Birch Mattress Review

Overview Of Birch Company Policies

When you purchase a mattress from a brick-and-mortar retail store, there are no promises you’ll be set up with extra perks. When you purchase a bed-in-a-box mattress like Birch, however, it’s a completely different story.

Birch is one of the more philanthropic online mattress companies, so you’ll be supporting a noble cause when you purchase one of their mattresses. They pledged to donate 1% of their sales to the National Forest Foundation in support of their reforestation efforts. One tree will be planted for every dollar donated, and they hope to reach 50 million by 2023.

You’ll also receive free shipping and free returns when you purchase a Birch mattress. They basically want to take all the hassle out of buying a mattress, because let’s face it — it’s a little stressful driving 60 MPH on the freeway with a mattress hanging out the back of a truck bed (or worse, tied to the top of your sedan).

When you receive your Birch mattress, it’ll arrive outside your home in a box about the size of a 5th grader (hence the name bed-in-a-box). We know you’ll be excited to sleep on it the first night you have it, but you should wait about 24 hours so it has a chance to fully decompress. Here’s a look at The Slumber Yard unboxing the Birch mattress.

Remember those perks we just mentioned? We think your risk-free trial is another great one. Most bed-in-a-box mattress brands give you around 100 nights to test out your new bed no strings attached, and the Birch mattress also follows that standard. That means you have a little over three months to make sure you thoroughly enjoy your new mattress. If you decide you don’t, just reach out to Birch’s customer support to get the return process going.

If you choose to keep it, the company will protect your mattress under warranty for 25 years. That’s half a decade of mattress insurance, and a more generous policy than most bed-in-a-box brands give by about 15 years. We suggest you read up on the fine print to find out what you are and aren’t covered for, so head over to BirchLiving.com and check out their warranty page.

How Much Does A Birch Mattress Cost?

The retail price of a Birch mattress is slightly more expensive than your average bed-in-a-box, but that shouldn’t come as a huge shock considering the bed uses all natural materials. There are folks who are willing to pay good money for a non-toxic, organic mattress, and fortunately Birch is priced reasonably enough to where you won’t break the bank. Here’s how pricing breaks down by size:

Good news, Birch is backed by the popular online mattress company Helix so they’re not new to how the industry works in terms of coupon codes and promo codes. What we’re trying to get at it is that Birch regularly offers discounts to make their mattress even more affordable. The company typically offers $200 off, which would bring a queen size below the $1,300 mark. Be sure to check the green discount box on the right hand side of the screen to make sure that promotion is still live.

Birch Uses Natural And Organic Materials

All of the materials used to make a Birch mattress are sourced from nature, and each Birch product is assembled here at home in the United States. According to their website, your mattress won’t travel more than 100 miles from one of their manufacturing facilities to get to your home.

Now let’s discuss the different materials that go into making Birch such an environmentally friendly bed.

Birch Wool – Picture a Birch farm somewhere in beautiful New Zealand with never-ending pastures and happy sheep roaming about, grazing as they please. This farm exists, and all Birch wool can be traced back to it. Every one of Birch’s farms are up to the PGC Wrightson Wool Integrity Program’s standards so you can ensure the wool in your mattress is high quality and ethically sourced.

Talalay Latex – When you hear the word latex you might visualize a stretchy, shiny, rubbery material — but that definitely isn’t the case with Talalay Latex. It’s actually all-natural, derived from tropical rubber tree Hevea Brasiliensis found in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and Africa. All Talalay Latex was taken from trees in controlled plantation, and are OEKO-TEX certified. Another plus is its hypoallergenic properties, as it naturally blocks dust mites and molding.

Steel – All steel used in Birch mattresses is manufactured in the United States and built to last you a lifetime.

The Four Layers Of A Birch Mattress

The Birch mattress is a hybrid bed meaning it contains both foam and coils. There are four different layers of material inside the mattress, which adds up to be about 11” tall. The first layer from the bottom is a slim 0.5” thick, and made out of 100% natural wool to provide a sturdy base for the rest of the mattress.

Next comes a layer containing hundreds of 8” individually wrapped steel coils. Coils make a mattress much more durable while also providing localized support. The third layer is where you can find that natural Talalay Latex Foam. It’s 2” thick, and is responsible for providing additional support as well as pressure relief. Finally at the top is another 0.5” slab of Birch Wool to soften the feel of the bed a little, and act as the mattress’ comfort layer.

The cherry on top is Birch’s soft-to-the-touch organic cotton cover. Cotton has a few characteristics that make it a great topper for your bed. It’s moisture absorbing and has great air flow so it’ll help regulate the surface temperature of the mattress while you sleep. It also has somewhat of an earthy smell to it, similar to the way organic vegetables smell before they’re washed.

What Does The Birch Mattress Feel Like?

After testing out the Birch mattress, we think it has a slightly neutralized latex foam feel. It’s bouncy like traditional latex foam, but it’s slightly softer and lighter due to the top wool layer. Latex foam is usually pretty responsive (and this holds true with Birch), but the coils also give the bed an extra bounce factor.

On our scale from soft to firm, we rated the Birch mattress around a medium-firm. Keep in mind we give mattress ratings based on the perspective of an average sized individual, so it might feel firmer to petite individuals and softer to those who are more heavy set.

Overall, we think the Birch mattress provides a good amount of support for your trunk and spine. The bed doesn’t provide quite as much pressure relief as a memory foam mattress, for example, but when compared to a lot of other latex foam beds on the market, it’s actually fairly accommodating and pressure relieving.

Evaluating Sleeper Types

When you’re looking for a new mattress, it’s important to consider your sleeper type to make sure you don’t wake up with pins and needles in your arm or an aching back.

We’d say this mattress is most ideal for back and stomach sleepers because of how firm it is. If you sleep predominantly on your stomach or back, you’ll need something firm to keep your spine from sinking into the mattress, and we think Birch does the trick.

We also think combo sleepers will like this mattress because it’s quick to respond so it’ll be easy to switch positions, and like we said earlier, it’s both supportive and pressure relieving.

When it comes to side sleepers, it will largely depend on your weight. If you’re over 250 lbs, then we think you’ll be fine. But if you’re a petite side sleeper, you might want to consider the Birch Mattress Topper. It costs an extra $400 for a queen size, but it’ll make the bed feel softer for somebody who doesn’t exert a ton of pressure into the mattress.

If you’re petite and spending an extra $400 is out of the question, take a look at our post regarding the Best Soft & Plush Mattresses.

What Body Types Work Best For Birch?

Aside from your sleeper type, the other important factor you must take into consideration when you purchase a mattress is your weight. Average to petite sized individuals are in the clear for most mattresses, but we typically recommend individuals who weigh 250+ lbs choose hybrid mattresses because they’re more durable and supportive overall.

So what kind of body types will the Birch mattress accommodate? We think it works for all body types since it contains both foam and coils. It also helps that the mattress is on the firmer side because heavy sleepers will lay more on top the bed rather than in it.

Does Birch Sleep Hot?

Sleeping temperature can be a little tricky if there isn’t any obvious cooling technology built-into the mattress. It’s also a subjective topic because some people sleep warmer than others. However, speaking in general terms, latex foam is a cooler sleeping material than other foams like memory foam which has a reputation for retaining heat.

Birch’s organic cotton cover also plays a role in ensuring your mattress doesn’t get too hot, so we’d say overall Birch sleeps temperature neutral. If you’re somebody who gets warm during the night and you might be interested in a mattress that actively cools, take a look at our post on the Best Mattresses For Hot Sleepers.

How Will Couples Like The Birch Mattress?

If you share a bed with your significant other, you probably know how it feels to be forced over to the edge of the mattress, or wake up in the middle of the night because your partner got up for the 6th time to use the restroom. That’s why we recommend couples look for a mattress that has good edge support and limits motion transfer.

First, we tested edge support by laying on the very edge of the mattress, and we are happy to say it didn’t feel like we were going to go plummeting off the side. It’s actually built to be firmer around the sides of the mattress to prevent you from getting this feeling.

Next, to test how well Birch does with limiting motion transfer, we set a glass of water on the top of the mattress and had one of our team members roll back and forth on the bed next to it. The glass of water stayed steady only with a few minimal swishes, so it’s safe to say it passed. All in all, we’d say the Birch mattress has proven itself to be a pretty solid option for couples.

Birch Review Verdict

There are all-natural and organic mattresses out there pushing $2,000 like Zenhaven or Idle Sleep, and it’s not surprising to see even higher prices elsewhere — especially for latex foam mattresses. And let us be the first to tell you that shoppers are willing to pay good money for a comfortable but environmentally friendly mattress.

With that being said, we think the Birch mattress is a great value for what you’re getting. Not only do we think it’s cozy and comfy to sleep on, but all the materials inside are sustainably sourced from nature and 100% non-toxic. So if you’re somebody who is interested in a slightly firmer organic bed, and you have the means to spend over $1,000, we recommend you give it a shot. Remember you’ll have a risk-free trial to fall back on, and you’ll be making a difference for the reforestation efforts if you decide to keep it.