I went to a place that had Nolah Evolution, Wink Bed (multiple), Leesa (multiple), Puffy (3), and Brooklyn Bedding (3). Trying them on close succession was super helpful. They didn’t have helix but I tried this somewhere else (midnight luxe and elite), as well as Saatva (classic, Rx, and their all foam beds). I also tried others I passed on for being too cheap and feeling cheap, or for being over $3,500 which was above what I would spend.
Remember that Helix, Brooklyn Bedding, Leesa, Nolah, Bear, and a few others are all 3Z’s brands made in Arizona at the same factory.
- Helix Midnight *Elite* (edit, incorrectly wrote luxe) was a winner but… there were two things I didn’t love. While being super comfortable, supportive overall with great edge and mid support, and felt cool - it had a little more spring than I liked, and was slightly firmer than some other beds. Part of the firmness and spring comes from having two levels of springs. One at the lower level and micro springs higher up. It’s also priced as a premium option. While cheaper than Tempurpedic and Beauty Rest, it’s just not an amazing value option where you must love it to pay $3k+. At $2k or slightly above, this would have been an instant buy for me. (Edit for clarity: Luxe didn’t feel as supportive, or overall as nice as more expensive Luxe)
- Nolah Evolution felt remarkably similar to Midnight *Elite* for being half the price. It’s not quite as supportive, doesn’t have as much spring feel, but felt “right” for someone wanting something between medium and soft. I loved this bed. While I preferred Helix slightly, at half the price - I almost bought this because it’s insane value and very comfortable.
- Leesa was not my thing. They had sent me a targeted offer for Legend Chill which was a great value at almost 50% off retail and had great reviews. I just didn’t want to mess with this if I couldn’t try it. The two I tried in store didn’t feel as substantial to me. The Legend Chill was not something I could try, but I tried the Sapira and it was too floppy and so cheaply made that I could feel the coils on the side so took a pass.
- Wink Bed. I tried firm and soft. It’s a quality and comfortable bed, but I hated this bed in both feels because it was way too springy for my taste. I come from Tempurpedic and Sealy gel foam beds and my partner can feel any move I made. People seem to love or hate this bed. The store owner told me he sells a lot of them, but it’s returned sometimes because of firmness or spring.
- Brooklyn Bedding. I tried the CopperFlex, Signature, Aurora. I liked them all, and prices were great, but I didn’t love any of these. I preferred the Helix Elite and Nolah Evolution, and the Nolah price is just phenomenal.
- Puffy. This felt great and supportive. I love their highest end bed the most, but it’s a little too firm for my taste, and moved more than I liked. It barely fit my below $3,500 range and I preferred other options.
- Saatva. I loved the RX bed. It’s a softer Helix Midnight Elite, but you can feel the movement slightly more. If this were cheaper, I would have bought this. The classic was way too firm and springy for my taste. The full memory foam bed they made was actually phenomenal. It was the only all foam bed I found as good as temperpedic, and could have happily bought that or Rx.
- Tempurpedic. Great for my taste, but too expensive to get one of their premium beds.
What did I buy?
Thermo Balance Elite from Brooklyn Bedding.
Why?
I called 3Z’s. I told them exactly what I said above about their beds on their various brands versus others and what I wanted. They said the best option for a very supportive bed like the Helix Midnight Elite that was my favorite, but had more cooling, less movement (1 coil set, no micro coil), and very slightly less firmness on the medium firmness was the Thermo Balance Elite in Medium. I asked why elite and not the cheaper version, and they said it has an improved spring system for middle support and higher density premium phase change foam. They also said if I don’t love the bed, they’d give me back $1,200 and switch me out to a Nolah bed.
My Thermo balance elite comes next week, and it was $600+ cheaper than Helix Midnight Luxe. I didn’t want to buy a bed I didn’t try, but they gave me a great price, promised me a refund of $1,200 and a replacement to Nolah Evolution bed (which i did try and like) if I wasn’t happy. So my advice is give the Midnight Luxe time if you do have it, and then if you don’t love it, don’t keep it. It’s an expensive bed and 3Z’s has a ton of great options, and Saatva does too.
You are 100% correct. I wrote that when I was sleepy and have edited the post to be correct now.
The elite was an awesome bed, but I didn’t like the luxe’s foam feel. My top three hybrids I could try were Nolah Evolution (value leader), Midnight Elite (best overall but pricey with very slight downsides), and RX bed from Saatva (the most comfortable bed I tried overall, but also pricey and felt movement more than Elite).
Hopefully my gamble on Thermo Balance Elite (medium) pays off, and my tale (though biased to my taste which might not match theirs) helps someone who can’t try them all.
Avoid tempurpedic. They're overhyped and you cam get much better mattresses at that price point.
Out of the ones you listed Saatva is probably the best. Ships full sized and they actually have good customer service.
Look up "Saatva classic review sleepline" on Google. Its the best review I found for it.
The Saatva Classic is really good. I have one and it basically solved my back pain. [Sleepline](https://www.sleepline.com/saatva-mattress-review/) has the best review I found for it.
Wow this is so thorough, thank you and Roger, and all! I'm looking for similar; organic hybrid latex with spring coils and now taking advice "Dunlop core surrounded by Talalay" and trying to wrap my head around the tufting options. My big question is: Is it possible to get this hybrid combo and use it on an adjustable bed frame? Pretty sure I wouldn't like all latex, I like a bit of bounce, like the old school plush spring mattresses.
BTW I ordered a Saatva Luxury Firm and when I sat on the side, it crushed like a cupcake and when I laid down it gave me an immediate headache. I aired it outside for a full week with same instant headache results. Returned it. It looked really nice though.
Did you purchase yet? I'm definitely not building my own.
thanks again.
Saatva is crap! My husband is 6’2”, 200 lbs. His side collapsed after less than 5 years. (Paid $2,000 also). Do not buy! See my previous post and others recommending Mattress Makers in San Diego. Excellent product. Saatva and most other major manufacturers are now spending their dollars on marketing and selling terrible products. Planned obsolescence.
2Chris
