At first touch, It feels like a marshmallow. Here is my first night review of my new Tuft & Needle queen mattress, along with its platform setup, and the reasons why I chose to go with Tuft & Needle over other major bed in a box companies.
It's now 6:36 in the morning as I collect my thoughts for a review of a new mattress that I honestly have nothing bad to say about.
Of the many bed in a boxes out there, I chose to go with Tuft & Needle for quite a few reasons, but will elaborate more on them later. For now, you want to know how I slept, don't you?
So, How Did I Sleep?
I slept really well -- probably as good as I can sleep. Coming from a Sealy's Posturepedic mattress that was made circa 2002, the Tuft & Needle mattress has blown me away with its doorstep, boot-print-on-the-side-of-box (thank you, FedEx --- no seriously, I know this box was a haul) luxury.
I decided to hop in bed and shut the lights off around 10:30 pm. One of the first things you'll notice when you get on this bed is that the only part of the bed that moves -- assuming you have a rock solid frame -- is the subtle downward compression to make room for you.
It's amazing! There is absolutely zero motion transfer with this mattress. I discovered this unexpectedly and by accident about an hour before when my girlfriend got off the mattress while I remained.
I was lying on the left side of the mattress on my stomach, face was also on the mattress, but turned inwards to face my girlfriend -- no pillows -- with my eyes closed. How freaky is it to open your eyes, expecting to see your girlfriend lying next to you -- or at least sitting on the edge of the bed, as I did hear her voice moving -- but instead find her standing on the floor at the foot of the bed -- not even touching the bed.
Was my girlfriend a magician? No, but boy did she make me feel like I had seen an act when I opened my eyes, wondering why the sounds and vibrations that inform you a person is getting off a bed, never reached my senses. Very impressed!
Getting hot was never really an issue for me when it came to sleeping, but as I was lying on my new mattress to drift away for the evening, I could't help but notice it's incredibly well ventilated and felt cool. How could a large piece of [proprietary] foam -- 10 inches thick -- feel as if there are tiny air pockets underneath your body?
It was as if the mattress was just a half of an inch thick, and the cool air underneath my bed was being blow upwards. As part of my research on this mattress, Tuft & Needle mentioned their mattress' lack of layers and glue help to create ventilation to keep you cool during the night. They were right!
Earlier, when I unraveled the mattress from its two protective, plastic casings, I pushed my hand into the mattress to get my first feel. Immediately I was struck with a comparison to a marshmallow -- and I hadn't eaten one of those in decades!
The last plastic sheathing was still covering the mattress when I did this, as the mattress lay in its final, un-inflated state. Was I concerned the mattress was going to be too soft or cheap to be taken as a real sleeping contender, especially since it felt similar to the topper I had on my old Sealy's mattress? A little bit, but I had faith and this was probably the only time I ever did.
You're taking a huge gamble when you buy a mattress online that you've yet to ever lie upon, but Tuft & Needle's 100 day, no hassle return policy wasn't the only thing allowing me to sleep easy that night.
So there I continue to lie for the evening, further probing my mattress instead of counting sheep. After taking note of the mattress' great ventilation, I couldn't help but feel incredibly cradled and support by the mattress.
It may be a 10'' proprietary foam mattress, but in no way does it feel like you're falling through it, even when sitting on its edge! In fact, I was truly concerned that I would feel the steel frame beneath the mattress when I would lie on it for the first time, but I later learned I was suffering from stress vision. You know, when you think something is true and it turns out to be not?
I must've sunk no more into the mattress than what was needed to keep my afloat. Granted, I'm a 168 pound male, but when my girlfriend was lying next to me earlier, I noticed absolutely no pull from her side of the bed.
Was it her or was it the mattress? It was the mattress, of course! I already told you my girlfriend isn't a magician because she never told me she was.
I'm not a back sleeper, but as I lied on my back, I was considering it. The comfort level was really good, the best I would ever need. But I'm a whatever falls in between a side and stomach sleeper, so I turned on to my simach and let the mattress take over.
One of the problems with my 14 year old mattress is that I could feel everything from my hips on down, dip downward. For the night, I'd be bent, and in the morning, as you'd guess, I would have lower back pain.
I'm also not one to suffer from back problems, but it was waking up recently on my old mattress with both neck and lower back pain that motivated me to research -- to the 9th degree, as they say -- and ultimately order my new Tuft & Needle mattress that same day.
As I lay on my simach, I figured who needs to sleep when you have a new mattress. So I rolled onto my side completely to give the mattress the old television commercial alignment test and I was elated and impressed, once again!
I felt completely aligned! Whether I actually was is to be determined by some arbitrary computer graphic line -- but I intentionally bent my body to mimic my old sleeping alignment, and when I relaxed, I felt my spine straighten right back out.
I even bent my body in the opposite direction -- still on my side here -- to mimic the old sleeping pattern I never had, and wouldn't you know it; when I relaxed, my spine not only didn't align to the older sleeping pattern I did have, but it defaulted straight and solid once again.
By the way, even though my colonial apartment with pumpkin pine flooring is as squeaky as a rubber ducky, my girlfriend, who sleeps downstairs, I imagine couldn't hear my proprietary foam aerobics because I could hear no sounds to keep me awake; oh -- I guess I had fallen asleep.
Anyways, in the morning, before I opened my eyes, I immediately remembered that I was sleeping on a new mattress. From there, my focus went right to a back that was deficient of any pain. I was [already] sold!
My Sleeping Setup
So, as I mentioned, I purchased a Tuft & Needle queen size mattress. To keep it off the ground, I purchased a Zinus 14'' steel frame, which I have to give credit to Zinus for -- what a solid piece of equipment!
My old bed frame had no center support -- just a perimeter frame -- which would ultimately contribute to the center sagging of my old mattress.
I eventually upgraded to an IKEA platorm bed, but its center support was a single suspended metal beam, which would have likely been great for my new mattress, but didn't help in any way my already sagging Sealy's posturpedic.
Not only was the Zinus 14'' steel frame incredibly light, it took me no more than 7 minutes to assemble it. I thought IKEA instructions were intuitive, with their wordless cartoons, but Zinus' assmbly instructions were printed on one side of an 8.5'' x 11'' paper, sectioned into 5 simple steps. I appreciated that!
Nope, no squeaks! I know you were wondering if the steel frame made any noise whatsoever, but to be honest, I could hear the dogs barking outside over it.
Lastly, I want to mention that the main reason I went with the Zinus 14'' steel bed frame for my new Tuft & Needle queen size mattress was not only because I couldn't fit a box spring into my colonial loft, but mainly because one reviewer of the Zinus frame learned -- after calling Tuft & Needle for a bed frame recommendation -- that Tuft & Needle actually uses Zinus for their mattresses in their Pheonix showroom.
I'll eventually get mounting brackets to attach the head board the salesman remembered to give me when I purchased my old bed frame. For now, a bed skirt, pillows, and a comforter do the job!
Why Did I Go With Tuft & Needle?
Yes, buying a mattress online is the thing to do in 2017, and you will not be short of choices. From Purple, which has an amazing marketing team, to Casper, which sounds like a '90s animated ghost comedy, to GhostBed, which doesn't sound like a '90s animated ghost comedy. But why did I go with Tuft & Needle?
- Price: $575 for a queen size mattress that fits through the stairwell that leads to my colonial loft is a steal!
- Toxicity: Mattresses are known for being harsh chemical sleeping platforms, but Tuft & Needle mattresses are, "free from known harmful chemicals and gasses. More specifically, our mattress is tested to be free from ozone depleters, PBDE flame retardants, heavy metals, formaldehyde, phthalates, and low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions for indoor air quality (less than 0.5 parts per million)." They've also earned a UL GREENGUARD Gold Certification and are, "certified by The OEKO-TEX® Association, a 3rd-party textile certifier, according to the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®, indicating that they have been tested to be free from harmful levels of more than 300 concerning chemicals."
- Free Shipping: Come on, who likes to pay for shipping on items over $574?
- Return Policy: Don't like your Tuft & Needle mattress? No sweat and no need to put it back in the box that it just wouldn't fit in anyway. Tuft & Needle gives you 100 nights to try the mattress, and on day 99, Tuft & Needle will refund you 100% of your money and help you with donating the mattress to a local charity.
- Warranty: If you decide to keep your Tuft & Needle mattress beyond 100 nights, you'll be backed by their 10 year warranty. With my history of a sagging mattress, Tuft & Needle has given me their word that if their mattress sags or indents by more than 3/4'' of an inch within that 10 year period, they have my back. They also mentioned that, "Body impressions and sagging are unlikely to happen for at least 8-10 years."
- The Founders' Message: I'm not moved by much, but Tuft & Needle won me over with their persuasive and critical take on the unscrupulous mattress industry. Daehee and JT, the founders of Tuft & Needle, would make a profit off of my purchase, but no where near the 900% markup in a traditional mattress not used for driving to work.
12/19/2017