Puffy vs. Puffy Lux : Compare the Original and Upgraded Puffy Mattress Models

We loved Puffy and thought they couldn’t get much better. Then the company released the Puffy Lux. Now, you’ve got two different options from the same company. Which should you choose? Can a company really make a difference just by adding to something they’ve already invented? Let’s find out in our Puffy Versus Puffy Lux review.

About The Brands

Before we get started, there are a few things you should keep in mind first. Here’s a quick look at what both models have to offer you.

Puffy Recap

Why To Like

• great for combination sleepers
• universally comfortable
• more affordable than the Puffy Lux

Why To Doubt:

• May not be as soft for side sleepers
• not as deep

Puffy Lux

Why To Like

• great for side sleepers
• has that classic memory foam hug
• 12 inches deep

Why To Doubt

• significantly more expensive than the original model
• may not be suitable for back pain or stomach sleepers

Puffy and Puffy Lux Comparison

Since these are from the same company, the logistics will be the same. Here are a few things to remember about Puffy’s guarantees:

• 101 Night Sleep Trial: You have just over three months to try the mattresses out to see if they transform your sleep. We recommend keeping the mattress for at least a month to allow your body to adjust and the new mattress to break in. If you don’t see any difference (or a worse sleep experience) after a month, initiate a return and get your money back. The company will even pick the mattresses up.

• Lifetime Warranty: You’re covered from mattress defects including unnatural sagging and wear and tear. Make sure your mattress is supported correctly (floor, proper foundation, box springs, for example) or you could void your warranty.

• Shipping: Your Puffy mattress ships for free and is delivered to your door. They do not offer white glove delivery, so you’ll have to make arrangements for your old mattress and get help setting up your new one if you aren’t able to do it by yourself.

• Set-Up: Carefully unpack your Puffy or Puffy Lux mattress from the box and tear the plastic packaging away. Don’t cut it or you could cut the mattress itself (which isn’t covered under warranty). Allow your new mattress to inflate for a few hours, and it should be ready to go.

• Accessories: Puffy’s accessories are designed to accommodate both mattresses easily. If you’re looking to revamp your entire sleep situation, you could get things like comforters, protectors and even pillows for a full sleep revolution.

• Financing: Qualified buyers are eligible to finance their mattress and accessories through a third party company. You should receive approval in minutes and be able to check out from Puffy’s checkout page like normal.

How are Puffy And Puffy Lux Similar?

Let’s take a look at what makes the original Puffy and the Puffy Lux similar. Some of the materials, as well as the overall mattress philosophy,  are the same between the two models.

Basic Mattress Construction

Old styles of mattresses didn’t consider how the body naturally sleeps. Either your mattress was firm, and it forces your body to conform to the surface of the mattress causing pressure points and pain, or your mattress was soft, and it collapsed underneath you causing your spine to contort. Either way, ouch.

Puffy uses a newer type of mattress philosophy for both styles of mattress. The top layers are contouring layers, which give underneath your broadest points such as shoulders or hips. The contouring materials fill in around gaps in your middle and keep your feet from sinking too far into the mattress, helping to keep your spine straight.

Underneath, dense support materials prevent the bed from sagging in the middle, so that your spine stays aligned and there’s no pressure on your lower back. Whenever you move, the materials adjust so that your spine is always in the optimal position.

Materials

Puffy uses memory foams in several different strengths. The top layers are designed to allow your body to sink where it needs to and fills in where it doesn’t. The support layer provides structural integrity to the mattress and prevents the edges from compressing too much underneath your weight.

The basic foam is an open cell type that helps increase airflow, reducing the temperature of the mattress so you can sleep better. Little air pockets fill with air and then contract as you move throughout the night. This keeps air flowing through the mattress so that heat doesn’t shore up in the core.

Temperature Control

The real temperature control happens with the gel infused layers present for both mattresses. Gel-infused foams wick heat and moisture away more quickly because the gel beads help pull heat inside the core of the bead, transporting it quickly away from you and out of the mattress. You feel cooler overall and feel less clammy during the night if you’re a heavy sweater.

Sizes

Both mattresses are available in all standard sizes twin through California king. They’re both a pretty standard depth although the exact depth is slightly different. You shouldn’t have trouble finding sheets or mattress protectors in regular stores and sizes if you need them.

Edge Support

Both mattresses provide good edge support although they aren’t the best we’ve seen. You should still be able to sleep near the edge of the bed, which is great for partners who need every bit of valuable mattress real estate, or if you use the side of the mattress to get comfortable (hello stomach sleepers). If you like to sit on the edge of the bed, you may experience a little compression but not enough that it makes you slide entirely off. You can at least tie your shoes or ponder your life there for a little bit.

Motion Transfer

If you have a partner who turns into the world’s most prolific tango dancer during the night or if you sleep with pets (or children) in the bed, motion isolation is a must. The foam deadens the amount of motion you feel on the opposite side of the bed, a lot like the way and will deaden the impact of a stone. When you throw a rock into a pond, you see the ripples for a long time, but sand stops it almost instantly. Think of your memory foam mattress like the sand.

How are Puffy and Puffy Lux Different?

There’s a bit of difference in the exact construction of each mattress, resulting in a slightly different overall sleep experience. Let’s break down what separates them.

Layers

The original Puffy uses three different layers to create a simple contouring and support system. The first layer is a two-inch Cloud-Cooling foam that gives way underneath your widest points (such as the shoulders) and fills in gaps around your waist and feet. It’s gel infused for temperature control and quickly handles heat and moisture for a comfortable night’s sleep.

The next layer is a two-inch foam that helps transition your body to the support layer. It provides extra support where you need it and contouring where you need that. It’s also a temperature neutral foam helping further reduce heat if you’re a hot sleeper or providing a bit of heat when you’re cool enough. It’s adaptive overall and helps customize the bed to your preferences.

The last layer is a dense support foam that holds your weight and gives structural support to the mattress. It keeps you from feeling the movements of your partner and measure a total of six inches. The entire mattress measures ten inches in depth.

The Puffy Lux uses the same contouring and supporting layer, but not in the same construction. The first layer of Cloud Cooling foam measures 1.5 inches instead of two but still gives way underneath your broadest points. It’s cool and helps regulate your temperature. Underneath that is another 1.5 inches of Dual Cloud foam, providing more softness and contouring with the same cooling properties. That gives you three inches total of contouring foams.

Underneath, the transitional layer is still two inches and adapts to give you support where you need and contouring where you need that instead. The dense support layer is a full seven inches but still supports your weight and offers structural support to the mattress. Overall, the mattress is 12 inches in depth.

Firmness Level

The original Puffy rates at between a six and an eight on the firmness scale. This is considered medium firm and is perfect for most sleep positions. If you sleep on your back or stomach, this one is more appropriate. Also, if you frequently change between all positions, or have a partner with vastly different sleep preferences than you do, this one will probably be more appropriate.

The Puffy Lux is a bit softer with the extra contouring layer and rates at between a five and a seven on a ten point firmness scale. This is closer to the medium range and is appropriate for side sleepers. Also, if you prefer the feel of a softer mattress and want the memory foam hug, it’s going to feel more comfortable.

Price

The most significant difference is going to be in the price of the mattresses. The original Puffy starts at just under $800 for a twin and goes up to about $1350 for a California king. The Puffy Lux, on the other hand, starts at just under $1450 for a twin and goes to just under $2000 for a California king.

Puffy frequently runs specials directly on their website, and you can often find specials for the mattresses as much as several hundred dollars off. If you’ve got your heart set on a Puffy Lux, you could wait for one of these (fairly regular) specials to help bring down the price.

And The Winner Is…

The original Puffy Mattress

We’re confident recommending the original Puffy as the best choice based on our analysis of key factors that an average, discerning mattress shopper would care most about. It has a universally comfortable firmness level plus plenty of cooling comfort foam to keep you dry and fresh all night long.

We are huge proponents of spending money on your health and wellbeing, but this is a situation where the extra expense isn’t going to be worth it necessarily. The original Puffy has plenty of contouring and should satisfy the majority of sleepers across sleep positions and preferences. It’s also a bit firmer for things like back pain than the Puffy Lux.

Also, if you have a partner and you both have different types of sleep preferences, a universal firmness level should help accommodate both of you. The Puffy also has plenty of cooling materials, and you aren’t going to get more cooling out of the Puffy Lux. We think that for the vast majority of users, the original Puffy will satisfy their preferences at a more affordable price.

Quality – Puffy Lux

Price – Original Puffy

For sleepers with specific needs…

If you fall into one of these categories, you may decide to get one mattress over the other. Let’s look at a few situations where one model definitely fits the circumstances.

Side Sleepers: Choose Puffy Lux

Here’s why… If you’re exclusively a side sleeper, there’s a good chance you experience hip pain or shoulder compression during the night. It could be worth the extra expense to have a slightly softer sleep surface that provides more contouring. If budget is your final concern, the Puffy original should be fine, but the Puffy Lux will have a softer sleep surface overall.

Stomach Sleepers: Choose the original Puffy

Here’s why… The original Puffy is slightly firmer so it won’t overextend your spine. If you sleep in a full Superman position, it will prevent your hips from sinking too far into the mattress and overextending your spine or causing stress between your shoulder blades. It also has excellent edge support if you use the side to get comfortable.

Back Pain: Choose the original Puffy

Here’s why… The original Puffy is firmer and won’t let your back slip further into the mattress than it needs to. If you prefer a softer mattress, you’ll still get plenty of support with the Puffy Lux, but if support is the most important thing, the original model has the edge for firmness. You should still have proper contouring, however, for comfort sake.

Heavy People: Choose Neither

Here’s why… the mattresses are built to support about 350 pounds per side, but if both of you are close to or over that, it can put a lot of stress on the mattress. Plus, neither are created with your unique needs in mind, they’ll probably feel firmer than what their actual rating is. That can cause you discomfort and put pressure on common pressure points. We recommend looking at a mattress that’s specifically made for you such as the Winkbeds Plus. (review link?)

Couples: Choose the original Puffy

Here’s why… If you’ve got vastly different sleep preferences, the original is going to have a better chance of accommodating those with a solid medium firm rating. If you both change positions frequently in the middle of the night, the original Puffy also has a firmness rating and feel that should accommodate those frequent position changes. Only if you both are side sleepers and prefer a softer mattress should you get the Puffy Lux.

Conclusion

Puffy got it right the original model of mattress. It’s universally comfortable, falls in that sweet spot of medium firmness, and helps cool down temperatures at night. Gel-infused foams prevent heat from building up in the core of the mattress and preventing you from sleeping peacefully. It’s also got excellent edge support and spot on motion isolation, so you don’t keep waking each other up in the middle of the night.

The Puffy Lux is well made and very comfortable, but it’s designed for sleepers who stay on their sides throughout the night and experience frequent shoulder or hip pain as a result. It’s also for people who primarily like a softer mattress but don’t want to sacrifice the type of support they need to keep the spine aligned. If you fall into one of these two specific categories, the extra expense (almost double the original Puffy price tag) could be worth it for you.

You can also watch the website for one of their frequent sales. Many times, they offer the deal just for signing up for their mailing list, but that isn’t the only option. They do offer sales pretty regularly, which could help the Lux become more affordable if that’s what you’re waiting for. Otherwise, we really think that the original Puffy is still just as good as it was when it first came out and there’s no need for most sleepers to upgrade to the more expensive version.