Is the Birch Luxe Natural mattress any good?

The Birch Luxe Natural mattress is a natural hybrid mattress with a design that includes wool, latex foam, and coils. It's the fancier of two models from Birch, the natural mattress arm of Helix (one of the most popular and best mattress brands around, for our money). 

We tested the other model out properly and were very impressed. In fact, we consider it the best organic mattress for most people – you can read exactly why in our full Birch Natural mattress review.

The Luxe version is adds an extra half-inch of height, and amps up the luxury and support. It sits firmly in the premium price bracket, even factoring in constant discounts. So it is worth the extra outlay? We had a chance to sleep on this mattress, so we can't offer a full review at this point. We have, however, had a good chance to prod, poke, and lie on the Birch Luxe during a tour of the Helix mattress factory and showroom. We also ran our usual tests for pressure relief, motion transfer, and edge support. You'll find our first-impressions take below.

Should I buy the Birch Luxe Natural mattress?

You'll find an in-depth look at the Birch Luxe Natural mattress below, but if you're in a hurry and just want the quick version, here's who we would, and would not, recommend this model to:

Buy it if...

✅ You want a natural mattress: The Birch Luxe is made with natural and organic materials, including cotton, wool and natural latex, and has an array of credentials that suggest its one of the more eco-friendly and ethically produced mattress options available. 

✅ You're a back or stomach sleeper: The firmer sleep feel, with reinforced lumbar area, will keep the spine supported and aligned in a back or stomach sleeping position. The extra wool layer in the Luxe model adds more comfortable cushioning.

✅ You want to be able to change position easily: The Luxe Natural has a bouncy, responsive sleep surface that's very easy to move around on. There's none of the quicksand feel you get with some memory foams.

Don't buy it if...

❌ You're a light sleeper who shares a bed: The motion isolation isn't the best on the Birch Luxe Natural, so you might be disturbed by a partner shifting position. Interestingly, the regular Birch Natural absorbs movements better. 

❌ You sleep on your side: The Birch Luxe Natural has a firm, bouncy sleep surface that doesn't offer much by way of body contouring. Side sleepers might feel pressure build-up in their shoulders. A memory foam hybrid like the Helix Midnight is perfect for side sleeping, although if you want a natural mattress, we found the Awara Natural mattress comfortable too (you can see exactly how to the two compare in our Birch vs Awara mattress face-off). 

❌ You want the most bang for your buck: To maximize value for money, consider the Birch Original. The sleep feel is marginally less cushioned, the central third doesn't have the reinforced springs and it's half an inch shorter, but it uses most of the same materials and offers a similarly supportive, bouncy feel. The original is a bit softer, and isolates motion better.

Birch Luxe Natural mattress: Price

Latex and natural mattresses always cost a bit more, and the Birch Luxe Natural mattress sits firmly in the premium price bracket. It's not quite as expensive as you'd expect though – mattress sales run year-round, and like mist of its sister brands at 3Z, Birch has a discount running constantly. Expect 20% off at all times, possibly more over national holidays and shopping events – there was 25% off in the Memorial Day mattress sales, for instance. It'll still be in the premium bracket, mind.

Here's a look at the list prices for each size of the Birch Luxe mattress, and how much you can expect to actually pay:

• Twin size: MSRP $1,998.80 (usually on sale for $1,599)
• Twin XL size: MSRP $2,123.80 (usually on sale for $1,699) 
• Full size: MSRP $2,686.30 (usually on sale for $2,149)
• Queen size: MSRP $3,248.80 (usually on sale for $2,599)
• King size: MSRP $3,748.80 (usually on sale for $2,999)
• Cal King: MSRP $3,748.80 (usually on sale for $2,999) 

You'll get two free pillows, made from organic cotton with recycled polyester stuffing, with your order, but these will ship separately. 

There's a sizable price difference between the Luxe and the regular Birch mattress – a queen size of the regular model will set you back $1,699 (down from an MSRP of $2,123.80).

Traditionally, the Black Friday mattress deals yield the best prices of the year in terms of mattresses, so if that suits when you need to buy, it might pay to hang on. It'll likely only be marginally cheaper than other major sales events though, so don't panic if you need to buy at another time.

Birch Luxe Natural mattress: Design

• 11.5" tall natural hybrid mattress
• Layers of wool for cushioning and natural temperature regulation
• Bouncy natural latex and coils

The Birch Luxe Natural mattress is an 11.5 inch tall natural hybrid with a euro top. When we inspected it, we were impressed with the build quality, but noted that this doesn't look like your traditional 'luxe' mattress. Instead, it embraces a more pared-back, 'natural' aesthetic.

That's reflected in the height. This isn't especially tall for a luxe model – most of the models in our best luxury mattress guide are 13-14 inches tall. However, because the higher costs of the materials, and because latex is pretty heavy, natural mattresses are typically on the shallower side. (There are benefits to this – you won't need to buy deep sheets, and it'll be easier to move around.)

At the top you'll find a quilted cover in organic cotton. This sits above three layers of organic wool, one of which is blended with cashmere. These provide cushioning and fire-retardancy (without the need for chemicals). All of these upper materials are naturally temperature regulating, moisture-wicking and breathable. We'd expect them to provide a cooler sleep surface than a mattress with an upper tier made from synthetic foam.

The textiles in the Birch Natural Luxe mattress are Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified. GOTS is a worldwide standard that requires independent verification, and it confirms the product is organic, free from harmful chemicals, and ethically produced. The cotton in the mattress is also Fair Trade certified, and Birch only works with Fair Trade factories. This body encourages sustainable cotton production, and promotes ethical working practices.

Next up you have a layer of natural latex foam. No word on whether it's talalay or dunlop, but this is a natural alternative to synthetic foam, and typically offers a bouncy, weightless feel (our latex vs memory foam mattress comparison article goes into more detail).

That's followed by individually wrapped coils, which are higher gauge around the perimeter and central third to help firm up the edges and add extra support beneath the heavy lumbar section. Coils provide stability and also create space within a mattress where air can circulate – this is one reason why hybrid mattresses almost always sleep cooler than all-foam models. At the base is another layer of organic wool.

How does it compare to the regular Birch mattress?

In comparison, the regular Birch mattress has one fewer layer of wool in the top section, and no cashmere, and the coils are reinforced on the side edges, but not the head and foot edges or lumbar section. There's no euro-top on the design and overall it's shorter (although only very slightly) at 11 inches. The Luxe version does look like an upgrade, but both have that same 'natural' kind of design. 

Birch Luxe Natural mattress: Comfort & support

• Birch rates this a 6-7/10, we think it's more like an 8
• Best for back/stomach sleepers, perhaps lacks contouring for side sleepers
• Bouncy, responsive feel that's easy to move about on

Birch rates the Luxe Natural at a 6-7 out of 10 on the firmness scale, which is the same as the regular Birch. If that feels too firm, Birch makes a topper that you can bundle in, and will take it down to a 4-5.

In our hands-on time with the Birch Natural, we found it firmer than that – perhaps an 8. To gain an objective measurement, we placed a 15lb weight in the centre and measured how far it sank in. It sank it 1.9 inches, which puts it in the 'firm' bracket on our scale. Overall, it's a uniform feel, rather than being a soft top layer with a firmer tier beneath.

The sleep surface of the Luxe Natural is bouncy and very responsive, meaning it's easy to move around and change position on. There's none of the sink-in, contouring feel that you get with a slow-moving memory foam. 

We lay on the mattress on our front, side and back, to get a rough idea of how comfortable it might be. We think this model would suit average weight stomach or back sleepers best. When you sleep on your stomach or sleep on your back, you need a bit of extra support to stop your pelvis dropping too low and putting strain on your spine. With its firmer feel and reinforced centre third, this mattress provides just that.

However, side sleepers might firm it too firm, especially if they weigh less than average. Most of the best mattresses for side sleepers are a bit softer and offer more of a contouring feel, to prevent pressure building up around the shoulders and hips. 

Although Birch gives them the same firmness rating, in our experience the Luxe feels noticeably firmer than the regular model. That's reflected in our tests: the weight sank 2.3 inches on the regular model, which puts it in the medium-firm category. The Luxe has a slightly more cushioned sleep surface, though – you can feel that extra layer of wool.

Birch Luxe Natural mattress: Motion isolation

• Some motion transfer, not the best for light sleepers who share a bed
• Regular Birch model isolates movements better

Motion isolation refers to how well the mattress absorbs movement on the sleep surface. To test the motion transfer levels on the Birch Luxe Natural mattress, we placed an empty wine glass on the sleep surface, then dropped a 15lb weight at distances of 4, 10 and 25 inches away from it. It fell over at 4 inches, wobbled at 10 inches and shook slightly at 25 inches. 

We also enlisted the help of another sleep journalist to mimic a real-world experience by changing position and getting on and off the mattress next to us. Overall, we found the Birch Luxe does have some motion transfer – enough that you might find your sleep disturbed by movements on the other side of the bed.

If you're a restless sleeper who's prone to tossing and turning, or you share a bed with a partner who has a different sleep schedule to you, this might not be the best model for you. Interestingly, the motion isolation was better on the regular Birch model. 

Birch Luxe Natural mattress: Edge support

• Decent but not amazing edge support

Edge support refers to how sturdy the perimeter of the mattress is. We measure it by placing our 15lb weight on the edge of the mattress and seeing how far it sinks in. We're looking for an equal or lower amount of sinkage than there is in the centre. 

On the Birch Luxe Natural mattress, the weight sank 2.1 inches on the edges, compared to 1.9 inches in the centre. That's not an ideal result, but it's also not terrible – on a firmer mattress like this one, there's more leeway in terms of scores, because the overall feel is sturdier in the first place.

That was reflected in our real-world experience: when our Sleep Editor sat on the edge of the mattress, they felt decently supported, but it wasn't the best they'd experienced. The taped edge of the mattress adds some structure that helps.  

A mattress with good edge support means you can confidently use the full sleep surface without fear of rolling off, and it also makes it possible to sit comfortably on the edges, and push up off it when getting up in the morning, for example.

Birch Luxe Natural mattress: Delivery & extras

The Birch Luxe is a bed-in-a-box mattress, which means its vacuum packed and rolled for delivery. Birch mattresses come with free shipping via FedEx, and takes 3-7 business days, at time of writing.

Depending on where you live, you might have the option to upgrade your delivery to include in-home setup and/or old mattress removal. This bit is taken care of by LoadUp, and will need to be scheduled separately to delivery. Pricing depends on what you're having done, but based on a CA address, it looks like old mattress removal is free and setup of just a mattress is $159 (you can also have a base or foundation set up or removed as part of the service, for an extra fee). 

There's a 100-night sleep trial, which is the minimum you'll find from any of the big sleep brands, but still long enough to get a good feel for the mattress. There's also a 25 year warranty. A few brands offer a lifetime warranty, but realistically you should replace your mattress every 7-10 years anyway.