Helix Mattress Review

Complete Helix Mattress Review

Helix Sleep first introduced their customizable hybrid mattress in 2014, which was the year of our first review.

They recently revamped completely their offering, after working thoroughly on their customers’ feedback of the past 4 years.

The company believes that mattresses should be customized to the individual, and asks customers to fill out an online questionnaire – disclosing key details about their body form, sleeping position, firmness preference and more.

Based on the results of the “Find Your Match” profile, Helix will recommend the mattress most likely to provide the best overall experience.

The available options include regular mattresses with 6 different combinations of  firmness and cushioning, and one variant built especially for heavier people. See below for the details.

What Type of Mattress is the Helix?

The Helix is the ‘Pinterest’ of mattresses. That is to say, if ever there were such a thing as a DIY memory foam mattress – this would be it.

Each mattress is made using ‘dynamic foam’, which is really the company’s own type of memory foam.

But, it doesn’t end there, they also use high-grade polyfoam and pocketed microcoils.

Each of the available beds come in varying degrees of thickness to create a hybrid mattress that is unique to the sleep preferences and body composition of the individual.

What is really interesting is the manufacturer also allows customers to select firmness based on partner preferences too, this means that if you need a firm mattress, but your partner needs a soft mattress – you’re both covered! 

How About the Helix Hybrid Mattress Firmness?

This is where things really get fun. Remember that questionnaire we mentioned earlier?

After you’ve input your age, whether or not you sleep with a partner, your weight and height, your preferred sleep position and your gender, the mattress that most meets your unique needs will be revealed. 

Here are the several variants, with their different characteristics (citing the manufacturers website exactly):

• Sunset: Plush with balanced support for side sleepers
• Moonlight: Plush with extra support for contouring in all sleep positions
• Midnight: Medium Firmness with balanced support for pressure relief for side sleepers
• Dusk: Medium Firmness with extra support for contouring in all sleep positions
• Twilight: Firm with balanced support for side sleepers
• Dawn: Firm with extra support for contouring in all sleep positions

What About Motion Transfer? Will I Wake my Partner if I Roll Over?

Given how much care and detail the manufacturer puts into making sure that their customers source the bed that is the best suited to their own personal needs, we weren’t surprised to learn that the beds in the Helix series absorb motion almost completely.

Helix has included extra edge support in their mattress design, not only does this reinforce the structure of a mostly foam mattress, it also prevents slipping or dipping into the mattress while sitting (or sleeping) close to the edge. 

How are the Layers of the Helix Mattress?

Helix Sleep has recently revamped their design and upgraded that materials used in their four-layer, hybrid foam/coil mattress. 

• The top layer, Memory Plus Foam is a high density, special blend designed to improve contouring and cushioning.
• Underneath that, Helix Dynamic Foam (a high-quality alternative to latex-foam) reacts to movement and cushions the body.
• Next, wrapped micro coils  (hundreds of them, to be exact) support the body and absorb motion transfer.
• Lastly, a High Grade Polyfoam base provides premium support.

Does the New Helix Mattress Sleep Hot?

As mentioned above, Helix did recently market a new ‘Ultra-Cool’ cover designed to improve the cooling capability of their mattresses.

However, (from what we can see) this was never to combat complaints of temperature regulation – but rather out of a genuine desire to improve the quality of their product.

Heat retention is always a concern with foam mattresses, but Helix uses hundreds of individually wrapped coils in the center of their construction – eliminating this potential downfall.

What About Off-Gassing? Does the Mattress Smell?

There is a common misconception about ‘off-gassing’ in the mattress industry, especially nowadays.

More often than not, if a new mattress ‘smells’ it’s a result of the chemical-laden materials used inside the mattress. 

This is more frequently seen in mattresses made overseas where regulations on petrochemicals or plastics are more lax – cheap Chinese foam, for example, can have a sour or bleachy smell. 

Helix mattresses instead are CertiPUR-US and Oeko-Tex certified, guaranteeing that all materials employed are free of any toxic particles that might dissolve in the air.

North American health and manufacturing authorities are much stricter about the items that they allow to be used in the production of consumer products.

Especially if there is a chance that those products might be used by children or vulnerable individuals. 

There is no noticeable off gassing on any mattress in the Helix collection.

Where people do report a slight smell is in the packaging used to protect the bed during shipping. This often goes away in a couple of days.

How Long will the Helix Mattress Last?

We weren’t able to find any information relating to the actual expected lifespan of the mattress.

Based on experience, we would think that a mattress of this quality and construction should last (at least) 8 years, possible 10 with proper care.

The bed is not designed to be flipped over – The gray material with Helix logo should always be at the bottom.

Helix does offer a 100 night sleep trial and a 10 year warranty. 

How is the Cover?

Every single Helix-branded mattress comes with an easy-to-clean, removable and machine washable cover.

The removable cover rests on top of an interior cover for a unique “Two Touch Design” that is said to improve airflow and breathability. 

The company recently introduced the “Ultra-Cool Cover” designed to create a cooler sleep experience (cooler in overall body temperature sort of way, not ‘cooler’ as in ‘I wear my sunglass at night’ sort of way.)

How Should I Care for the Helix Mattress?

As long as the mattress is kept dry and used only under normal conditions, there is no need for special cleaning. 

The manufacturer specifically states that the bed should not be flipped and that rotating is not needed.

The mattress cover can be removed for machine laundering. Review our mattress care guide for additional tips: Mattress care guide.

Where is the Helix Mattress Made?

The Helix Sleep company is based out of New York – with one showroom in Manhattan.

They take pride in meeting America standards and using American products.

Previously only available to America consumers, the company started delivering to the Canadian market in 2016.

How Big is the Bed? Will it Fit in My Room?

All standard Helix mattresses are 10” thick.

The standard variants are available in all of the most popular sizes.

These are the measurements:

• Twin: 39″ x 75″
• Twin XL: 39″ x 80″
• Full: 54″ x 75″
• Queen: 60″ x 80″
• King: 76″ x 80″
• California King: 72″ x 84″

Do I Need a Foundation or a Bedframe?

The bed doesn’t require a foundation or frame in order to be functional. However, the company does recommend that some sort of mattress support system be used.

More specifically, they recommend the use of the Helix Foundation to provide proper support and prevent mattress sag.

If you do prefer a 3rd party foundation, it is suggested that you use one with a solid base – instead of wide slats – or a box spring. 

Using the mattress on a foundation with slats further than 5″ apart might cause sagging and void the warranty.

Is There a Comfort Guarantee for the Helix?

Each mattress comes with a 100-day sleep trial.

If after the first 30-days of your sleep trial you feel like the top layer ‘just isn’t right’ the company will send you an extra comfort layer to make the bed softer or firmer for free.

But you’ll still have the right to return the mattress within the original period if it doesn’t fit you.

How is the Helix Sleep Warranty?

The mattress is covered by a limited 10 year warranty, valid only for the original purchaser of the bed.

To initiate a warranty claim, contact customer service by email at info@helixsleep.com.

How Much Does the Helix Mattress Cost?

Taking into consideration the customizability of the mattresses in the Helix New Collection, you would expect to see a price tag comparable to some of the highest luxury brands on the market. But, that just isn’t the case.

In addition to being made of high quality and constantly improving materials, the beds are also extremely affordable. 

Helix Sleep is running a great promotion by which you can get a nice discount + 2 free pillows by using our coupon code TEDVIP, resulting in these special prices:

Helix offers consumer financing via two different financing partners.

Shipping within the continental US is free.

Shipping to Canada costs $250 (plus applicable taxes and import fees) per mattress.

Helix Mattress Review – Our Verdict

At just $999 for a Queen sized mattress that is customized to your unique sleep and body needs, there isn’t much negative to say about the new and improved Helix series.

We love that they’ve considered individuals of all sizes in the design of their beds.

This means that heavier individuals and partners who have different firmness preferences have customization options available to them.

Free shipping inside the USA is certainly a bonus, but Canadian customers might find that the bed quickly loses its affordability factor once shipping and import fees are calculated.