You know what’s better than a good night’s rest? A good night’s rest on a mattress that you helped create, according to how YOU want to sleep. There are plenty of mattresses on the market, but are you ready to spend thousands for comfort — especially when you can do the same thing for less money?
Helix Sleep is the first direct to consumer brand to custom make their mattress that you create online through doing a survey about you and your partners’ sleeping patterns based on things like height, weight, how you sleep, mattress firmness, and if you actually feel comfortable about your current sleeping arrangement. Based off of your answers, Helix Sleep gathers up all of the data to create yourself a sleep profile, and with that begin to create a bed even Sleeping Beauty wouldn’t want to get out of bed with. Starting at about $600 for a twin, and upwards of $1000 for a California King, we were left with a list of scenarios.
Our current bed is actually a Queen, so would we stick to that? Or should we upgrade to a King and just sell out mattress. Luckily my girlfriend isn’t one to jump at the first opportunity at a bigger bed, so we stuck to the Queen when asked to order. Jessie and I both aren’t the biggest on cuddling throughout the night so we decided on a split bed. Split doesn’t necessarily mean that your bed will have a huge gap separating you two, but you will notice a significant difference in how your side of the bed is compared to your spouses. I like a very soft bed to rest my head at the end of a long night; Jess likes her side slightly firm, but with enough padding that still feels soft. So once we had all of that set up in the questionnaire, we pressed submit.
After Jessie & I did our online survey, it actually took us around six full days to get our new bed. The Queen mattress we received sells for $900, which is well under the price you’d find at any reputable company for a comparable mattress, so we saw it as a good deal. A “split” bed will be an additional $100 bucks, but trust me, it’s worth every penny.
Our building concierge told me that the bed would be too heavy to try to carry up to our apartment by ourselves, so we had to grab a dolly. The Queen came in at about 74.6 lbs, and although I did try to lift it, I advise against it. This certainly would be a two person job if you have steps in your home after it gets to your doorstep. And trust me, you’ll know that it’s yours when you see the midnight blue, octagon shaped box with the words HELIX SLEEP staring you in the face.
Once you get the box into the bedroom, I suggest laying the box on a flat surface and opening from the top end. It’s very well packaged, and you’ll understand why once you get your hands on it. After you open the initial box itself you’ll see the instructions right there at the top, welcoming you to your new mattress.
The instructions tell you exactly what you’ll need to do once you get the actual mattress out. Included in that however is a night Dr. Suess book in a “Helix Sleep” bag which I thought was a nice little gesture that they didn’t “have” to do, but I’m glad that they did.
When the mattress is actually out and on your bedroom floor you’ll notice that it’s fully sealed and wrapped into a vacuum sealed plastic that you’ll need to cut open. Before you ask: DO NOT USE SCISSORS. As the mattress is right underneath the plastic, with no material protecting it other than what it’s sealed in, use the supplied Helix Sleep cutter that will protect the mattress layer while allowing you to cut through the plastic. There’s also a “CUT HERE” label which is self-explanatory.
Once the mattress is out of the plastic, you will start to hear the mattress expand which Helix Sleep says will take about 15 minutes. So in this time, you can feel free to just let the mattress do its thing.
After leaving the Helix Sleep alone for about two hours, we came back to a nice fully expanded Queen sized bed. We left our Sealy mattress underneath the new Helix Queen to make a size comparison. While the old mattress was actually pretty thick, the Helix was a bit smaller in overall size, which to me is a good thing. Jess and I jumped up and down on the bed to test the overall feel of the bed. Now while I wouldn’t suggest putting a glass of wine on it and doing backflips on it like other mattresses show in their promotional material, I will say that the mattress has been very soft the past week and a half.
Also, my sleeping pattern has changed a bit as well, which could be attributed by the new sleeping settings of my Helix Sleep. Since I wanted a softer bed, I seem to sink into my side a bit more, which is a good thing. My lady and I both tend to watch TV in bed at night, and instead of getting that feeling where you’ve dented your bed from physically sitting in it, it has held us up well. Also, our bed ends up getting WAY, way cooler overnight. Our old mattress, I found myself sticking one leg out of the end to get some cool air from the AC in the summer, I’ve actually reverted and now wrap myself in the blanket it’s so cozy. It seems as if the mattress itself adjusts to the temperature of the room, which will be nice in the winter especially if you like a warm bed and run the heat for a couple of hours before hitting the sack.
As of right now, Jess and I are very happy about our choice in a new mattress, even though we (cough.. I) really wanted to upgrade to that elusive king mattress. But since Helix Sleep only supplies the mattress, and not the box spring, getting a larger bed would mean going into a Mattress Discounters or some variation, where they would attempt to convince me to lay on mattresses that 1000 other people have been on. Bedbug-be-gone!
One thing I do know is that I will be adding a hypoallergenic cover for our bed, since it seems as if my Asthma just flares up at the site of any germ, pollen or dust.
Overall, the Helix Sleep is a GREAT mattress compared to my last, and the price alone is worth it. The deliver the mattress to your doorstep, and all of the instructions are super simple. Why spend your day shopping around for a mattress, then tying it to your car to get it home? Let Helix Sleep do the work.
Learn more about Helix Sleep mattresses here.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review unit
What I Like: overall feel of the bed is great
What Needs Improvement: The boxing for the Helix Sleep needs sturdier handles; maybe include a box spring option for an additional price?
