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Quick Summary

Quick Summary
9.02

Unpacking the Mattress

9/10

    Smell

    10/10

      Feel & Firmness

      8/10

        Durability

        10/10

          Heat Regulation

          9/10

            Pros

            • Superior heat regulation
            • Very comfortable for back sleepers
            • Extremely durable, high density memory foam
            • Smell not an issue

            Cons

            • Too firm for side and stomach sleepers
            • Edge support not great

            Brentwood Home is back at it again with an amazingly comfortable and durable memory foam mattress. The Brentwood Home 11-inch Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress is a perfect alternative to their 13-inch mattress, especially if you prefer a slightly firmer feel.

            This is a review of the Brentwood Home 11-inch Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress, and we will be looking at specifically the Queen-size version which is measured at 80 x 60 x 11 inches.

             

            Quick FAQ

            The Brentwood Home 11-inch Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress is currently being offered at a 27% discount on Amazon for under $350.

            The mattress is vacuum-sealed in plastic and shipped in a standard box that is 4 ft x 1 ft x 1 ft and weighs around 50 pounds

            The top layer is 2.5 inches thick and is made out of gel-infused memory foam. It carries a density of 4 lb pcf and has an ILD rating of 14.

            Comfort is highly subjective. However, given the thickness, density and ILD rating of the mattress, we at Zen Sleeping believe it has a medium-hard firmness level that will be best suited for back sleepers of any weight, or side/stomach sleepers who weigh over 200 pounds.

            If you are a lightweight individual who prefers sleeping on their side or stomach, then yes, it may be too firm. In that case we suggest looking at a mattress topper (check out our Milliard topper review here) or the Brentwood Home 13-inch memory foam mattress (you can check out our review here).

            Yes, it comes with a bamboo rayon cover that is resistant to dust mites, hypo-allergenic and very soft.

            Most customers will not notice any smell.

            The majority of customers we interviewed felt either cool, neutral, or warm – never hot.

            We will be keeping track of the scoring of this mattress using the Zen Score System, which gives a score out of 100 based on 6 sections: Unpacking (20pts), Smell (20 pts), Feel & Firmness (20 pts), Durability (20 pts), and Heat Regulation (20 pts) . I will also be supplementing my professional review with relevant statistics and data from 300 verified purchasers of the mattress.

            Contents

            Unpacking the Brentwood Home 11-inch Memory Foam Mattress (18.5 / 20 pts)

            The Brentwood Home 11-inch Queen Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress was ordered from Amazon and arrived vacuum-packed in a standard shipping box that is approximately 4 ft tall x 1 ft wide x 1 ft deep. In total the shipped item weighs 50 pounds, which is pretty light as far as memory foam mattresses go. We suggest that before you open the vacuum-sealed plastic bag that contains the mattress, place it in a well-ventilated room that receives a few hours of sunlight a day, and let the mattress expand in there for a few days. This is not only the best method of letting the mattress expand, but it also ensures that you will not have to deal with any “new memory foam” smells.

            Where Was The Brentwood Home 11-inch Made?

            The Brentwood Home 11-inch Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress was made in the USA, which is as good as it gets in the memory foam mattress world. US-made memory foam mattresses tend to have the highest quality on average, and are produced under strict controls to ensure that no harmful chemicals are used.

            Brentwood Home is the company that produces the mattresses, and they are a Los Angeles-based operation. Their website features more sleeping products not seen on Amazon, as well as a very informative FAQ that will probably answer any questions that may arise.

            Is It Made From Safe Materials?

            Yes, the Brentwood Home 11-inch Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress is CertiPUR-US certified, which means their mattresses are :certipur

            – Made without ozone depletes
            – Made without PBDE flame retardants
            – Made without mercury, lead, and other heavy materials
            – Made without phthalates regulated by Consumer Product Safety Commission
            – Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions for indoor air quality

             

            Thickness & Density

            The Brentwood Home 11-inch Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress is 11 inches thick and features a 3-layered system of foam technology that aims to balance superior comfort with heat regulation.

            The top layer of the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress is 2.5 inches thick and consists of gel-infused memory foam. This means that the memory foam in this layer has been injected with gel beads (or liquid) in order to prevent the mattress from getting too hot at night; this is completely safe and a big positive. This layer also carries a density of 4 lb pcf. The thickness of this layer is slightly on the lower end of what I would normally recommend. The recommended thickness range is between 2 to 4 inches for the memory foam layer, so while 2.5 isn’t alarmingly low, I still prefer seeing this layer to be 3 inches thick. A 3-inch thick memory foam layer will be plushier and more comfortable (on average), but in the case of the Brentwood Home this isn’t really a big deal because it has a great ILD rating (more on that later).

            brentwood 11-inch breakdownThe middle layer of the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress is 2 inches thick and made from ventilated cool airflow foam. This is basically just regular foam that has a more open-celled foam structure, allowing a better transfer of heat from your body through the mattress. This is great, since allowing the heat to transfer through the mattress will result in a cooler sleeping experience; when heat gets trapped in the mattress, you will feel sticky, hot, and quite uncomfortable.

            The bottom layer is 6.5 inches thick and made from high-density therapeutic base foam. This is all good; as long as the mattress has a base layer of at least 6 inches, there is no issue.

            Smell (19 / 20 pts)

            Memory foam mattresses that smell very strongly can be quite bothersome to sleepers – especially those who are sensitive to smell. A lot of the time though, it is very hard to predict whether your new memory foam mattress will come with a “new memory foam smell”; mattresses can end up having very different levels of smell, even if they are the same brand and made from the same materials. We will never review mattresses made with harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, so there is nothing to worry about if your mattress ends up smelling for a few days – this is very common, in fact.

            In my experience, the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress had a light “new memory foam smell” when I unpacked it out of the vacuum-sealed plastic bag. Just to make sure the smell leaves completely though, place the mattress in a well-ventilated room (with the door closed) for 1-3 days before covering it with sheets or using it in general. Most of the time, the smell will be completely gone by then.

            I left the mattress sit in a room for a total of 1 day before the smell completely disappeared. This is a pretty quick turnaround – you may find it takes between 1-3 days, but even up to 7 depending on how strong the smell is at first. To get a better idea of how the average customer fared, we turned to our 300 verified purchasers to give us their opinions on smell:

            • No smell - 84%
            • Light odor, gone in 3 days - 8%
            • Mild odor, gone in 4 days - 7%
            • Strong odor, gone in 7 days - 1%

            A resounding 84% of respondents did not notice any memory foam smell upon unpacking. 8% noticed a light odor that disappeared within 3 days, 7% noticed a mild odor that went away within 4 days, and 1% noticed a strong odor that went away within 7 days. To be honest I’m blown away by these results, since basically 99% of respondents did not notice a strong odor. You will most likely not have any major issue with the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress when it comes to smell.

            Feel & Firmness (15 / 20 pts)

            As noted earlier, the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress features a memory foam top layer that is 2.5 inches thick and carries a density of 4 lb pcf. Whilst the thickness is not as high as I would prefer, it is still thick enough that your body won’t suddenly hit the base layer when you lay on it; this is also helped by the fact that there is a middle layer that is 2 inches thick. At a density of 4 lb pcf, the memory foam layer is very supportive and durable; this does not translate to firmness or plushness, but actually measures how well the memory foam will hold its shape now and in the future. A density of 4 lb pcf means that regardless of the firmness of the mattress, you can expect that there will be no deformities, warps, or other malfunctions on the mattress for many years. Firmness is measured by ILD rating, which we will get to in just a second.

            ILD Rating

            The Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress has an ILD rating of 14. An ILD of 13-15 is soft/medium for memory foam mattresses, so we expect this mattress to be between a soft and medium firmness.

            Feel & Firmness Test

            To get a better idea of the comfort and firmness level of the Brentwood Home 11-inch, I slept on the mattress for 7 nights in various sleeping positions. My results are:

            When sleeping on your back, the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress has a medium to hard firmness. I felt very comfortable on this mattress while sleeping on my back; when you lay on the mattress, you will feel the memory foam contouring and molding itself to your body, but the mattress has enough firmness that you will not feel like you’re sinking in at all. In the previous section I explained that the ILD rating is 14, which translates to a soft-medium firmness; why then does it feel medium to hard? This could be because the memory foam top layer is only 2.5 inches thick, so there isn’t as much “give” until you reach the bottom layers. Note that this is not at all bad – it’s just a matter of preference.

            The Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress feels medium-hard to hard when sleeping on the side or stomach. Normally a mattress feels firmer when sleeping on your side or stomach, so this is not surprising at all. If you are heavier though (greater than 220 pounds), you will probably still feel quite comfortable sleeping on this mattress on your stomach or sides. On the other hand, if you are a less dense individual, the Brentwood Home 11-inch may feel too firm for these sleeping positions.

            The only other downside I observed during my sleeping tests on this mattress was a lack of edge support. For some reason the edges did not feel supportive at all when I laid close to them; if you get too close, it feels like it may give out completely. I would recommend not sleeping too close to the edge – especially if you’re a heavier individual like me (I’m 200 pounds).

            Our Verified Purchasers Weigh In

            After discussing ILD and personally testing the mattress, I turned to our 300 verified purchasers to get a better idea of how the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress feels. Here are our findings:

            • Feels perfect - 73%
            • Too firm - 21%
            • Too soft - 6%

            73% of our verified purchasers believe the Brentwood Home 11-inch feels perfect; 21% said it felt too firm, and 6% too soft. 91% of back sleepers thought the mattress felt perfect, 1% said it was too soft for them, and 8% too firm. I would have to echo what the majority of all purchasers as well as back sleepers said – the Brentwood Home 11-inch feels very comfortable, especially as a back sleeper.

            Among side and stomach sleepers however, things were not as great. 76% of side sleepers and 58% of stomach sleepers thought the mattress was too firm for their liking. If you are a natural side or stomach sleeper, check out the next section for two GUARANTEED ways to make the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress a soft, perfect sleeping experience.

            How to Make the Brentwood Home 11-inch Mattress Softer

            There are two sure-fire ways to achieve a softer sleeping experience from the Brentwood Home 11-inch.

            The first way is to purchase a mattress topper with a lower ILD rating than the Brentwood Home 11-inch. We recommend the awesome Milliard 2-inch gel infused memory foam topper from Amazon. It has a lower ILD than the Brentwood Home 11-inch mattress and packs 2 more inches of soft memory foam comfort on top to ensure your sides and stomach will feel well-supported and comfortable. Check out our review of the Milliard topper as well – lots of great info there if you’re interested in reading more about it. This will add about $130 to your bill, but overall you’ll be paying a fraction of the cost of a TempurPedic for the same level of comfort.

            The second way is to purchase the Brentwood 13-inch Gel HD Memory Foam Mattress from Amazon. This is (in my opinion) the most optimal choice from both a professional and financial standpoint. I won’t go into major details (you can read Zen Sleeping’s full review of the 13-inch here) but the Brentwood 13-inch is different from the 11-inch in two major ways: the memory foam layer and base support layer are each 1 inch thicker than in the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress. So, you are getting a softer mattress (because it’s thicker in the memory foam layer) with additional support in the bottom layer, for about $50 more. The only downside is that you won’t have a memory foam topper.

            Durability (19.5 / 20 pts)

            For durability, we are looking at four different factors: memory foam density, garment construction, surface / edge abrasion, and stain release. Each of these are important in their individual ways, so read on to find out why. For most of these factors, I will provide statistics gathered from my verified purchasers, who (on average) have owned the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress for 1 year.

            Density

            This is the same density that we touched on in previous sections. The Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress has a memory foam top layer density of 4 lb pcf which is very good. Typically the more dense a memory foam mattress top layer is, the more it can “take a beating” whilst still maintaining its shape night after night. Over time most beds will start to reveal deformities, sag, or sink in the middle; the more durable a memory foam mattress is from a density standpoint, the longer it will take before that happens. With a density of 4 lb pcf, you can rest assured that you will be investing in a quality sleeping product that will maintain its shape and support for a long time.

            Garment Construction

            Garment construction is a method of gauging durability by seeing how resistant the mattress is to tears – specifically at the seams, body and sleeves. A durable memory foam mattress will be more resistant to tears of the cover and/ or of the foam itself. Bar actually tearing the mattress ourselves (and voiding the warranty) we asked our verified purchasers to recount any instances of tears, either of the foam material or of the bamboo rayon cover. The results:

            98% reported no tears of the foam material, and 99% reported no tears of the bamboo rayon cover.

            Surface / Edge Abrasion

            Over many nights of use, a mattress typically experiences repeated rubbing of other objects over its surface – your body, the sheets you place over it, when washing, when drying, etc. Mattresses that are not durable will start to show abrasions of the surface or edges, so it’s important to see if any verified purchasers of the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress have experienced this. The results:

            97% reported no abrasions (either surface or edge) of the bamboo rayon cover or of the foam material.

            Stain Release

            Lastly, stain release refers to how effectively the mattress can release stains. A more durable mattress will release stains easier, and a mattress that is more aesthetically pleasing is just… nice! Here are the results from our verified purchasers about the Brentwood Home 11-inch memory foam mattress with regard to stain resistance:

            71 purchasers reported having had stains on their mattress at one period or another. These stains range in everything from food, to wine, to pee, etc. Of the 71 purchasers, 90% of them were able to get the stains removed completely. 5% were able to make the stains less noticeable (but still there), and 5% were not able to remove the stains at all. These are great results – the Brentwood Home 11-inch has a fantastic bamboo rayon cover that will absorb stains but release them quit easily (on average).

            Heat Regulation (18 / 20 pts)

            It is quite difficult to actually test for heat regulation because it depends on many factors such as the temperature of the surrounding environment, how many sheets the individual is using, how much heat the individual carries with them naturally, how heat-sensitive they are, etc. To make it more objective, I turned to my verified purchasers to see if there were any glaringly obvious trends with regard to heat regulation. Here’s what I found out:

            • Felt cool - 85%
            • Felt neutral - 10%
            • Felt warm - 3%
            • Felt hot - 2%

            Fantastic results, seriously. Over 95% felt either cool or neutral, and 98% felt cool, neutral or warm.

            Zen Sleeping Score

            A memory foam mattress must pass a Zen Sleeping Score of 70 in order to be recommended by us at Zen Sleeping. The Brentwood Home 11-inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress has achieved a Zen Sleeping Score of 90!! Be sure to leave a comment below if you have any questions or concerns!

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