WinkBed Plus Mattress Review (2020)

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.

We found the WinkBed Plus to be interesting in terms of softness. While the top is very soft and fluffy, the firmer support layers below even out the total effect. So overall, we'd call the WinkBed Plus a "medium" on our 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. Again, the WinkBed Plus felt very interesting to us; while the top certainly feels soft and deeply cushioned, the firmer coils below prevent sinking in too much. Overall, we again felt that the WinkBed Plus was right around a medium on our scale, but certainly with a lot of soft billows on the quilt layer.

Memory Feel

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 WinkBed Plus, like the WinkBed, does not include any memory foam, so there is none of that slow memory foam feel at all. The mattress springs right back after being compressed.

Bounce

Responsiveness also translates into bounce, and with most innerspring mattresses, you'll get a good bit of it. We tried flopping down on the firmer central spring section, as well as on the foot, and we did note some difference in the amount of bounce; there's more at the head and foot than the middle. But overall, plenty of bounce here for those who appreciate it.

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.

In our evaluations, the WinkBed Plus mattress performed very well for our tester, particularly in the back sleeping position. But we also found it to be supportive and side and stomach sleeping positions, and felt that it would suit a wide range of individuals.

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 WinkBed mattress:

Back Sleepers:

Our tester really enjoyed the WinkBed Plus in this position; the combination of the soft top foams and the firmer coils beneath felt extremely supportive; we thought this mattress had a great feel for those that sleep primarily on their backs. Our tester experienced excellent spinal alignment and felt that most others would have a similar good experience. For lighter weight individuals, there's plenty of softness and conformance to balance the firm coils below. And even for those significantly heavier than our tester, any potential hammocking effect is taken care of by the firm support coils.

Side Sleepers:

In our evaluation, side sleepers would also be well supported by the WinkBed Plus. Our 200 lb. tester’s hips and shoulders sank into the bed just enough to create a neutral spinal position. We also felt, again, that most people, even those heavier than our tester, would be well supported. If we had any concerns, it would be for very light side sleepers, who might need more conformance and softness.

Stomach Sleepers:

We also felt that stomach sleepers would enjoy this mattress, and our tester was surprised how comfortable he was. For stomach sleeping, a firmer mattress is generally needed to support the hips from sinking too far and creating arching in the back. The WinkBed Plus, for our tester, had plenty of support, but still felt soft and cushioned thanks to the soft foam on top. We did have a slight question about stomach sleepers who are much heavier than our tester, who might find the surface softness of this bed could cause some over-arching. But for occasional stomach sleepers, even those significantly heavier than our tester, would feel supported.

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 )

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 WinkBed Plus, 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 wiggled a tiny bit but never fell. Interestingly, motion isolation for the WinkBed Plus was better than it was for the original WinkBed (which has two layers of coils).

Temperature ( what’s this )

For most people, we do not think the WinkBed Plus mattress will feel hot. The top layers of foam are infused with gel, a known conductor of heat.

Spring and coil mattresses in general will naturally provide greater air flow than foam, allowing for lots of air flow. Lastly, despite the fluffy top, this is not a deeply cushioned mattress, so most of your body is exposed to the air. While some mattresses use a foam edge support around the perimeter of the bed, the WinkBed Plus uses coils, allowing air to more easily escape the bed.

If overheating in bed is an issue for you, we think the WinkBed Plus would be a 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 WinkBed Plus mattress to be excellent in this respect. Our tester felt exceptionally stable both sitting on the edge of the and laying right on the edge. He didn't feel like he was rolling off at all.

If your pets or kids tend to push you towards the side of the bed, we think the WinkBed Plus, as well as the original WinkBed mattress, are worth consideration.

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 WinkBed Plus mattress, despite its quilted and cushioning top, posed no hindrance to movement. Our tester had no trouble at all moving around or rolling into another position.

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.

WinkBed makes no claims that its mattresses are natural, but 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. This certification has now become standard among mainstream mattresses that contain foam.

Steel coils are not known for issues with off-gassing at all, and they could be recycled down the road (at least theoretically). The company says the steel coils are made from recycled steel in the first place.

The cover of the mattress has been certified to the OKEO-Tex standard, which means that the fabric has been tested for more than 100 harmful substances including formaldehyde, lead, and petrochemicals and is deemed safe.

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

We typically test mattresses on top of our queen-size adjustable base. However, the test mattress we received from WinkBeds was king size, so we were unable to evaluate adjustable base compatibility first-hand. The company does say that the WinkBed and WinkBed Plus can both be used on an adjustable base, however.

Given its overall weight, height and construction, we would expect some minor conformance issues, such as the foot lifting up a bit at first, or the center popping up when you get off the bed. Both would be expected to improve over time. We might also expect a little bunching of the top quilt when the mattress is in a fully articulated (bent) position. But overall, we expect this mattress would be just fine on an adjustable base.

Price, Value & Longevity

How Much Does a WinkBed Plus 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 WinkBed Plus is a 13.5" tall mattress with firm, zoned support below topped by soft, pressure-relieving foams above. As a mattress that claims to be extra durable and suitable for users of higher weights over 300 pounds, the mattress uses firmer than average steel coils and a coil edge support.

How Long Will the WinkBed Plus Last?

In our evaluation of the WinkBed Plus, we saw no red flags that might indicate premature breakdown. The steel used for the coils is heavier and stronger than average. The blended Dunlop latex used in the comfort layer is a material with proven durability. The cover stood up to our tugging and pulling. Overall, this mattress has no apparent weak links in terms of durability.

Overall Value

The WinkBed Plus lives is a fairly small part of the mattress market, aimed to support plus-size people and offer enhanced durability. As such, it's harder to compare it to mattress that don't offer these characteristics.

It's a very tall, luxurious looking bed, and based on its materials, construction and features, we do think it compares very well to beds you would find in a traditional mattress store or department store. Certainly if you are a heavier person or couple, or just someone that wants a very durable and long-lasting bed, we do think the WinkBed Plus is a very strong value.