Sleeping Duck
Mattress Review for 2024
Do we really need to stress the importance of sleeping on a quality mattress? It’s not simply a matter of luxury and comfort, it’s your health that’s at stake.
The numerous benefits of ditching your old mattress for a new one and getting a good night’s sleep include a stronger immune system, proper spine alignment, improved memory, and a quality mattress even helps you fight obesity and reduce snoring.
Today, we’ll discuss one of the best mattresses in Australia, the Sleeping Duck mattress. This bed in a box has won the hearts of Aussies with its personalized touch, amazing materials, and heavenly softness, an all-in-one mattress that promises you’ll get your money’s worth.
Table of Contents
Best Mattress in Australia: Sleeping Duck
The Sleeping Duck is an online mattress retailer, based in Melbourne. It was co-founded in 2014 by Winston Wijeyeratne and Selvam Sinnappan, two engineering students who met in an ANZ graduate program.
The idea for designing their own mattress was born out of their unsatisfactory experience with purchasing mattresses from retail stores in the past, mostly due to the lack of transparency and unreasonable pricing in the industry. Nowadays, there are thousands of different mattresses, with different firmness and comfort layers, state-of-the-art technologies, materials, etc, and this choice overload typically confuses customers instead of helping them.
To make the process of choosing a mattress easier and more enjoyable, the Sleeping Duck has created only one single mattress. Throughout the years, the brand has been improving its mattress based on both customer feedback and internal tests and research. Moreover, they’ve been able to reduce the costs and middlemen that go into buying a new mattress, without compromising on their product.
In just two years, the successful duo has accumulated a team of over 20 people and has expanded its brand in London, UK, and their aim is to continue to conquer the rest of the European market. In 2018, the Sleeping Duck won CHOICE’s best-rated Australian mattress award for the first time and became the first brand to win the award three years in a row.
The company also received an award from Good Design for their mattress innovation, was recommended by Shark Tank, and has over 3,500 five-star ratings on ProductReview.com.au.
Now, let’s take a look at what sets Sleeping Duck apart from the rest of the flock.
Materials and Layers
The Sleeping Duck mattress has four carefully chosen layers made of different materials.
The top layer features a silky bamboo cover that increases breathability and provides unobstructed airflow. It’s antimicrobial and keeps your mattress cool and fresh during the summer. The topper is followed by the signature Hyper-Adaptive foam layer, a combination of memory foam and local latex that’s 8x more breathable than typical foam or latex, and provides both support and comfort.
The mattress includes an additional high-density foam layer with customizable firmness and a 5 zone pocket springs system to target and cradle all your sore points.
Sleeping Duck’s foams are GECA-certified which means they aren’t harmful to the environment. The company manufactures its foams using pressure expansion instead of chemical reactions.
Firmness
What we love most about the Sleeping Duck mattress is its unparalleled customisation. Not only do you have the option to order a firm or a medium-firm mattress depending on your taste, but you can also ask for a half firm, half medium-firm mattress. This modular design is perfect for couples who have different sleeping preferences.
Sleeping Duck is well aware that customers might change their minds once they try the mattresses at home. In case you feel like you’ve made the wrong decision and wish to change the level of firmness, you can request additional foam pieces to stylize your mattress and make it more comfortable. You can choose between soft, medium, firm, and extra firm, or ask for specific body-zone pieces.
Pressure Relief and Motion Isolation
The key to a night of restorative sleep is a mattress with proper pain relief properties. Luckily, the Sleeping Duck ticks all the boxes here too. Their mattress is soft and breathable, and at the same time conforms to your body shape, pinpoints the right areas, and relieves any aches and pains.
Another advantage of the Sleeping Duck is that you can order additional foam padding to customize your mattress and support target body areas. If you’re experiencing back pain, you need extra support for your lower back. Shoulder pain requires extra shoulder support, while sore hips demand both additional hip and lower back support.
Judging from the materials, the pocket springs and the bouncy foam can cause some motion transfer across the surface but the top foam layers neutralize these movements and reduce partner disturbance.
Weight and Thickness
The Sleeping Duck mattress can be ordered in Single, King Single, Double, Queen, and King Size. Their impressive height (31 cm or 12.2”) will make you feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud. However, you should be aware that the mattress is quite heavy (e.g. 48 kg for a Queen Size mattress), so moving it around will require extra help.
The mattress has strong edge support to prevent falling or sliding off the bed during the night. For people struggling with hip or joint pain, the combination of spring base and bouncy foam will decrease the sinkage, support their weight when seated, and make it easier to get out of the bed without pain. The Sleeping Duck mattress is tested and verified to endure two individuals weighing up to 140 kg each.
Shipping and Trial Period
Sleeping Duck mattresses are ordered online or via phone. When you order a mattress, their support team sends a confirmation email saying that your order has been placed. If the mattress is available for immediate sale, it’s dispatched from either Melbourne or Sydney within 1-2 business days and delivered Monday to Friday, between 8 am and 6 pm. Once the order is dispatched, you’ll receive another email.
If the courier comes by your house (i.e. front door) and there’s no one at home to accept the mattress, they will leave a notice card so that you can call and arrange a delivery day that works for you.
The Sleeping Duck offers free delivery with the following waiting times:
- Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, and Adelaide: up to 5 business days.
- Brisbane: up to 6 business days.
- Greater Victoria and Greater NSW: up to 7 business days.
- Perth, Fremantle, Hobart, and Launceston: up to 10 business days.
- Other locations: up to 14 business days.
The company gives you a 100-night trial to test the mattress and see whether you like it or not. If you have a problem with the firmness level, Sleeping Duck takes care of it free of charge. In case there’s something else you don’t like about it, you can return it and receive a full refund.
Packaging
The Sleeping Duck mattress is a mattress in a box company. Their mattresses are compressed with special vacuum compression technology to around ⅕ of their thickness, enough to fit into a cardboard box. Are you worried that the vacuum will damage the mattress in some way? Thanks to its separate pocket springs, the mattress will return to its former state 2-3 days after unpacking.
Best Suited For
The Sleeping Duck is a super comfortable mattress that will tempt you into having a lie-in every single morning. The hybrid layers made of high-quality materials provide cushy comfort and buoyancy, and the pocket springs distribute it evenly along the surface so that no part of your body remains unsupported.
The swapping foam layers make it suitable for back sleepers, side, and stomach sleepers alike as they can adjust it to their desired level of support and get rid of any tensions. Another plus is that its materials are tested and verified to be eco-friendly, unlike its competition. The custom firmness and high-class materials cause the price of the mattress to go up compared to some other top picks. However, we’re all for spending a little extra when you’re making a long-term investment for something as crucial as your health and wellbeing.
Sleeping Duck vs Other Great Mattresses
Sleeping Duck vs Ecosa
The key strength of both the Sleeping Duck and Ecosa lies in the customized mattress firmness. While the Sleeping Duck lets you choose between a couple of firmness options and ask for additional foam pieces, the Ecosa allows you to swap different foam layers and place the firmer or softer one on top. This feature is common for hybrid mattresses, so it’s quite surprising to find it in an all-foam mattress like Ecosa. However, we’ve noticed that the Ecosa mattress still feels comparably firm, which can be good for back sleepers but prove a little stiff for side and stomach sleepers.
Sleeping Duck vs Koala
Just like the Sleeping Duck, Koala is another Aussie mattress favorite. Unlike spring mattresses, Koala is made with a breathable open-cell foam and another layer of ultra-resilient foam. It’s great for people with back pain because it maintains spinal alignment and guarantees pressure relief. Compared to the Sleeping Duck, however, it falls behind in terms of durability, firmness, and edge support. On the other hand, if you can’t afford the extra costs, the Koala mattress is a great Sleeping Duck alternative.
Frequently Asked Questions
What level of firmness do you need based on your sleeping position?
If you’re a side sleeper, a medium firm Sleeping Duck mattress would give you the right support and cushion your hips and shoulders to prevent them from sinking too deep into the mattress and relieve them from pressure. The company rates it at 6/10 on the firmness scale, but we believe it’s a little bit softer (a solid 5 perhaps).
If you like to get your ZZZs lying on your back, we recommend the firm Sleeping Duck mattress. The supportive foam layer follows the natural curve of your spine and supports your body but doesn’t feel stiff or hard. On a scale from 1 to 10, this mattress is a 7-8.
How should I care for my mattress?
The most effective way to take care of your mattress is to purchase a mattress protector from the start. Luckily, the Sleeping Duck comes with its own bamboo cover that’s easily removable and washable. Simply rinse it with warm soapy water and dry it out later. During the first six months, we suggest you rotate the mattress once a month because it promotes a more even wear, and then reduce this to a few times per year.
How long is the warranty of the Sleeping Duck mattress?
Sleeping Duck provides a 10-year warranty for their mattress. The warranty only applies to cases of excessive body imprints that are deeper than 30 mm. During the break-in period, the mattress will adjust to your body weight and shape and cause normal body impressions.
The warranty doesn’t cover changes in firmness preference, broken or damaged handles, or any other damage when moving the mattress, if the mattress becomes worn out, if there’s odor, sheet fit, stains, minor manufacturing anomalies, and tears. The warranty is also void if you weren’t using a proper bed base, i.e. a firm flat surface that supports the mattresses along the edges and throughout the middle.
Is the Sleeping Duck a good value for money?
Even though the price of the mattresses is prone to changes, it ranges from $800 for a Single, to $1600 for a King size mattress. This puts Sleeping Duck into the more expensive mattress category but we assure you it’s worth its weight in gold. You won’t regret any penny you spend on this mattress because you’re investing in the future of your health. Plus, if you’re lucky enough, you might get a seasonal discount.