Classic Brands Cool Gel Memory Foam 14-Inch Mattress with 2 BONUS Pillows | CertiPUR-US Certified | Bed-in-a-Box, California King

Let me start off with a bit of background. I'm a relatively big guy (6'2" and 285 lbs), and have severe back issues.I had a tumor grow on my spinal cord, inside my spine which crushed my spinal cord resulting in paralysis from the chest down. Surgery removed the tumor and many functions returned. I can walk again (unsteady and not far). The surgery left me with 4 herniated disks and many completely numb areas, especially in the hips. I say this to explain that I have more back pain/issues than most can ever imagine. This mattress was unbelievably helpful. I used to wake up and turn side to side 4 to 6 times an hour. Sleeping flat on my back was impossible. Side sleeping would result in severe deep throbbing in my numb areas. Now I wake only 3 or 4 times a night. After the first night my morning pain level went down a lot and after a couple of weeks I am mostly pain free in the morning.I have never had any kind of foam mattress before. I have generally slept on traditional inner springs my 60+ years. I didn't know if I could manage the change in feel to a foam mattress. The wife and I went to many mattress stores and tried out the foam mattresses. I found that the spring and firmness was very important for me. I need enough firmness to help me turn over with my weakened lower body. I also found through research that because of my size it was suggested that i needed at least a 10-12" foam mattress with a thicker base core foam to firm up against my weight. This mattress seemed to meet all the suggestions and then some extra so I gave it a shot. I ordered the adjustable base and this mattress.When it arrived we assembled the base which only took about 30 minutes. Unpacked and unrolled the mattress. Amazing to watch the expansion. There was a very slight odor. Not strong at all and it mostly dissipated in a couple of hours and was gone the next day. I slept on the mattress after about 4 hours. It was very soft and I had trouble moving around. This worried me of course, but I realized that the foam needs a few weeks to stabilize so I would watch it. Over the course of the next day the bed became firmer. Over the next 2 days the bed became VERY firm. Still completely comfortable, but VERY firm. Much firmer than any inner spring I have had, but it retained it's soft feel pressure wise. Again I would wait and see. After 2 weeks the bed began to soften somewhat. Now after a month it has become near perfection for me. I sink in just enough to where I have a little resistance to turning over, but it is almost the same as my old pillow top. It gives great support to my back and body. I no longer wake to numb or tingling arms (I sleep on them under my head). No more sore shoulders or back pain. No more waking with my hips or butt throbbing from the pressure (nerve damage is a nightmare that is hard to explain or understand). I used to have to get up and walk around in the night to get things back in "perspective". That is a thing of the past. I only get up at night now for a bathroom break and right back to sleep.The first night I slept on the bed I had issues going to sleep. The different feel of a foam mattress seemed to agitate me. Once I fell asleep though it was a sound all night sleep. My first in years. Over the first week I would wake up very stiff and had some issues with soreness. I was trying to sleep in the flat position without the head raised 6 inches or so. Something I have not been able to do for over 20 years.This went away over a few days until I am now relatively pain free (for me anyway). I swear it had to do with my spine realigning from having proper support because I can sleep comfortably flat now though a slight 3 inch head raise makes it seem better.My wife and I have not slept in the same bed due to my constant tossing, turning and up and down, for many years. She has tried a few nights nights on the mattress to see how it does for her. Her king size is arriving tomorrow. She loved it as well and said she woke up with much less pain and slept sounder on it. OH, the free pillows are great. No numb ear or face tracks (I have to have CPAP as well since my diaphragm is affected also.)I am subject to night sweats and this mattress seems better than my old mattress. I don't wake up hot and drippy. Warm, yes, but not hot so I believe the cool gel works.Is this the perfect mattress for everyone? Probably not. Is it a great mattress? I would say yes. If you are a big person and worried about a foam mattress being firm enough to support you I would say go for this. Also, give it some time for the foam to stabilize. It really does take a couple of weeks.. If foam is new to you, wait to adapt to the different feel. It's a big change to your body memory, but it will be worth it in the end.Enough of my rambling. I just wanted to tell you my experience with this mattress since it has made a huge difference in my life. And no, I don't work for the company of even know anybody who does. I will update this if something changes.

3/20/21 Update: no bad news! This thing is still outperforming all the other beds I have ever purchased. I still recommend.•General - The mattress arrived •very• quickly. In fact, I had to leave it sitting on my kitchen floor while I finished up the platform bed I was making for it bc the box was rather large, as one would expect with a king sized bed in a box. We have been sleeping on the bed now for about 6-7 weeks. So far so good! The quality is much, much higher than the queen sized bed in a box we bought 4 years ago, which was only 9” thickness. The extra inches of foam really seem to make the difference.Another thing I liked about this mattress is that it actually ‘inflated’ fully almost immediately after we cut the plastic wrapping open. •WARNING• Do yourself a favor and get the mattress placed exactly how you want it on your platform, box springs, etc., BEFORE you cut or breach the plastic wrapping in any way, especially if you purchase a king mattress! Also, I’m a healthy & strong woman, but I could not have done this without help! Not even moving the box. Aside from being large & awkward, it’s quite heavy. None of this should affect your decision to purchase; in fact, I’d say the extra weight is a strong indicator of how good the mattress is, due to the amount of high-density foam used in production.•Cooling - I’ve owned hybrid & foam mattresses since 1999. Around 2016 I had to move to only foam to relieve arthritic pressure points prior to a joint replacement. Sleeping hot is something I’ve grown accustomed to, as I had to decide between sleeping hot or ultimately not sleeping at all due to hip pressure before my surgery. Hybrids still hurt me, even though they had inches of memory foam on top of them. All of them have been hot. Every single one, even the hybrids. The last foam mattress we purchased from Wayfair slept so hot that I had to use extra sheets on top of a cotton mattress protector just to keep from waking up so sweaty I’d need to shower! So I wasn’t expecting much to be different with this one, despite its claims of cooling. Foam holds heat. Bodies are hot. But... much to my surprise, I’m able to use a normal sheet on top of a normal cotton mattress cover with this mattress, and it’s quite comfy for most of the night! I’d say about 5-6 hours in I might need to shift or move a little due to heat build-up, but it’s nothing that causes me to sweat profusely like my last mattresses have. If you’ve never used memory foam or high density foam before, it might seem like it sleeps warm, but in my experience over the last 20 years, this has been the best one for not sweating so far. And that is coming from a woman in the throes of menopause!I recommend this mattress. So far it seems durable, comfortable, and well worth the price we paid for it. I recommend. 👍👍

I ordered this mattress over a month ago in the California King size on sale for $320. We didn't open it until a week ago because we were undergoing renovations in our master bedroom. I was pretty terrified when we first opened it as it did not seem to expand in the same way that other brands of memory foam mattresses do. I have had several experiences with Zinus brands and SweetNight in our own home as well as some Airbnbs that I manage. This mattress was super firm out of the package and well after setup. The bonus pillows were flat and there was no expansion whatsoever out of the packaging with them. There was no smell as other reviews have reported. We started sleeping on it on day 2 and the mattress was still very firm. On day 4 I went ahead and ordered a 2 inch memory foam topper as it seemed like I wouldn’t be getting what I would categorize as medium plush out of this mattress. Finally, on day 6-7 the mattress has developed a bit of plushness and is becoming quite comfortable. I’m 8 months pregnant and uncomfortable in general with some back pain so I don’t honestly think I would have a fantastic experience on any mattress currently. But this mattress is high quality and supportive. It has more of traditional pillow top mattress feel. The memory foam topper has already been shipped so I can’t cancel it so I’ll try it out anyway. But the mattress is great as it is! The pillows have since somewhat expanded but they are not my preference.UPDATE 4 months after original review: The mattress really took a couple of weeks to really expand fully. I did use the mattress topper I had ordered for a bit but found it to be too plush with the topper. I took the topper off and the mattress is a perfect medium plush. The pillows finally fully expanded as well and are comfortable. Give it lots of time on this mattress and pillow combo!

So my husband and I for years slept on coil mattresses, foam toppers, this and that firmness etc. We spent upwards of $5000 CDN for a good mattress only to have it fail after a couple of years. We would be happy if we got 5-7 years out of one.So after doing a bunch of research on line about what beds are good for big guys 280lbs and 300lbs. Most sites pointed me towards foam mattress's and such. Further research pointed me to the classic Brands Cool Gel Ultimate 14 in Plush King Size Mattress. So we decided to bite the bullet and in ordered it on line at a good price and delivery was very reasonable. First off, let me tell you this mattress at this bed size if HEAVY. It weighed in at about 180lbs. It comes vacuumed sealed in plastic and rolled up into about a 16-18in roll and is wrapped tightly and in a box. Like other reviews the box will be destroyed before it arrives at your doors step. You definitely need 2-3 people to move this package.Once you get it on your bed frame, cut the plastic wrap off and place the mattress where you want it. It will begin to inflate with air and become heavier. There is a slight chemical smell but that dissipated for us after a day. You want to let the mattress fully firm up for about two days maybe three, we did three days. We bought a mattress cover as well its a good recommendation. The bed once fully firmed up, is interesting to sit on, when you sit on the edge you sink in quite a bit. its deceiving and you will wonder if you made the right choice for sleeping as you think it will swallow you up. However, laying on it and your body weight is evenly distributed it is plush yet firm. You will not sink as much as you do when you sit. all pressure points that would hurt after a few hours of sleeping on a coil bed, don't hurt. As a side sleeper and a person with very broad shoulders, the foam is amazing at letting my arm and shoulder rest,relax and be surrounded by a foam cushion, rather than forcing me to sleep uncomfortably as I did for years on coil beds. I was using two pillows to keep my shoulder and arm from having circulation cut off.So we have had the bed for over a month now, it took about 4-6 days us to get used to sleeping on this bed. It cradles your body and you will move less at night, it is not hot to us and I am a hot sleeper (one of the complaints about most foam mattress's). the real test is to see how long the foam lasts under big boys and use, So far our sleep has improved and love that I can't feel when my husband gets out bed at night or vice versa. For people of size this is a great bed, for a great price.

I bought this mattress for my 14 year old son. Before, he was twisting and turning on his old mattress, we heard him almost all night. He was tired in the mornings. Since I bought this memory foam mattress, he wakes up rested and happy, no twisting and turning at night. He loves his mattress and it came in no time. When we unpacked it, it sprang into its form in like 3 minutes. There was no smell at all. He slept on it that very night. It came with a memory foam pillow which is also comfortable. As this is a longer and a higher mattress than before, I had to buy new sets of sheets. I ordered them on Amazon as well for a great price. Overall, I really recommend this mattress.

I would have given this 5 stars all across the board if it lasted more than 2 years! I’ve had it for 3 and now looking for another mattress. Since I’m in more pain and can’t sleep. I loved this mattress at first! It was so comfortable. After two years the covering started sagging as well as the centre, which is where it bunches up. It was bought because it was compatible with an adjustable bed. (I’m a 130lb woman) Ordered a twin X-L but it was short. Just wish it lasted longer. (The pillow was like football.) I waited to give a review til I was sure about this. Maybe I should have said something about it not fitting, or not being a twin xl sooner but didn’t know how or want to try to return it.~~~Got new twin xl mattress today. Quite a difference in size! So I obviously did not get a twin xl the first time, tho I was charged for it. Maybe that’s why it didn’t last as long? Disappointing. Now I want to change my stars.

Love this mattress so far. I’m 5 months pregnant and got the king size, and have found it super comfy. It’s on the firmer side of medium I’d say, which I don’t mind as it will probably soften up a bit over the next few years.The off-gassing smell wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We just left a window open for 48 hours in the room and didn’t sleep on it until the 3rd night.The pillow that comes with it is small and really too firm for us to sleep on, but our 2 year old loves it!

I was hesitant to buy this online as the quality in memory foam mattresses vary a lot, but I'm glad I did buy it. My previous memory foam mattress was a Queen-sized "sports" model by a different brand, designed to be very firm. I like it, but my husband hates memory foam, so we've replaced our Queen with 2 Twin XL mattresses pushed together on a King bed. My husband's mattress is a traditional firm coil from Sealy (the "Porter" model from the Brick is 14" thick and is a good match with this one). I used to love firm coil mattresses, but I have hip and lower-back injuries from an accident, so I now need the softness of memory foam for my lower-back joints, but still relatively firm support for a good-night's sleep. We opened up the mattress in the evening, and by bedtime it was already 12" thick. It initially felt like it was more plush than firm, which initially had me concerned. Day 2, it had increased to 13" and was starting to feel more firm, but still too plush for my liking and I was already considering to return it. By Day 3, it was 14" thick, firmer than Day 2, but still a little soft. Given that it had substantially firmed up within a couple days, I decided to give it a week. It is now my favourite mattress ever. I look forward to sleeping on it every night. My 14-month old shares my views with an "Ahhh" every time she lies down on it with me too. I would definitely classify it as "firm" by memory foam standards. It's gives plenty of support, but it still gentle on my back injuries and I don't wake up with any pain at all. I don't find that it gets hot, and the memory foam smell was minimal within 48 hours, and completely gone with a week. I also enjoy the pillow that came with the set - I find it comparable to a special side-sleeper pillow my husband paid $180 for at the Brick (Rain 3.0). We have ordered the Classic Brands adjustable beds, which are currently back-ordered. I will provide an update on how this mattress performs on the adjustable base one it arrives.