Nest Quail Mattress Review

Michael Magnuson

Founder of GoodBed, Leading Mattress Expert

Summary: Is the Quail a Good Mattress?

Nest Bedding's Quail mattress (formerly sold as the Love & Sleep) is a 10” all-foam bed. The top layer is a 3” piece of the company’s Energex foam. Nest claims that this foam has the pressure-relieving properties of memory foam (we found it to be more comparable to latex than memory foam). The next layer is a 1” piece of convoluted (egg crate) polyurethane foam in a 1.8 lb. density, with a 6” support layer of standard 1.8-lb polyurethane foam. The mattress is wrapped in a non-removable knit cover that has about ½” of thickness to it. Nest says the cover contains some phase-change material, meaning it is supposed to feel cool to the touch.

In our evaluations, we found the Quail mattress to have a Medium Soft softness level (it also comes in a Firm version) with very good support and spinal alignment for back sleepers and side sleepers in particular.

Motion isolation was excellent in our standard tests, with both a 16-lb. bowling ball as well as our 200-lb. tester. Part of that owes to this bed’s quick-responding top layer of foam, with almost none of that slow-responding/melting feeling you would get with a memory foam bed. That makes the Quail bed a good choice for those who are concerned about feeling a partner’s movements on the other side of the bed.

Perhaps the most notable characteristic of the Quail bed is its price, which is substantially lower than most online-only mattresses, and it compares well to budget mattresses you might find in a discount furniture store or Ikea. Even so, this is a no-frills mattress without any particular innovation, and the mattress is covered with a basic knit wrapper, not the plush and cushioned pillowy covers we’ve been seeing on competing, though higher priced mattresses. The company claims that this bed has some bounce to it, which some prefer for late-night activities with a partner. We did not find this mattress to be bouncy at all, however.

If you are a back or side sleeper, we do think the Quail is worth consideration.

Among our concerns: We did not feel this mattress was appropriate for those who sleep primarily on their stomachs. As with some other all-foam mattresses, in our tests it proved too soft for sleeping in this position, as hips sink too far into the mattress, creating arch in the back instead of a healthy neutral spinal position. This can lead to back pain.   

If you like to sit on the edge of the bed, or tend to lie right on the edge, edge support with the Quail mattress is poor; our tester felt himself sliding off the bed while laying right on the edge, actually being pulled to the floor. If you have kids or pets that tend to force you to the very edge of the mattress, some other models may work out better for you than the Quail mattress from Nest Bedding.

We also had concerns about this mattress feeling hot for people susceptible to this. Although the cover includes some phase-change material, we did not find that it felt cooler to the touch than any other mattress cover. And while the mattress does include some convoluted foam for better air flow, that layer of foam is just an inch, and it’s three inches into the middle of mattress. Lastly, the Quail mattress is more cushioned than most, so you sink more deeply into the mattress, meaning less of your body is exposed to air. For those that don’t have historical problems sleeping hot, we believe you’ll be fine on this mattress, but if you know you are prone to this, there are better choices.

Note that the Quail mattress does not come with a box spring (nor does it need one).  You can place the Quail bed atop the support of your choice, including a separately purchased box support, a bed frame, platform bed, or adjustable bed frame. You can also choose a Nest Bedding foundation, but it's not required. Free shipping is included, but delivery and setup in your bedroom costs extra.

Overall, we felt the Quail mattress would be a good choice for those who sleep primarily on their backs and sides, who prefer a softer, more cushioned mattress.

Read on for our detailed report, and be sure to check out the video to see this mattress in action as we put it through our tests.

Note: Nest Bedding is a mattress company that primarily sells its beds online, though it does have a handful of showrooms. Here we review the Quail bed from the company, their entry level all-foam bed. We have also published a review of the Sparrow mattress (made of foam over pocket springs), and a review of the Nest Owl, a latex-over-pocketed-spring mattress.

Bottom Line: Who is the Best Match for a Nest Quail Mattress?

BEST if you:

• Are primarily a back or side sleeper
• Want excellent pressure relief
• Don't want to feel a partner's movements
• Prioritize budget over innovation
• Like a deeper cushioned mattress

NOT IDEAL if you:

• Prefer a slow, melting into the bed feeling
• Tend to sleep or sit on the edge of your mattress
• Are a stomach sleeper
• Prefer a mattress with some bounce

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 classify the Quail mattress as a Medium Soft in terms of softness overall. If you like that feeling of sinking into your mattress, we think you will like the Quail mattress. Note that we tested the Medium version of this bed; it’s also available in a Firm version.

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. We found the Quail again to be on the deeper side when it comes to cushioning.

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?

The  Quail mattress doesn’t include any memory foam, so it doesn’t have much of that slow, melting-into-the-bed feeling you typically get with a memory foam, but there is a little.

This also translates to bounce, which we test in two ways. When we dropped our 16-lb. bowling ball in the mattress, it bounced a couple of times, and when our tester dropped his weight onto the bed, he did not bounce at all. This mattress has practically no bounce at all, which comes into play when we discuss motion isolation further below. What’s interesting is that the company claims this mattress is as bouncy as an innerspring mattress, and in our tests, we just didn’t find that to be true.

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, the Quail mattresses afforded very good support for back and side sleepers, and would be suitable for a broad range and sizes of people who tend to sleep primarily in those positions.

We did not, however, feel that the Nest Quail mattress would be a good choice for those who sleep on their stomachs. Because this is quite a soft mattress with significant cushioning, our tester found his hips and midsection sinking too deeply into the mattress, introducing over-arching in the back.

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 Nest Quail mattress

Back Sleepers:

While our tester was on his back, he noted that his hips sank just deeply enough to create a good spinal position. He felt his midsection sinking in a bit more than with other mattresses, but this wasn’t problematic. We feel that sleepers of a wide weight range, especially those who prefer a softer mattress, would have a similar experience in this position on the .Quail

Side Sleepers:

Side sleeping was excellent for our testing, and the Quail really excels here. Our 200-lb. tester’s shoulders and hips were able to sink into the mattress while the mattress continued to support his waist and midsection. We noted that the overall feel was similar to latex in this position. We might have some concerns about those who are much heavier than our tester, in which case we might suggest going with the Firm version of this mattress.

Stomach Sleepers:

Achieving good spinal alignment for stomach sleepers can often be trickier as the hips can tend to sink down too far with some mattresses, and this was the case in our testing with the Quail mattress. Our tester’s hips and midsection sunk down deeply creating a less than ideal spinal alignment, which over time could lead to back pain. If you sleep primarily on your stomach, other choices would be better in our view.

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 )

With a bowling pin standing upright on the Nest Quail bed, we tested motion isolation by dropping a 16-lb. bowling ball on it, as well as the whole weight of our 200-lb. tester.

In both tests, the pin barely moved at all. For that reason, we felt that the Love & Sleep bed would be an excellent choice for couples who don’t want to feel their partner getting in and out of bed.

Temperature ( what’s this )

For those who don’t have a historical issue of feeling hot in bed, we do not think the Quail mattress will feel overly warm. However, this is an all-foam mattress with deeper than average cushioning, meaning less of your body is exposed to air. And while a thin layer of egg crate foam is included, it’s three inches down into the mattress, so we’re not sure it’s providing much benefit.

If overheating in bed is an issue for you, and you’ve experienced it with other mattresses, other models have features that are specifically intended to address this.

Edge Support ( what’s this )

Foam mattresses aren’t typically very supportive along the very edge of the mattress—important if you like to sit on the edge of the bed, or if you tend to sleep along the edge. And that’s the case with the Quail. When sitting on the side, our tester sank through virtually the whole mattress.

When laying on the very edge of the mattress, our tester felt his body starting to lean and slip off the edge pretty much right away, and the whole side of the mattress started to melt away under his weight. If you spend a lot of your sleep time right on the edge of the bed, we feel other mattresses will be a better fit.

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. Our tester did experience any big problems, though this mattress does have deeper cushioning which could make changing positions a bit more a challenge for those with a known issue. Overall, we don’t expect most people will have big problems here.

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. 

While Nest Bedding does make some mattresses that use natural materials, the Quail mattress isn’t one of them. The foams used are not natural; however they 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 (safety certification info can be found on the Nest website.)

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

While we did not test the Quail mattress on an adjustable base, Nest says that an appropriate frame will not harm the mattress. Based on our experience with mattresses of similar type and construction, we expect the Quail would have some initial conformance issues -- perhaps lifting up at the foot -- which would be typical of a lightweight all-foam mattress. We expect the mattress would relax after a break-in period.

Materials & Construction

What's in a Quail Mattress?

Overall, we classify the Nest Quail mattress as a "Comfort Foam over Foam" construction type. It is a 10″ thick mattress comprised of 3 layers (listed below from top to bottom):

• 3” synthetic Energex foam, 2.8-lb. density
• 1” convoluted polyurethane foam
• 6” polyurethane foam support layer, 1.8-lb. density

The Quail mattress is made of three foam layers stacked and glued together. The top Energex foam layer is the company’s proprietary foam. Nest claims that this foam has pressure-relieving properties of memory foam, but we found it to behave more like a synthetic latex than memory foam.

The middle transition layer is a 1” convoluted (egg crate) foam, with a 6” standard polyurethane foam as the support layer.

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.

Warranty

• Warranty Length: Lifetime
• Indentation Coverage: 1” 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 mattresses is generally between ¾” and 1.5”. Nest Bedding has chosen to cover indentations that meet or exceed 1”. Practically speaking, that means any softening or sagging would need to be at least that deep before the warranty would offer you protection.

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

Other Factors to Consider

Delivery

• Free delivery to door

Nest Bedding 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. Nest does offer an in-home setup at extra cost, calculated depending on where you live.

Returns

• 365-day trial period
• Full refund

Nest offers buyers a 365-day trial period--very unusual among mattress manufacturers--and urges buyers to give the mattress at least 30 days before initiating a return. Upon proof of donation to charity, the company will refund your money. It’s up to you to find a charity that will accept the mattress.