Helix Mattress Review

Helix mattress review

Helix is a bed-in-a-box company that creates custom-made mattresses based on individual preferences in regard to how you sleep. In fact, you actually have to answer several questions about your sleeping preferences as well as your body type and the final product you will get will be solely based on your answers.

Notably, Helix sells its mattresses exclusively online. This cuts out the traditional middlemen and this means that you will get the products at the best price possible. So, if you have been thinking that there is no one, truly best mattress for everyone, you might have to think again after having a taste of what Helix has to offer.

Construction and materials

As already mentioned, each of the Helix mattress options are customized based on the answers to questions set by the quiz. Based on our answers to the quiz, we got a mattress with the following attributes:

• Medim to medium firm
• Strong support
• Moderates cooling
• Moderate elasticity

Basically, you can expect to get your Helix mattress based on the following properties:

• Feel preference – there are softer, former and medium feels
• Support – this will be majorly determined by your body weight, height and sleeping position
• Temperature regulation -  whether you like it hot or cool at night
• Point elasticity -  the intensity of pressure relief needed as per your sleeping position

In its bid to come up with a mattress that wholly fits into the preferences of the user, Helix blended polyfoam, dynamic foam and microcoils to help bring into perspective a supportive mattress with a considerable amount of cooling and bounce brought about by the microcoils. These have been proved to offer not only the right bounce but also keeps you cool.

 Notably, the cooling system from Helix does not depend on cooling gels or chemicals but strictly dependent on perfect airflow, thanks to its breathable materials.

The other point of interest that sets the Helix mattress apart is their “dual comfort” offer for queen sized mattresses and above. This basically means that if you sleep with your partner and each of you has their personal sleep preferences, then Helix can customize each side of the mattress to fit into the specifications. Simply put, Helix mattresses have the ability to create two different constructions and firmness levels. In fact, to give you an even feel to your, mattress Helix goes ahead and blend the responses from the two of you.

A look at the layers

Cover

Helix mattress features a polyester cover and is pretty thin, making it conveniently breathable. With this thin cover also is the assurance that the top layer’s feel will not be tampered with. The cover stands out with its subtle dotted pattern. Apart from its soft touch, you also get the chance to engage with the foams and microcoils under it. You will also notice that the blue side panels are apparently sturdier and this means an added protection to the mattress.

The Top Layer

The top layer happens to feature the proprietary foam from Helix. It is noticeably springy and offers sufficient pressure relief. With this layer, you tend to feel that you are sitting on top of the mattress, unlike other foams mattresses where the sleeper feels some sinking. With its dynamic form construction, the top layers allows to you to roll around and change positions efficiently without having to feel stuck.

Transition layer

This is placed just under the dynamic foam layer and also features the proprietary dynamic foam from Helix. Ti is made to offer a perfect feel of both memory foam and latex while at the same time offering a quick response to pressure. Notably, this layer acts as a cooling agent and defends you from sleeping too hot. It also acts as a transition into the coils underneath.

Micro Coils

Microcoils are made to offer a cooling effect to the mattress and thus, this increases airflow in relation to the foam layer. Apart from the notable springiness that this layer offers to the whole mattress, it is also a firm layer that gives overall support to the layers above. On the other hand, the coils also help in offering the right body contouring as well as help in trapping to much motion transfer.

Base layer

This layer is made from a dense polyfoam that firmly forms the mattress’ foundation. Its construction is pretty standard for a bed-in-a-box mattress. Its main mandate is to offer support not only to the layers above but also the sleeper.

Firmness

It would be noted that the firmness of the helix mattress would be majorly based on your specific answers to the quiz. For the sake of our review however, we will be looking at the medium to medium form mattress.

Firmness feels may vary depending on the sleeper both in terms of their weight and sleeping style. As such, we did test various types of sleepers for this review in order to get a good variety. Notably, the same firmness feels promised from the questionnaire is what we felt when testing this mattress.

Even with these results however, you should take into consideration the fact that even with these results, you may not get the same for your individual firmness preferences based on what your answers on the quiz will be. According to Helix their ranges are:  very soft (2) to very firm (10).

Pressing on the mattress, you will distinctively feel the polyfoam top layer blending with the microcoils under it to come up with a stringy, responsive mattress.

Motion transfer

At some point, you may find yourself sharing your bed with someone else. This may be your spouse or just a friend. If you are a light sleeper, their turning as well as getting on and off the bed maybe a major disturbance to your sleep. As such, it is important that you ascertain how the mattress arrests motion.

 To determine the motion transfer for the Helix mattress, we did a test by dropping a 10 –pound steel ball from 12, 8 and 4 inches high then measured the intensity of disturbance on the other side. The four inch ball drop showed negligible disturbance.  For the 12-inch ball drop there was a noticeable disturbance but not significant enough to cause the sleeper poor sleep.

We are impressed that despite the bounce noted in the Helix mattress, it arrests motion transfer so well.  This is made even better by the individual wrapping of the microcoils since this means that they can work independently of each other, thus improving on motion isolation.

Edge Support

Sometimes, you may see the need to use the entire surface of the mattress, maybe when sleeping as partners or just for the love of sleeping at the edge. As such, it would be important to determine how much support you can expect to find at the edge. It should be firm enough to offer the right support but at the same time remain sift enough for a comfortable feel.

It would be noted that foam mattresses usually do not offer much satisfaction on edge support. We therefore saw the need to look into the Helix mattress and what it has to offer.

Lying just near the edge, you will noticeably feel evenly supported right from the center to the edge of the mattress.  With this position you do not feel as if you would suddenly roll over. Even when lying just at the edge, you would still feel some firm support beneath as you do not sink too much into the mattress. Even when you hang off the mattress, you will still feel some significant compression but still supported nevertheless.

When sitting at the edge of the mattress to mimick your morning routine of putting on your shoes, some notable compression is also realized. However, this is expected for a bed in a box mattress but Helix seems to set it par higher compared to the others of its type in the market.

Advantages and disadvantages of Helix mattress

Pros

• Just the right mattress for those who are unsure of what they are looking for, thanks to the revolutionary quiz
• Accommodates a wide range of options and preferences
• Has effective microcoils that help in keeping the mattress cool
• Takes just a few days to decompress
• No middlemen involved and you get a great bargain straight from factory to your doorstep
• Ideal for partners with different preferences
• Exemplar customer service
• Negligible  offgassing

Cons

• Not ideal for those who prefer a specific feel and type of mattress
• Some complaints about the cover being too thin and bunches

Warranty and sleep trails

Helix offer up to 10 nights of trial and you get full refund in case it does not meet your expectations.  This is a standard period for most mattresses. Notably, you get free shipping for your purchase, conveniently delivered in a nice looking box. On Warranty, the company offers up to ten years. This warranty covers any manufacturing defects that may arise within this period.

It should be noted that all Helix foams feature Certi-PUR US classification. This should give you the confidence that the foams meet world-calls classification and do not have any harmful chemicals. The fact that the mattress is made in the USA is prove enough that quality is checked and assured to meet the preferences of a majority of sleepers.