Sleep Republic
Mattress Review for 2024

Updated on September 6, 2022

When you think of the word “revolution,” you most likely don’t associate it with mattresses. However, in 2014, when the first mattress-in-a-box arrived on the Australian market, it touched off a revolution in the bedding world. Finally, you could order a mattress as easily online as you could order a book or groceries. 

By 2021, direct-to-consumer online mattress sales account for about 15% of the market, and there are more than 175 companies selling mattresses-in-a-box. With so many online mattress brands vying for your attention, how do you choose the brand that’s right for you? Fortunately, we’re here to help.

Australian mattress maker Sleep Republic is one of the best mattresses you can order online. Sleep Republic, founded by a team that has decades of experience designing mattresses for the traditional market, exploded on the Australian direct-to-consumer scene in 2015. It quickly gained a reputation for manufacturing one of the best mattresses in terms of customer satisfaction.

Our team has compiled a Sleep Republic mattress review to help you make a mattress choice.

Sleep Republic Mattress

Sleep Republic Mattress Review: Innovative Hybrid Technology

Melbourne-based Sleep Republic has sold more than 100,000 mattresses in Australia. It’s received awards and hundreds of positive customer reviews attesting to the quality of its products. Its mattresses have become so popular in Australia that 20% of Sleep Republic’s sales are from returning customers.

Sleep Republic produces luxury hybrid mattresses priced lower than many high-end boxed brands. A hybrid mattress combines several types of comfort and support. The Sleep Republic hybrid mattress partners pocket-spring support with gel memory foam to give it the best of traditional and modern mattress technologies.

Let’s look at how Sleep Republic has combined pocket springs and gel memory foam to create its hybrid mattresses.

What Are Spring Mattresses?

Most traditional mattresses use spring or coil supports. Invented in the 1870s, innerspring mattresses use many rows of curved wire to support your body. Spring mattresses are known for giving remarkable support, especially for people with back pain or heavier people. The spring design assists in airflow, helping keep you cool when you sleep. The main benefits of spring mattresses are that they:

  • Offer considerable support and firmness
  • Keep your body from overheating as you sleep by allowing ventilation between coils
  • Provide more bounce than other mattresses
  • Offer better support on the edge of the bed since springs extend to the four walls of the mattress

There are two main types of spring mattresses: open-coiled and pocket spring. Most traditional mattresses use the open-coiled design, but Sleep Republic uses pocket springs because this design gives more support. Unlike open coils that move together in unison, pocket springs work independently of each other, offering more targeted areas of body support.

Sleep Republic uses a high-definition pocket spring system to pack up to 2,250 springs in a mattress, which is more than three times the number of coils in other mattresses. Sleep Republic springs offer support in five body zones. It also installs steel springs at the mattress’s edges to ensure that you won’t cause the mattress to crater when you sit on it.

What is Gel Memory Foam?

Memory foam entered the mattress market in the 1990s and quickly gained popularity because of its ability to mould to a person’s body and offer cradling comfort. Initially, memory foam mattresses provided little airflow, causing people to overheat during sleep. However, Sleep Republic injects air into the foam, which improves airflow and prevents its mattresses from trapping heat.

Sleep Republic also injects a thermal gel into its mattresses’ top layer that helps lower body temperature by absorbing heat. This gel allows you to get a cool night’s sleep while experiencing the memory foam’s pressure-relieving properties. The main benefits of gel memory foam are that it:

  • Provides a cool surface for a better night’s sleep
  • Moulds to your body and supports your spine
  • Limits transfer of movement, which reduces the movement you’ll feel from a restless sleep partner

How Sleep Republic Combines Spring-Loaded and Gel Memory Foam

Most boxed mattresses manufacturers construct their products using memory foam. Sleep Republic stands out from the competition by combining pocket springs and gel memory foam in one mattress. This hybrid offers superior comfort and support while being flexible enough to fit into a box for convenient delivery.

Each Sleep Republic mattress is identically built. On top of the pocket spring core are two layers of foam. The top layer is gel memory foam, which sits on a pillowtop layer of latex that absorbs pressure and assists in weight distribution.

A soft but highly durable fabric made of silky cashmere covers the mattress, while a fabric called a 3D spacer covers the sides. This material assists in airflow circulation.

The Sleep Republic mattress is designed to be medium firm. According to the nonprofit Sleep Foundation, medium-firm support is optimal for most sleepers and is the standard mattress firmness in most hotels. It is best for people up to 230 pounds, side sleepers, and people suffering from back pain.

Sleep Republic Mattress Review: Mattress sizes

Sleep Republic offers more mattress size options than many other direct-to-consumer mattress companies. All mattresses are 31-cm deep. You can order mattresses in the following range:

Single

  • Dimensions: 92 x 188 cm
  • Weight: 35kg
  • Springs: 1081

Long single

  • Dimensions: 92 x 203 cm
  • Weight: 37kg
  • Springs: 1100

King single

  • Dimensions: 107 x 203 cm
  • Weight: 39kg
  • Springs: 1250

Double

  • Dimensions: 137 x 188 cm
  • Weight: 43kg
  • Springs: 1496

Queen

  • Dimensions: 152 x 203 cm
  • Weight: 49kg
  • Springs: 1850

King

  • Dimensions: 183 x 203 cm
  • Weight: 55kg
  • Springs: 2250

Sleep Republic Mattress Review: Packaging

Sleep Republic mattresses arrive at your door in a box. The company uses compression technology to safely cocoon your mattress on its journey from one of our Australia-based warehouses to your home. Sleep Republic first vacuum-seals the mattress in a protective bag. Then the company rolls up the mattress into a thick plastic liner for extra protection.

They secure the mattress in sturdy packaging that comes with wheels and a handle for ease of handling. Even if the carton receives dents in the shipping process, your mattress stays safely protected inside.

After you’ve ordered a mattress, it will arrive at your home in a box and a welcome pack. The pack includes opening instructions and a tool to help set up the mattress. After cutting the outer wrapper, you unroll the mattress.

You can sleep on the mattress almost immediately after removing it from the box. However, since the mattress has been vacuum-packed in the box, it may have a slight odour. The company recommends allowing the mattress to air out for a few hours before sleeping on it.

Sleep Republic Mattress Review: Shipping and Trial Period

Sleep Republic offers free mattress delivery throughout Australia. It offers same-day delivery (excluding weekends and holidays) if ordered before 11 a.m. for:

  • Sydney
  • Melbourne
  • Adelaide
  • Perth
  • Brisbane
  • Gold Coast

For most other parts of Australia, your mattress will arrive between two and five business days. In remote areas of Australia, it will arrive within eight days.

Sleep Republic offers a 100-night free trial for its mattresses and pillows. If you aren’t satisfied for any reason, you can return your mattress or pillow within 100 days of purchase. Sleep Republic will arrange the return free of charge.

What Other Products Are Available Through Sleep Republic?

Sleep Republic makes only one mattress but offers several accessories to enhance your sleep experience. They include:

Sleep Republic Pro Base: An easy-to-assemble mattress base designed to provide your mattress with the proper support and ventilation. The base has 14 slats—more than many other bases—for extra support. The slats also are 50% thicker than standard slat size to help prevent mattress bowing and flexing.

Sleep Republic Pillow: The pillow cover consists of eco-friendly and ultra-soft Tencel, a fabric that absorbs moisture and is gentle to your skin. The pillow core boasts an exclusive foam cushioning technology designed for softness and support. You can order the pillow in two sizes: 10 cm for front and back sleepers and 14 cm for side sleepers. Sleep Republic also backs the pillow with its 100-night free trial.

Sleep Republic Mattress Protector: This antibacterial protector will keep your mattress free from dust mites and other allergens while guarding it against moisture and stains. It has an endorsement by the nonprofit U.S. National Sleep Foundation.

Sleep Republic Sheets: These 100% bamboo sheets are eco-friendly and get softer with each wash. Each set comes with a fitted sheet, a flat sheet, and two pillowcases. Because bamboo is a natural fibre, the sheets wick moisture and breath well.

Sleep Republic Dog Bed: Designed to give your pet comfort and joint pressure relief, this dog bed also will help your dog stay cool. It uses gel memory foam as a cooling agent, which will keep your pup cool even in hot Australian summers.

Sleep Republic vs. Other Great Mattresses

Sleep Republic vs. Ecosa: Ecosa, one of the most popular box mattress companies in Australia, offers three options for mattress firmness, while Sleep Republic offers only medium-firm. However, Ecosa mattresses do not have a pocket spring core. Instead, they are made of layers of gel-infused and regular memory foam. Both companies get comparably high customer satisfaction scores, and each offers a minimum 12-year warranty.

Sleep Republic vs. Koala: Another popular Australian boxed-mattress brand, Koala mattresses are made from open-cell memory foam rather than springs. Like Sleep Republic, Koala offers only medium-firm support. Both brands offer cooling support memory foam.

Sleep Republic vs. Sleeping Duck: Sleeping Duck, like Sleep Republic, offers a hybrid mattress that combines pocket springs with memory foam. Although they share a similar construction, Sleep Republic is less costly than Sleeping Duck, one of the most expensive boxed mattresses. Sleep Republic mattresses are slightly thicker than Sleeping Duck, with a depth of 31 cm vs. 30.5 cm. However, Sleeping Duck offers two firmness levels: medium and firm.

Sleep Republic vs. Nectar: The box mattress company Nectar, like Sleep Republic, makes only one type of mattress that offers medium-firm support. Its mattress is made from layers of memory foam. One of Nectar’s standout features is that it offers a 365-free-night trial and a limited lifetime warranty.

Sleep Republic vs. Casper: Casper was the first mass-produced box mattress to hit the market. Casper mattresses are made of memory foam and not pocket springs. Casper mattresses also are thinner than Sleep Republic mattresses: Sleep Republic mattresses are 31-cm deep, while Casper mattresses are only 24 cm in depth.

Sleep Republic Mattress Review: Frequently Asked Questions

What sort of base should I use with my mattress? You can put the Sleep Republic mattress on any level and stable base with adequate support for the mattress’s weight. A base should have a solid central support system. Sleep Republic does not recommend spring slat bases.

How should I care for my mattress? Sleep Republic recommends that owners use mattress protectors with mattresses. For direct cleaning of mattresses, carefully wipe marks and stains immediately with a damp cloth using only water. Don’t use solvents, soaps, or chemicals. Allow the mattress to dry completely before covering it.

How long is the warranty of the Sleep Republic mattress? Sleep Republic mattresses come with a 12-year warranty against faulty materials or quality.

Are Sleep Republic mattresses certified for safety? The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia’s national science agency, has tested Sleep Republic’s cashmere fabric covering and certified it as free from harmful chemicals. CertiPUR-US®—a U.S. agency that tests the content, durability, and emissions of foam—has certified that Sleep Republic gel memory foam meets its quality standards.

Do I need to flip my mattress regularly? You do not have to flip a Sleep Republic mattress. The pillow top is only on one side of the mattress. Flipping the mattress would bury the pillowtop under your mattress. However, rotating the mattress from top to bottom every few months will help it stay in peak condition.

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