Sleeping Duck Mattress

Greetings All

I'm in the market to buy a king mattress and sleeping duck seem to fit in my budget. However the website is very fancy and heavily marketed via youtube and uses words, which only sounds good, to describe its product features. Ex, AirGrown foams, hexa-cells, antigravity, componentadapt system. breathetech, multi-zoned steel spring system and so on.

Any sleeping duck owners here that can comment on the Mattress quality and their experience? I get that Mattress is a subjective thing etc and there is a 100 day trial period but I just cant be bothered going through the hassle of returning something.

Also the reviews in productreview website are all 5 star from customers who've never reviewed before. So this is kinda sus.

Koala on the other hand has had much greater rep at least on this website and its almost $1000 cheaper - in the end its all foam aint it?

Also, their warranty has some restrictions on what type of base it is used so I'll be limited with their crappy looking base.

Appreciate your thoughts. thank you!

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Sleeping Duck
Sleeping Duck

Comments

  • +16

    Im also interested in this

  • +6

    I have not tried Sleeping Duck, but have purchased both Ecosa and Sleep Republic mattresses. Both quite different, but both excellent. The Sleep Republic is a softer / pillow top feel with springs underneath the foam. The Ecosa is a fair bit firmer (almost feels too firm) but I have always had a great night's sleep on it.

    I figured they are all quite similar, and the Sleeping Duck just seemed way more expensive, so never tried it.

    In summary, I have tried 2 other variants, and liked them both.

    • +1

      I had the ecosa, even in the most firm setting it was way to soft.
      Bought a sealy instead. Don’t go cheap on something you spend a third of your life on.

      • i found opposite, ecosa has been the most firm mattress i have had, even on softest setup it is only just soft enough for me and i dont like soft mattress. My issue is it gets a bit hot so im looking at other options

  • Koala on the other hand has had much greater rep at least on this website and its almost $1000 cheaper - in the end its all foam aint it?

    Um, SD isn't all foam…which is the Koala is.

    • yea SD says it has steel springs but a silly question would be how good this would be when it can be folded in a box.

      • +2

        Springs, by design can be compacted. Being put into a box shouldn't be an issue.

        • Being put into a box shouldn't be an issue

          Being fold into a box seems like an issue.
          If folding just between two springs, how would the foam stretch?
          Folding right in a spring sounds painful to imagine.

          Spring in box sounds cheap by definition.
          Unless it is one of those vacuum compressed_then_rolled mattresses.

          We got our Windsor Plush + base nice and flat.
          Thank you. Removing huge wrapping plastic bags was the biggest issue.

          • +1

            @LFO: our EVA mattress was compressed then rolled. Had springs in it. There was a certain way we had to spread it out and unpack/unwrap to allow it to expand evenly. I love that mattress.

        • +1

          All Ikea beds (spring or not) are rolled up. They are all under grand.
          I've got 3, no issues there.

          My $4k king sized Tempur mattress came UNFOLDED.
          My wife loves it. I find it ok as well.

          If spending many times over the price gives the feeling you want and pocket spring bed that came unfolded, then be my guest.

          • @berry580: Some people love to sleep in a torturous Japanese futon.

            Personal preferences do not imply higher quality nor comfort. Only personal opinions and choices.

    • Out of the box Koala's are awesome but dont pay too much. Online direct was QB $1050 and in in a major bedding store $600! Online isnt always the cheapest!
      Next Koala's are great but they are all foam and they will loose integrity faster, so if the beds a visitors bed, awesome but a daily driver and someone thats over say 90kg (and thats a lot of us inc me) well it will loose inegrity firmness and sag (25mm and you will be unhappy)

      Choice have a review and comparision, read the comments and see (thats free even if the comparison is behind a paywall)

      Id buy the sleepingduck myself, the ability to remove the top cover and even mod/refresh it is an innovation I can see real value in!

      • +3

        Which major bedding store did you get the Koala mattress from? Keen to get a saving,thanks

      • +1

        Which store ?

      • Bed shed

  • +9

    You're spot on - I'm in the same predicament and the marketing department seems to be inflated, so that means they're cutting costs on other things. My main issue with bed-in-box mattresses, after being the (non-proud) owner of a Koala, is that there's little to none edge support, and their "return policy" (which is often ignored by the company) indicates they're selling at an incredible profit margin. So a $1000 mattress can cost them $100 to produce, and they recuperate the $ lost on returns like that.
    That's only my view, and I can honestly say I am also currently lost, but starting to think that locally-made, traditional mattresses are the best. Still on the fence.

    • +1

      that there's little to none edge support,

      This isn't the same with all of them. Koala is foam only, others have pocket springs, which will provide better edge support.

    • I see the return policy a reflection of confidence in the product meeting your comfort. For most I think it will work, otherwise these businesses wont exist, Im sure there is a big margin but dont think it woul dbe $100 to make one though.

      • +3

        You would be really surprised what the cost prices are on mattresses at major retailers, so I can imagine the cost to produce them is very low.

        • A friend at works husband used to work at a manufacturer in Perth, cost to make beds for bedshed range from ~$160-400.
          You are correct, huge markups on beds

    • Agree re edge support.

      When I was making my internet matress purchase one provider "ozmatress" was about 2 grand for the top model, not in a box, so plenty of edge support. The mattress weighs a ton, 2 people has trouble sliding it up stairs, let alone lifting it.

      Any companies shipping non-box mattresses online only these days?

      • Sherman do

      • +1

        I bought Ozmattress top of the range mattress in 2017 and it has been great. Just checked and was surprised to know they dont exist anymore.

        • +1

          Yep, sad state of affairs. Perhaps it means we got a really good deal if the business wasn't viable at that price.

          Still loving my grandmaster.

        • +3

          Yeah such a shame. I have the Ozmatress grand master in a king/firm and it is hands down the best mattress I have ever owned. Edge support is amazing, we have had it for 5+ years now and it's still like new.

          I still remember getting that heavy sucker up the stairs though, that was not so fun.

          I wish we could still buy something of similar quality and build. The problem with mattresses is it's a crapshoot and there is no transparency, it's hard to know what your actually buying.

          I don't think it is possible to get a good mattress in a box with sufficient edge support.

    • +2

      The bed-in-box refund policy is an environmental nightmare. If you don't like it, it gets binned.
      At least with a normal mattress shop you try them out and buy the one you want.

      • +1

        Many companies claim to recycle the materials or donate them, though I'm not sure if anyone is policing that. Anecdotally though, I returned one a few years back and it was picked up directly by the Salvos.

        • Its cheaper to donate than to dump most of the time. Don't have to pay the tip to take it.

    • Traditional mattresses have their own inflated costs though. Employing sales reps, having stock on the floor and in the show room all day, way more floor space and storage/warehouse costs, middle-man retailer taking a cut etc. Bed in the box sell direct to you and save on all those costs. So both have their pros and cons. I personally think traditional mattress shops have perfected the craft of ripping you off

      • +1

        At least you get the 20-something hottie who thinks that flirting with you will net them a sale?!

    • Cutting costs on other things like….middlemen, retail costs, simplified logistics, integrated supply chain?

  • I love my thick natural latex mattress (Kymdan brand), it's really comfy and good for my back. I'm not a fan of foam mattress, latex is always my choice. Maybe you should check it out.

    • Is this similar to a tempurpedic mattress?

      • I never have tempurpedic mattress so i really can't tell. But sleeping on a latex one is like sleeping on clouds, it also provides a great support for the back. Latex mattress is highly recommended by doctors in Vietnam.

        • +2

          highly recommended by doctors in Vietnam

          Which means what?

          • @ihbh: back-pain specialists (in Vietnam) recommend to spend extra money to buy Kymdan mattress since it's hard enough to maintain the right posture of the spine and soft enough for a comfy sleep.

          • -1

            @ihbh: not so highly recommended in every other country?

    • Kymdan is very expensive though. I had a look at it a some time back. A queen mattress was probably double the price of sleeping duck. But i heard good things about it.

      • Yeah i agree that it's really expensive, but the good side is it lasts for decades. The kymdans at my parents' house are still going strong after 20 years.

    • Kymdan latex mattress is the best one that I have in my life. I tried too many mattress here and there, nothing can compare to that. They were expensive but we used those for decades, besides, I value my back and my sleep.

  • +16

    I’ve had the following
    - sleeping duck
    - koala
    - aldi
    - one bed
    - ikea

    Hands down the sleeping duck, got three of them now. The others we’re pretty rubbish to be fair but fine for kids

  • +4

    I'm happy to pay the extra for SD provided it is warranted. their new release seem to have just simply jacked up the price with no improvements in comfort. Im not going to pay for fancy words and marketing.

    • My only contribution is to get a mattress that can be slept on both sides.

      That way, when you change your bed sheets every week you can: rotate the bed one way, flip it the next, rotate it again. This means you get to sleep in FOUR different sides each time. That way you put less stress on your sleeping position, be it springs or foam or both, so the entire bed keeps closer to it's factory state (less wear). So you can potentially avoid having to replace mattresses as early. I think the acceptable timeframe is around 4-6 years.

      PS: I'm also looking to change my old mattress.

      • +13

        "you change your bed sheets every week…"

        …oops…

        • Ummm, you don't???

        • +3

          I'd really like to see a poll on this!!!

        • My wife and I had a very heated discussion about this recently…she wants me to change the sheets weekly, insisting it should actually be done more often than that! 🤦‍♂️

          I proposed fortnightly and it didn't go down well.

          Then you have bath towels and so on…

          • +1

            @John Kimble: Thought you might enjoy this as per the suggestion above lol

            https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/597132

          • +3

            @John Kimble: Provided you wash properly, don't bath towels just get wet and dry everyday not dirty as such? That's my reasoning for not washing them super regularly anyway….

            • +3

              @whitelie: Agree.

              She reckons wash towels every few days. Clothes should be worn only once if used in public (especially since covid), a few uses if just around the home.

              She said she grew up with two towels per person one for your face and one for your body), because if you only had one, eventually you would end up wiping your face with a part of the towel you have previously used on your butt and/or genitals, which would be disgusting…🙄

            • @whitelie: Depends how you feel about skin. Dust is mostly skin cells. Whne you dry off you're leaving skin behind in the towel. Its food for bacteria so…. If you leave it too long to change your towel you are breeding stuff on it :)

          • +2

            @John Kimble: Seriously who has time for that???

            • @oO0Dam0Oo:

              Seriously who has time for that???

              Isn't that the wife's job?

              • @endotherm: I do all the washing in my household, she does everything else.

            • @oO0Dam0Oo: As if u hav to wash with your hands.
              You must be keeping dishes unwashed as well..
              Who has time for that as well aye.

          • +1

            @John Kimble: Check out laundry stripping on youtube e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX3J-1AwuWQ You'd be surprised how much dirt comes out of clean washed towels etc. Reminds me of the dirty water extracted from steam cleaning a clean carpet, despite vacuuming regularly. For changing sheets, it depends on how active you are in bed, and how much you sweat, and if you naturally stink, and whether you shower at night versus the morning… I think most people and institutions accept once a week for singles, pushing it out to once a fortnight if you are lucky. Half that for couples. I believe the thinking it is prevents bed bugs from breeding — the more skin cells in your bedding the more it encourages them to breed. A two week old sheet is obviously going to be more attractive to them.

          • @John Kimble: My towel is washed every 3rd use, my bro when he visits is 1 use & thats 1 for the beach & one for the floor (don’t have mats) so needless to say it does vary

      • i am also looking for a new (double) bed, downsizing from queen for one of the rooms

      • We've been using our Ikea (mid-range) mattress for 15years. No turning or flipping and 3 interstate moves later it's still in perfect condition.

        • I (won't) take your word for it

          • @Kangal: You (don't) have to. I sleep at least 8hrs and wake up refreshed with no aches or pains lol.

  • +1

    My work colleague recommended Sleeping Duck mattress to me and said it was the best they ever had. Although I don't know what they had before. I was going to try it at the Richmond showroom but couldn't get there. I went with the traditional mattress from Myer, I tried about 5 models and got the Sleepmaker for around $4K (50% off). I have slept well everyday, but I'm always curious about the Sleeping Duck.

    Please do report back if you bought it after a week or so.

    • thank you, will def post my expereience here if we decide to get it.

  • +6

    We recently bought a SD King mattress (firm) but ended up returning it as my partner had back pain every morning when waking up. Tried switching the foams to extra firm and medium but the result was the same so ended up returning it. But as everyone knows, mattresses are very personal and subjective, so what works for one don't necessarily work for some one else.

    But from my experience here are the pros and cons:

    Pros:
    - 100 nights free trial
    - Customisable firmness
    - Good customer service, very easy to arrange foam swaps or returns
    - Fast delivery

    Cons:
    - We found the foam to have a strong chemical smell, so if you have sensitive nose, then may be you have to look elsewhere.
    - As you rightly said, lots of fake reviews and heavily marketed, take it with a grain of salt.

    • +2

      what about yourself, did you sleep well on it?
      And what did you buy after the SD? Any feedback on what you have now? Thanks

      • Yes, I slept well on the firm but not with extra firm.

        Still going on with the old mattress only which was supposed to be replaced by Sleeping Duck. Currently, looking at buying a Ergoflex 5G memory foam mattress as it is touted to have close to / same density as Tempur mattresses. They are also one of the longest running bed in a box companies here in Australia, so going to give them a go.

        • +1

          currently have an ergoflex

          my old ergoflex seemed to be sagging in the middle, i wrote to them and explained (with a photo). It was a 9.5 year old mattress, i didn't expect them to do much.

          they sent me a brand new one free (though stating I didn't get another 10 year warranty on this one - fair enough)

          so i can +1 ergoflex for comfort and support

          (Before they sent me a new one, I was considering an Ergoflex again, or maybe a Koala/Duck etc. I did really like the Ergoflex and for 9.x years it was great. I was really expecting them to give me 50% off a new one - which I would have done).

  • I own the sleeping duck mattress medium firm. but I am not happy with the mattress for the price. it was good for an year but it started sagging after an year.. and had been uncomfortable and it generates more heat in summer. and helpdesk is not very helpful in resolving the issue.. may be this is the issue with all the spring mattresses. you can check for other latex mattress which are little expensive but I guess they are worth than spring mattress.

    • +5

      latex, memory foam, foam etc mattresses have even more heat issues than a spring mattress

  • +3

    I was tossing up between Sleeping Duck, Sleep Republic and Ecosa. In the end decided on Sleep Republic as the price was good and the features of the mattress was what sold me on it, plus it was on promo with gifted bamboo sheet set.

    Overall, having had the mattress for 4 years now, it is extremely comfy and very happy with the purchase.

    • I did look at Ecosa but looks like Koala and SD are in similar range. However SD and SR looks almost same, I like the price of SR. Thanks I'll lookup SR.

      • Good luck in finding something you like. Everyone is different. Some prefer foam (Koala, Ecosa) or a combination of spring & foam (hybrid, Sleep Rupublic) and different firmness levels etc etc.

        Kinda like shopping for a good quality pillow but obviously a mattress is a bigger investment, both are worth it in the end and considering that we spend a lot of time sleeping… Never again would I get very cheap bad quality mattress, sheets or pillows again.

      • I got an Ecosa mattress 3 years ago and it has served and still continues to serve me well. Pretty satisfied with it. My housemate got a Koala round the same time and it ran into sagging issues and ended up chucking it out for an Ecosa lol

      • +1

        Have you looked at eva mattresses?

        • +1

          have Sleep republic and Eva for the other room. Both are similar but i would say SR has a bit of edge as it seems to hold up better then eva. We can feel eva slightly sagging after 6 months or so.

  • +9

    We got ZZZ Atelier and they're good too, cheaper than Koala and Sleeping Duck from what I recall.

    • I bought 2 king size mattresses from ZZZAtelier too. They're all good and cheap.
      But in summer, it gets really warm and hot. Nice to sleep on it during winter though.

  • We've had our SD for about 5 years or so now and it's just as comfy (more so) as when we first got it. Quality is still good, no frays or tears etc. From memory their service was pretty good as well. Smells a little bit for a day or so but then the smell goes away.

  • +48

    Disclaimer : I work in the traditional mattress industry and we sell a MIB product also

    The SD Mattress company pays for reviews hence the 5 star reviews…. " Leave us a 5 star review and we will refund $25"
    Secondly the foams used in SD (and others including Koala etc) are a very low density foam.

    The biggest pieces of feedback we have gotten from SD (and others) customers who are coming into buy traditional mattresses after sleeping on a SD are as follows (with industry confirmed reasons)

    1) Very hot This is sadly the result of low density foam. The lower the density the hotter you will sleep. Think of it like honeycomb, the more holes in the foam the more places heat can be stored resulting in a much warmer sleep.

    2) Sagging: The foam in SD/Koala etc is Chinese in origin and the chinese foams are not technially a full memory foam (even though they claim otherwise) in order to keep manufacturing costs low they lower the density and this means the memory effect of the foam is weak and as such sagging occurs sooner rather than later.

    3) Loss of Firmness: This is also a side effect of cheap "so called memory foam" the quality simply is not there and they soften very quickly. Which is fine if you want a super soft mattress

    More specifically to SD as they use a spring tech in their mattresses, the reason they can supply spring tech in a boxed mattress is due to the fact the springs are made from a very lightweight but also weak steel (again this is chinese) these kind of springs can bend and flex much easier and allows for compact packing and also light weight mattress overall. The downside of this is that they 1) Do not hold their strength for long resulting in lost support over time, 2) They can become crushed and not springy so to speak and as such do not recover when laid on (sagging side effect) and 3) they can also "spring out" which means you end up with a random spring pressing into you at night when you sleep.

    The SD and others also do not take the springs right to the edge of the mattress, this means you are not getting a full body support that a traditional mattress would offer.

    Putting aside that i work in the industry (i do not sell them directly anymore, as in i am not a salesperson) these kind of mattresses have a place in the market but there is a reason that the mattress in a box return rate is sitting at around 45% and the traditional mattress market is at 1-2% You can get a traditional style mattress with full support for less than or the same price as a mattress in a box

    Also think about this, whats the mark up really like if you are paying for a mattress that has to factor in the act that 4 -5 out of every 10 customers return them and they are not leggally allowed to resell a returned mattress.

    Anyways i hope you find a mattress that you like
    SD and others have a risk free trial which is industry changing.. traditional mattress retailers had to adapt to this change in the industry and its been a big shake up.
    Be interested to hear if you decided to buy a SD and if you did what did you think.

    On a side note
    I owned a Koala Mattress…. was comfy but after 19 months sagged and i was over the heat at night (a matt topper helped with the heat though)

    • +6

      thanks for your reply. I had similar thoughts about the spring quality if it could be that easily malleable, but I'm no expert.

      If all the leading MIBs - SD, SR and Koala etc are mostly selling cheap foam, I'd thought this would've been apparent in the testing carried out by Choice. Surely that is not rigged??

      ' traditional mattress market is at 1-2%' - that's because they dont have such return policy. If you did then the percentage would almost be the same I reckon.

      ' You can get a traditional style mattress with full support for less than or the same price as a mattress in a box' - can you name a few and where we can try them please?

      • Would like to know this as well. When we bought our SD the equivalent shop bought mattresses were around double the price. Also the springs on the SD are below a couple of layers of foam and padding and I don't see how one could 'spring out' and stab anyone? If I could have got a traditional mattress with full support locally for a similar price we would have done so. :)

        • +3

          M102 mattress
          Miracoil support mattress :
          Around $750 (QB)

          Sealy refresh
          Posturepedic support mattress
          Around $$750-$850 depending on firmness (QB)

          plenty around as I said.

          • @jimbobaus: checkout bestmattressforyou.com ~ lots of info

      • +12

        Traditional mattresses do have a similar return policy now that’s why I said the in a box industry changed up the industry.
        Most if not all retailers have 30-60 night sleep guarantees. The conditions might be slightly different but if it doesn’t work for you … you can return or swap it in almost all cases.

        Google the following mattresses
        M102
        Sealy refresh
        Sealy elevate
        Miracoil

        Many others but these ones I can remember off top of my head.

        As for choice.
        This is how it works.
        Choice asks retailer / manufacturer to submit mattress for testing. (Charges fee)
        They choose the best and then charge a massive fee to add the “choice 5 star” label on your product for one year.
        A fee that is daylight robbery.

        Choice is decent for customer / consumer info but since starting to work in an industry that has been held to ransom by choice I have lost a lot of respect for them.

        A lot of the major manufacturers have simply stopped submitting products for testing so it’s not the be all and end all as so many products are not being tested as the manufacturers don’t want to pay the huge fees to be considered.

        The foam is low density as I said and is very weak so yes if a spring gives out it’s not “poking through” but you will feel it

        As I said I see there place in the market but their marketing while effective is imho deceptive at best.

        • Thanks. :)

        • thanks again, I had really bad experience with seal posturepedic and their warranty process. Dont know about the other brands, Miracoil sounds good. I might go into a store to check this. Are there any MIBs that you've seen or known to use good quality foam?

          • +5

            @lknight: Honestly the only “good foam” is tempur foam. It’s super high density but it’s also SUPER expensive.

            As I said if the only issue you face with foam in a box mattresses is heat then you can usually counter it with a good quality mattress topper.

            Free tip: if you get a koala and complain about heat they send you one free as a way to stop you sending it back.

            • @jimbobaus: Beg to differ on the topper assisting re heat.

              Have spent good dollars on toppers.

              Quality bamboo topper - no effective heat reduction.

              Topper with inbuilt cooling gel. Good for the first few hours and then the gel seemed to retain all the heat and the bed simpler got progressively hotter.

              If a topper had worked in reducing my Noa Luxe heat I would have kept the mattress.l

        • DAMN and THANKS

          This into on Choice makes a lot of sense now!

        • Just because Choice charge a fee surely doesn't mean it's rigged? Surely Sleeping Duck winning 3 years in a row must mean something, unless the testing is completely unreliable. Bed in the box seems to repeatedly beat traditional brand mattresses, why is that the case?

          • +1

            @spammingb: I didn’t say it was rigged
            I said it is not a reliable rating as it doesn’t compare with everything available only those willing to pay and submit their products for review.
            It then chooses a winner and charges them a fortune to use the choice award logo

            It’s marketing at its best.

      • SD Mach II (king) $1999

        Sleepmaker Jade (king, tested at sleepy's) $1945 delivered with old bed removal.

    • +2

      Wait a second, wouldn't it be that the higher the density the hotter the foam? As there is less air flow through a denser latex/foam? And that's why there's pin holes through better quality foam (to let air in)?

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