Why The Puffy Mattress Is The Web’s Most Popular Mattress: The Perfect “Cake Recipe”

We began reviewing and studying the Puffy Mattress lineup when the company launched their original mattress called The Puffy. Since we had decades of experiencing designing and selling our own memory foam mattresses long before today’s “bed in a box” companies set up shop, we knew that the company had the right “cake recipe” for a mattress that was going to be comfortable and supportive.

Having the right “cake recipe”, that is, the kind of foam or other ingredients used in a mattress, the configuration, or arrangement of the layers, and the densities and other physical properties of each layer, are essential to the design and success of any mattress that is sold on e-commerce sites. 

It’s also going to be the formula that makes or breaks a mattress model, or even the entire company- if the components just don’t add up to something extraordinary, long lasting, super comfortable, and worthy of 5 star reviews, it’s not likely the company will survive.

In fact, of 250 online mattress companies that started with good intentions and offered mattresses that could be shipped to your door, only about 50% of them have survived, and of that group of 125 online retailers, only about 10%, or about 12 online stores, do a significant volume. Why is that?

When the CEO of this site started his company called Habitat Furnishings, which sold latex mattresses, it was privately owned, and didn’t have a look of digital marketing money that the larger bed in a box companies have at their disposal to spend millions of year on advertising. Eventually, because we simply couldn’t compete with the huge budgets these corporate backed mattress companies used to propel themselves into the stratosphere, we had to switch to other product lines. 

Despite this, our mattress line up, which included memory foam mattresses similar in design to Puffy, by the way, were sought after by consumers, and we began consulting with larger companies to help them develop mattresses that would garnish great reviews and keep them in business so they could service customer warranties down the road.

Take Casper for example. You’ll see ads everywhere for the iconic brand, even printed ads on subways in New York City, a really amazing web site, a great story about how the company sold $1 Million worth of mattresses in their first month. Sounds like a real Cinderella story, right? Until you realize that the company, as of summer 2020, has not made $1 in profit. Is their product great? 

We would say it’s okay, but if you really want to buy a mattress that is recommended by an expert with a lot of design and marketing experience, you’ll probably be safer buying a Puffy mattress, simply because their “cake recipe” is better. But why?

For one, The Puffy mattress lineup is only available for sale through the Puffy website, and they build their mattresses in their own factories, unlike Casper and most other major online “bed in a box” operations that use third party fabricators, and have less control over quality, real time production issues, packaging and shipping logistics, onsite quality control, and a host of other issues.

The Puffy Mattress company also develops new models very slowly- researching components and their recipe carefully, field testing them with consumers before introducing them into their program online. The current lineup, even after six years in business, only consists of three models, the last of which , The Puffy Royal, being added in the last few months.

Another great feature abut the The Puffy Mattress web site is that the manufacturer offers genuine customer reviews by real owners, to give an “across the kitchen table” style perspective about why their Puffy works for them. Viewers are able to scroll through mattress ratings as well as over one-thousand questions asked by Puffy customers.

All of the reviews and ratings on the Puffy website are constructive and offer plainspoken advice about the benefits and features they enjoy about their Puffy Mattress. Many customers share photos of their mattresses set up at home as part of their online reviews.

There seem to be common themes found throughout customer reviews on the Puffy site. Many reviewers often note how soft and comfortable the Puffy feels, referencing the company’s slogan that describe sleeping on a Puffy mattress as similar to “sleeping on a cloud.” Multiple reviewers rave that the Puffy mattress is the “best mattress they’ve owned in their life”.

Another similarity that man Puffy mattress reviews possess is pressure and pain relief. Pain relief is something that people are often seeking as a benefit in a mattress. The trick in that “cake recipe” we have been talking about is to incorporate the right density of memory foam into the mix to both relieve pressure and pain by distributing the load out and away (what memory foam does bet) without being too soft.

Many reviewers with arthritis or some other type of chronic pain state that the pressure relief they experience by sleeping on a Puffy Mattress calms their bodies which helps muscles and connective tissues to lengthen and contract less- which reduces their overall pain levels. 

The memory foam and the supportive underlying layers on all three of their models also promote healthier spine alignment, too, by relaxing the body- much like a full body massage relaxes- and reviewers commonly share that lower pain levels on the Puffy lead to better sleep than they were having before. A real asset in any mattress.

The Details About The Puffy Mattress Lineup- And Why We Recommend Them

Puffy offers three different mattresses to customers: The Puffy Mattress, The Puffy Lux Mattress, and The Puffy Royal Mattress. Each of their mattress options are considered by experts to be in the premium memory foam mattress category, meaning the materials used in the “cake recipe” are higher quality, 4lb density vs. 3 lb material, which is typically used in lower quality memory foam mattresses. The 4lb density memory foam offers better performance, better body conformation, and much longer lifespan. 

This higher density memory foam costs more, but this does not seem to factor in to the pricing of all three Puffy models, when compared to other memory foam mattresses sold online. This is likely due to the fact that because Puffy sells much higher volumes of all three of their models, that they can afford to buy their components in very large quantity and negotiate better pricing.

The Puffy Mattress, the company’s original model achieved huge popularity because of the innovative layer of specialized memory foam that provided “cooling technology” in their patented Cooling Cloud™ foam, a memory foam that is infused with encapsulated gel beads. The Lux and Royal models came along later, but are wildly popular, with the Lux model leading the selection. 

Offering a pressure-relieving high profile mattress design, all three models offer a luxurious and pillowy feel- without that sinking and caved in feeling- for a smaller price tag- than traditional brick and mortar stores, or even other online mattress brands. If you are considering a slightly softer mattress designed to relieve pain and provide excellent pressure relief, Puffy would be an option you should consider.

Let’s Take A Look At What’s Inside A Puffy Mattress: Material Quality

Each of Puffy’s mattresses feature high grade memory foams with firmness ratings that are focused on side sleeping and pressure point relief. Over the years, they have enhanced their mattresses with additional layers of cooling technology for those that have trouble with warm sleeping, and the addition of pocket spring hybrid options (in the Lux and Royal versions) for those that prefer a traditional, balanced feel versus an all foam version. 

The coil models do make the mattress feel a bit firmer, but also help to pinpoint pressure relief a little better, and also allow for precise alignment of the spine, especially for side sleepers. Let’s take a look at what’s inside each of their premium models,  so you can learn how their mattresses will best work for you.

First we’ll take a look at what’s inside The Original Puffy Mattress:

The Puffy Original Mattress is 10” tall and is perfect for people looking for cooler sleep, is medium to medium firm while still offering the “cloud like” sensation owners who review the model describe.

Outer encasement fabric: The cover is Oeko-Tex™ certified stain resistant and moisture wicking, which makes it perfect for sleeping cool and dry all night long.

Top Comfort Layer 1: From the top down, the first comfort layer is a 2” layer of Puffy’s proprietary  Cooling Cloud™ foam, which offers a patent pending foam design that reduces and dissipates heat using convection and conduction, with greater airflow than many other foams available. In other words, instead of trapping heat and cooking you in your mattress, the heat is directed away from the body, seeking cooler air at the edges of the mattress. It uses gel infusion with an open cell design that provides 8x more airflow than many other foams.

Comfort Layer 2:  This layer is 2” of Puffy’s proprietary ClimateComfort™ foam that further regulates temperature and is moisture resistant to provides the same cooling feel all year long. Also, it is slightly firmer  than the Cooling Cloud layer above it, for a pressure relieving but supportive transition. In all good “cake recipes” for mattresses, the concept of getting progressively firmer as you go from the top down is essential to providing good support so that there is no sinking or excessive immersion in the mattress, preventing movement and ease of turning. 

Foundation Or Support Layer: The bottom layer is 6” of support foam that was designed to be more responsive than move foundation layers, which are often way too hard, and to  provide durable, all night long support to the spine in multiple sleeping positions.

Let’s have a look at Puffy’s biggest selling mattress, The Puffy Lux Mattress:

The Puffy Lux is 12” tall, and provides the same luxurious feel as the original, but it has a more sumptuous, nest like sensation. Because of the proprietary thermoregulating ClimateComfort™ layer, it sleeps cooler, and is excellent for hot sleepers, and side sleepers. It is Puffy’s most popular model.

Outer encasement fabric: The cover is Oeko-Tex™ certified stain resistant and moisture wicking, which makes it perfect for sleeping cool and dry all night long.

Top Comfort Layer 1: From the top down, the first comfort layer is a 2” layer of Puffy’s proprietary  Cooling Cloud™ foam, which offers a patent pending foam design that reduces and dissipates heat using convection and conduction, with greater airflow than many other foams available. In other words, instead of trapping heat and cooking you in your mattress, the heat is directed away from the body, seeking cooler air at the edges of the mattress. It uses gel infusion with an open cell design that provides 8x more airflow than many other foams.

Comfort Layer 2: 1.5” of Plush Dual Cloud memory foam will further contour and adapt to the body’s curves to provide a ‘cloud like’ feel that soothes the muscles and joints. This foam is softer, squishier, and has a wonderful “melting in” sensation without being too firm or too soft.

Comfort Layer 3: 1.5” of ClimateComfort™ foam adds a gentle, but supportive transition while also continuing to regulate temperature and resist humidity. This is important, and most mattress manufacturers completely disregard components that either reduce moisture content or help wick away moisture. When you consider that the average person discharges about a quart of water in what is known as “
insensible water loss” (not including urinary fluid) per day, and a third of that is discharged while we are in contact with our mattress, it would seem that keeping our sleep surface dry would be of paramount importance. After all, mold, mildew, bacterial growth, and food sources for dust mites are nurtured by adding moisture to a porous material.

Support Layer: For the all-foam version, the last layer is 6” of resilient polyurethane support foam that properly supports the back and keeps a lasting resilience in the mattress, while being just yielding enough so you feel refreshed but never trapped in your mattress. For the hybrid version, the last layer features encased pocketed coils that adapt to the curves of the body independently, providing that pinpoint pressure relief we talked about. This tension provides more adaptive support to keep pressure points relieved without leading to a sensation that you are entombed or buried inside of your mattress.

Finally, let’s take a look at what is inside of Puffy’s newest addition to their lineup,  The Puffy Royal Mattress:

The Puffy Royal Mattress is the newest addition to the Puffy lineup. It is 14”tall, made using the most premium memory foam on the market (we know, we’ve designed some fo the most popular memory foam mattresses on the web) and offers a nest like feel, softer, cloud like, but still delivering support whether you are back, belly, or side sleeper. Our #1 choice for The Best Mattress On the Web.

Outer encasement fabric: The cover is Oeko-Tex™ certified stain resistant and moisture wicking, which makes it perfect for sleeping cool and dry all night long.

Top Comfort Layer 1: From the top down, the first comfort layer is a 2” layer of Puffy’s proprietary  Cooling Cloud™ foam, which offers a patent pending foam design that reduces and dissipates heat using convection and conduction, with greater airflow than many other foams available. In other words, instead of trapping heat and cooking you in your mattress, the heat is directed away from the body, seeking cooler air at the edges of the mattress. It uses gel infusion with an open cell design that provides 8x more airflow than many other foams.

Comfort Layer 2: 1.5” of Plush Dual Cloud memory foam will further contour and adapt to the body’s curves to provide a ‘cloud like’ feel that soothes the muscles and joints. This foam is softer, squishier, and has a wonderful “melting in” sensation without being too firm or too soft.

Comfort Layer 3: 1.5” of ClimateComfort™ foam adds a gentle, but supportive transition while also continuing to regulate temperature and resist humidity. This is important, and most mattress manufacturers completely disregard components that either reduce moisture content or help wick away moisture. 

When you consider that the average person discharges about a quart of water in what is known as “insensible water loss” (not including urinary fluid) per day, and a third of that is discharged while we are in contact with our mattress, it would seem that keeping our sleep surface dry would be of paramount importance. After all, mold, mildew, bacterial growth, and food sources for dust mites are nurtured by adding moisture to a porous material.

In The Puffy Royal configuration, the Climate Comfort layers offers  moderate support and additional passive cooling by including grooves that allow air to move through channels to increase ventilation. Also, the layer provides zoned support by adding a slightly firmer feel to hip and shoulder areas, and softer support to legs and thoracic areas. 

Support Layer: For the all-foam version, the last layer is 6” of resilient polyurethane support foam that properly supports the back and keeps a lasting resilience in the mattress, while being just yielding enough so you feel refreshed but never trapped in your mattress. For the hybrid version, the last layer features encased pocketed coils that adapt to the curves of the body independently, providing that pinpoint pressure relief we talked about. This tension provides more adaptive support to keep pressure points relieved without leading to a sensation that you are entombed or buried inside of your mattress.

Will The Puffy Mattress Lineup Work For You?

Puffy has gone through multiple design iterations with their mattresses, launching cooling and zoned support enhancements that customers have rated highly and more recently hybrid options. At a a comfort medium-firmness level that will work fo almost any body type and any sleeping configuration (side, back, or belly), Puffy’s mattresses will work best for slimmer and average sized sleepers who are looking for enhanced pressure relief. The Puffy program is probably not the best fit for obese or larger people.

The Original Puffy Mattress mattress is medium to medium-firm in feel for average sized sleepers. The Puffy Lux provides a somewhat softer feel ideal for side sleepers that want all the benefits of memory foam without the negatives. It definitely is cushier, more inviting, and sumptuous in feel. Stomach sleepers may enjoy the Original Puffy mattress more for having less contour, while the thicker options are more contouring and pressure relieving and therefore suited more to side sleepers looking for a high level of adaptive pressure relief.

The Puffy Royal Mattress offers the same sumptuous yet supportive feel but also provides enhanced weight distribution and better support with its zoned support layer. It sleeps cooler and provides excellent passive ventilation for hot sleepers.

Puffy Mattress: Trial, Warranty, and Shipping Policies

The Puffy mattress is exclusively available for sale on the Puffy website. Puffy doesn’t have brick and mortar stores, nor do they allow third parties such as mattress stores or Amazon to sell their products.

Puffy offers free standard shipping to customers in the contiguous US. Those in Alaska and Hawaii may also purchase the mattress, but will pay a shipping fee. International shipping isn’t available.

Once ordered, a Puffy mattress ships within 1 to 3 days. The mattress is shipped compressed, rolled, sealed in plastic, and placed in a box. Customers must unbox and set up the mattress themselves as White Glove delivery and old mattress removal are not available through Puffy.Puffy offers a 101-night sleep trial on all of their mattresses. The trial comes with a required 14-night break-in period. The break-in period requires customers to try out the mattress for a longer period before initiating a return, so they have time to adjust to the mattress.
If a customer decides to return the mattress within the first 101 nights, a full refund is available. 

Customers do not have to pay any return shipping fees. Puffy does not keep returned mattresses. Instead, they coordinate with customers to have the returned mattress picked up so it may be donated.The Puffy mattress comes with a lifetime warranty. If there is a defect in the mattress at any time, Puffy will repair or replace the mattress at no charge given all of their warranty conditions are met.

The mattress must have always been used on an appropriately sized bed frame to qualify for the warranty. Also, the warranty doesn’t cover damage that is the result of abuse or misuse, such as burns. Mattress indentations that are less than 1.5 inches deep are considered normal and are not covered under the warranty.

Customers may make a warranty claim through the contact form on the Puffy website. They must share order information and a photo or video of the problem with the mattress to begin the claim process.