Hi, thanks for your highly informative site! It’s really been such a Godsend in our search. I am currently deciding between the Brooklyn bed and Helix; was leaning towards the Helix due to the ability to make separate zones for me/my husband. However, I noticed the Brooklyn bed seems to have a bit higher quality material, and I noticed in a thread you mentioned the Helix may be a bit of a concern for those over the low 200’s. My question is this: my husband is 6’2, hovers around 215-220, broad shoulders, side sleeper. Would that weight be pushing the boundaries of the Helix in your opinion? I (5’4 140, side sleeper) tend to sleep close to him; would his size/weight cause a valley that I may fall into? Would the superior materials in the Brooklyn bed suit us better? Any insight you may have on this would be greatly appreciated! 
Hi Peachy,
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase 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 all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
While nobody can speak to how any specific 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 and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress … outside of PPP (which is the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase), the next 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 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 (see this article) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new).
There is more about the quality and durability of the materials in the Helix and the BestMattressEver along with many of the other simplified choice mattresses in post #2 here in the simplified choice topic. Post #1 in the same topic would be well worth reading as well.
As you mentioned … the BestMattressEver uses more durable materials than the Helix but the durability of the materials and how a mattress feels are completely different issues.
Both of them have great return/refund policies so you can try either mattress in your bedroom instead of testing it in a showroom showroom to confirm whether it’s a good “match” for you in terms of PPP with little risk outside of the time you spend sleeping on it or returning it should that become necessary. Careful testing or your own personal experience is the only way to know for certain whether the feel and performance of a mattress will be suitable for you or how well you will sleep on any mattress.
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone 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 firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
Phoenix
Thanks for the response! I have looked into those links; it was the link to that post #2 that had me concerned about the weight issue- this was what you wrote about the Helix: “They use good quality materials that would be suitable for most weight ranges in terms of durability but I would add a caution for higher weight ranges (more than about the lower 200’s or so).” So i’m wondering if my husband (215-220) may be limiting out the ability of this mattress to provide him adequate support?
Hi Peachy,
The quality and durability of the materials have nothing to do with whether how a mattress feels or how supportive a mattress will be or whether any mattress will be a good match in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) … only with how long the mattress will maintain it’s comfort and support over time.
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 here 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.
In other words (and without attaching a specific number of years which isn’t possible) … it would be reasonable to expect that the the Helix could be in the lower end of the range while the BME would likely be in the higher end of the range.
Phoenix