Novosbed Mattress Review

 

Comfort & Feel

There are three aspects that make up our assessment of comfort and feel. We call these "preference-based characteristics" because no rating here is better or worse – rather, the attributes that are most desirable to you will be determined solely by your personal preferences. We apply the same classification standards to each mattress so you can more easily compare apples to apples.

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.

The Novosbed comes in Firm, Medium, and Soft varieties; we tested the Medium version. We would class the medium version of the Novosbed as more of a Medium Soft on our scale.

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

Softness Level (1=Least Soft, 9=Most Soft)

7

Medium Soft

 

Cushioning Depth ( what’s this )

This refers to how deeply you sink into the mattress or feel cradled or hugged by your mattress; how far you sink into it. For our tester the Medium version of the Novosbed mattress had deeper than average cushioning.

Cushioning Depth (1=Shallowest, 9=Deepest)

6

Deeper than average 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 Novosbed has four inches of high quality, slow-responding memory foam up top, so it has plenty of that slow-melting memory feel. We also tested bounce, and unsurprisingly for a mattress with this much memory foam, there's hardly any bounce.

Memory Feel (1=Least, 9=Most)	7	Lots of slow memory feel
Bounce (1=Least, 9=Most)	2	No bounce

 

Back Support & Pressure Relief

The two things that you should always be sure to get from your mattress are spinal alignment (commonly thought of as "back support") and pressure relief. Unfortunately, no mattress will deliver these two things equally well for all sleepers. In particular, spinal alignment and pressure relief capabilities will vary across sleepers with different weights, body shapes, and sleep positions. To help you determine how this mattress will perform for you, we break down our spinal alignment and pressure relief assessments by sleeper type.

Keep in mind that we tested the Medium version of the Novosbed mattress, which we found to be more of a medium soft on our scale. For our 200-lb. tester, this version of the Novosbed was too soft overall, allowing his hips to sink into the mattress more than felt natural. For that reason, we believe the Medium Novosbed mattress would be better suited for those lighter in weight than our tester. It is possible that the firm version would have worked well for our tester, but it was not available for comparison at the time of our testing.

 

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 Novosbed mattress:

Weight	Range	Back Sleepers	Side Sleepers	Stomach Sleepers
Lighter	<150 lb	8	8	8
Average	150 to 200 lb	7	7	6
Above Average	200 to 250 lb	6	6	5
Heavier	>250 lb	5	5	4

 

Back Sleepers:

While our tester was on his back, he noted that while spinal alignment for him was good, his hips were sinking into the bed further than he would have liked. This effect would be more pronounced for someone heavier than our tester. Those weighing more than about 200 lbs. might find the Firm version more suitable, but we did not test it.

Side Sleepers:

Our tester had a similar experience on the Novosbed in the side-sleeping position, with hips sinking in a bit too much once more. He noted that shoulder absorption was good (see the Pressure Relief section below). Again, we felt that the Firm version would be more suitable for side sleepers weighing more than 200 lbs.

Stomach Sleepers:

Achieving good spinal alignment for stomach sleepers can often be trickier as the hips can tend to sink down too far, leading to an over-arched back, which in turn could lead to back pain. Our tester found the Medium version of the Novosbed to be too soft for him for back sleeping and side sleeping, so it would also be too soft for stomach sleeping.

 

Pressure Relief

 

Other Features

Beyond the preference-based characteristics of comfort and feel, and the body matching for spinal alignment and pressure relief, a mattress will have a number of other attributes that can make it a better or worse choice for you. We call these "priority-based characteristics" because they are areas in which a mattress can be better or worse, but that will have differing amounts of importance to each sleeper. So, determining how much importance to give to these features will be entirely a matter of your own personal priorities. As always, we apply the same ratings standards to each mattress so you can more easily compare apples to apples.

 

Motion Isolation ( what’s this )

With a bowling pin standing upright on the Novosbed mattress, we tested motion isolation first by applying manual pressure (our tester pushed into the mattress with his arm), then by our tester dropping his weight onto the bed. 

Either way, there was almost no movement from our bowling pin, which leads us to conclude that the Novosbed mattress would be a very good choice for those sensitive to a partner’s movements in bed.

Motion Isolation Rating

10 /10

Exceptional

 

Temperature ( what’s this )

If you do not have a known issue of overheating, we do not think the Novosbed mattress will feel hot. Memory foam has a reputation for heat retention; in the case of the Novosbed bed, the top memory foam layer is pierced with pin-core holes to help promote airflow. However, since this mattress has deeper cushioning, you will sink in more, and less of your body will be exposed to the air.

If overheating in bed is an issue for you, and you’ve experienced it with other mattresses, you might want to explore other models, or consider going with an innerspring mattress or pocket spring model.

Stays "Cool" Rating

6 /10

Pretty good

 

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. With the Novosbed mattress, our tester did experience a substantial amount of dip when sitting on the edge of the mattress.

When laying on the very edge of the mattress, our tester felt like he was starting to lean as his body warmed the memory foam layer of the bed. If edge support is a priority for you, competing mattresses offer specific edge support features.

Edge Support Rating

4 /10

Fair

 

Ease of Repositioning ( what’s this )

If you change positions a lot in the night, or have joint issues that make movement difficult, ease of repositioning may be a priority for you. With mattresses that include a lot of slow-melting memory foam, users sometimes describe a 'stuck in quicksand' feeling when trying to move around. Our tester did feel that moving on the Novosbed was a little more cumbersome than with other foam mattresses, but we think that unless you have a specific issue that makes moving difficult, most will not find it bothersome.

Repositioning Rating

6 /10

Pretty good

 

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. 

In the case of the Novosbed mattress, the company makes no claims about the use of natural materials, however all of the foams used 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.

Upon unboxing the bed, we gave it an informal 'sniff test' and noticed nothing beyond the normal 'new mattress' smell that's common on beds that arrive wrapped in plastic.

Green Rating

4 /10

Okay

 

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

We did not specifically test the Novosbed mattress with an adjustable base. However, the company says that using the Novosbed with an adjustable base is perfectly fine and will not damage the mattress. And based on its construction and heavy weight, we would expect the Novosbed to conform to an adjustable base very well. Because it has a smooth cover that's not heavily quilted, we would not expect any annoying bunching of the cover.

Adjustable Base Use Rating

8 /10

Very good

 

Price, Value & Longevity

How Much Does a Novosbed 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.

 

What Are You Getting?

The Novosbed is an 11-inch mattress made with four inches of premium, high density memory foam. The company has a unique Comfort+ program where if you find you need more firmness or more softness, the company will send, free of charge, an additional layer to add to the top of your mattress. A zip-off, washable top cover allows access to add the extra layer. We felt that the cover seemed sturdy and well made.

 

How Long Will the Novosbed Last?

When it comes to estimating the comfort lifespan of a mattress, we tend to use foam density as our best, albeit imperfect, predictor of how long a foam will retain its shape and resiliency. In the case of the Novosbed mattress, the lower support layer made of 1.8-lb density foam is fairly standard. The top two layers are 5-lb. density memory foam, indicating excellent quality.

Overall, we see no red flags that would indicate to us that the Novosbed would not last as long as competing mattresses, or even longer.

 

Overall Value

Pricing for the Novosbed is right in line with many of its online competitors, but higher than some others. However, we do feel the Novosbed has higher quality foams than most, and the Comfort+ program adds additional value and peace of mind that you'll find a comfort level that suits you.

Value Rating

8 /10

Good value