Review: Zenhaven Natural Latex Mattress

Bed: Zenhaven Natural Latex Mattress
Manufacturer: Zenhaven by Saatva
Retail Price: From $1,299

My Year In Bed (YIB) rolled on this past August as I was absolutely unable to sleep while staying at my mother’s house for a week with my daughter. In fact, the twin beds we were both sleeping on were so old and so uncomfortable (you can see the old 70’s Sacrolign mattresses below) that I called my friends at Saatva, who had been wanting me to test their new all-natural latex mattress. They quickly obliged and since then I’ve had the opportunity to test out this new natural latex mattress over multiple weekends and even two weeks this past December.

Saatva is a new company (six years old) that is disrupting the mattress business by cutting out the middleman and selling direct to consumer online. They started by selling traditional coil mattresses, then went into luxury memory foam beds (Loom & Leaf – which I also tested) and are now going into natural foam, under the brand name Zenhaven. These new beds are more expensive due to the higher cost of natural latex.

Over the past few years they’ve stepped up their marketing and are more well-known, but their basic offering is the same: they are selling a luxury product at an affordable price by going direct to you.

• Very Good

This part is very relative, and I will say up front that I am not a latex foam type of guy as I prefer the traditional and cooler feeling of a sprung mattress. That said the Zenhaven’s natural latex mattress comes with two sides, each with its own softness, and I preferred the “luxury plush” side, which is still quite firm in my book, and I would say that if you like a firm mattress, you will be very happy. I prefer a softer feel for side sleeping, and Talalay latex, which is the most natural, runs firm so, again, this would not be the right style for me. Nevertheless, I gave it a Very Good in sleep experience because I did sleep well, with only an issue when trying to sleep late on Saturday mornings!

• Excellent

Zenhaven has done a really nice job of making as natural a bed as possible out of organic cotton, organic New Zealand wool and natural US-made Talalay latex. The natural properties of latex and wool make this mattress anti-microbial and anti-allergenic, which is good for those with allergies or chemical sensitivities.

The construction is actually very simple with the deeply perforated Talalay latex layers giving all the support and all the give. Nicely, they use a natural wool layer as a fire retardant so as to avoid using the typical un-natural retardant barriers, which don’t allow for breathability and also off-gas. It’s about as toxin free as you can get in the mattress category.

When the beds arrived they had a pleasant warm natural feeling and no “new bed smell” from the first opening, and it was nice to know they were a healthy addition to our room.

• Very Good

Zenhaven really tries to excel on price, and they do a pretty good job here. Unlike their Saatva spring mattresses where they really seem able to cut the price down, the Zenhaven starts well above $1k and from my research was below a number of other reputable choices. The reason, I believe, is that Talalay latex is expensive and it’s very difficult to lower this cost. In fact, natural latex beds all run more than all other constructions, including IKEA where their natural latex mattress is their most expensive ($999 Queen).

Bottom line, if you’re in the market for a natural latex Talalay mattress, this is going to beat most of what’s out there.

Part of the fun of getting new beds was uncovering the old ones I’d slept on since I was ten years old. They had a lovely floral cover, were hard as rocks and even included their own label with pricing on the bottom. When I tried to google Sacrolign I couldn’t find them for sale anymore, but I did see some glorious advertisements from the 70’s.

Interestingly, you can still buy a $100 twin mattress these days, but only at IKEA. Normal prices for standard twin mattresses now run between $300-$500, but sale prices in January will get you close!

High End – Over $5,000

• Hastens – Hastens Excelsior II
• Savoir – Savoir No. 2 Bed – “The Savoy”
• Kluft – The Kluft Royal Sovereign “Concerto LS” Bed

Mid Range

• Keetsa – The Keetsa Pillow Plus
• Charles P. Rogers – The Biltmore Bed by C.P. Rogers
• Room & Board – Encased Coil Natural Mattress by Room & Board
• Tempurpedic – TEMPUR-Cloud Supreme with Advanced Ergo Adjustable Base
• Zenhaven – Natural Latex Matress
• Sealy – Embody Memory Foam Stillness Plus Bed by Sealy
• Simmons – Danny Seo Natural Care Bed by Simmons
• Natura – Natura Latex Tranquil

More Affordable – Under $1,000

• Loom & Leaf – Luxury Memory Foam Bed
• Saatva – Saatva Luxury Firm
• Ikea – IKEA Erfjord

• How To Get a Really Good Night’s Sleep
• Preview: NaturaLatex Tranquil
• More Things I’ve Learned So Far
• What is the Right Price for a Bed?
• Some Things I’ve Learned So Far
• Year in Bed: A Modest Proposal