Metta Bed Mattress Review
In This Article
When you think of all-natural latex beds, what comes to mind? Expensive? Out of reach? Unaffordable?
Metta Bed is hoping to change your mind about that. Their all natural, latex bed uses premium materials at a fraction of the showroom price. It’s responsive and uses organic cotton as a cover material to reduce the number of allergens in your home.
You may not be sold on memory foam, but is it time for you to give latex mattresses a try? We’ve got our opinion in this Metta Bed review. We’ll break everything down to help you decide if Metta Bed is the one for you. Let’s take a look.
Things to Consider Before Buying a New Mattress
We have some essential categories we consider whenever we think about a new mattress. They help ensure that the bed will help our sleep and not keep us up all night tossing and turning.
Contouring And Support
If your mattress causes your arm to fall asleep before you do, it might be time to get some contouring. Old mattresses forced your body to conform to the surface of the mattress rather than the other way around. You woke up in pain because your body wasn’t meant to sleep that way.
Contouring allows your broadest points to sink further into the mattress. The material then fills in around your waist and lower back, keeping your spine aligned and your back decompressed. It removes pressure points from those common painful areas like shoulders and hips.
Edge Support
If you can’t sit on the bed and contemplate your life, that’s a total bummer. Likewise, if you’re part of a couple and can’t use the edge of the bed to get comfortable, you’re in for a rough night. Edge support reinforces the sides of the bed to prevent the compression that keeps you from using the entire mattress.
Some mattresses use different side fabrics to help reinforce the edges while others use entirely different materials. Memory foam mattresses aren’t as great at edge support as an innerspring, but that isn’t a hard and fast rule. We want a mattress that can help us sit on the edge of the bed, and that doesn’t have an obvious sweet spot in the middle of the bed that we have to fight over.
Motion Transfer
Motion isolation is critical if you share your bed. Mattresses should have proper motion isolation to prevent your partner’s movements from waking you up in the middle of the night. Without it, every time your partner has a wild dream, you’re going to get woken up.
Motion transfer also prevents that dip in the bed that happens when one partner is heavier than the other. If you find yourself rolling towards your partner in the middle of the night without meaning to because of a dip in the mattress, motion isolation is essential.
Temperature Regulation
Sleeping hot can profoundly impact the quality of your sleep. Your new mattress should have something in place to help keep you more relaxed. Some materials that can help are open cell foams and latexes that allow air to move through the mattress. Others could be gel infused or graphite infused to pull heat away from your body actively.
Phase change materials are also excellent because of the speed at which they pull heat away and return the mattress to ambient room temperature.
Presenting the Metta Bed Mattress
Metta Bed’s all-natural latex mattress uses several layers to give you contouring and support. Latex is more responsive than traditional memory foam.
Metta uses this layer system to give you more control over the firmness. It comes in three different firmness levels. Plush is good for side sleepers and those who like more of a hug with their mattress. Medium firmness is suitable for combination sleepers, and the firm is ideal for back and stomach sleepers.
You can exchange the layers to change out the comfort feeling. The exchange is free, and you only need to talk to the company to coordinate it.
The mattress doesn’t use any chemical fire retardants because the company believes in using the most natural materials possible. The natural wool barrier is flame retardant and helps keep you cooler through breathability and wicking moisture away.
It’s certified organic by several different organizations. The latex is 95% natural, the most possible without creating a prohibitively difficult material. The cover material is woven organic cotton. The wool layer is GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified. Greenguard Gold certification means that there are minimal emissions.
It’s a lot more affordable than many all latex mattresses available. It offers you 120 nights to try the bed out and an extended 20-year warranty against mattress defects. They also provide financing to qualified buyers to help spread the cost out over time.
The company was one of the originators of organic mattresses. They’ve been in business for over 20 years and have several decades of experience organic mattresses. When you order your Metta bed, their eco-factory goes straight to work creating your specific mattress. It’s handcrafted and ships to you in a matter of a few days to a week usually.
Features and Benefits
Let’s break down the good and the bad to see if this mattress is the right one for you.
Contouring And Support
The all-latex features of the mattress have a bit more response than memory foam. It uses just two different layers of Dunlop latex to create a cushion and support layer. We aren’t super impressed with the construction of the mattress because it’s only about seven inches deep.
That doesn’t give you much cushion or support, but Dunlop is a thick material. For most lighter people, it should be fine.
It still performs pretty well despite the depth issue. The top layer can be customized to your particular preference for firmness and can be exchanged if your original layer doesn’t work out for you.
The support layer pushes back against your body to help keep your spine supported, but the three-inch support layer isn’t going to support any one of heavier weight. It does have good pressure relief, and the quality of the latex layers is excellent.
Wool layers wick moisture from your body quickly. As that moisture dries, the mattress can feel cooler, helping you cool down.
Organic cotton cover materials stretch along with the comfort layer and feel comfortable against your skin.
Edge Support
The thinner mattress does have one upside. The edge support is good because there isn’t enough mattress to compress. It should be pretty easy to sit or sleep on the edge of the bed, and we don’t think you’ll feel a sweet spot in the middle.
You and your partner can use every square inch of the mattress. You can also sit on the edge of the bed and contemplate all your life choices.
Motion Transfer
Latex is naturally bouncier than memory foam. Motion transfer isn’t terrible, but there isn’t much cushioning that can happen when the mattress is that depth. It works well enough, but you may feel a little motion. If you’re a genuinely light sleeper, it might not be the right mattress for you.
If you and your partner are pretty still, it should work fine with. If you’re expecting something more like a 12-inch memory foam mattress, you’ll be disappointed.
Temperature Regulation
A thinner mattress automatically moves air through faster than the standard bed. Cotton and latex are both highly breathable materials, so you don’t need much other than that. It doesn’t have gel infused materials or phase change materials, but it should be plenty cool enough for the average sleeper.
Wool is great for keeping cool because the material wicks away moisture. As it dries, it feels cooler to the touch and can reduce the temperature of your mattress surface enough to help you feel comfortable.
Overall, it should help you sleep more comfortably by using natural temperature regulation.
Eco-Friendliness
The mattress has excellent environmental friendliness. The company really values the impact it has on the planet, so it’s taken steps to reduce the footprint. The latex is sustainably harvested and is 95% natural. Dunlop latex is really thick and excellent quality.
There’s no significant off-gassing. Both CertiPur-US and Greenguard Gold verify that the mattress maintains the air quality of the room around it. You shouldn’t have any significant respiratory reactions to the mattress.
Organic cotton also reduces the chances you’ll have a skin reaction due to pesticide use. Cotton is heavily soaked in pesticides usually, so the cover materials here are a much better option than many bed-in-a-box mattresses.
You can find out more about their environmental philosophy here.
Sleep Trial And Warranty
THe sleep trial is a little bit different than some others. You have something called a 120-night comfort guarantee. If you don’t like the mattress after sleeping on it for a few weeks, you can call the company, and they’ll issue a mattress insert to be mailed to your home. You can change it out to see if that satisfies your sleep preferences more closely.
You can’t return the mattress once you begin using it, but the company will work with you to find your perfect bed. That might mean changing out one of the latex inserts to change the feel of the bed. The exchange is free during this trial period, and the company will work with you to find precisely the right one for you.
The warranty covers the mattress for 20 years. Make sure your bed is fully supported so you don’t actually void the warranty. You should also make sure that you only use the mattress for its intended purpose.
Manufacturing And Customer Service
Metta is proud to handcraft their mattresses in the United States. Their single factory in California brings your mattress to life through a handcrafted process that means a durable product free of some of the more environmentally toxic materials often found in factory line made products.
Your mattress doesn’t exist before you order it. When you do place your order, their artisans begin to work on your mattress. The carbon footprint in production is much lower.
Customer service is helpful and handles all inquiries quickly. They don’t officially disclose where their customer service is located, but the agents we spoke to were in the United States. They may be a smaller company, but customer service is excellent.
Options For Heavier People
If you’re much heavier than the average person, this mattress isn’t going to work out. The seven-inch depth can’t handle the weight (In fact, it can barely handle the weight of a couple at times), so it’s going to feel a lot more firm than it should.
The contouring layer isn’t thick enough to fill in around curves, and the supporting layer is only about three inches. We think you’ll find much better options with thicker mattresses (DreamCloud hybrid for example) or with mattresses made specifically for you. Some to consider first would be Winkbeds Plus or Ghostbed.
If you’re right on the line, heavier than average but not that much, you may want to pause and really consider if a seven-inch mattress is going to be enough. Latex is bouncier and more supportive than memory foam, but we’d keep looking around.
If you’re really sold on latex, you might consider Zenhaven, but both Winkbeds and Ghostbed have latex-like material that responds the same way latex would. Ghostbed original mattress also uses a latex top.
Price
One of the best features of the Metta Bed is the price. Even internet latex mattresses are still closer to $2000 for a standard model, but Metta Bed starts at just $900 for all three firmness levels. A California king is just under $1600.
Metta bed does offer financing if you want to spread out the cost of the bed or you aren’t able to handle the full price today. You should receive a decision within minutes and can check out from their page as usual.
Quick Points
Metta Bed has some excellent benefits and some real downsides. Still aren’t sure if this is the one you want to go for? Here are the key points:
Why We Like It:
- all latex design is environmentally and respiratory allergy friendly
- latex is springier than memory foam with better response
- natural cooling methods help keep the mattress refreshed
- wool flame retardants are healthier than the synthetic stuff
- more affordable than most other all-latex options
Why We’re Skeptical
- It’s only seven inches in depth. That’s right. Just seven inches
- there’s no sleep trial. Instead, you have 120 days to change out the firmness inserts in the mattress. If you’re nervous about buying a mattress online, this might send you elsewhere.
- heavier people won’t find this mattress comfortable or supportive enough on average.
Who It’s For:
If you don’t have a lot of aches and pains, and you’re pretty light and lithe, this is an excellent all-latex alternative to some of the more expensive models on the market. You can satisfy your need for a clean mattress without killing your wallet.
We also think this might be good for children and teens with respiratory allergies. You can adjust the feeling of the mattress to help make them comfortable (something notoriously hard to do with some mattresses.
Social Proof
Alternatives
DreamCloud – Best Alternative For Heavier People
DreamCloud incorporates latex into their eight-layer system for a springier feeling. If you’re heavier than average, the combination of memory foam, latex, and pocketed coils provides more support and contouring than the average mattress.
The top layers are quilted and gel-infused for better loft and air flow. The middle layers, including the latex layer offer targeted support and transition the body to the support layer.
Individually pocketed coils give you targeted support, pushing back against your weight to help your spine stay straight. It’s comfortable with excellent edge support.
DreamCloud also gives you a full year to try the mattress out before you buy it. You’re also covered by a lifetime warranty against defects as long as your mattress is properly supported.
The best part? White glove delivery is available, and the most expensive DreamCloud size is just under $1500.
Zenhaven – Best Latex Alternative
Zenhaven’s mattress comes from Saatva, another company known for eco-friendly, non-toxic mattresses. Zenhaven is an all latex option and uses two layers of latex for contouring and support.
The top layer provides targeted contouring and allows your larger areas to sink further while filling in around your waist and lower lumbar region. Underneath, dense Talalay latex pushes back against your weight and keeps your spine aligned.
It comes in two different firmness levels, but all you have to do is flip the mattress to try them out. When you order one mattress, you get both firmness levels through their innovative layer system.
The mattress is ten inches deep so it can handle a bit more weight and is more suited for couples. It cannot be compressed without damaging the foam, so all Zenhaven orders are shipped with free white glove delivery to preserve the integrity of the foam.
The delivery person will bring your mattress to you and help you get everything set up. He or she will also help you remove the packaging and haul your old mattress away. It’s a smooth transition for you.
You have 120 days to try the mattress out, and it’s covered by a 20-year warranty against mattress defects.
The downside is that the Zenhaven is nearly twice the price of the Metta bed at just under $2500 for a California king.
Conclusion
Metta Bed’s latex option is good for the average sleeper who cares about the environment. The latex is quality Dunlop and 95% natural. Even though the depth leaves a lot to be desired, it does support the average sleeper with a nice dense surface and some contouring on the top.
The cover materials stretch with you, and the wool is a breathable, cooling way to help make the mattress flame retardant. We think it’s a respectable entry into the market of natural, organic beds, but we aren’t sure if it’s going to be the right one for everyone.
If you don’t have any former pain or injury and you’re on the lighter side of the spectrum, Metta bed is an affordable option for a usually expensive material.
