The first time I thought “shit, maybe I should get on this Koala mattress cult train” was when I stayed over at this dude’s house this year. We’d been hooking up, and I basically stayed over because the mattress was so goddamn GOOD.
“What IS this thing?” I asked, before he told me it was a Koala mattress. I am telling you, I had the best sleep of my life. I needed to see what the fuss was about in a more long-term, not-sharing-with-a-snoring-boy setting. So I hit them up for a trial.
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Koala offer trials, by the way. 120 nights to decide if you’re obsessed. At this point I’ve trialled my mattress for around 30 nights, and I’m telling you – I’m a convert. Ring the mattress-cult alarm because I am IN.
The first wild moment is how quickly I received the mattress. It has a famed 4-hour delivery, but the reality of this is that I ordered it at lunchtime at work, and it was at home when I walked in the door. NICE. It also arrives in an easy-to-manoeuvre box, which is part of the bed-in-a-box phenomenon and a huge part of it’s appeal. If you live in a teeny terrace with abnormally narrow staircases, or a unit that’s up 400 flights, the box sitcho is a god-send.
Rolling it out? Also a god-send. You basically lie the rolled-up mattress down one end of your bed, then unfurl the plastic wrapping until it pops out.
Here’s a thing that happened to me – my mattress STUNK. Like a weird new-car chemical smell. Which you don’t really want in a mattress, but my Mum assured me (lol who doesn’t call their Mum when it comes to weird house-related issues) this is normal for most mattresses when they’re new, and a Koala spokesperson concurred on productreview.com.au.
Our mattresses don’t normally come with a smell. We have had some reports that some mattresses were coming with a new car smell, but that seemed to dissipate quickly after being unboxed. We were mainly experiencing this during a period of an unprecedented number of orders coming through meaning we are making and packing straight away with little to no breathing/airing time. The good news is that that any smell coming from the mattress isn’t harmful at all!
I aired my mattress for 24 hours and left it in direct sunlight, and this lessened the smell about 50%. They also say you can dust it with baking soda, which I didn’t do but hot tip for ya.
Now, a month later, the smell is pretty much gone. Does that mean it’s fine toxicity-wise, though? This also assuaged my fear, from their website:
The koala mattress has been rigorously tested for all the nasty chemicals that can be found in other mattresses.
Here’s how you know it’s safe:
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✔ Made with GECA certified foam to ensure a lower impact on human health
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✔ Very low VOC emissions
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✔ Doesn’t contain heavy metals (such as lead or mercury)
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✔ Doesn’t contain phthalates
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✔ Made without ozone-depleting substances (methylene chloride)
Sleep wise, I LOVE a firm mattress. Honestly I’d be happier sleeping on a block of wood than some deeply squishy, bendy thing. So I was actually a bit worried when I sat on the edge of my Koala and it dropped down significantly.
But this is just because it’s made of polyurethane foam, not springs. This means sitting on the edge, the mattress will sink because of your body weight, but when that weight’s distributed across the bed (when you’re lying down) it’s quite firm.
In fact, some reviews criticise the firmness – not so much that they hate the mattress because of it, but that they had to get used to a firmer mattress. According to this CHOICE article, a firm mattress is best for stomach sleepers, and a medium mattress for back sleepers. They say soft mattresses are good for side sleepers, but as someone who IS a side sleeper, my take is firm is still best.
The Koala, I’d say, is medium-firm. It’s still got an element of softness thanks to the foam makeup – you feel like it’s moulding to your body’s contours, without compromising support. In short, I’ve had zero back pain since I’ve owned it – something I did deal with a bit with my old spring mattress.
It’s also still supportive enough when you’re sitting in bed reading/watching TV/living your entire life bc you refuse to exit the bed on the weekend. The only part that dips is the edge when, say, you’re sitting on it putting on your boots. Which isn’t a drama for me. Like, it’s not a CHAIR, you guys.
I know I’m only 30 days in here. So I can’t give you a review of the longevity of this baby. I can’t see it having issues, but the biggie that everyone always worries about is the mattress contouring to your body shape to the point where it dips around your ass. But the Koala mattress has a 10 year warranty, so if you’re worried – don’t be. Unless you’re a shithead who uses a terrible bed base/ruins it yourself, you’re covered.
My take? I love it. Full convert, 10/10, now telling everyone around me how bloody great it is and convincing them to buy one for themselves.
I basically live to sleep now, which is the only problem. You can check out the Koala mattress in all its glory here.
