The Best Latex Mattresses | Reviews by Wirecutter
Top pick
This hybrid’s cozy, yet not squishy, feel won over our testers, and it’s made from high-quality and well-sourced materials. But it needs to be rotated a lot.
Who it’s for: The Avocado Green Mattress (Firm) is best for back sleepers and combination sleepers, but it was broadly popular with our testers. We’re confident that this mattress will work with sleepers of all weights, including those who weigh more than 200 pounds.
How it feels: This mattress is on the firmer end of medium-firm, with a gently cushioned top.
Why it’s great
It’s a crowd-pleaser. In two rounds of testing, the Avocado Green was a clear favorite among our testers. It was widely praised for its cushioned top layer and supportive base. In long-term testing, we’ve found that it offers great motion isolation, so couples won’t feel each other move around. For those who like a softer top, Avocado also offers pillow top and plush top versions, though we haven’t tested those and they are considerably more expensive.
It has great materials. Avocado’s comfort layer is GOLS-certified Dunlop latex. It’s topped by organic wool, supported by individually wrapped coils, and encased in a cotton-and-elastane cover. The high-coil count (from 833 for a twin to 1,379 for a king) ensures proper, responsive support, while narrower coils around the edge provide reinforced sides.
Avocado is more transparent than most brands about their materials. Avocado’s website offers detailed accounts of its latex sourcing and material production, and it proactively addresses other environmental and ethical concerns. The company releases an annual impact report, publishes its mattress tags online (to show the exact materials), and details every single layer (with photos) of each mattress it sells.
You can probably try it in person. Avocado has 15 stores around the country, and its mattresses can be found at third-party retailers, including Pottery Barn and Raymour & Flanigan.
The company offers a one-year trial period. If you don’t like your mattress after at least 30 days of testing, the company will accept it back.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
You have to rotate the mattress a lot. Avocado’s sleep-trial policy and warranty require you to turn the mattress once every month for the first six months, and then once every other month, to avoid compressions in the top wool layers. We found this to be an onerous task, and it was one of the more involved warranty requirements we have seen.
In our at-home testing, we saw some compressions after less than two weeks, and this noticeably affected the comfort level. Rotating the mattress does address the issue, but it’s unpleasant to have to do so. We still think this is a great mattress. But if you’re unsure, or you’re worried you won’t be able to rotate it, this may not be the mattress for you.
The bottom of the mattress has the weakest edge support of our picks. While our testers found the edge support on the sides of the bed to be generally okay, sitting on the foot of the bed was noticeably worse. This could be a problem for anyone who likes to sit on the foot of the bed for tasks like putting on socks.
Your household can return only one mattress to Avocado. Just one product type — a mattress, a pillow, a topper — can be returned by any member of your household. Avocado says this is a sustainability-oriented policy to “discourage over-consumption and a disposable mindset.” For mattresses, there is a $99 return free. And all fees related to shipping, in-home delivery, and setup are non-refundable.
Key specs
Materials: Dunlop latex foam, organic wool, wire coils, cotton and elastane cover
Thickness: 11 inches (Firm)
Firmness options: firm
Weight (queen): 101 pounds
Free trial period: one-year trial
Warranty: 25-year limited warranty
Bed-frame requirements: a rigid foundation; a platform bed with a solid surface or slats that are no more than 5 inches apart; an adjustable bed
