Comparison
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Founder of GoodBed, Leading Mattress Expert
Note: This is not a review. This is our plain-English explanation and overview of the current Serta Arctic mattresses.
If you’d prefer to watch rather than read, watch our Serta Arctic Mattresses Overview video.
Serta Arctic Mattresses
The mattresses range in price from about $3,000 for a Serta Arctic in a twin-size to $4,600 for a king-size Serta Arctic Hybrid. That's before any sales or discounts, however, and the price does not include a foundation.
The four beds can be divided into two classes: All-Foam and Hybrid (with an encased coil base instead of foam). Within each class there are two models - a standard and a premier model. But overall, these mattresses have more in common than not, so here's a look at the features and materials they all share.
Memory foam
All four mattresses are what we would consider memory foam mattresses: All have lots of that squishy, melting-into-the-bed feeling that we associate with memory foam. While they are all firm mattresses right at first, as your body warms the foam, you sink more deeply into the bed.
Serta employs its full range of memory foams for these beds, which all have proprietary names like EverCool Fuze, CustomFit HD, Peak Support Ultra HD, and Deep Reaction Max Memory Foam. These are used in different amounts and combinations depending on the model. Regardless of the name, these are some of Serta's highest-density, highest-quality memory foams.
All of the models have at least four inches of memory foams, with at least two inches of the company's CustomFit memory foam sitting right below the Reactex system. This is a 4.5 lb density foam (what we would classify as an "HD memory foam") that's very slow and soft, with lots of that gooey memory feel.
Cooling features, including Reactex
Memory foam mattresses have a reputation for feeling hot for a few reasons. First, because the main property of memory foam is that "ride" where your body warms the foam and you sink in, that means the mattress materials are meant to hug close to your body, which can feel warm. Secondly, high density foams like these are made of compacted polyurethane cells that by their nature don't allow for a lot of air flow.
Serta combats this with its Reactex system, which incorporates several layers of phase change material.
Phase-change material (PCM) can be thought of as similar to tiny wax beads. When at normal temperature, the wax in the beads is solid. As the beads warm up, they eventually melt inside their tiny plastic casings and "change phase" pulling heat from the surrounding environment.
In a practical sense, this means that phase-change material has a coolness to the touch that lasts even as you rest on the bed. The intention is to keep you cooler for a longer time while you fall asleep.
Serta's Reactex system employs three layers of phase-change material in the top 1.5" of the mattress. There's phase-change material in the cover itself, then another layer of the material on top of the first layer of foam, then a third layer on top of the second layer of foam.
As you go down the mattress, the density also changes. The phase-change material in the cover is less concentrated to keep the cover flexible, with the third and lower layer being the most concentrated.
Altogether, we definitely felt the coolness to the touch on the Arctic mattresses, and our tester could still feel it through his shirt, so we would think it would still be noticeable even through sheets.
Covers
As discussed above, the covers of these beds contain phase-change material giving them a coolness to the touch. All of the covers are thick (but not quilted), and are less stretchy than we often see in mattresses. All share a white and blue diamond-type pattern.
Serta Arctic Foam Mattresses
Here we have two models, the Plush and the Premier Firm. Both mattresses have an all-foam construction. Both use the same 7" HD poly foam support unit. And both mattresses, on our scale, rank as Very Firm. However, they both get to that rating in different ways, with some other subtle differences,
The Serta Arctic Plush is a 13.5" tall mattress. It has the Reactex system as its top layers. Next is a layer of CustomFit HD Memory Foam, which is very soft and slow responding. After that is a layer of EverCool Fuze Gel Memory Foam. The softness of that CustomFit HD foam gives the Arctic Plush more cushioning depth and conformance to the body than the Premier Firm (even as both are very firm mattresses).
The Arctic Premier Firm swaps the CustomFit HD layer for a layer of Peak Support Ultra HD Memory Foam with a 6.31 lb density. This is just about the highest-density foam we have seen used in a mattress and what we would classify as a true "ultra HD memory foam." The added density of that layer give the Premier Firm a little less sinkage and cushioning than the Plush, so more of a feeling of floating on top of your mattress. The Arctic Premier firm is a 14.5" mattress.
Since these are all-foam mattresses, neither has much bounce at all.
Serta Arctic Hybrid Mattresses
As you might expect, the hybrid versions of the Serta Arctic mattresses trade the support foam for a coil unit, or in the case of the Premier Plush - two coil units.
Both use an 8" pocket spring support unit, which has a four inch very firm foam block around the edges of the bed for edge support. Both also have the Reactex cooling system at the top.
The big difference between these models and the all-foam models is bounce. Although all of the foam layers do dampen some of it, you definitely get more bounce than you do on the all-foam Arctic models. It's definitely less than you'd find on a standard innerspring bed, but more than on the Arctic foam mattresses.
Like the foam models, the Arctic Hybrid mattresses have a similar feel. We rate both as Firm on our scale, so just a hair softer than the all-foam versions.
The Arctic Hybrid Medium has similar layers as the all-foam Plush, and it's also 13.5" tall. CustomFit HD and EverCool Fuze are the memory foams used in addition to the Reactex system foams. In terms of cushioning and how deeply you sink, we'd call it about average, with a blend of a sinking-into-the-bed feeling and floating-on-top.
The Arctic Hybrid Premier Plush, adds yet another memory foam, the Deep Reaction Max foam, above the CustomFit HD foam. And unique to this model, there is also a one-inch layer of microcoils on top of the main coil unit. These microcoils act like another comfort layer, giving the mattress even more of a conforming feel.
The Hybrid Premier Plush has the deepest cushioning of all of the Arctic models, so if you really like that sinking-into-the-bed sensation, this mattress has the most of it. The Premier Plush measures 14.5" tall.
Other Factors
Delivery and Returns
- Free delivery to the door from Serta.com
- 120-night trial when ordered from Serta.com.
If you buy directly from Serta.com, free delivery to your door, along with a 120-night trial period with free return is included. When buying through another retailer, delivery and setup will vary depending on where you purchase your iComfortECO mattress, so check before buying.
Warranty
- 10-year limited warranty
Warranty information for each mattress is included on the mattress "Law Label" at the store, and vary depending on the model, but is at least 10 years when purchased through Serta.com. Be sure to talk to your salesperson about warranty terms, and particularly about the body impression warranty, which will tell you how much of a permanent depression may form to be covered under warranty, since it varies by model.
To obtain warranty service, you will be responsible for shipping the mattress back to the company or retailer.
