What is the Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress and is it worth buying on Labor Day sale?
The Brooklyn Bedding Essential is one of the most affordable mattresses from the top-rated American sleep brand, with a queen-size option on sale for $699 (was $932) at Brooklyn Bedding with the discount code SCHOOL25. This puts it in the same price range as the Nectar Classic and the DreamCloud Hybrid, two of our top recommendations for all sleepers in our guide to the best mattresses of the year.
So what is the Brooklyn Bedding Essential Hybrid, how does it stack up against the competition, and who should and shouldn’t buy it during this year’s Labor Day mattress sales and deals? Here, we look at all the important aspects of the mattress, from price and testing to comfort, design, and temperature regulation.
Here’s what you need to know about this affordable hybrid mattress from Brooklyn Bedding and whether it’s right for your sleep needs and body type…
Brooklyn Bedding Essential: Price & Reviews
- Good value for money ($699 for a queen bed)
- 120 nights sleep trial and 10 year guarantee
- Suitable for most sleepers looking for a medium firm mattress
The Brooklyn Bedding Essential is discounted during monthly mattress sales, so you’re never paying the full MSRP. The usual discount is 25% off all sizes, although we’ve seen bigger savings during major holiday sales like the Black Friday mattress deals in late November.
This is how much the Essential costs on offer compared to the RRP:
- Twin: 399 USD (RRP 532 USD)
- Twin XL: 549 USD (RRP 732 USD)
- Full: 599 USD (RRP 799 USD)
- Queen: 699 USD (RRP 932 USD)
- King: 849 USD (1,132 USD)
- Cal-King: 849 USD (RRP 1,132 USD)
Right now, you can save 25% on the Brooklyn Bedding Essential with the code SCHOOL25. If you’re wondering whether to buy it now or wait to see if there’s a bigger discount during the Labor Day sale, we advise you to wait. Why? Because based on previous years’ sales, we expect there to be a higher savings of 30% on Labor Day. So we’re predicting a queen bed will go on sale for 2019.
That means you could end up paying $652 for a queen-size Essential mattress instead of $699. The trial period is also generous at 120 nights—that’s four times the minimum trial period we recommend to let your body adjust to a new bed.
However, rival brands Nectar Sleep and DreamCloud Sleep each offer one-year trials. They also offer free returns, while Brooklyn Bedding charges a $99 return fee, just like Saatva, our top pick for this year’s best hybrid mattress for all sleepers.
The Brooklyn Bedding Essential comes with a 10-year warranty, so you can expect it to last a good eight years (the average lifespan of a mattress) as long as you learn to clean your mattress properly and rotate it regularly to spread wear and tear. We also recommend investing in one of the best mattress protectors to protect your bed from stains, spills, dust mites, and buds.
Brooklyn Bedding Essential: Comfort and Support
- Medium firm feel
- High density foam for full body comfort
- Coated coils for stronger edge support
The Brooklyn Bedding Essential is a medium-firm mattress – the brand rates it 6 out of 10, but customer reviews suggest the actual feel is closer to 6.5, a little firmer than advertised. Similar to our current top-rated mattress, the Saatva Classic – read our testers’ feedback in our Saatva Classic mattress review – the Essential has more springs than foam, but is very basic compared to the Saatva.
This means that, as with many Mattresses for stomach sleepers You shouldn’t sink too deeply. This makes this mattress ideal for stomach sleepers as it will lift your hips and properly align your spine.
We also think that the Brooklyn Bedding Essential is a good fit for average to heavy back sleepers due to its high foam content and pressure relief.
However, we doubt the mattress will be comfortable for light side sleepers, as it doesn’t offer enough foam and sinkage to cushion pressure points on the shoulders and hips. If you’re a side sleeper, check out one of our recommendations for the best mattresses for side sleepers instead.
Because of the lower amount of foam in the Essential, the mattress should offer good motion isolation, and with more springs in the foam, sleepers should stay cool at night. So the Brooklyn Bedding Essential could be a good choice for couples and people who sweat while sleeping.
Brooklyn Bedding Essential Mattress: Design & Materials
- The Brooklyn Bedding Essential is 10″ high
- The mattress is a hybrid, consisting of a combination of springs and foams
- The foams are breathable and support the dissipation of body heat
The Essential is a simply designed four-layer mattress. The quilted comfort layer is made of 1.5 inches of high-density foam that provides pressure relief. Below that is a transition layer of 0.75 inches of high-density foam that sits on top of a layer of 8 inches of individually wrapped springs.
These form the main support structure of the mattress, supporting the spine and providing motion isolation. The coils are also reinforced at the edges to ensure all-round support. The entire mattress is made from a base layer of 0.25 inch high-density support foam.
While it’s not a cooling mattress, the Brooklyn Bedding Essential uses breathable foams and fabrics. These help dissipate heat and, combined with the individually wrapped coils, should provide sleepers with a comfortable sleeping environment throughout the night.
Brooklyn Bedding Essential Mattress: Should You Buy It?
Buy the Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress if…
✅ You sleep on your stomach: The firmer feel of the Essential combined with the smaller amount of foam means stomach sleepers can keep their hips elevated and their spine straight.
✅ You sleep with a restless partner: High-density foams provide better motion isolation so you won’t be disturbed by your partner’s movements.
✅ You sleep warm: It’s not a cooling mattress in the true sense, but the small amounts of foam in the Essential, combined with well-distributed coils, mean this mattress should regulate temperature well. However, if you’re a really hot sleeper, we recommend investing in one of this year’s best cooling mattresses instead.
Buy the Brooklyn Bedding Essential mattress if…
❌ You are a light side sleeper: Users rate the Essential as a little firmer than medium-firm, so if you weigh 150 pounds or less and only sleep on your side, we wonder if the mattress will be comfortable enough for you and provide enough pressure relief. For an alternative, soft yet affordable mattress for side sleepers, consider the Cocoon by Sealy Chill Hybrid (starting at $539 at Cocoon by Sealy).
❌ You would like the option of a free return: Most of this year’s best mattresses in a box for every budget can be returned for free, but Brooklyn Bedding charges $99 to return the Essential. Saatva also charges a $99 return fee.
