March 3, 2018
Disclosure: This site receives a payment from Brooklyn Bedding when you purchase a product using any links to that company in this article
Brooklyn Bedding is one of the older direct-to-consumer mattress companies out there and one of the few that actually own their own factory. They recently came out with a “hybrid” mattress with a lot of “cooling” features called the Aurora.
The short version: The Aurora is a luxury hybrid mattress that goes all-in on “cooling” features. It uses a material which feels cool to the touch, it uses phase change materials, and it uses an innerspring unit for better air flow. If sleeping hot is your main concern, the Aurora could be the best option out there.
Get the Firm version if you’re on the heavy side and sleep on your back or stomach.
Get the Soft version if you’re on the light side and sleep on your side.
Otherwise, the Medium is best for most people.
Continue reading below, where I will look at the construction of the Aurora, how it feels, the price and the return policy.
Contents
About Brooklyn Bedding
Brooklyn Bedding has been around for longer than the direct-to-consumer mattress trend. They started producing their own mattresses about a decade ago, and are one of the few “direct to consumer” brands to actually own their own factory and produce the mattresses themselves. In fact, many other “mattress in a box” companies contract out Brooklyn Bedding to build their mattresses, which is why I’m comfortable recommending them as a company. About 100 direct-to-consumer mattress brands have popped up in the past 4 years, and not all of them will be around in another 4 years, but Brooklyn Bedding is a legitimate player in the industry.
The Aurora as seen in my living room
About the mattress
The Aurora is a hybrid mattress, meaning it has a flat top commonly seen in all-foam mattresses, but an innerspring system underneath. It was built with the idea of “sleeping cool” in mind. Between the phase change materials, gel pad, and air flow, it will be one of the cooler mattresses on the market.
Construction
This part is a little technical, but if you’re a geek like me, you might be into this sort of thing. If not, you can skip ahead.
A cutaway of the Aurora mattress. You can see the three layers above the coils.
The top layer is a 1.5″ layer of “Energex” foam, which is a foam that is a bit bouncier than most polyurethane or memory foam. It is infused with copper, which makes it feel cool to the touch. It also uses a “phase change material” in the top layer, which will change phase without changing temperature (in the same way that ice melting or freezing will stay at 32 degrees Fahrenheit as the phase changes). Below that is a layer of a proprietary foam called “TitanFlex,” which acts like a synthetic latex. It’s bouncy, similar to the Energex layer above. Below that is a layer of memory foam.
The support system is individually-wrapped coils, which will contour to your body while giving you support. An innerspring system like this allows air to flow more freely than an all-foam mattress, and is yet another feature to keep this mattress cool.
The mattress has 3 firmness options, which is determined by how firm the TitanFlex layer is.
Between the coils, the phase change material, and the copper which makes it cool to the touch, this mattress might be your best shot if sleeping hot is an issue for you. Beyond sleeping cooler, the materials are of a high enough quality to justify the slightly higher price point the Aurora is at (compared to some competitors).
The full view of the Aurora (from the Brooklyn Bedding website). It has the flat top of a foam mattress but it uses coils for support.
How it feels
I was sent the Medium to test, so I am more confident about how that feels. I have to extrapolate from that based on the materials for the other two firmnesses.
The Aurora Medium is still slightly on the firmer side of average. On a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 is the firmest, this is maybe a 6.5. This would be good for most average side or back sleepers, or if you’re a particularly thin stomach sleeper (though even then I’d probably recommend the Firm).
The Aurora feels quite cool to the touch. In nerdy terms, it has high “thermal conductivity,” which means it moves the heat away from you quickly. Between that and the phase change materials (more nerdy terminology, it means it takes a lot of heat to warm up), it stays cool for a while. It takes about 30-45 minutes of lying in the mattress before I feel like it’s no longer cool to the touch.
For many people, this is a desirable feature. Sleeping hot is a big issue with mattresses today, since memory foam is being used more. If you are a person who sleeps hot all the time, the Aurora might be your best chance to mitigate that with a mattress.
For me, sleeping hot is rarely an issue, and I was sent this mattress during a Boston winter, so for my tastes, it was maybe a little too cool. But I might be in the minority here.
For the other firmness options, if you’re on the heavy side, prefer a firmer mattress, or sleep on your stomach, get the Firm version.
If you’re on the thinner side and sleep on your side, or prefer soft mattresses, get the Soft.
Otherwise, the Medium is going to be best for most people.
Price
The Aurora is a luxury mattress with a price point that reflects the quality. The Queen mattress is $1699, which is a bit higher than most mattresses in a box. You can see the prices for all the sizes here.
The price only includes the mattress. You’ll need to get a boxspring, platform bed, or adjustable base to put it on (unless you already have one of those in good condition). Brooklyn Bedding sells foundations here.
The “Simple Life Tri-Fold Foundation” sold by Brooklyn Bedding. It’s a folding metal foundation with a cover to look like a traditional boxspring.
Returns and warranty
Brooklyn Bedding has a 120 day return policy on their mattresses, meaning if you’re unhappy with how the mattress feels, you can return it for a full refund within 120 days. They ask you to keep the mattress for 30 days to get used to it (plus, mattresses tend to be a little firmer than you’d expect for the first 30 days as the foams break in, like breaking in a new shoe).
If the mattress starts sagging or there is some other physical defect, the mattress comes with a 10 year warranty, which is the industry standard length of warranty. It covers physical defects and sags of at least an inch, which is fairly typical for mattresses with a flat top (hybrids and foam mattresses).
Conclusion
The Aurora is my #1 mattress recommendation for people who sleep hot.
If any mattress is going to help with that issue, it’s going to be the Aurora. If the Aurora doesn’t help, then then I don’t know what mattress will. (You might have to look at other factors, like keeping the temperature of your room down, using a fan, etc).
If sleeping hot isn’t an issue for you at all, the Aurora is a little more expensive than some of its competitors without all of the “cooling” features, and you may be better off with another option. The Aurora is still a high-quality option, but you’re paying maybe an extra $200 for cooling features you don’t get as much benefit from.
Click here to purchase the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora.
Disclosure: This site receives a payment from Brooklyn Bedding when you purchase a product using any links to that company in this article
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