Review: Silk & Snow S&S Organic Mattress

Right off the bat, I'm letting you know this bed is made of neither silk nor snow. I would argue that it’s made with something even better—latex. The feel of latex can be hard to pinpoint, as I’ve heard it compared to everything from a thicker yoga mat or trampoline to even a waterbed. The fact of the matter is that latex has cushioning, pressure relief, and a bouncy feel. It’s also pretty good at keeping out heat and allergens, which is a win for hot sleepers and those with allergies. With the S&S Organic mattress, I wanted to see if this bed really was the intersection of these performance aspects, paired with an eco-friendly build. After a week of testing, I have a few people in mind who would be prime candidates for this bed.

Layer Cake

Photograph: Julia Forbes

The S&S Organic mattress’s construction is eco-friendly from top to bottom, with certifications to show for it. The bed contains GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard), and Eco-Institut materials. As a professional mattress tester, I can verify that these are some of the best certifications you can get to back your product’s organic claims. The latex used is from Sri Lanka, the cotton from India, and even the coils come from Toronto, Canada, in an effort to limit shipping pollution by keeping this material on the continent. The Eco-Institut certification ensures the materials don’t contain harmful substances or emit anything of the like that would be counterintuitive to its “organic” status.

Based on the firmness you go with, whether that’s the firm, medium-firm, or plush, the construction will slightly vary. I went with a medium-firm, which features a Euro pillow top. Silk & Snow states on its website that this particular firmness is meant for “side, back, and combo sleepers all around,” to which I said, “Let’s see about that.”

The medium-firm’s construction comprises an organic cotton cover, organic quilted wool, organic quilted latex, a thicker organic latex layer, and pocketed coils. Now that you have the recipe, what does all of this mean? Starting with the top layers, the pillow top has a GOTS-certified organic cotton cover, with a wool layer underneath that’s also—shocker—GOTS-certified. Both of these materials are breathable and porous, so they’re meant to stay room temperature. Wool’s also fire resistant, which means no man-made fire barriers are used here.

The latex layers are perforated for airflow and pressure relief, and are of a particular firmer variety called Dunlop. This refers to how the latex was developed to feel, and there's a top 0.8-inch layer, a material barrier, and then a 1.5-inch layer for advanced cushion. You’ve got a material barrier to protect the latex, and the coils at the base are pocketed for customized support. They’re reinforced right in the middle and around the edges, so the extra-firm feel helps with lumbar support and keeping you from tipping over the edge while lying or sitting on the sides. To round out the protection, the bottom is another wool layer to make the bed fireproof.

Soft As …

The first night of testing the S&S Organic, I tucked myself in and was out cold, which doesn’t normally happen for me with mattresses. I felt the surface of the bed give gentle pushback, but not in a way that counteracted the pressure relief around my hips and shoulders. As the week went on, I began to notice some other perks of the bed. It was very easy to move around on, giving me a little extra “oomph” if I switched sides. It wasn’t a slingshot, but the latex and coil construction of the bed makes the surface very responsive. So far, I agreed with the evaluation on Silk & Snow’s end of this being a side- and combo-sleeper-friendly mattress.

Where things began to get more convoluted is when my husband decided to test with me on night two. We quickly found that the medium-firmness of the mattress morphs into a more marshmallowy feel with extra weight thrown on it, and subsequently doesn’t provide the same level of support. If I veered too far onto his side of the bed, I felt like I was rolling downhill. Despite reinforced coils around the edges of the bed and along the middle, I felt little lumbar support here or the responsiveness I felt when I was solo-snoozing. Could this be because of the size of the bed, and the fact that we're both tall? Possibly. But the firmness level didn't make it the best mattress candidate for us.

Ultimately, my husband abandoned “Project Test S&S Organic” the following night, although I caught him taking a nap a time or two (picture starfish-style, snoring) while on his back, and he would always comment on how comfy the bed felt for him. I went back to sleeping by myself. I switched up my bedding to see how the mattress would perform temperature-wise, and found that heavier bedding makes the S&S sleep a whole lot warmer. Before you say, “Yeah, genius, that happens,” let’s look back at the construction. All materials used here are breathable, but not cool-feeling. Wool has a lot more nuance, because it can adapt to staying on the cooler side or keep you warm. That being said, if you’re a hot sleeper like me, make sure to stick to cooling sheets and light comforters or quilts.

Photograph: Julia Forbes

If I had to go apples-to-apples with the many latex beds I've tested over the years, there are a few things that stick out to me about the S&S Organic. Yes, it has many of the same certifications that you find with organic and latex beds out there, like the Birch Luxe Hybrid or Avocado Green (9/10, WIRED Recommends). However, I find that the S&S Organic in a medium-firm setting parlays a more generous feeling of the buoyancy of latex, which is exactly what I'm looking for with a bed like this. I want something that feels like the softest yet densest marshmallow ever—the cubed homemade kind. The S&S Organic delivers—and then some—because it feels high-quality with a price tag that I'm comfortable with. That's indicative of all Silk & Snow products I've tested to date, as the brand is doing a really good job of keeping the bar high for its products, but not out of reach in terms of affordability.

Shopping With Confidence

As part of WIRED’s policy, we donate mattresses once we're finished testing them. It’s a good way to give back, but man, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sad to send off the S&S Organic. While it wasn’t a win for co-sleepers in my book, it was like a gentle wave keeping me afloat when I was by myself, and I’m going to miss that!

Speaking of missing, you won’t be missing out on Silk & Snow’s policies. The bed will ship for free from the company’s factory in Toronto (returns are free too, if you end up needing one). Once it’s been parked on your front step, you get a full year’s sleep trial to test the bed for yourself, and it's backed by a 15-year warranty. Holistically speaking, that’s pretty robust coverage from an industry standard, because most times I see anywhere from 90 nights to 120 nights, and a 10-year warranty. You go, Silk & Snow! At the time of this writing, Silk & Snow is also throwing in your choice of a free bedding set, just for some summer fun.