Nick and I had been talking about getting a new mattress for years. The one we’d been using was 12 years old and had known 5 different homes on both sides of the country. Getting a new mattress was daunting, though. What kind do we get: spring, memory foam, latex? How do we get a quality mattress without getting ripped off? I read reviews and articles about mattresses online, but they often conflicted and we just kept putting off buying a new mattress.

That is, until one day last month when I serendipitously saw Tuft & Needle mentioned in a comment on a blog I follow. Promising quality mattresses for a fraction of the price of what you see in a mattress store, I decided to investigate.

American-made mattresses for reasonable prices

Tuft & Needle is a company founded by two software engineers from Silicon Valley. They are dedicated to making quality mattresses without gimmicks and price gouging. Their foam mattresses are made in the USA using American materials, eco-friendly, and 100% recyclable. They have a 30 night trial during which you can get a full refund for any reason and rather than returning the mattress to them, they hook you up with a charity to donate the mattress to. They also have a 7 year warranty to cover any defects or malfunctions.

That all sounded fantastic and then I saw the reviews and I was blown away. Everyone was raving about it and the few who didn’t love it were still impressed by Tuft & Needle’s customer service.

Tuft & Needle makes two different mattress models: 5″ thick ($200-$500) and 10″ thick ($300-$600). At just $500 for the 10″ thick queen size mattress, it seemed like a fairly safe gamble, especially with the 30 night trial. It even came with free shipping. Nick was skeptical about buying a mattress online, but having grown up with the internet, it didn’t seem that strange to me. I used a referral code I found online and got $50 off. Nice.

Referral codes: Gift $50, Get $50

Mattress arrived compressed and wrapped in plastic

Speaking of referral codes, I found out that using one not only gives you $50 off; Tuft & Needle also refunds $50 to the person whose referral code was used… up to the full price of the mattress. Holy cow. I posted my referral code a few places online and within a day or two, three people had already used it. The next day, I saw my credit card had been refunded $150 and my mattress hadn’t even shipped yet! O_O

Super fast delivery

Four days (two business days) after I placed the order, Tuft & Needle emailed me to let me know the mattress was on its way. It arrived via Fedex three days later (one week after I ordered it).

It came in a 67 pound box that measured 67″ x 15″ x 15″. The foam mattress inside was super compressed and rolled up in plastic. We took it upstairs, put it on our box spring, and began removing the plastic. When we cut through the inner plastic, the mattress started to suck in air and expand, which was pretty cool. The unboxing took no more than five minutes and probably a couple hours for the mattress to fully expand (though most of it happened within a matter of minutes).

Nick trying out the new mattress

A good night’s rest

Nick and I have been sleeping on the mattress for three weeks now and it has been great. My main concern with a foam mattress was that it would sleep hot, but the foam Tuft & Needle uses is breathable and heat hasn’t been a problem. The firmness suits us well (we’d give it 7 or 8/10 in firmness) and our quality of sleep has improved. Definitely worth the buy.

Thinking about getting one?

If you’re looking for a new mattress, Nick and I highly recommend that you check out Tuft & Needle. Make sure to use our referral link to get $50 off! 🙂

Updates

September 17, 2014 – Referral program ended: Tuft & Needle ended their referral program today, so the $50 off referral links will no longer work. You can read Tuft & Needle’s statement on ending the referral program on their website. It’s a bummer that they aren’t doing referrals anymore, but I get why they ended it. Nick and I are still very happy with our mattress and think it’s still a bargain even at full price. 🙂

August 6, 2015 – Extended trial: Tuft & Needle’s trial period has been extended to 100 nights. It’s been a year now that we’ve had our mattress. We still love it and haven’t had any issues.

(Cross-posted on my other blog, http://xaben.com)