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As the old adage goes, we spend up to a third of our lives in bed — whether sleeping or scrolling endlessly through Instagram and TikTok. Regardless of how you choose to spend your time in bed, there’s much to be said about having a great mattress. This goes beyond something that just feels comfortable and offers the right support. A good mattress will help improve the quality of your sleep, which is how I found Avocado’s Green Mattress.
The brand is easily one of the most non-toxic mattress companies on the market. They focus on organic materials without the use of fire retardants or polyurethane foams found in traditional mattresses (there are a lot of chemicals that go into producing what we sleep on).
Going natural certainly isn’t cheap. Our tester rang in at $3,199, which puts it in the higher-end category. Avocado’s entry option starts at $1,599, which is still costly. When you finally decide investing in your sleep is worth it, though, there’s no use trying to put a dollar amount on a good night’s sleep.
In my home, we try to stay as toxin-free as possible, whether it’s skincare, food, clothes or anything else, so the proposition of Avocado was quite enticing. The brand comes with a number of reputable certifications — from Climate Neutral to MADE SAFE — and a level of transparency almost unheard of in the mattress industry. So we felt that it was a potentially good choice for us as we searched for a durable, long-term solution for our sleeping needs.
Specs
Dimensions: (King size with pillow-top) – 80″ x 76″ x 13″
Weight: (King size with pillow-top) – 172 lbs., (without) – 134 lbs.
Materials: Organic wool, organic latex and organic cotton (all Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified)
Firmness: medium to soft
Type: Hybrid Mattress
Pros:
– Excellent materials free from nasty chemicals and additives
– Good for hot sleepers
– Sturdy, durable construction
– Nice break-in over the first 30 days
Cons:
– Unbelievably heavy to move upon arrival
– Latex produces an earthy, natural odor for several days after unboxing
– expensive
How we tested the Avocado mattress
Our testing was pretty simple. An initial 30-day run with Avocado’s Green Mattress in a King size with the optional pillow-top surface. We’d track our sleeping along the way and document anything different or noticeable about our experience. We have a rather normal home, although it took significant effort to get the mattress up to our third floor upon delivery (more on that below).
Initial thoughts
An Avocado mattress shows up at your door like most do these days: vacuum-sealed in a large box. Unless you’ve opted for the full-service setup (another $249), you’re on your own to get a 172 lb. block of a mattress to wherever you’re sleeping. For my fiancée and I, this was almost impossible to lift on our own, so we bought a Shoulder Dolly and comically struggled to haul the bed up to the third floor. (Avocado makes a big deal about its endorsement from the American Chiropractic Association and you just might need a chiropractor after lifting this thing.)
Once we plopped it down, we followed Avocado’s setup video, and things were pretty easy from there. The Avocado is a hybrid mattress with a combination of innerspring and foam. It tends to have a good balance between support and cushioning. If you’re not a fan of beds that sink in too quickly or a bed that feels too firm, a hybrid works as a perfect go-between.
Avocado warns you about an initial odor from the natural latex used in the mattress, and the smell is certainly evident for at least a week. We gave it two days to air out before sleeping on it, and the smell was still there for some time following. It’s sort of an earthy, organic musk that will also leach into whatever you wear in bed, so keep that in mind. It sure beats the chemical off-gassing of other mattresses, but it is something to note. The Avocado is also great for hot sleepers thanks to its layers of latex and innerspring, which is meant to regulate heat better than foam mattresses. Memory foam mattresses tend to retain heat and thanks to the Avocado’s hybrid innerspring construction it can dissipate heat throughout the night. As with any mattress, there is a break-in period, and the first night’s sleep was a bit firm, even on a pillow-top.
How we’re feeling after 30 days
The smell has largely dissipated and we’ve settled in nicely with the Avocado Green Mattress. It’s gotten more comfortable week after week. We expect some more uniform break-in once we turn it (which is a two-person job with the handles on either side). If one of us gets up first in the morning, the mattress is balanced enough so that it doesn’t disturb the other, which is a testament to its ability to handle motion.
What we don’t like is the “buttons” that dot the mattress top to keep it all sewn together. They’re quite hard and can be unforgiving if you move your body into one while lying down. We also realized that our prior pillows don’t quite sync up with the mattress, so we need to find some that better support our neck and upper back.
Final thoughts
All in all, this is the best mattress we’ve ever had. It’s heavy and expensive, but it’s comfortable, and we hope it will help us take another long-term step at having a more chemical-free home. We’ve noticed some improvement in our sleep and are searching for the right bed frame to complement the Avocado. We’re interested to see how it continues to form and break in over the next few months, but remember, if you can afford it, leave the heavy lifting to someone else.
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