WinkBed mattress review 2023

WinkBed mattress review in brief

• Breathable hybrid with back support system
• All body types catered for with four firmness options
• Cushioned comfort and deep pressure relief

The WinkBed mattress is a luxury hybrid made in the US, with a designed that includes individually wrapped pocketed coils and gel-infused foam. It features a three-step Back Relief system, making it a popular choice among sleepers with upper and lower back pain, and comes in four firmness levels (from softer to plus) to suit a variety of sleep positions and body types. It's also used in luxury hotels across America, including The Time Hotel in New York City.

The WinkBed features highly in our best mattress guide, as well as our best mattress for back pain and best mattress for heavy bodies rankings. For this review we opted for a queen size mattress in the luxury firm version (rated 6.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale), and slept on the WinkBed for three weeks to give it a proper test. In addition to our lead reviewer, we also invited members of our testing panel to try it out to gain a wider picture of how the WinkBed performs.

This superbly made mattress in a box offers cushioned comfort and reliable support for the entire body, with lumbar zone technology promoting good spinal alignment during sleep. We didn’t wake up feeling stiff or in pain at any point during our time testing The WinkBed.

Motion isolation is an important feature in any mattress and something we pay close attention to as part of our mattress review methodology. It's particularly important if you share your bed with a restless sleeper, as motion isolation prevents their in-bed movements from disturbing your sleep. During our testing period we found the WinkBed to be excellent at limiting motion transfer.

There's also Extra-Edge support here, another important feature for couples who like to spread out in bed and use every inch for sleeping. We felt comfortable when sitting on the WinkBed to get dressed, and remained supported when lying up to the edge.

As we'll cover further into our review, we'd also describe the WinkBed as breathable. Part of this is down to the hybrid innerspring mattress design (mattresses with coils and foam have better airflow than all-foam models), plus a plush Eurotop made of Tencel, a breathable material created from eucalyptus wood and cellulose. The WinkBed doesn't feature the same tech as many of the best cooling mattresses, but it does regulate temperature. 

As mentioned earlier, there are four firmness levels to choose from: soft (rated a 4.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale), luxury firm (6.5), firm (7.5), and plus (8), a specific firmness tailored to heavier bodies. 

This choice of firmness is similar to what you get with the luxury innerspring Saatva Classic (read our Saatva Classic mattress review to learn why we rate it so highly), though the WinkBed offers an extra fourth option for heavier bodies. Saatva doesn't, but it does have a 'HD' model in its range, which is similar to the Classic.

There are over 8,000 user reviews of the WinkBed on the brand's site, with an overall rating of 4.8 star out of 5 stars. There's praise for chronic back pain relief, little to no break-in period, and comfortable sleep, while a minority of users complain about firmness (either too firm or too soft). This could be down to them choosing the wrong firmness for their body and sleep though.

WinkBeds offers a lifetime warranty and a 120-night risk-free trial period, which is a little longer than the average trial period of 100 nights. The company requires you to sleep on the mattress for at least 30 nights before initiating an exchange or return. If you do need to exchange your model for a different firmness, you'll have to pay a $49 fee.

Overall, if you want a cushioned and supportive hybrid mattress that can be closely tailored to your sleep health needs, we'd recommend the WinkBed.

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See the WinkBed mattress at WinkBeds (opens in new tab)
Most months we see a $300 saving on the WinkBed thanks to an evergreen WinkBeds mattress sale, and this reduces the starting price of a queen size to $1,499. The Plus firmness option for heavier bodies costs $1,699 in a queen size. You'll have 120 nights to trial the WinkBed mattress at home, and it comes with a lifetime warranty.

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WinkBed mattress review: materials

• Pressure relieving gel-infused foam
• Soft and breathable Tencel cover
• Multi-zone pocketed coils for targeted support

The soft, luxury firm and firm variations of the WinkBed are designed with a Euro-pillow top, the feel and thickness of which varies depending on the mattress firmness you opt for. 

For example, the soft version has a three-layered Euro-pillow top to deliver pressure relief and gentle contouring of your body. The luxury firm and firm each have a two-layer Euro-pillow top, while the plus version skips the Euro-pillow top and goes straight in with a layer of anti-sag foam.

The plus WinkBed sports a 2.5” layer of pure latex for extra support, while the soft contains a 2.5” layer of temperature regulating, pressure relieving foam. Each variation uses individually wrapped recycled steel coils to offer different levels of support and ‘push back’ at different points across the mattress. The coils on the plus version are banded together and reinforced for extra durability.

The Tencel cover is OEKO-TEX Standard 100-Class 1 certified (guaranteeing it's safe enough even for children), while all foams used in The WinkBed are CertiPure certified and made without ozone depleters, PBDE flame retardants, mercury, lead and other nasties. 

WinkBed mattress review: price and deals

• Sits in the luxury hybrid mattress market
• A queen size is priced from $1,499
• Normally $300 off all sizes

The WinkBed mattress sits at the pricier end of the market. In fact, we think it's of the very best luxury mattresses around. Although it's an investment, it does get almost constant $300 discounts, which reduce the starting price of a queen to $1,499. Luxury rivals such as the Saatva Classic ($1,995 at MSRP, but less if you buy during a Saatva mattress sale) and the GhostBed Flex (officially $2,425, but usually $1,700 in the GhostBed mattress sales) sit around the same price bracket.

The DreamCloud Premier Rest comes in at $1,799 for a queen size in the DreamCloud mattress sale, but you’re getting a cashmere pillow top and a 16" tall mattress compared to 13.5" WinkBed.

Here’s the official pricing from The WinkBed soft, luxury firm and firm options, as well as the prices they're normally sold for:

• Twin MSRP: $1,149 (normally $849)
• Twin XL MSRP: $1,249 (normally $949)
• Full MSRP: $1,499 (normally $1,199)
• Queen MSRP: $1,799 (normally $1,499)
• King MSRP: $1,999 (normally $1,699)
• Cal king MSRP: $2,049 (normally $1,749)

Here’s the official pricing from the WinkBed Plus (the version geared especially towards heavier people), as well as the prices the mattress is normally sold for:

• Twin MSRP: $1,349 (normally $1,049)
• Twin XL MSRP: $1,449 (normally $1,149)
• Full MSRP: $1,699 (normally $1,399)
• Queen MSRP: $1,999 (normally $1,699)
• King MSRP: $2,199 (normally $1,899)
• Cal king MSRP: $2,199 (normally $1,899)

During traditional mattress sale holidays such as Memorial Day, the Labor Day mattress sales, and of course when the Black Friday mattress deals, you may come across a bigger discount on the WinkBed. These savings aren't exclusive to the brand’s flagship model either, and can be found on its other beds, including the all-foam GravityLux and latex hybrid EcoCloud.

The WinkBed mattress offers a lot of features for the price, including the four different levels of firmness, and you’d pay a lot more for a bed of this quality in store. Especially one covered with a lifetime limited warranty. 

WinkBed mattress review: firmness and comfort

• 3-step Back Relief System
• LumbarLayer for targeted support
• Four different firmness levels

The WinkBed mattress is available in four firmness options: soft (4.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale), luxury firm (6.5 out of 10), firm (7.5 out of 10) and plus (8 out of 10). After sleeping on the luxury firm, we would rate it as a 6-7 on the firmness scale, depending on your body weight.

The soft version is ideal for side sleepers and lightweight bodies, while luxury firm is suited to most people. Firm would suit stomach and back sleepers who need to sleep on top of the mattress, and avoid sinking in too much, while the plus version is for people who weigh 250lbs or more. WinkBed does clarify that if you weigh 200lbs or less, the plus will feel like a true 8 out of 10 in terms of firmness, but if you weigh 300lbs or more, it will have more of a luxury firm feel.

There are plenty of features built into the WinkBed to boost comfort and support during sleep. If you’re dealing with hip and back pain, the feature you’re likely to be most interested in is the 3-Step Back Relief System. This is designed to reduce muscle tension and to keep your spine and joints aligned. It works with a LumbarLayer to provide extra support in the lumbar region. 

The WinkBed mattress also uses individually wrapped coils to deliver targeted support and push back in specific areas, so the pressure will feel firmer in some spots and lighter in others. 

The plus version differs from the soft, luxury firm and firm in that it has a 2.5” layer of 100% latex (a material commonly found in the best organic mattresses). The latex is also open-cell to boost airflow. This is coupled with a five-zone EliteEdge wrapped support coil system, where coils are banded together to enhance durability.

As we tested the luxury firm version of the WinkBed, that’s what we’ll be focusing on for the performance section of our review.

WinkBed mattress review: performance

• Excellent edge support system
• Minimal motion transfer - good news for couples
• Breathable, but not cooling enough for very hot sleepers

We slept on a queen size WinkBed mattress for over three weeks, testing it across all key areas of performance and rating it on pressure relief, motion isolation, temperature regulation, edge support and durability, as well as ease of set up.

Our main reviewers for the WinkBed are side, combination, and back sleepers, but we also had stomach and combi sleepers on our wider testing panel. One of our reviewers sleeps warm to hot, so testing the cooling abilities was foremost.

In addition to our physical testing, we analyzed user reviews of the WinkBed to try and spot any recurring complaints or feedback about the mattress. User reviews also help us to get a better understanding of what the WinkBed is like to sleep on long-term, and if there could be any issues with durability. 

Here’s what we discovered during the review process… 

Setup

Score: 4.9/5

The WinkBed Mattress is shipped in a sturdy cardboard box. Ours looked a little beaten up in one bottom corner and was also damp. Luckily, The WinkBed is so well-packaged in plastic inside the box that the actual mattress was unaffected by the state of the outer box. 

In its box the WinkBed was rolled and vacuum-packed well. As with other mattresses we've reviewed, the WinkBed comes with a small plastic cutting tool to help you open the vacuum-sealed, tough plastic.

The mattress is fairly heavy, with a queen size weighing 135lbs, so you might need a friend or family member to help you unbox and unroll it onto your platform or bed frame. (In comparison, a queen size DreamCloud mattress weighs 85lbs, while a queen size Saatva Classic weighs 120lbs.) Once free of the plastic and on our bed frame, the mattress started springing to full form.

Off-gassing

Score: 4.5/5

Vome vacuum-packed mattresses containing foam are prone to off-gassing, during which a chemical or plastic smell is released into the room after you open the mattress. It's a normal process, but we always recommend opening your window before unboxing your new bed and leaving the window open for a few hours afterwards if possible.

We've reviewed all manner of mattresses so have a lot to compare the WinkBed too in terms of off-gassing. We're pleased to say it had a slight 'new car' smell that was noticeable for 15-30 minutes after unpacking but it wasn't bothersome. You can learn more about this smell in our feature on what is mattress off-gassing.

Pressure relief

Score: 4.8/5

The WinkBed Mattress provides plenty of pressure relief but that can be subjective to individuals of different sizes and weights, as well as your sleeping position and your body type.

As a hybrid, the WinkBed is made of foam, gel and microcoils. During testing we found the luxury firm version to be supportive and capable of relieving pressure points such as the knees, hips and back. With a hybrid, you’re paying for the combination of mattress materials that provide these pressure relieving points and WInkBed does an excellent job of it.

Lighter stomach sleepers may find the luxury firm too firm for a comfortable sink-in feeling that front sleepers may seek, while heavier back sleepers may prefer the firm or plus option to fully support their weight and pressure points.

Our reviewers agreed that the WinkBed luxury firm was the perfect firmness, about a 6-7 on a 10 scale, although we realize that firmness is subjective. Your mileage may vary so select the firmness level that most closely matches your preferences.

Motion transfer

Score: 4.7/5

Motion transfer is about how much you feel your bed partner (or pet) shifting around on their side of the bed. Typically, premium innerspring mattresses have good motion isolation as the foam and coils provide a stable base that locks in the materials within the mattress, providing a stable surface. On the flipside, even the best cheap mattresses have higher motion transfer because they aren’t as sturdy.

Motion isolation on the WinkBed mattress is down to the brand's SleepCalm motion isolation tech. We rate the WinkBed as a 4.7 out of 5 for motion transfer, which is on par with pricier hybrids. In addition to our physical testing, we performed a series of drop weight tests to help us gather data on the motion transfer of the mattress. 

We dropped a 10lb weight 4" away from an empty wine glass sat on the mattress to simulate the effect of a partner tossing and turning in bed. To recreate the effect of someone getting into bed, we dropped the weight 8" away from the glass. 

During the 4" drop test, the wine glass didn’t budge, indicating minimal motion on the other side of the bed. For the 8" drop test the wine glass barely stirred, backing up our experience during physical testing that you hardly feel any movement when your co-sleeper gets out of bed or comes in later than a person already sleeping.

Temperature regulation

Score: 4.5/5

One of our testing panel members is a warm sleeper so they were excited to try the cooling abilities of the WinkBed during sleep. Surprisingly, they never slept that warm or hot. 

WinkBed seems to do a fairly decent job of keeping the mattress coolish to the touch. It wasn’t noticeably cold, but the mattress does appear to have some additional cooling effects. Between its cooling cover and pocketed microcoils designed for added air circulation, the WinkBed mattress remains mostly neutral to cool during sleep.

That said, if you’re a very warm sleeper or suffer from night sweats, you may not find the WinkBed as cool as other mattresses designed specifically for the job, such as the Cocoon by Sealy Chill Memory Foam Mattress or the Nectar Copper Premier (read our Nectar Copper Premier mattress review for more on that one). In the interest of full disclosure, we used cotton bed sheets on the WinkBed during the review period and they may help keep some warm sleepers cooler as well.

Edge support

Score: 4.8/5

How the edge of the bed acts under compression is called edge support and it’s one indication of a quality mattress. No one wants to feel as though they could tumble right off the edge while sleeping, or that a portion of the mattress is unusable because you feel unsupported when sleeping close to the edge. With WinkBed, there are no such issues. Their Extra-Edge design feature is top-notch at providing a solid edge around the mattress.

We tested edge support on the Winkbed mattress with a 50lb weight, in addition to our main reviewer sitting on it. When the 50lb weight was placed near the very edge, it barely sank in 1.5-2". This puts it on a par with the edge support from the Casper Wave - during our Casper Wave Hybrid Snow mattress review the mattress sank from 13" to 11".

There was naturally a little more sinkage during our human test, but thanks to the WinkBeds extraEDGE support system we found sitting on the edge to be comfortable and supportive.

Durability

We slept on the WinkBed mattress for over three weeks so it's too early to show any signs of wear and tear. Even so, we rate the mattress highly for durability based on the materials used to make it and our experience of sleeping on it. 

WinkBeds provides a lifetime limited warranty to the original purchaser of the mattress, so it can't be transferred if you give the mattress away. The warranty also only applies to purchases made after July 25 2018, and there's a detailed section on what is warranted. 

We recommend you read the WinkBeds warranty (opens in new tab) before purchasing so you know what protection you'll get against defects in materials and workmanship. 

User reviews for the WinkBed also suggest that there is minimal degradation over time with regular use. We'll look at these reviews in more detail below, but if you need extra insight into coverage, read our feature answering how do mattress warranties work. 

WinkBed mattress: user reviews

There are nearly 8,000 customer reviews of this mattress on the WinkBed site alone, generating a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. You can sort them by lowest rating, highest rating, recent reviews, feedback with images, and the user reviews with the most or least votes – awarded by other customers who found the review to be helpful or not.

The luxury firm, softer and plus models get a lot of reviews, and the majority of recent feedback awards the mattress 5 out of 5 stars. From our analysis, the majority of WinkBed mattress user reviews are positive, with customers praising its high levels of comfort and cushioning.

As you’d expect from a mattress that advertises a 3-step Back Relief System, The WinkBed has attracted a lot of people experiencing hip, shoulder and back pain. We spotted quite a few user reviews saying that the mattress reduced the amount of night-time wake-ups due to physical pain, and that people felt more comfortable and well-rested when sleeping on it.

Not all reviewers had the same opinion though, with some customers saying the WinkBed was too firm or too soft to be supportive. We suspect they may have chosen the wrong firmness for their body type and sleep health needs, so we encourage you to read WinkBed’s description of its firmness levels and to really use the trial period to make sure you’ve tested your new bed fully. 

If you want to exchange it during the trial period, you’ll have to pay a $49 fee, though this isn’t as high as Saatva’s $99 fee. WinkBed returns are free.

Should you buy the WinkBed mattress?

The WinkBed mattress is a luxury hybrid innerspring mattress with a price tag to match, though after testing we believe you’d pay far more for a mattress of a similar quality in store. It is much more affordable than a Tempur-Pedic bed, for example, another favorite for deep pressure relief and back support.

Our reviewers highly recommend the WinkBed for those who want a step up from the typical foam bed-in-box mattress, and for anyone looking for enhanced back support during sleep.

The mattress was largely supportive in the right places – it has lumbar technology that relieves pressure points and helps with spine alignment, as well as good motion transfer and superior edge support. Along with its cooling cover, reviewers feel like The WinkBed is a great hybrid mattress.

There’s a firmness level for most types of sleeper, so we feel most people are catered for with The WinkBed. However, if you’re heavy (or very light) in body weight, you sleep very hot, or you prefer sleeping on your stomach with a softer mattress, then the luxury firm model may not be the right for you. We encourage you to explore the soft, firm, or plus versions to find the right firmness level that matches your sleep profile and position.

To summarize, with its limited lifetime warranty, and 120-night risk-free trial, we think most people will be happy with the WinkBed Mattress and all it has to offer in comfort, back support and cooling.