First of all, thank you to Phoenix for the mountain of work you’ve put into this site. I’ve spent the last 2 days using ~50% of my wakeful hours reading your site and gleaning every grain of info I could. I spent 2-3 more before that stumbling around all the other “review” sites. Thankfully I found TMU in time to save me from making a bad choice. My top picks have completely changed, overnight. Hoping to get your feedback (and maybe some validation/guidance) on my thoughts below.
5’10" 165-170 lbs. male with square build, side sleeper. Currently suffering from too-firm mattress (sore back, not feeling rested) and sleeping very hot.
I like everything I see about Brooklyn Bedding’s Best Mattress Ever. The quality of materials (both feel and durability), construction, and price look very attractive. I’m confident this is the best all-foam mattress for me. I suspect the medium firmness is best for my situation, and I’m also thinking about the plush firmness pillows they offer.
I love the concept of the Helix mattress, which seems to take into effect all the characteristics I’ve been researching so exhaustively. I wonder if their customization to my body shape and weight could be a big enough value add to offset the lower density support foam. Moreover, with the microcoil design, how critical is the density of the support foam anyway? Granted, I’m not a big guy, but I know density has a lot to do with durability in this area.
Generally speaking, I have no issue with the cost of either mattress, so that’s not a deciding factor in this case. I know both are too new to have any specific data on long-term durability, but given our knowledge of the underlying materials, is one likely to maintain its characteristics for longer? Am I missing anything? Do you feel one has an edge in overall construction or coolness?
I look forward to your response, and anyone who may have experience with both mattresses!
Thanks,
Devin
UPDATE: The more I think about it, the more I wonder if there are just too many variables in the Helix. Wouldn’t the thinner foam layers wear out faster than the fewer thicker ones in the BBBME? Further more, the BBBME is cheap enough that I could buy extra pillows and sheets plus the wood to convert my current frame to a platform. Am I missing something? Is the BBBME the clear winner or could there be some distinguishing factor about the Helix?
That’s a somewhat “strange” topic title since “Mattress Underground” isn’t a mattress and I’m guessing that you meant to say “Helix vs BestMattressEver”? If that’s the case I can change the topic title for you.
I’m guessing you’ve read this already but just in case you haven’t … there is more about Helix and the BestMattressEver along with many of the other “simplified choice” mattresses in post #2 here in the simplified choice mattress topic. If you are considering a simplified choice mattress then the first post in the same topic would be well worth reading as well.
The first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article).
There is more about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the quality/durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new) so I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
In terms of SUITABILITY and PPP:
When you are purchasing an online mattress you don’t have the option of making side by side “real time” comparisons with other mattresses to find out which of several mattresses you may prefer and you will generally find that any specific mattress may be the “best” match for a relatively small percentage of the population, a “good” match for a larger percentage, and an “OK” match for a larger percentage yet.
While the only reliable way to know which group you fit in will be based on your actual sleeping experience … for those where the mattress isn’t a “good enough” match (however they may experience or define this) then they both have a great return policy lets you test the mattress in your bedroom instead of a showroom with little risk outside of the time you spend trying the mattress or returning/donating it (should that become necessary) and starting all over again with choosing another mattress that will hopefully be a better “match” for you.
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and any firmness level options they have to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
The Helix mattress has a fairly sophisticated design that is somewhat unusual but I haven’t seen any feedback about Helix from the members of the forum so I don’t know the results of their algorithm or their success rate although I imagine it would be fairly high.
Brooklyn Bedding has a great deal of feedback on the forum and their success rate is certainly very high.
While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here.
In very general terms … the layers and components of a sleeping system that are closer to your skin will have a bigger effect on airflow and temperature regulation than layers and components that are further away from your skin and softer mattresses will tend to be more “insulating” and for some people can sleep warmer than firmer mattresses and how they compare would also depend slightly on the order of the layers and components in the Helix mattress you chose (a microcoil is more breathable than foam) but it would be unlikely that most people would have any temperature regulation issues on either mattress.
In terms of DURABILITY:
The Helix mattress includes 2" of 1.8 lb polyfoam in the comfort layers which is the minimum polyfoam density I would suggest for those that are in more average weight ranges. They also use 1.5 lb polyfoam in the base layers of the mattress and while it’s true that the deeper layers will have less effect on the durability and useful life of a mattress … it’s still a little lower than I would normally like to see in a mattress in this budget range. The deeper layers can still have “some” effect on the durability and useful life of the mattress but the effect would be more for those that are in higher weight ranges and/or that tend to compress the deeper layers of the mattress more than most people.
The BestMattressEver uses two layers of latex on top of a 2 lb polyfoam base layer which are all higher quality and more durable materials that exceed all the minimum guidelines and would be suitable for any weight range. It would certainly be the more durable choice of the two.
While there is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for a specific person or predict exactly when you will decide to replace it because it is no longer suitable or comfortable for you (because this is the only real measure of durability or the useful life of a mattress that really matters) because there are too many unknowns and variables involved that are unique to each person … if a mattress is well inside a suitable comfort/support range and isn’t close to the edge of being too soft when it is new (see post #2 here) and you have confirmed that it meets the minimum quality/durability specs that are suggested in the guidelines then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer and the chances that you would have additional “bonus time” would be higher as well.
Once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” and none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design relative to your weight range and if there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your local testing or mattresses you have slept well on, your more detailed conversations about each of them, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, your preferences for different types of materials, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Aha! I did in fact make a mistake in the subject line. I’ll blame it on the hours of reading. last night and recent lack of good sleep!
I think given your feedback i’m inclined toward the Brooklyn Bedding option. Their rep suggested the soft version since I’m a side sleeper but my version of side sleeping is sort of oblique, part way between side and stomach, so I’m thinking medium might be best, and offer a middle ground in case anyone joining me is not a side-sleeper themselves.
I’m thinking I’ll give their pillows and sheets a shot too. Given the return policy, I think I’ll do a pillow of both densities to start with and exchange whichever feels wrong.
I edited the title in the other two replies as well.
[quote]I think given your feedback i’m inclined toward the Brooklyn Bedding option. Their rep suggested the soft version since I’m a side sleeper but my version of side sleeping is sort of oblique, part way between side and stomach, so I’m thinking medium might be best, and offer a middle ground in case anyone joining me is not a side-sleeper themselves.
I’m thinking I’ll give their pillows and sheets a shot too. Given the return policy, I think I’ll do a pillow of both densities to start with and exchange whichever feels wrong.
Expect a report back when I have an answer![/quote]
Assuming that you decide to pull the trigger … congratulations on your new mattress
I’m also looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Since both companies have altered their configurations since that post, I was wondering if your durability conclusions would still be the same…? Helix is currently 2" of Helix Dynamic Foam, 2" of pocketed microcoil springs, 2" polyfoam comfort layer, sitting above 4" polyfoam base layer (the first three layers could appear in any order above that base). BB-BME is 2" of Titanflex comfort layer, 2" of Titanflex support layer, over a 6" high density foam base.
Yes, that is a reply from over a year and a half ago and both products have gone through specification revisions. As it happens, both product have their newer specifications listed on the Simplified Choice Thread, and you can read some comments about them there.
