I slept on a 550lb mattress made of just cotton, wool and coils for a month. Here's the case for old-school beds
This eco-friendly mattress made from organic materials as a nice balance of give and underlying firmness, though it’s pretty bouncy
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Sleep sits at the base of psychologist Abraham Maslow’s famous pyramid of needs, and it’s especially frustrating when a good night’s rest evades your grasp. Personally, thanks to a combination of a bad back and a sleep disorder, it’s all about the right mattress.
For nearly a month, I tested the Naturepedic Serenade, the cheapest mattress from an eco-friendly brand that offers three firmness options: Plush, Cushion-Firm and Firm, all made from cotton and organic materials rather than chemical foams. I tried a queen-sized firm version – I favor a mattress that supports me while sleeping on my back or side. And after a few weeks’ rest, I’m pleased to report that it is a great combination: I got a comfortable night’s sleep with reassuringly firm support and a little bit of give.
How I tested the Naturepedic Serenade mattress
I slept on the mattress with my wife, my dog and our two cats for several weeks, keeping notes on how well we (the humans) slept, and using my Apple Watch to track my sleep patterns. We invited others to lay down and test the comfort of the mattress, and I also used weights to simulate different body types using the mattress.
I tested for …
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The give: how much you sink into the mattress when you lie on it.
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Motion transfer: if you get up in the night, does the other mattress user feel the motion?
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Edge resilience: if you sit on the edge of the mattress, do you feel like you are going to slide off?
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How much the mattress captured heat and moisture, which I measured using an iButton sensor that logged the temperature and humidity near my skin as I lay on the mattress.
I also closely examined the construction and build quality of the mattress. After the review was complete, I returned the mattress to Naturepedic for donation.
Why you should trust me
I am a professional reviewer who has been breaking things to see how well they work since 1993. I have tested more laptops, cell phones and other gadgets than you probably have had hot dinners, plus a huge range of consumer appliances from coffee makers to washing machines to, yes, mattresses for publications such as Reviewed.com, PC World, CNET and many others. Basically, if you use it, I have probably tested it over the years.
Naturepedic Serenade Mattress
The stats
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Mattress type: latex hybrid
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Depth: 11in
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Cover material: organic cotton
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Trial period: 100 nights
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Warranty: 25 years (depreciating refund after 10 years)
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Sustainability credentials: GOTS certified organic, EWG verified, UL Formaldehyde-free validated
What is the mattress made of?
There are five layers to the Serenade: a cotton, wool and PLA (polylactic acid, a plant-based plastic) quilted top layer, a 2-in organic Latex comfort layer and then a cotton insulator that distributes heat. Below all this is the 8-in spring layer, made of enclosed coil springs individually wrapped in polypropylene. Unlike most mattresses, these springs are not glued together, so there is no chemical glue smell from deep within. Finally, a cotton batting layer forms the base, with the whole shebang is enclosed in an organic cotton wrapper.
The whole thing is about 11in deep, and very well constructed, with extensive and very robust stitching connecting the quilt and enclosure. It feels like it would stand up well to many years of human and other creatures lying on it, climbing on and off and general use.
Naturepedic offers a 25-year warranty on the whole thing. That’s a longer warranty replacement period than the industry-standard 10 years, although it should be noted that they will only replace the mattress within 10 years: for the remaining 15, you get a decreasing refund. Like most, the warranty doesn’t cover damage from cleaning, water or other liquids.
What makes the mattress eco-friendly?
Given the traceable and organic materials used in the Serenade, it is not surprising that it is also very recyclable. For returned mattresses, Naturepedic works with Liquidonate, a company that routes surplus products to nonprofit organizations in the US, or recycles those that can’t be donated. When I asked, a PR rep for Naturepedic told me that over 95% of their returns end up with nonprofits and charities.
How easy is it to set up?
If you’re installing the mattress yourself, it’s shipped in a vacuum-packed box about the size of a human adult, and somewhat heavier than most at 550lbs. Once I unwrapped the sticky plastic rolls and punctured the heavy-duty plastic bag packaging it, the mattress quickly gained its full 11-in depth and was ready for use in a couple of hours.
I didn’t get the usual chemical stank that foam and synthetic materials release on unpacking: there was just a slight odor of cotton, like the smell of freshly washed jeans.
Naturepedic also offers a white-glove install option at a cost of $299: honestly, that’s worth it if the idea of moving a mattress the weight and size of a motorbike fills you with existential dread.
Naturepedic Serenade Mattress
What I loved
The Serenade’s Firm version has a great feel: the top layers contour to the body with a small amount of give, while the rest of the layers provide robust support. It’s a great balance for someone with back issues like me.
On hot, sweaty nights, my back and sides stayed relatively cool. My tests with a sensor mounted on my back revealed that the bed’s temperature didn’t rise much above skin temperature, meaning that my natural body heat and sweat wasn’t being trapped next to me, and I didn’t wake up with the hot, clammy feel I often do with memory foam mattresses. The cotton layers of the Serenade feel nearly as firm as foam mattresses I have tried, but with much better ventilation.
This is especially important for back sleepers, where the larger area traps more heat, or for couples who like to cuddle in their sleep. With the Serenade, that cute cuddle will not turn into an unpleasant sweaty pit, unless you want it to.
What I didn’t love
The material does transmit motion: I could feel the movement of the other person in the bed. The Serenade is a bouncier mattress than most because the cotton material is less absorbent than foam or latex.
Naturepedic dealt with this to some degree by using metal coils that are loosely wrapped, not glued or fixed together. That means that each spring can, erm, spring without forcing its neighbors to spring along with it. There is still some transfer, though: if you are lying in bed and your co-sleeper falls in, you are going to feel it. If they roll over or change position, you’ll feel a lesser shift of fabric that light sleepers still might find disturbing.
The heavier testers I recruited could also sometimes feel individual springs moving through the layers of cotton and latex when lying on their back, which one described as somewhat annoying.
The boing-boing factor of the Serenade also means that when you sit down on the edge to put your socks on, you sink several inches into the mattress. As a medium-sized bloke, I didn’t feel like I was going to slide off: I just had to pay attention as I pulled my socks up to start the day.
So, is the Naturepedic Serenade mattress worth buying?
I liked this mattress a lot. It has a pleasingly firm feel with just enough give to conform to the shape of my body and provide some relief to my achy back.
There are caveats: when my wife came to bed and sat down, I could feel the mattress shift a little on the other side. Likewise when I woke suddenly and sat up, she felt a small bounce in the mattress. There was also the issue of sometimes feeling the individual springs.
Avocado Eco Organic
And at $2,000, the Serenade I tested is more expensive than similar hybrid mattresses such as the Avocado Eco Organic, which costs $1,599 if you’re seeking a budget-friendlier alternative. But if you’re looking for first-rate construction and finish – and a longer 25-year warranty – the Serenade is the way to go.
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