Birch vs. Birch Luxe – 41 Data Points Compared

In This Comparison
Performance Tests | Firmness | Support & Sleeping Positions | Design | Materials

At NapLab, we put each mattress to the test.

We test 9 different factors that impact the comfort and feel of the mattress. Testing categories include:

Test	Birch	Birch Luxe
Cooling	Better	Good
Sinkage	Moderate	Moderate
Motion Transfer	Low	Low
Response Time	Fast	Fast
Bounce	High	High
Edge Support	Good	Better
Sex	Good	Good
Pressure Relief	Good	Good
Off-Gassing	Minimal	Strong

I think a lot of this has to do with the plush quilted cover on the Luxe. It’s going to retain more heat than the thinner cover on the standard Birch.

Both mattresses have good heat dissipation, the Luxe decreasing a bit more than the regular. However, the Luxe had more gain in the first place, so it was expected that it would have a steeper decline.

The level of sinkage for each mattress is documented in the images below.

We see ~0.5″ more sinkage on the Birch Luxe than the regular Birch. Again, we have the quilted cover to thank here. The three-layer cover has a softer feel and allows for deeper sinkage.

Sinkage	Birch	Birch Luxe
Overall	Moderate	Moderate
Max. Sinkage	2.01″	2.58″

Also, firmness plays a factor in sinkage. The Birch is a firmer mattress, 7 out of 10, while the Birch Luxe is less firm, 6 out of 10, where 10 is the most firm.

Response time is how quickly the surface was able to return to its original position after removing a weight from it.

Response Time	Birch	Birch Luxe
Overall Score	10	10
Mostly Recovered	0.2	0.5
Complete Recovery	0.3	1.0

Between the Birch and the Birch Luxe, they both have a pretty fast response time. But that being said, even though both response times were less than 1 second, the Birch was faster.

You can view the results for yourself in the videos below.

Birch Response

Birch Luxe Response

The Birch was mostly recovered by 0.2 seconds, over 50% faster than the Birch Luxe. And it was completely recovered by 0.3 seconds, 70% faster than the Birch Luxe.

Bounce levels were also nearly identical between Birch and Birch Luxe. Both mattresses have latex foam and pocketed coils, creating a springy surface.

Bounce	Birch	Birch Luxe
Max Depth	5.62″	5.85″
Max Rebound	9.29″	9.29″
Bounce Range	14.91″	15.14″

These levels are some of the highest levels of bounce that we’ve tested to date, only out-bounced by the Helix Moodnight and Purple Hybrid mattresses.

The level of bounce is documented in the videos below.

Birch Bounce

Birch Luxe Bounce

If you’re looking for a mattress with less bounce, I would suggest looking outside of the Birch line, as both of these mattresses generated high levels of bounce.

That being said, as we said in the motion transfer test. A high level of bounce does not always translate to high levels of motion transfer.

Edge support is determined by the max sinkage when in a seated position at the edge of the mattress as well as a subjective assessment of edge support when lying down on the edge of the mattress.

The table below details the edge support of Birch vs. Birch Luxe.

Sinkage	Birch	Birch Luxe
Max Sinkage	4.5″	3.5″
Lying Support	Very Good	Excellent

The level of edge support when in a seated position is documented in the images below.

As you can see, the regular Birch compresses down just a bit more than the Birch Luxe. This was a little bit surprising, considering the overall sinkage depth of these mattresses.

Remember, the Birch Luxe has ~0.5″ more sinkage in the middle of the mattress.

Even so, pictures don’t lie and you can see the deeper compression on the standard Birch mattress at the knee sinking just a bit deeper than it does on the Luxe.

For comparison, here is how edge support looks when lying down at the edge.

When lying directly at the edge, you’re going to geep more compression and contour from the regular Birch than you are on the Birch Luxe.

Even so, both mattresses feel supportive and I never felt like I was going to roll out of bed when lying directly on the edge of the mattress.

Let’s talk about how sex—Birch vs. Birch Luxe, which one is better?

The answer is basically a tie.

To calculate this section, we look to our standard sex formula. This formula combines 5 different factors that we believe are critical to good sex performance.

Factors include bounce, edge support, noise, pressure relief, and cooling.

Here’s how the numbers break down:

Sex Score Formula = (Bounce * 0.6) + (Edge Support * 0.2) + (Noise * 0.1) + (Pressure Relief * 0.05) + (Cooling * 0.05)

We use the following scores, plugged into the formula, to derive a unique sex score for each mattress.

Sex Factor	Weight	Birch	Birch Luxe
Bounce	60%	10	10
Edge Support	20%	9.3	9.8
Noise	10%	9.0	9.0
Pressure Relief	5%	9.5	9.5
Cooling	5%	10	9.5
SCORE		9.7	9.8

Both the Birch and Birch Luxe have ideal levels of bounce—high and active. Noise, pressure relief, and cooling are all good as well.

The biggest tie-breaker between these two mattresses is edge support.

The Luxe is just better, when lying and seated, which gives it a better score in this category.

That performance bumps the overall score up giving the Birch Luxe a slight edge over the standard Birch.

Both of these mattresses have good pressure relief, but the Birch Luxe is the winner here—offering 0.5″ more material in the comfort layer.

Pressure Relief	Birch	Birch Luxe
Comfort Layer	3.0″	3.5″
Comfort Layer Ratio	27%	30%

The quilted cover gives the Luxe the edge over the Birch as it improves pressure relief slightly.

That being said, both mattresses are suitable options for a wide range of sleeper weights and all sleeping positions.

Off-gassing between these two mattresses was a lot different than I expected. In general, natural mattresses have less off-gassing time than other mattresses.

Off-Gassing	Birch	Birch Luxe
Initial Smell	Minimal	Strong
Off-Gassing Period	0 days	10 days

In the case of the Birch, we found the off-gassing to be minimal and the smell dissipated quickly.

But with the Birch Luxe, the smell was strong, and honestly, it lasted a lot longer than I expected it to. It took nearly 10 days before the odor was gone.

The Birch Luxe didn’t really have a chemical odor like you would get with a man-made mattress (like memory foam), but there was definitely still a strong smell.

This is perhaps a by-product of the Pulse latex which is used on the Luxe and the not the standard Birch.

This is the first Pulse latex mattress we’ve tested, so we don’t have a great sense of how strong the smell is typically. Regardless, we found the smell on the Birch Luxe to be strong.

If you have an extra room and several days, it would be ideal to let it air out before using it.

The Birch and the Birch Luxe are both manufactured by Helix Sleep, so they have the exact same company policies. They offer a 100-night trial period, a 25-year warranty, and free shipping / returns.

Company	Birch by Helix	Birch Luxe by Helix
Trial Period	100 nights	100 nights
Warranty	25 years	25 years
Shipping	Free	Free
Returns	Free	Free
Country of Origin	USA	USA

Both of these mattresses do have a 30-night “break-in period”, which is not uncommon for this market. This period is basically the first 30 days when you have the new mattress.

Within this time frame, you cannot initiate a return, giving your body a chance to adjust to the new mattress.

The Birch comes in around a 7 out of 10 on the firmness scale and the Birch Luxe is a touch softer, around a 6 out of 10, where 10 is the most firm.

As I’ve mentioned above, the quilted cover on the Luxe is a real contributing factor to getting the softer feel, compared to the regular Birch.

Despite the difference in firmness, you will find that both the Birch and the Birch Luxe are suitable options for a wide range of sleepers.

The combination of pocketed coils and latex foam is supportive of many weights and sizes.

Is the Birch Right For You?

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleepers	Side Sleepers	Back Sleepers
Under 150 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
150-250 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
250-300 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes

Is the Birch Luxe Right For You?

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleepers	Side Sleepers	Back Sleepers
Under 150 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
150-250 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
250-300 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes

Design

We’ve mentioned that both of these Birch mattresses are hybrids, but let’s dive into some of the other similarities and differences between these two models.

Design	Birch	Birch Luxe
Type	Hybrid	Hybrid
Thickness	11″	11.5″
Firmness	7 out of 10	6 out of 10

Materials

While the core of the Birch and the Birch Luxe is similar, it’s the top 1/3 that really makes the difference.

Check out the layered comparison of the Birch vs. Birch Luxe below.

The cover on the regular Birch is thinner and simpler, basically just an organic cotton cover with wool liner.

The cover on the Birch Luxe is plush, made of organic cotton, with a woven finish, and a natural rayon fiber fire-retardant. Older versions of the Luxe used to also contain cashmere in this layer, but that was removed in early 2024.

Beyond the cover, both of these mattresses are similar, with two differences.

Similarities: They both have a 2.0″ layer of perforated natural latex followed by 8.0″ of pocketed coils and a wool base.

Difference #1 – Type of Latex: The regular Birch uses a perforated Talalay latex and the Birch Luxe uses Pulse latex.

That being said, as of November 2021, Helix was in the process of redesigning the Birch Luxe to also use Talalay latex like the standard Birch in response to supply chain issues and lack of availability of the Pulse latex.

Difference #2 – Number of Coils: Below the latex is 8.0″ of pocketed coils, but the Luxe has nearly twice as many coils and they are located closer together.

• Queen Birch: ~750 coils
• Queen Birch Luxe: ~1130 coils

A higher number of coils means less pressure applied to each coil and better pressure relief for the sleeper.

Which Mattress Should You Buy?

Still not sure which mattress is best for you? Check out our quick summary below of which mattress may be best for you—Birch vs. Birch Luxe.

Should You Buy the Birch?

I would recommend the Birch if you’re looking for:

• Lower price. The Birch Luxe is essentially twice the cost of the regular Birch. While most of the mattress properties are similar, if you don’t need the enahncements, I’d recommend opting for the regular Birch. It’s an easy way to save a few bucks, while still getting a great natural mattress.
• A firmer feel. The regular Birch has a firmer feel than the Birch Luxe, a 7 out of 10 for the regular compared to a 6 out of 10 for the Luxe. It also has 0.5″ of less mid-point sinkage.
• Less off-gassing. If you’re hyper-sensitive to strong odors, I may recommend the standard Birch. The odor on the Birch Luxe was much stronger for whatever reason, but may be an issue if you really want an odor-free unboxing.

Click here to learn more or to check the price on Birch.

Should You Buy the Birch Luxe?

• Better edge support. From our tests, we concluded that the edge support on the Luxe is better than the regular Birch. With the same amount of body weight applied, the Luxe only sank 3.5″ at the edge, while the regular Birch sank 4.5″. That is 22% more sinkage on the Birch than the Birch Luxe.
• Softer feel, better for side sleepers. The Birch Luxe has a more luxurious feel, as the name suggests. It has an extra 0.5″ of comfort material and the inclusion of the quilted cover is a really nice touch. Especially if you’re a side sleeper, this softer, plush feel, could easily be worth the extra costs.
• Better pressure relief. The Birch Luxe has nearly twice as many coils as the standard Birch. A higher coil count means that they are packed closer together and less pressure is applied to each coil. In turn, this means better pressure relief, especially for high-impact areas like the hips, shoulders, and spine.

Click here to learn more or to check the price on Birch Luxe.

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