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I’ve been testing a luxury cooling mattress topper for over 3 weeks, but I prefer this much cheaper product
We’re always looking for cooling mattress toppers to add to our best mattress toppers guide, and one such product that promises both luxury plushness and advanced temperature control is the Helix Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper with GlacioTex.
I’ve slept on the Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper for almost four weeks now (a full review will be coming soon) and it has the type of quality design you’d expect from the brand behind some of this year’s best mattresses.
However, there’s another cooling product that I’ve been using for over a year and will be using once again when this topper testing period is over. Here’s a look at whether I think the Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper is worth you buying in the upcoming Labor Day mattress sales.
What is the Helix Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper like to sleep on?
The Helix Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper is made from 3″ of premium memory foam layers, which (according to Helix) are twice as durable as traditional foams. It’s available in two firmness options which have slightly different builds: Luxury Plush or Luxury Firm.
What makes this memory foam bed topper so cooling is its GlacioTex cover. Also used in Helix’s premium Elite mattress collection and some of the best cooling mattresses on the market, GlacioTex is heat-dissipating fabric that adds a cooling surface to memory foam toppers. The cover is non-removable and spot-clean only, but it does come with anchor straps to keep it in place.
I’ve been sleeping on the Helix Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper in a Luxury Plush feel for over three weeks (including through heatwaves with no air conditioning) now and found it to provide a thick, body-cradling comfort for side sleepers. That’s likely due to the design of the Luxury Plush model, which features one comfort layer of high-density memory foam (the Luxury Firm has a layer of this foam and a layer of high-density responsive foam).
Its GlacioTex cover also means it doesn’t sleep warm and provides a cooler surface for my heat-retaining all-foam bed.
However, I did find that it wasn’t as comfortable when I slept on my back, as I felt my hips dipping. While my memory foam bed slept a little hot, I found the balance of comfort and support to be fine — so the Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper in Luxury Plush cooled my bed down but changed the firmness in doing so.
It’s possible I would have had a different experience had I tested the Luxury Firm model of this topper. However, the Luxury Plush model changed the feel of my mattress, and I prefer to use cooling bedding that adds temperature regulation without altering the firmness of my bed.
With that in mind, there’s another product I love that deserves a mention: the Brooklyn Bedding Luxury Cooling Mattress Protector.
The cooling alternative I recommend instead…
While Helix’s Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper with GlacioTex in Luxury Plush is great if you’re looking to adjust the firmness of your bed and add a cooling touch, my bed just needed some cooling rather than a complete firmness makeover. And that’s why I can’t wait to go back to using my Brooklyn Bedding protector once testing is over.
I gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 when I tested it for our Brooklyn Bedding Luxury Cooling Mattress Protector review, and it’s been a permanent fixture in my bedroom (outside of testing periods for other products) ever since. It impressed me with its waterproof protection (despite being advertised as water-resistant) and, like Helix’s premium mattress topper, it uses heat-dissipating GlacioTex for ultimate temperature regulation.
3 reasons why I prefer Brooklyn Bedding’s Luxury Cooling Mattress Protector
1. It uses the same cooling material, only cheaper
GlacioTex is a premium, state-of-the-art cooling fabric, so any sleep product that uses it is bound to be in the luxury price tier. However, while both the Brooklyn Bedding Luxury Cooling Mattress Protector and the Helix Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper both use this ultra-cooling material, the former is much cheaper.
While the Helix mattress topper is currently $364.03 for a queen, Brooklyn Bedding’s protector is $96.75 in the same size (and I know from price tracking that it’s going to be even cheaper soon). Overall, the Brooklyn Bedding Luxury Cooling Mattress Protector is the better cooling option if you’re on a tighter budget.
2. It provides more direct cooling
Mattress toppers sit on top of your bed, but they also sit under a mattress protector and sheets. This means that the cooling power of the Helix Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper’s cover can be impeded if it sits under too many layers.
This is especially true if you’re using a waterproof mattress protector over your topper, which are notorious for trapping heat due to the use of non-breathable, plastic-like materials. However, a cooling mattress protector cuts out the middle man and promises more direct temperature regulation.
3. It provides easy-to-clean protection
Unfortunately, the GlacioTex cooling cover of the Helix Premium Mattress Topper is non-removable and can’t go in the washing machine.
This means it won’t provide the water-resistant easy-clean protection that you get with the Brooklyn Bedding Luxury Cooling Mattress Protector, which is machine-washable and dryer-safe. I also found its retained its waterproof capabilities, laundry cycle after laundry cycle.
