Silk & Snow Hybrid Mattress Review After 1 Year of Sleep Testing

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My partner and I have been sleeping on a Silk & Snow Hybrid mattress for over a year now.

Before it, we had an $1000 Sealy memory foam mattress we purchased from Sleep Country that developed a large, permanent indentation in its 4th year of use. In “boiling frog” fashion, we would wake up more and more often with aches and pain in our mid and lower backs. We had hoped to get more than 4-and-a-bit years out of the Sealy mattress, but eventually decided that enough was enough.

After a ton of research on the best mattresses available in Canada and weighing our personal preferences, we landed on the Silk & Snow Hybrid. The following are our impressions and long-term review of its materials, pressure relief, motion isolation, temperature control, ease of movement and more:

Bottom line

Our sleep was immediately better after sleeping on the Silk & Snow Hybrid. After about a week of breaking it in we no longer woke up to back aches and pain and felt well rested in the morning. The mattress is still as comfortable as the day we got it (we have rotated it once) and I will update this review after another year or so to report on its longevity.

You may not have heard as much about them as Endy or Casper, but Silk & Snow has gone from a mildly successful Kickstarter campaign in 2017 to being named one of the 10 fastest growing startups in Canada in 2020. In addition to the Hybrid, they also offer a Memory Foam and Organic bed-in-a-box mattresses as well as a collection of other bedroom and bedding products.

Silk & Snow Hybrid features

Is the Silk & Snow Hybrid right for you?

Best for:

• People who weigh between 130 to 230 lbs
• Combination sleepers – well balanced contouring and support for stomach, back and side sleepers
• Couples with a restless partner – pocketed coils provide strong motion isolation
• Warm sleepers – foam traps some heat, but air circulation through coil layer helps regulate temperatures
• Heavier side sleepers – on the firm side of medium and has added support in the lumbar zone

Not recommended for:

• Lightweight sleepers – a bit too firm which may create pressure points
• Side sleepers who weigh less than 130 lbs – not enough cushioning
• Sleepers who prefer a plush mattress with a deep hug

How much does the S&S Hybrid cost?

For less than $1000 you can get an affordable mattress delivered right to your door. At $850 for the queen, it is competitively priced amongst the hybrids in Canada – the same price as the Hamuq, $100 more than the Brunswick and $150 less than the Logan & Cove. And while it is the same price as the Endy mattress, you get the added support and durability provided by steel pocket coils and quality high-density memory foam.

Unboxing

At around a hundred pounds for a queen/king, the mattress’ box may be heavy for some, but its length and bulk make it awkward and challenging for one person to maneuver (it mostly involves dragging one end) which gets even harder when moving it up a flight of stairs. For queen size or larger, I recommend having 2 people carry it which is both quicker and safer.

The box is so tall because unlike memory foam mattresses like the Endy, the S&S hybrid is not folded in half before being rolled up foot to head. This makes it slightly more difficult to move from your front door to your bedroom, but much easier to remove the plastic wrap and unroll once its on your bed.

Unbox the mattress as soon as possible to prevent it from becoming damaged. Some memory foam mattresses can stay rolled up for a month or two, but hybrid mattresses should be unrolled within a day or two to preserve the quality of the springs. You can sleep on it right away, but it may take up to 72 hours to fully expand and feel like the intended firmness.

To remove the mattress from the box, lay the box on the floor on its side, cut open one side of the cardboard, lift the other end of the box and slowly slide the mattress out of the opening.

To remove the plastic wrap from the mattress, Silk & Snow provides their own cutting tool which is designed to cut the plastic while preventing you from accidentally damaging the mattress underneath, however, I found it easier to use a pair of scissors.

You only need to make one decisive cut through the plastic across the width of the mattress along its base and it will immediately start to unroll itself and quickly expand into shape:

Firmness

In our experience, the Silk & Snow Hybrid mattress feels like a 7 or medium-firm. This can be described as feeling like you’re sleeping “on” and “in” the mattress at the same time.

We did not experience the sinking feeling we got from our previous memory foam mattress and the firmness makes it easy to switch positions. For reference, I’m about 5’8″, 180 lbs. and a combination sleeper – starting on my stomach and spending most of the night on my side.

Firmness is somewhat subjective. A heavier person will press further in to a mattress than a lighter person and will likely find that it feels softer because they are being supported more by the denser support layer than the top comfort layer.

Materials

The S&S Hybrid is 12″ thick and made of 3 layers: polyfoam, memory foam and steel pocket coils.

The Silk & Snow Hybrid is fully made in Canada – the fabric, foam and pocket coils (from Canadian steel) are all produced in Toronto, ON and the mattress is assembled in one of the facilities across Canada.

As of 3 years ago, the mattress was manufactured by Springwall, the only 100% Canadian owned and operated national mattress manufacturer. Their headquarters are in Moncton, NB and have manufacturing facilities in Moncton, Mississauga, ON and Calgary, AB.

Cover

The cover is made of a stretchy polyester and spandex blend that is soft, smooth and even to the touch. It is not removable, but it is “silver infused”, which apparently helps it be anti-microbial and keep odours at bay. This is true in our experience as no smells have developed even though my oilier skin has stained the mattress a bit through our sheets. However, if you are a sweaty sleeper, eat in bed or stain your sheets, you may want to consider using a mattress protector as Silk & Snow only recommends spot cleaning.

The diamond-shaped tufting is small, shallow and frequent without any hard buttons which are barely noticeable once the fitted sheet is on. However, the stitching job is poor and several of the diamonds have a loose thread at this point.

The fabric is produced by Fine Cotton in Toronto.

Comfort layer 1 – 1″ cooling gel polyfoam

The first layer is 1.8 lb polyfoam that is quilted onto the bottom of the polyester/spandex cover. It provides some initial comfort and a soft feel to the surface. Since it’s somewhat pre-compressed which tends to limit the likelihood of impressions forming.

The additions of thermally conductive cooling gel and hollowfibre help pull heat away from the body and cool the top layer quickly when you change positions.

Comfort layer 2 – 2″ memory foam

The memory foam layer provides the perfect amount of initial soft and cushioning feel as you get into bed, crawl around on it and change positions during the night. Once you lie down though it doesn’t sink in too much, providing just the right amount of contouring, coziness and pressure relief.

All the foams are CertiPUR-US® certified and have low VOC emissions (less than 0.5 parts per million). The foams are produced by Vitafoam in Toronto.

Support layer – 9″ pocket coils

Up to 1200 individually-pocketed steel coils are forged in small batches by the Salwan Family coil manufacturers located in Toronto and double-tempered for increased durability. This 9″ layer provides a considerable air gap in the middle of the mattress, allowing for air flow and better heat dissipation than a memory foam mattress.

Zoned support – The coils in the middle “lumbar” zone of this layer around your lower back and hips are lower gauge than in the outer zone (12.5 vs 14.5), which means they are harder to compress and feel firmer – to provide a little extra firmness and support to keep your hips from sinking and your spine aligned. The outer zone is softer to cradle your shoulders and legs.

I partially credit the zoned support with fixing the stiffness in my lower back that I’d wake up to when I was sleeping on a memory foam mattress (along with no longer sleeping in a divot on our old memory foam bed).

Support layer edge – 6″ x 9″ polyfoam

Unlike some mattresses with pocket coils, the coils do not go all the way to the edge of bed. Instead, there is an approximately 6″ wide (9″ tall) dense polyfoam layer around the perimeter of the mattress between the coils and the outer fabric casing.

This may be a cost-saving or weight-saving measure due to needing fewer coils, but it could also have something to do with reinforcing and holding the pocket coils in so they can be compressed and rolled into a box.

Pressure relief

The benefit of this hybrid mattress is that you get a balanced feel – some contouring coziness from the top layers of memory foam without sinking in too much and overwhelming your body, and long-lasting support for your spine from the base layer of steel coils.

Here’s how well the mattress relieved pressure for different sleeping positions and body types (5 is excellent, 1 is poor):

Under 130 lbs sleepers

• Side sleepers: too firm, poor to fair – may not have enough memory foam to provide sufficient cushioning for their hips and shoulders, may notice pressure points
• Back sleepers: a bit firm, fair to good – hips may not sink in quite as much as ideal
• Stomach sleepers: a bit firm, fair to good – ample firmness to keep spine aligned, but may miss coziness/contouring

130-230 lbs sleepers

• Side sleepers: comfortable, good to very good – ideal balance of contouring and support
• Back sleepers: comfortable, good to very good – 3″ of foam lets hips sink in a little bit, but not too much
• Stomach sleepers: comfortable, good to very good – firmer coils in lumbar zone prevent sagging near the stomach and hips, keeping the spine aligned.

Above 230 lbs sleepers

• Side sleepers: comfortable, good to very good – foams cushion the body without sinking too much
• Back sleepers: a bit soft, fair to good – hips and midsection may sink a little more than ideal
• Stomach sleepers: a bit soft, fair to good – hips and midsection may dip a little too deeply into the bed

Motion isolation

The mattress will provide enough motion isolation for most couples. Those who are very light sleepers or highly sensitive to movement may still be disturbed by their partner.

There is much less motion transfer than our memory foam mattress and most major movements such as rolling over and getting into and out of bed translate to minor giggles/vibrations rather than shakes. My partner changes positions many times a night which used to wake me up occasionally and often resulted in poor sleeps, but now I sleep though it all. And I’m able to climb into bed after she’s already fallen asleep without waking her up.

The coils are wrapped individually in their own pockets and connected by a thin layer of fabric to help keep them upright and in place, but also to give them some freedom to respond individually to horizontal movements:

It isn’t often mentioned, but the bed frame plays a roll in motion transfer as well – our wooden slat based bed from Article has provided a solid foundation for this mattress.

Temperature control

As a hotter sleeper, I have found this bed sleeps on the cool side – especially when compared to memory foam mattresses – though I typically prefer lower indoor temperatures at night for sleeping. Sleepers who weigh more than 230 lbs would sink further in and likely find that it sleeps a bit too warm, especially when compared to a pocket coil mattress or innerspring. The top layers don’t retain heat long and cool off quickly when you move to a new spot thanks to the cooling gel and air flow through the coil layer.

Ease of movement

The firmness and responsiveness of the pocket coils makes it easy to move around and change positions for most sleepers – good for combination sleepers and sex. It doesn’t give you the sinking feeling or being stuck in place that you get from softer memory foam mattresses, but it’s not quite as easy to move around on as an innerspring or hybrids with thinner comfort layers.

Edge support

As mentioned above, the coils do not go all the way to the edge of the mattress. Instead, there is 6″ perimeter of dense polyfoam. As long as you don’t sleep with more than an arm hanging off the edge of the bed and you’re of light to average weight, you won’t be able to tell where the coils end and the polyfoam begins and can comfortably sleep right up to the edge of the bed without feeling like you’re going to roll off. This means you’ll have more functional surface area to spread out to and space to share with your bed partner without having to remind each other “where the middle is” as often.

The support is sturdy enough to sit on the edge of the bed without your feet planted on the floor without feeling like you’re going to tip forward. With your feet planted on the floor, it is comfortable to lean forward to take off or put on socks or shoes.

Noise

The springs don’t make any noise – no creaks, squeaks or other friction thanks to the fabric isolating the pocket coils and thick foam encasement surrounding them. That said, expect the coils to produce more squeaks as the mattress nears the end of its lifespan. The only sound produced is the barely-noticeable compression of the foam, which I can only think to describe as a faint “crackle“.

Off-gassing

There was some minor, but noticeable “new mattress smell” for the first 2 to 3 days after we unboxed the mattress, which was to be expected given the not-insignificant 3″ worth of memory foam included. The smell wasn’t too strong (I’m somewhat sensitive to chemicals) and could pretty quickly and easily be ventilated from our bedroom before we went to bed – likely due to the low VOC emission foams used and the air flow through the coil layer. By the end of the first week it was no longer noticeable.

Sustainability

The foams are CertiPUR-US certified and as such are made without harmful materials such as heavy metals, ozone depleters or formaldehyde.

Durability

We expect it to last 6 to 7 years – on par with the average of other foam/spring hybrid mattresses. To help it last longer, rotate it head to foot every 3 to 6 months.

The S&S Hybrid was released in 2018, so there is no long-term testing data available yet. The coils are very durable and will last a long time, but the memory foam will soften and compress over time, eventually leading to deeper sinkage, a firmer feel and possibly pressure point development.

The warranty does cover permanent 2″ indentations, but it is unlikely that will happen since the first layer of foam is somewhat compressed by being quilted to the cover, meaning the remaining 2″ of memory foam would have to almost be completely flattened for the warranty to kick in and provide a replacement.

The workmanship around the top edges of the mattress was poor and immediately apparent with multiple loose threads and cooling gel foam sticking out. While I was initially concerned, the stitching at the seams seemed strong and secure so the issue was limited to aesthetics and putting a fitted sheet over the mattress solved it.

The cover and top layer can be spot cleaned by dabbing up an excess liquid using a cloth or sponge and then spot cleaning with cold water and mild soap.

Silk & Snow Hybrid alternatives

How does it compare to other mattresses?

Silk & Snow Hybrid vs. Logan and Cove

• Both are hybrids made in Canada
• Both use CertiPUR-US®️ certified foams
• Both require a 30 day break in period before can be returned
• Neither have a removable cover
  

• $150 cheaper ($850 vs $999 for a queen)
• Lower ratio of foam to coils (3″:9″ vs 5″:8″)
• Canadian steel vs Chinese steel coils
• More, longer coils (1000 9″ vs. 828 8″ in queen)
• Firmer zoned support coils (12.5 vs 13.5 gauge)
• Lower profile (12″ vs 14″ – requiring deep pocket sheets)
• One firmness option (7) vs choice of 6.5 or 4.5

Silk & Snow Hybrid vs. Hamuq

• Both are hybrids made in Canada
• Similar price ($850)
• Same number of Canadian steel coils (1000 in queen)
  

• Coils are slightly firmer (14.5 vs 15) and longer (9″ vs 8″)
• Zoned support is provided by coils vs 0.5″ gel memory foam (12.5 gauge vs 3 lb)
• Shorter trial (100 vs 120 days)

Silk & Snow Hybrid vs Silk & Snow Mattress

• Both offered by S&S
• CertiPUR-US certified foams
• 4 lb memory foam and 1.8 lb polyfoam
  

• Hybrid vs memory foam
• ~$100 more expensive ($850 vs $750 for a queen)
• Higher profile (12″ vs 10″)
• Firmer (7 vs 6)

Silk & Snow’s shipping, delivery, trial, warranty and return details

How does delivery work?

The mattress is compressed, vacuum sealed in plastic, rolled up and delivered in a box for free directly to your door (there is a nominal shipping fee to deliver to the territories). You do not need to be home to accept delivery – they will leave it on your doorstep – but if you want to ensure the package isn’t left out for a long time in the elements, there is the option to request that a signature be required.

If a signature is required, the courier will make 3 attempts to deliver before leaving it available for pick up at the local depot.

How long does it take to ship?

It takes 2 to 3 business days in Ontario, 2 to 4 in Manitoba and Quebec and 4 to 6 in the other provinces for the mattress to arrive. It takes 7 to 9 business days for the territories.

How does the trial work?

You get up to 100 nights to try out the mattress to decide if it’s the right one for you.

How do returns work?

Before a return can be processed, they require that you’ve had the mattress for at least 30 days to give both it and your body time to adjust. If it’s still not the right fit, you can return up to 2 mattresses and only on your first order (tracked by both customer and shipping address) for free, at anytime between the 30th and 100th night of the trial by emailing them your order confirmation number and reason for return.

To be eligible, the mattress must be in donatable condition – ie. no stains, tears or other soiling including odors.

You must provide 3 business days when you are available for the pick-up within the following 2 weeks and the mattress must be located on the ground floor near the entrance. The refund is processed within 2 business days after the returned product has been received and verified and can take up to 14 business days to be reflected on your account.

They will attempt to donate it to a local charitable organization, and if that isn’t possible it will likely be sent to a recycling depot.

What does the warranty cover?

The warranty covers the repair of manufacturing defects as well as replacement if there are permanent indentations that develop that are greater than deep when no weight is on it for a period of 15 years. After the 10th year, the replacement refund is 75% of the original purchase price.

To ensure your mattress stays eligible, set it up on a suitable bed frame or foundation – ideally straight slats that are at least 2″ wide and spaced 3″ or less apart, a traditional metal frame or box spring. For mattresses Queen-sized and larger, there must be at least one centre support beam.

Foam compresses and deteriorates over time and is typically the weak link in terms of durability. While 2″ indentations may not sound like much, there is only 3″ of foam in the mattress. The 2″ of 4 lb memory foam should last a long time for light to average sleepers, but this warranty is definitely less generous than the one for their memory foam mattress, which covers much more subtle 1″ permanent indentations.

Contact information

• Email: hello@silkandsnow.com
• Phone: 1-855-777-0033
• Showroom: 675 King Street West, Unit 205
• Social: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
  

Customer reviews

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