Helix Midnight Luxe Mattress Review

Michael Magnuson

Founder of GoodBed, Leading Mattress Expert

Summary: Is the Helix Midnight Luxe a Good Mattress?

The Helix Midnight Luxe is one of the company's most popular mattresses. It is about 13.5" tall with a pillowtop construction over a pocketed-spring support unit.

In our testing, we found the Midnight Luxe to be a fairly soft mattress, but without a lot of conformance, so our tester never had a feeling that he was being enveloped by his mattress. That makes the Midnight an interesting choice for those who want a lot of softness on top, but don't want to feel like they're sinking into quicksand.

The Midnight Luxe has a couple of inches of memory foam near the top of the bed, but instead of slow/soft ooey-gooey memory foam that imparts a lot of that 'melting into the mattress' feeling, this is quicker responding memory foam, without much of that melty feeling. If you are after a mattress that has the pressure relieving qualities of memory foam but without the melting sensation, the Midnight is worth a look.

In performance testing, the Midnight Luxe had very good edge support and motion isolation, and it performed very well on our adjustable base unit.

From a back support perspective, we thought the Helix Midnight Luxe would be most suitable for average and lighter combination sleepers, but those on the heavier side should probably check out one of Helix's firmer mattress models. See our overview of the entire Helix line.

Read on to see if this mattress might fit your personal needs. While Helix is sold primarily online, it does offer mattresses through retail partners if you'd like to check them out in person.

Note: We also have a review on the Helix Plus, designed for heavier persons.

Bottom Line: Who is the Best Match for a Helix Midnight Luxe Mattress?

BEST if you:

• Are average to lighter weight
• Sleep in several positions
• Want to use your mattress on an adjustable base
• Tend to sleep on the edge of your bed

NOT IDEAL if you:

• Prefer a slow-melting memory-foam feel
• Are a heavier person, especially a stomach sleeper

If you’d prefer to watch rather than read, check out our full Helix Midnight Luxe mattress video review above.

Comfort and Feel

The “feel” characteristics of a mattress cannot be universally better or worse. They can only be more or less desirable to you, based on your personal preferences. For this reason, we call these “preference-based” attributes. Our ratings here are based on objective measurements that we apply to a consistent scale for products from all brands.

Softness ( what’s this )

Keep in mind that what mattress companies call “firm” or “soft” is a purely a preference. All mattresses should be supportive and promote healthy spinal alignment. Whether a mattress is fluffy and squishy (what mattress companies call soft or plush), or less so (what companies call firm), is purely down to your personal needs and preferences.

We found the Helix Midnight to be a Medium Soft on our scale; in fact it was very close to a Soft on our ratings scale.

Not sure what softness is best for you? Take our Mattress Match Quiz and find out.

Cushioning Depth ( what’s this )

This refers to how deeply you sink into the mattress or feel cradled or hugged, versus a feeling of floating on top of the bed.

While the Helix Midnight Luxe has memory foam, the foam isn't very squishy, and springs back into shape quickly. However, those foams are pretty soft, and you sink more into the mattress than average. However, it's not a very conforming mattress; that is, it doesn't closely hug your every curve. So even while it's a soft mattress, you don't feel swallowed up by foam.

Responsiveness ( what’s this )

Responsiveness refers to how quickly a mattress recovers its shape after being compressed. When you press your hand into the mattress, for instance, then remove it, does it take several seconds for the mattress to return to flat, or does it recover immediately?

While the Helix Midnight Luxe does contain memory foam, there isn't much of that melting into the bed feeling that memory foam is known for.

We also tested the bed for bounce. Unsurprisingly, since most of this bed is made of steel springs, we did find some bounce. The foam on top of the springs dampens quite a bit of the expected bounciness.

Back Support

The key to good back support is for the mattress to support your spine in a “neutral” position while you sleep, meaning that the shape of your spine is roughly the same as when you're standing. The ability of any given mattress to do this will vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight, body shape, and preferred sleep position(s).

In our evaluations, we thought the Helix Midnight Luxe would especially suit combination sleepers that are average weight of lighter. Heavier people might instead want to look at Helix's firmer mattresses, including the Helix Plus.

Spinal Alignment

The key to good back support is maintaining proper spinal alignment while you sleep. This means that the mattress should hold your spine in roughly the same position it's in when you're standing. The ability of a given mattress to do this will generally depend on your weight, sleep position, and body shape.

Here is how we break down the spinal alignment of the Helix Midnight mattress:

Back Sleepers:

Our tester felt that sleepers of about his weight (200 lbs.) or lighter would be well suited for the Helix Midnight Luxe. Because the mattress is so soft, we thought it less suitable for heavier back sleepers, whose hips might sink through the top foams and end up resting mainly on the coil unit. Rather, heavier back sleepers might check out one of Helix's firmer mattresses.

Side Sleepers:

Along the same lines, we thought average-to-lighter side sleepers would experience good spinal alignment on the Helix Midnight Luxe, but heavier people might sink too much in the hip area, through the spine out of alignment.

Stomach Sleepers:

Very light stomach sleepers should be okay on the Helix Midnight, but it's too soft for other stomach sleepers. Once your hips sink too much, you over-arch your back and that's a recipe for back pain. Rather, stomach sleepers might have a look at Helix's firmer mattresses.

Pressure Relief

Inadequate pressure relief from your mattress results in “pressure points,” which can be a source of pain, soreness, loss of circulation, restlessness, and other problems. Pressure relief requirements will vary be sleeper, with side sleepers needing the most. Likewise, the amount of pressure relief that a given mattress provides will also vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight and body shape.

Performance Features

With the “features” of a mattress, performance will tend to be consistent across all sleepers – without regards to your body type or preferences. However, these attributes have differing levels of importance to each sleeper, which is why we consider them “priority-based” characteristics.

Motion Isolation ( what’s this )

If you are easily disturbed by a partner's movements in bed, or perhaps you and your partner go to bed and get up at different times, then motion isolation may be a priority for you. Innerspring mattresses in general are not the best choice, but the springs are pocketed in the Helix Midnight Luxel (as they are in many modern mattresses), so the movement of each spring is isolated.

We test for motion isolation by positioning a bowling pin upright on one side of the bed, then dropping a bowling ball on the other side and observing what happens with the pin. Next, our tester drops his whole weight on the bed. In both tests, our pin wobbled, but never fell.

Temperature ( what’s this )

For most people, we do not think the Helix Midnight Luxe mattress will feel hot, not so much because it has specific cooling features, but because it's physical characteristics have advantages.

Spring and coil mattresses in general will naturally provide greater air flow than foam, allowing for lots of air flow. The Midnight has edge-to-edge coils, so there's no edge foam that could potentially inhibit airflow.

While you do sink into the mattress a little more than average, it's not a super conforming mattress, and that allows for more airflow.

If overheating in bed is an issue for you, we think the Helix Midnight Luxe would be a very good choice.

Edge Support ( what’s this )

Edge support is important if you like to sit on the side of the bed, or if you tend to sleep along the edge. We found the Helix Midnight to feel very stable. Note, however, that the edge support coils run only on the long sides, not at the head or foot of the bed.

Our tester especially felt stable while laying right on the edge. Overall, we think the Helix Midnight Luxe is a very good choice for those who find themselves laying right on the edge.

Ease of Repositioning ( what’s this )

If you tend to move and change positions a lot over the course of a night, ease of repositioning will be a priority for you. The Helix Midnight Luxe mattress  posed no hindrance to movement. Our tester had no trouble at all moving around or rolling into another position, despite the soft materials at the top.

Green Features ( what’s this )

For mattress shoppers concerned with the use of natural materials, sustainable manufacturing practices or the like, we offer our subjective evaluation of any efforts taken by the company to make the mattress more green, healthy, or safe.

Helix makes no claims that this mattress is natural, but at least the foams utilized are certified to the CertiPUR-US standard, which verifies that a material has low VOC off-gassing as well as a lack of chemicals and other substances regulated by the CPSC. Obtaining this certification is pretty much standard for mainstream mattress brands today.

On the plus side, steel coils are not known for issues with off-gassing, and at least theoretically, they are recyclable, which could reduce landfill waste when you eventually dispose of the bed.

The cover has furthermore been certified to the OEKO-Tex standard, which means that all materials used have been tested for more than 100 harmful substances including formaldehyde, lead, and petrochemicals and is deemed safe. That's an extra certification class that's far less common, and is a reassuring bonus.

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

We tested the Helix mattress on our standard adjustable base, looking for whether using such a base could damage the mattress or create any issues like bunching or bulges.

The Helix Midnight Luxe mattress is made to be used on an adjustable base, and in our test, the mattress conformed well to the base in its fully articulated position. When our tester got out of the bed, the midsection did lift up a bit, but we expect that over time, the mattress would break in and relax.

We did notice that the quilt bunches up quite a bit when the head and foot are fully raised. However, it's a soft fabric, and we did not find it annoying.

Materials & Construction

What's in a Helix Midnight Luxe Mattress?

Overall, we classify the Helix mattress as a "Memory Foam over Pocket Springs" construction type. It is about a 13.5″ thick mattress comprised of 6 total layers (listed below from top to bottom):

• 1" Response foam quilted into cover
• 2" Copper and gel-infused memory foam
• 1.5" Memory Plus foam
• 8" pocketed steel springs with edge-support coils (840 coils in queen size)
• 1" polyurethane base foam

The Helix Midnight Luxe mattress features about 4" of premium comfort materials on top of a zoned pocket spring unit. The first layer of foam is quilted into the cover, and that's followed by two layers of memory foam, but both are quicker responding.

The pocket spring unit has two rows of stronger edge-support coils on the long sides. There are also firmer coils in the central third of the bed, where your hips rest.

Finally, at the bottom of the mattress is a small layer of foam, serving as a base for the coil unit.

Durability, Warranty & Value

The “value” of any mattress is both subjective and personal – reflecting how well it meets that person’s unique sleep needs and preferences, relative to their budget. As a result, our ratings in this area are focused on more objective factors like quality and longevity.

How Much Does a Helix Midnight Luxe Mattress Cost?

Prices shown are list prices. Remember that GoodBed keeps our site current with the best available discounts on online mattresses, many of which are exclusive discounts for our readers.

Note that Helix offers former and current members of the military a 15% discount (cannot be combined with other discounts). Students, teachers and first responders also get a 15% discount.

What Are You Getting?

The Helix Midnight Luxe is a 13.5" tall hybrid mattress with pocket springs and about 4 inches of premium comfort memory foam.

How Long Will the Helix Midnight Last?

We typically use foam density as an indicator of longevity; and we look for what we think could be a weak link in terms of materials and construction. In the case of the Helix Midnight, the top two memory foam layers are 2.5-lb. density foams. We would prefer to see a higher 4-lb or 5-lb. density. Still, the Midnight Luxe comes with a solid warranty that alleviates misgivings.

Overall Value

The Midnight Luxe is a fairly standard type of construction: memory foam on top of a pocket spring support unit. It's a tall mattress with a pillowtop, and we were very impressed with the quality of stitching and construction. But in terms of price, it has a lot of competition among online mattress brands. But the Midnight Luxe is right in the mix with those competing models in terms of price, so we do think it's a good value. Furthermore, Helix has some very good holiday sales, and we've seen discounts as high as $300 off.

Warranty

• Warranty Length: 15 years
• Indentation Coverage: 1.5” and above

One of the biggest, if not THE biggest complaints about any mattress from consumers regards body impressions — the inability of a mattress to spring back, eventually creating a low spot/sinkhole in the mattress. As such, mattress warranties all contain a term defining how big a sag or ‘body impression’ (measured when no one is on the mattress) is considered a defect, and thus covered under the warranty.

The industry standard for hybrid and innerspring mattresses is 1.5", and that's what Helix goes with. Practically speaking, that means any softening or sagging would need to be at least that deep before the warranty would offer you protection.

To obtain warranty service, you'll have to ship your mattress to the company at your expense. The the company decides your issue is covered under the warranty, you'll be reimbursed up to $100. The company also says it will repair or replace your bed within 90 days -- which means you're without a mattress since you'll have to ship it back to the company.  That could be a big inconvenience.

This warranty extends to the original owner for as long as they own the mattress and assumes it has been placed upon an appropriate foundation. See: Full Helix warranty details

Other Factors to Consider

Delivery

• Free delivery to door

Helix includes free delivery, which is not particularly unusual among its competitors. Delivery is by common carrier like FedEx, who will deliver the box to your door. You're responsible for getting it to your bedroom, or wherever you want to place it. This mattress weighs more than 100 pounds, so it's a job best accomplished by two people.

Returns

• 100-day trial period
• Full refund with pickup

Helix offers buyers a 100-night trial period, and requires buyers to give the mattress at least 30 days before initiating a return. Should you decide to return it, the company will send someone to pick it up from you, saving you the hassle of shipping it back yourself.