GhostBed Flex Review

In This Review
Performance Tests | Firmness | Support & Sleeping Positions | Design | Materials | Comparisons | FAQs

At NapLab, we put each mattress to the test.

We test 10 different factors that impact the performance, comfort, and value of the mattress. We then take the results of that test and compare to every mattress we’ve tested to date.

Check out the full performance table below to see how this mattress ranks:

Factor	Ghostbed Flex	Average
Overall Score	9.15	8.57
Price (Queen)	$998	$1,335 (Hybrid only)
Cooling – Score	9.0	8.7
Sinkage – Depth	2.15″	2.15″
Sinkage – Feel	Moderate	Moderate
Motion Transfer – Score	9.7	8.2
Motion Transfer – Acceleration	5.61 m/s²	8.78 m/s²
Response Time – Score	8.7	8.9
Response Time – Mostly Recovered	0.4 sec.	0.4 sec.
Response Time – Fully Recovered	0.8 sec.	0.9 sec.
Bounce – Height	10.65″	9.51″
Bounce – Feel	High	Moderate
Edge Support – Score	9.4	8.6
Edge Support – Sitting	3.25″	4.03″
Edge Support – Lying	Excellent	Good
Sex – Score	9.2	8.5
Pressure Relief – Score	9.0	8.7
Comfort Layer Thickness	2.0″	4.1″
Mattress Thickness	11.5″	12.0″
Off-Gassing – Score	8.9	8.1
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	4 days	7 days
Company – Score	9.2	8.7
Trial	101 nights	178 nights
Warranty	25 years	25% have lifetime warranties, average of other 75% of mattresses is 13 years

How is GhostBed Flex Different?

The GhostBed Flex hybrid has above-average performance as well as an above-average price tag—25% higher than the average hybrid mattress.

Advantages

Specific advantages for the Flex include better cooling performance, lower than average motion transfer levels, better edge support, and slightly better sex performance as well. The sex score is largely thanks to the higher bounce levels on the Flex.

Neutral Factors

Sinkage is about average and bounce levels are 10% higher than average. Sinkage and bounce tend to be more preferential than anything else, but certainly factors worth considering.

Disadvantages

The only disadvantages to the Flex could be the higher-than-average price or the thinner comfort layer. On average, we see 4.2″ of comfort material, but the Flex only has 2.0″ + a quilted cover. Still, I am hard-pressed to hit the Flex too hard since this mattress retains above-average pressure relief with a score of 9.5.

The Ghostbed Flex has excellent cooling. During our tests, I did not feel any significant level of heat retention around my body.

• Baseline Temperature – the temperature of the mattress before anyone lies on it
• Maximum Temperature (0 minute) – the temperature of the mattress after lying on it for 15 minutes
• Ending Temperature (5 minute) – the temperature of the mattress after being lied upon and having no one on it for 5 minutes

Having only 2.0” of foam comfort material on top of the mattress means there is physically less material that could absorb heat. Most mattresses we’ve tested have at least 3.0” of foam material on top, with many having 4.0” and more.

While having less foam comfort material can negatively impact comfort, firmness, and pressure relief, from a strictly cooling perspective it’s a positive (we’ll discuss the other factors later).

Below the foam comfort layer, we have an 8.5” layer of pocketed coils.

A thick layer of support coils means we have plenty of airflow, which helps further cool the top comfort layers. The foundational layer is a 1.0” of support foam. However, it’s so far away from a sleeper body that it is a non-issue.

In our objective temperature tests, we measured a max surface level temperature of 85.7° F. This is 4.0° less than the average of 89.7° F, based on all of our tests to date.

Heat Dissipation Over Time

When we consider the combination of objective data, my subjective experiences, and an analysis of the materials, I’m confident in my view that cooling is excellent.

The Ghostbed Flex has moderate sinkage. During our tests, we measured a pressure point sinkage depth of 2.15″. This is equal to the average sinkage depth of 2.15″, based on all of our tests to date.

The Ghostbed Flex, while having fairly typical sinkage, still feels a little more restrained in the way it contours to sleeper bodies. With only 2.0” of comfort material, there isn’t much between sleepers and the pocketed coils.

As a result, the contour and hug around sleepers just isn’t very dramatic.

For sleepers who really like the way memory foam wraps the body, this means the Ghostbed Flex probably isn’t the right choice (you should check out the Ghostbed Luxe, Loom & Leaf, and Amerisleep AS3).

However, the relatively restrained contour makes it a better choice for sleepers looking to make the switch from more traditional mattresses or otherwise those who want a more balanced hug around the body.

The Ghostbed Flex has a very low level of motion transfer. During our tests, we measured a total acceleration range of 5.61 m/s². This is 36% less motion transfer than the average of 8.79 m/s².

In our motion transfer chart, which visualizes our accelerometer data, we can see the highest motion peaks from 0 to 0.23 seconds.

By 1.02 seconds we’ve returned to near-zero levels of energy. The Ghostbed Flex mattress does a nice job at keeping motion peaks relatively low, and also dissipating motion quickly. As far as hybrid mattresses go, it’s definitely better than most mattresses we’ve tested to date. 

The Ghostbed Flex has a fast response time. In our tests, we measured a mostly recovered response time of 0.4 seconds and a fully recovered response time of 0.8 seconds.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

In both cases, it’s about 0.2 seconds faster than the average response time across all mattresses we’ve tested to date.

On average, we see a mostly recovered response time of 0.58 seconds and a fully recovered time of 0.94 seconds.

While the memory foam on the top layer of the Ghostbed Flex clearly is the slowest responding material, the latex-like poly foam and pocketed coils instantly spring back to their original position.

Together, they are still a bit slower than the average. However, for most sleepers, a response time of 0.4 seconds will be plenty fast enough that it’s a non-issue.

The Ghostbed Flex has a high level of bounce. During our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 10.65″. This is 1.14″ more bounce than the average of 9.51″, based on all of our tests to date. Ideally, I want to see 8-12″ of total bounce height.

The level of bounce is documented in the video below.

Honestly, I’m a little surprised the bounce isn’t more than it is. With only 2.0” of comfort material on top there just isn’t much to restrain the pocketed coils from really rebounding more significantly.

However, those foam layers do seem to absorb a great deal of the total energy. So while the total bounce height is more than the average, it’s still very much within what we could call moderate to moderate-high bounce.

Edge support on the Ghostbed Flex mattress is excellent. In our sitting edge support tests, we measured an edge compression of just 3.25”.

This is significantly better than the average sinkage while sitting, which is 4.03”, so 3.25” is truly fantastic.

The level of edge support while seated is documented in the images below.

Lying edge support was equally as impressive. In our lying edge tests, I felt fully supported even while lying on the absolute edge of the mattress.

There was zero sensation of collapse, rolling off of the mattress, or otherwise feeling unsupported. 

The level of edge support while lying is documented in the images below.

Sex performance for the GhostBed Flex is excellent. One of the biggest factors that the Flex has working for it is bounce. Bounce is exceptionally high and while this may not be great for everyone’s sleeping preference, it is typically fantastic for sex.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	65%	9.1	Very High
Edge Support	20%	9.7	Excellent
Noise	5%	8.0	Moderate
Pressure Relief	5%	9.0	Excellent
Cooling	5%	9.0	Excellent

In addition, the edge support is fantastic, with only 3.25″ of sinkage directly on the edge. Being a hybrid, there was a bit of noise from the GhostBed Flex—nothing too extreme, but noisier than what you’d get with most 100% foam mattresses.

Pressure relief and cooling were also really great on the Flex. This mattress is supportive and comfortable for both sleeping and sexual activity.

Pressure relief on the Ghostbed Flex mattress was excellent. The mattress has a balanced combination of sinkage, contour, and response time, which work together to create pressure relief.

Sinkage is a little less than the average, but works to help keep sleepers a little more on top of the mattress as opposed to sinking deeply.

This allows the memory foam to do what it does best, create a dramatic contour around the body.

However, since sleepers aren’t sinking excessively, it avoids potential heat retention issues and issues with feeling stuck on the mattress.

Lastly, the response time, which is slower than the average, could have been more of a detriment to pressure relief.

However, the restrained sinkage and contour make it less of an impact. Overall, these factors work together to create fantastic pressure relief on the Ghostbed Flex.

The Ghostbed Flex mattress has a strong off-gassing odor. After unboxing the mattress, it took 4 days before the smell had mostly gone away.

Comparing all mattresses tested to date, the average off-gassing period is 7 days, so the Ghostbed is 3 days faster.

GhostBed was first launched in 2015 and has generally favorable terms and conditions. It comes with a 101-night trial period, which is shorter than average, but should be long enough to decide if you like the mattress or not. It also comes with a 25-year warranty.

Shipping is free and returns are free as well (limited to one per household).

Returns do need to follow the 30-night break-in rules. Within the first 30 days of owning the GhostBed Flex, you cannot initiate a return request. This policy is in effect to give your body time to get used to the new mattress.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Trial Period	15%	8.0	101 nights
Warranty	10%	10	25 years
Shipping	5%	10	$0
Returns	20%	10	$0
Trust	50%	9.0	Excellent
Country of Origin	0%		USA

Comparing all mattresses tested to date, this average trial is 178 nights and the average warranty is 13 years (excluding 25% of mattresses that offer a lifetime warranty).

The GhostBed Flex mattress is around a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale, giving the mattress a medium-firm feel.

Support on the Ghostbed Flex was fantastic. During all of our tests, I felt well-supported in all sleeping positions, both with and without my weighted vest (140 lbs vs. 200 lbs).

You can use the table below to help decide if the GhostBed Flex may be a good choice for your personal weight.

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

The mattress has equally good support at the edges as it does in the middle. The strong support gives me confidence that the Ghostbed Flex could support sleepers up to 400 pounds.

If you’re heavier than that, you probably want to look at the Winkbed Plus, Helix Plus, or Titan Hybrid Luxe mattresses. 

Design

Moving right along, let’s talk about the design and materials of the GhostBed Flex. The GhostBed Flex is a classic hybrid mattress meaning that it uses a combination of foam and coils.

Materials

The GhostBed Flex is a hybrid mattress, as mentioned above, which uses 5 layers of foam and coils.

Here is a complete list of the layers that make up the Flex:

• 1.5″ quilted cover
• 1.0″ gel memory foam
• 1.0″ latex-like poly foam
• 8.5″ pocketed coils
• 1.0″ support foam

The Cover

The cover on the Flex is pretty plush with a quilted design that is soft and provides good hug. There is 1.5″ thickness of cooling fiber woven directly into the cover which helps to improve airflow and limit heat retention.

The Comfort Layer

Beyond the 1.5″ cover, there are 2.0″ of comfort materials below. For the sake of comfort, we’re including the thickness of the cover in the comfort materials, but below we’re just going to talk about the two layers of foam that sit below the cover.

First, there is a 1.0″ layer of gel memory foam and below that is a 1.0″ layer of latex-like poly foam.

The memory foam has more hug and a slower response time, but the gel does help limit heat retention (something that memory foam sometimes struggles with).

When memory foam is coupled with poly foam, the poly foam helps to balance out the memory foam, oftentimes providing a more responsive sleeping surface.

The Support Layer

The bulk of the support layer is made up of the 8.5″ layer of pocketed coils. These coils are individually pocketed, which means that they can move all at once or one at a time, depending on what kind of pressure is put on the coils.

Below the coils is a simple 1.0″ layer of high-density support foam. The purpose of this foam is essentially to contain the layers of the mattress and provide some pushback to the coils above.

Product Evolution

GhostBed originally launched in 2015 with the introduction of a single mattress—the GhostBed Classic. Since its inception, GhostBed has added a handful of other mattresses including the Luxe, Flex, and 3D Matrix.

These three other GhostBed models were introduced at various times and designed to meet the needs of other sleepers who the Classic GhostBed was not capturing.

The Ghostbed Flex and GhostBed Luxe launched in late 2017. Since the Ghostbed Flex launched there have not been any significant changes to the material construction or design of the mattress.

Compare GhostBed Mattresses

GhostBed makes four different models of their mattress—the Classic, the Luxe, the Flex, and the 3D Matrix. Here is a quick rundown of what makes each mattress different.

• GhostBed Classic: Best for Budgets
• GhostBed Luxe: Best for Cooling
• GhostBed Flex: Luxury Hybrid
• GhostBed 3D Matrix: Patented 3D Polymer Layer

Other Mattresses to Consider

Still not 100% sure if the GhostBed Flex is the best mattress for you? Here are three other options that you may want to consider. All mattresses listed below had solid performance scores during our in-house testing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? We’ve compiled a list of some of the most frequently asked questions about the GhostBed below.