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Pros
- Highly Customizable
- Little motion transfer
- Ships to Canada
Get up to $450 off your Helix plus 2 free pillows. Activate Here
The Helix mattress is a completely new take on the mattress in a box concept. Instead of going with a one mattress fits all approach, they focus on customization. So much so that you fill out a questionnaire regarding body type and sleep preferences before you place an order. This hyper-customization can be done for each side of the bed if you order a queen or king size mattress so that you and your partner get the optimal feel for your needs.
Helix was started out of similar frustrations with the mattress industry. Instead of creating another mattress in a box, this company sought to address the competing needs of partners who sleep on the same mattress.
Overview of the Helix Mattress
Helix now sells the following models:
Helix Sunset (Soft)
Helix Moonlight (Soft)
Helix Midnight (Medium)
Helix Dusk (Medium)
Helix Twilight (Firm)
Helix Dawn (Firm)
Helix also has a kids mattress that is two-sided to adapt to their bodies as they grow.
Here’s a video of me unboxing the new 2017 version of the Helix Mattress. Since then this brand has evolved from a customizable mattress to several different models depending on your needs.
Ordering the Helix Mattress
Ordering a Helix mattress is a fun and engaged process. You actually fill out a questionnaire before you place your order. Helix teamed up with some PhD researchers who are experts in biomechanics to develop ideal mattress specifications for particular body types and sleep preferences that are reflected in the questionnaire. Here’s a snapshot of the beginning of the questionnaire:
Further into the questionnaire each person will answer questions about sleeping hot, firmness preferences, etc. Finally, if the mattress is for 2 people, you will have the option of a transition between each mattress where the foam more gradually transitions to the other preference. Or, a split which means each side of the mattress is pushed together. I chose the transition and found that with the initial opening there was a slight dip where the mattress transitioned but that wet away after a few days.
Helix now offers financing so you can enjoy your mattress now and pay it off over time through Affirm. You can pay off the mattress in 3, 6 or 12 payments.
Construction of the Helix Mattress
The Helix Sleep system is made of 3 different layers. Foam, and micro coils which are small springs.
Foam:
2″ Helix Dynamic Foam
2″ High-Grade Polyfoam (comfort layers)
4″ High-Grade Polyfoam (base layers)
Coils:
- 2.4″ Pocketed Microcoils
- ILD: 18
These 3 ingredients are then customized based on your inputs in the initial questionnaire
Below is a picture I took when I visited the Helix headquarters in New York City that shows the 3 layers:
My Helix Mattress Recommendation
The Helix mattress has a great range of firmness and even on the firm setting will provide good pressure relief. The pocket coils provide a subtle pushback that will give you the support you need.
Here’s a picture of the inside of the Helix. Below is the soft side of the helix.
Below is the firm side of the helix which is part of the same mattress above.
The video below shows motion transfer on the soft side of the Helix mattress.
Here’s another video on the other side of the same Helix mattress which is the firm side.
Below is a picture of how much the mattress will sink. As you can see the left side is considerably firmer than the right.
This mattress does a great job with motion transfer and also temperature regulation. Looking at the photo below you’ll notice that the right side looks a bit different in terms of pattern color. You can see that there is some sort of cooling gel layer that was added to my side to accommodate this need.
Here’s a quick video of the micro coils
How Long Does A Helix Mattress Last?
A Helix mattress will last 7-8 years. You may get an extra year or two if you weigh under 150 lbs. Heavier sleepers over 200 lbs. may only get 6-7 years of life out of their Helix mattress.
Is Helix A Good Brand?
Helix is one of the most highly rated mattress brands among mattress reviewers and large publishers. It gets good marks for construction, durability and feel. They have excellent customer service and a legit free trial period with free shipping and free returns.
Do Helix Mattresses Get Softer?
Helix mattresses do not require a break-in period. The mattress actually may firm up a little after a few days but it will not get softer.
My Helix Mattress Recommendation
If you are looking for a mattress to accommodate sleepers with very different sleep preferences, this is the ticket. The owners of Helix Sleep are committed to delivering a personalized sleep experience that is backed by science not sales copy. That alone should be reason enough to give them a try. Their generous trial period will give you time to see if they got it right!
Get up to $450 off your Helix plus 2 free pillows. Activate Here
Disclosure: We aim to highlight products and services you might find interesting, and if you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue. I have an affiliate relationship with Helix
Reader comments 20
Anthony
How’s the feel and support? is it a 10?
Jaclyn Bender
What is the return policy if the mattress is not a good fit?
Editor
There’s a 100 day trial period. From their website: Try our mattress for 100 days and if you don’t love it, we’ll take it back, and refund you in full. We suggest you trial the mattress for at least a month so your body can adjust to a sleep system made specifically for you.”
Randy
Who is responsible for return shipping should it fail to live up to expectations? How must it be returned (type of shipping) and what is the weight for shipping. What packing materials would one use since it is now inflated?
Editor
Helix will handle the return and it is a free return.
Terri Couls
Motion Transfer
0
Affordability
0
Unique Features
0
Off Gassing
9.5
Trial Period
0
Does the “fused” mattress have the sane return policy?
Julia
Wow, this looks awesome! I like how they personalize each mattress to each customer – always wondered why the other online brands only had one option for everyone. Quick question: what if I share the bed with my boyfriend?
Editor
If you get a king or queen size, they can customize each side for each individual sleeper. It is a really nice concept.
James
How would you compare your two sides of the mattress? I know you requested one side be cooler than the other but did you also have both sides have different softness and support as well? I talked to Helix and they explained that they will adjust the order of the top layers (latex, microcoils, and polyfoam) depending on how the customer customizes their mattress. They told me for customers that request the coolest mattress they always put the latex layer on the top which I am guessing is the case for your side and your wifes side must have the polyfoam layer on top. Do you find the two sides feel vastly different due to this change?
Editor
No, it’s a very subtle difference.
Deb
What happens if someone looses weight or gains weight after buying one.
Editor
There’s not way that I’m aware of that you can change the firmness settings after purchase. So you would be stuck with that firmness setting.
Lesley
Thank you for your review and the code! I just bought our mattress and I’m very excited for it’s arrival!
Don
How is the mattress holding up after a while sleeping on it?
Editor
I sold this mattress to a neighbor and from what I hear it’s holding up well!
Cherry
Why did you sell the mattress and what did you replace it with?
Amy
Does this mattress smell/have off gasing?
Austin
I have a double pillow top mattress that has pillow top on both sides so I can flip it over from time to time and it is about 12 inches thick so I guess this mattress only being 6 or 7 inches thick I’ll have to buy all new sheets,, and can you flip this mattress
How does the bed hold up in the long run say after a year? Two years?
Editor
I can’t speak to the longevity since I only had it for a little while.
Karen
When I first purchased my Helix mattress I loved it. I have had my mattress for almost a year and started experiecing low back pain and realized the mattress had significantly loosened. I called the company and the only help they could offer is for me to buy a mattress topper for a $100+. No guarantee if this topper will help and no returns if it doesn’t. The 10 year warranty on these mattresses only covers sagging. These beds don’t sag, but loosen up significantly and no real help with the mattress once the trial period is over. So if you do purchase one of these mattresses, make sure to purchase one that is too firm for you now, so that in a year you will still have a bed. Interesting is my husband had purchased extra firm on his side of the bed and it was so hard originally I couldn’t sleep on it. It is now comfortable to me. I wonder how long my husband will be able to sleep on this mattress without issues. I am very dissapointed in the long term durability of this mattress and feel it was a complete waste of money.
JAMIE GEMELLI
We are having the SAME problem! We hate the mattress now!
Stacey L Pelika
I’ve had the Helix Midnight Luxe for a little over a month and am returning it. It started out okay, but now I wake up overheated and with severe elbow pain (I’m a side sleeper) in the middle of the night. Definitely do not recommend!
Ashish
Can i change it’s firmness and temperature after purchase ? and how can i do that ?
Editor
Yes, you can, you just unzip the cover and switch out the layers. It’s very easy to do.
Amanda
Just curious to know: how on earth would you ship the mattress back? It expands after it comes in a box, but I’m sure most of us don’t have the equipment needed to flatten it enough to fit it in a box again. Do they make you pay for return shipping?
Editor
Return shipping is free and they coordinate the return on their end so you just need to contact them and they will guide you through the return process.
Alexis
Motion Transfer
7
Affordability
2
Unique Features
0
Off Gassing
0
Trial Period
10
Just wanted to post a comment about my opinion on my Helix mattress for people looking for reviews because they’re considering buying one.
I would give my Helix mattress 3 out of 5 stars. Don’t get me wrong, overall its a comfortable and good quality mattress and I enjoy sleeping on it. I guess for me the only downside is for $900 this mattress didn’t WOW me like I expected it to. The mattress stays cool which is good, its firm (but I do wish it was a tad bit more firm for my taste), but the main thing that made my buy this mattress and pay the premium price is it was supposed to be customizable for someone who is a side sleeper and I don’t really see a huge difference in comfort than I do sleeping on a standard mattress. In all I like the mattress but if I had tested it before buying it I probably would have passed because for a $900 price tag I don’t see that much of an increase in comfort sleeping on my side to justify the price difference. If the price were lower I would recommend it to other people but at $900 I would say you may want to consider some other options first.
Eric
Which mattress did you eventually settle on?
