, from NY to San Diego.