The Birch Mattress by Helix is the company’s offering for eco-conscious customers who want to “go organic” with more than their weekly groceries. It’s a hybrid that’s made with all-natural materials and is free of synthetics and chemicals, and Helix donates to a noble cause whenever one is sold. Learn everything you need to know to decide whether the Birch Mattress is for you in this review.
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Birch Mattress Review
Our Verdict: The Birch Mattress is Helix Sleep’s take on a bed that’s sourced with materials from nature. The company successfully does so with this hybrid, medium-firm mattress that incorporates wool, latex, and organic cotton. If you’re looking for a reasonably affordable hybrid with a responsive feel and a medium-firm sleeping surface, the Birch Mattress is a great choice.
What We’ll Cover in this Birch Mattress Review
The Birch mattress is made by Helix, a mattress company that’s been around for several years and centers its brand around the concept that no two sleepers have the exact same needs. Helix Sleep offers customized mattresses that are designed to meet the needs of certain sleeping positions and firmness preferences. The Birch is Helix’s venture into the natural, organic space for eco-conscious buyers.
Read our Helix Mattress Review to learn more about the brand.
The hybrid latex Birch Mattress includes a stretchy cotton cover in a creamy, earthy tone, a comfort layer of organic wool, a pressure relieving layer of natural Talalay latex, a support core of pocketed coils with reinforced edges, and a base layer of organic wool batting, making it one of the best organic mattresses.
Altogether, it measures 11” tall, has a medium-firm, responsive feel that makes it an excellent choice for back sleepers, side sleepers, and combination sleepers who enjoy bounce, and sleeps very cool thanks to its ventilated latex and moisture-wicking wool layers.
There’s a lot to love about this mattress in addition to its eco-conscious construction. It’s backed by a longer-than-average warranty, ships quickly, and is very durable. Plus, Birch donates 1% of every sale to the Natural Forest Foundation, making the mattress even more appealing for those who want to protect and give back to the planet through their shopping behaviors.
Who is the Birch Mattress is Best For?
✅ Best For… |
❌ May Not be Best For… |
|
✅Eco-conscious shoppers ✅People who like a responsive feel ✅Shoppers interested in a very durable mattress ✅People who sleep hot ✅Back, stomach, and combination sleepers |
❌Lightweight sleepers ❌ Couples ❌Sleepers who enjoy or need close conforming for pressure relief ❌Side sleepers |
Birch Highlights
- Eco-friendly and constructed from natural and organic materials
- Ventilated latex and moisture-wicking wool help it sleep cool
- Above-average durability of 8 or more years
- Supportive enough for heavyweight sleepers
- Thicker perimeter coils prevent edges from sagging
- Very responsive surface from its combination of coils and latex
- Wool comfort layer makes it a little softer than most medium-firm latex mattresses
- Handmade in the USA
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What Type of Mattress Is The Birch?
The Birch is a hybrid mattress, made with innerspring coils and latex. The latex provides superior cooling, along with the organic wool top layers.
Related: Best Latex Mattresses
How Well Does the Birch Regulate Temperature?
The Birch features both wool and aerated latex in its comfort layers, which balance temperature and wick away moisture from sleepers’ bodies throughout the night. These materials, along with the bed’s pocketed coil support core that provides steady airflow throughout the night, help the Birch Mattress sleep even cooler than most hybrids.
The cover is also made from organic cotton, which promotes breathability more than other cover materials such as polyester or spandex. If you’re looking for a mattress for which cooling is a key strength, this could be a good pick.
Birch Mattress Firmness & Feel
The Birch Mattress has a medium-firm firmness setting that corresponds with 6.5/10 on the firmness scale. If you add the optional Plush Organic Mattress Topper, it will feel closer to a medium on the firmness scale.
With regard to feel, the Birch feels like a latex bed that has slightly more softness than other medium-firm latex mattresses on the market. The pocketed coils give it a supportive, durable feel that works for many heavier individuals while the latex layer provides the signature responsiveness and bounce that the material is known for.
The layer of wool above the Talalay latex and coils softens the feel of the mattress slightly, giving it a more neutral feel that isn’t as squarely “firm” as other latex mattresses. That being said, the mattress certainly can’t be called “soft,” so we don’t recommend it for most side sleepers or for lightweight sleepers who want more sinking. We break down more about each sleeping position and who it’s best for below.
Is the Birch Mattress Good For Couples?
While the Birch Mattress has above-average edge support, thanks to reinforced coils around the perimeter of the mattress, its responsive surface will cause couples to feel a noticeable amount of movement throughout the night. Latex tends to be bouncy, and the Birch’s coil core will further prevent it from minimizing motion transfer.
Birch Mattress by Sleeping Positions
| Back | Stomach | Side | Combination |
| ✅Pro: Medium-firm setting supports the hips and shoulders
✅Pro: Spine won’t sink into the mattress
|
✅Pro: Comfort layers of wool provide more contouring than similar mattresses
✅Pro: With added pillow top, may work for lightweight and average weight sleepers ❌Con: Standard version is not soft enough for most side sleepers |
✅Pro: Medium-firm setting works well for this sleeping position
✅Pro: Supportive coils and latex layer keep torso from sinking
|
✅Pro: Responsive surface makes changing positions easy
✅Pro: Supportive enough for all positions ❌Con: Not enough hip and shoulder contouring in the side sleeping position |
Back Sleepers: The mattress is ideal for back sleepers because its firmness level will keep the head, shoulders, and hips from sinking, which will encourage proper spinal alignment in this position. The top layer of wool and the stretchy cotton cover will contour slightly to important areas of back sleepers’ bodies (like the lower spine) while preventing sagging elsewhere.
See: Best Mattresses for Back Sleepers
Stomach Sleepers: Stomach sleepers should also find what they’re looking for in this mattress with regard to support regardless of their bodyweight. Its firm surface will prevent the hips and lower torso from sinking too deeply, which can result in low back pain for sleepers who prefer this position.
Side Sleepers: The best mattresses for side sleepers cradle the hips, shoulders and neck while keeping the spine straight. How well the Birch Mattress works for side sleepers will depend upon their weight. If you’re heavyweight or average weight, it should sleep fine.
However, if you’re petite or enjoy more sinking in the hips and shoulders for comfort, the Birch Mattress on its own will be too firm. Side sleepers who are petite and like the bed’s responsive feel should consider purchasing it with the topper, which costs $400 extra for a Queen size.
Combination Sleepers: There’s a lot to love about this mattress if you’re a combination sleeper who tends to gravitate toward your back or stomach for most of the night. Its responsive surface will make it easy to change positions while the coil core provides support in any position. That being said, if you wind up on your side for a large portion of the night or enjoy a softer feel to your mattress regardless of the position you’re in, consider adding the topper.
Birch Construction
The Birch is a hybrid mattress that incorporates pocketed coils and eco-friendly materials like wool, organic cotton, and Talalay latex. Altogether, the mattress measures 11” thick and has a medium-firm feel.
The Birch Mattress has a base layer of wool batting, which acts as a foundation and provides durability and stability to the entire mattress. Above this is a support core of pocketed coils, which are individually wrapped and act independently of one another to cradle the body and provide support. The coils on the outer edges of the mattress are reinforced to enhance edge support.
The support core is topped by a pressure relief layer of Talalay latex, which has a spongy feel and cushions pressure points without allowing too much sinking throughout the body. It also adds more responsiveness to the mattress, making it easy to change positions if you’re a combination sleeper.
The comfort layer is a layer of wool, which gives it a slightly softer profile than it would otherwise have due to the firmer layer of latex and the pocketed coils. The wool also acts as a natural fire-retardant.
The cover of the Birch Mattress is made from organic cotton with a layer of wool sewn in.
Birch Mattress Buying Experience
Shipping, Delivery & Returns
The Birch Mattress comes with free shipping to all 50 states and ships as a bed-in-a-box. It typically ships within three to seven business days via FedEx from the date it’s ordered.
If you decide the mattress isn’t a good fit, you’ll have 70 nights to return it once you’ve slept on the bed for the duration of the mandatory 30-night break in period. Returns cannot be made for a full refund until at least 30 nights have passed from the date of delivery. Full refunds are issued for all returns, and returned mattresses are donated to charity or recycled.
Trial Period
Your Birch Mattress will come with a 100-night sleep trial. This means you’ll have more than three months to test the bed and decide whether it’s a good fit for your sleeping style and preferences. Keep in mind that you’ll need to sleep on the bed for at least 30 nights (there’s a mandatory 30-night break-in period) prior to initiating a return for a full refund.
Warranty
The Birch Mattress comes with a 25-year warranty that’s partially prorated. During the first 10 years of ownership, repairs and replacements are available at no cost to the owner. During years 11 through 25, owners are responsible for at least 50% of the mattress price if a replacement is needed.
Availability
The Birch Mattress is sold by Helix and is currently only available online at BirchLiving.com. The Birch Mattress may be available to see and test at Helix Sleep’s brick-and-mortar showroom in New York City.
Our Birch Review
We’re giving the Birch Mattress a 4.9/5 rating because we think it hits the nail on the head for its target audience: eco-conscious shoppers who like a firmer latex mattress and want a reasonable price point.
Not only is the bed thoughtfully made with naturally sourced materials, better-than-average edge support, cooling enhancements, and the option of a plush topper for lightweight and side sleepers, but it costs less than most latex hybrid beds out there. If you’re a back or stomach sleeper who isn’t lightweight or are a combination sleeper who enjoys a firmer feel, this mattress is a great choice to consider.
Nerd Score: 4.9/5
FAQs
What natural materials are used in the Birch Mattress?
The Birch Mattress is handmade and uses materials that come from nature, including wool from sustainably sheared New Zealand sheep, OEKO-TEX certified natural latex, and organic GOTS Certified cotton.
If I am allergic to latex, can I buy the Birch Mattress?
Most reactions to latex in individuals who are allergic result from direct contact or inhalation of latex particles. While direct contact should not occur on a Birch Mattress, consult your doctor prior to purchase.
Does the Birch Mattress work with an adjustable base?
Yes, Birch mattresses work with any flat surface. A traditional box spring base, platform, or a slatted surface work as well.
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