Helix Moonlight Review

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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 feel of the mattress. We then take the results of those tests and compare them to every mattress we’ve tested to date.

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

Factor	Helix Moonlight	Average
Overall Score	8.87	8.55
Price (Queen)	$1,099	$1,538 (Hybrid only)
Cooling – Score	9.0	8.6
Sinkage – Depth	2.50″	2.20″
Sinkage – Feel	Deep	Moderate
Motion Transfer – Score	7.5	8.2
Motion Transfer – Acceleration	10.61 m/s²	8.80 m/s²
Response Time – Score	9.8	8.8
Response Time – Mostly Recovered	0.2 sec.	0.4 sec.
Response Time – Fully Recovered	0.5 sec.	1.0 sec.
Bounce – Height	9.40″	8.95″
Bounce – Feel	Moderate	Moderate
Edge Support – Score	9.2	8.7
Edge Support – Sitting	3.50″	3.95″
Edge Support – Lying	Excellent	Excellent
Sex – Score	8.7	8.3
Pressure Relief – Score	9.0	8.6
Comfort Layer Thickness	4.0″	4.3″
Mattress Thickness	12″	12.2″
Off-Gassing – Score	8.6	8.1
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	5 days	7 days
Company – Score	9.4	8.8
Trial	100 nights	169 nights
Warranty	Lifetime	40% have lifetime warranties, average of other 60% of mattresses is 13 years

How is Helix Moonlight Different?

The Helix Moonlight is a 12″ hybrid mattress with an overall performance level that is better than average, with a price tag that is lower than the average hybrid, a savings of $439 compared to the average hybrid.

Advantages

Advantages include better cooling performance, faster material responsiveness, better edge support, and better sex performance than the average mattress as well.

Pressure relief scored above-average in our tests and the mattress has faster off-gassing than average as well (2 days faster than average).

Neutral Factors

This mattress has deep sinkage and moderate levels of bounce. These factors are considered “neutral” since different sleepers will have different preferences in this area.

Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage of the Helix Moonlight is going to be the higher levels of motion transfer, 20% more motion than the average mattress. If you have a partner and are easily disturbed, this factor may be more important.

Additionally, the Moonlight has only a 100-night trial period, 69 nights shorter than the average trial period.

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

The mattress has a proven hybrid design. The layer of pocketed coils brings plenty of air into the mattress. It’s also a layer that simply isn’t going to absorb or retain heat.

In addition, we have high-quality foams in the comfort layer that seem to be doing an excellent job at avoiding heat retention and remaining highly breathable. Notably, the Moonlight is available with an optional cooling cover upgrade. Our version of the mattress was not equipped with the cooling cover.

• 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

Based on our tests of other Helix core models with the cooling cover I expect the cooling would have earned a 10/10 cooling score, had it been equipped with said cover.

In our objective temperature tests, we measured a max surface level temperature of 88.8° F. This is 1.1° less than the average of 89.9° F, based on all of our tests to date.

After getting off the mattress, the temperature declined by 5.0 degrees from minutes 0 to 1, which is 0.2 degrees cooler than the average 0 to 1 minute decline of 4.8 degrees.

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 Helix Moonlight has deep sinkage. During our tests, we measured a pressure point sinkage depth of 2.50″. This is 0.29″ more sinkage than the average sinkage depth of 2.21″, based on all of our tests to date.

The level of sinkage is documented in the image below.

The mattress creates a balanced body contouring hug. While there is a deeper level of sinkage, the sinkage depth isn’t overly dramatic or exacting, as it can be with many softer mattresses, especially memory foam mattresses.

The Moonlight uses a mix of memory foam, poly foam, and a quilted cover to create a less polarizing and more even type of a feel.

The Helix Moonlight has a moderate level of motion transfer. During our tests, we measured a total acceleration range of 10.61 m/s². This is 21% more motion transfer than the average of 8.80 m/s².

In many cases, soft mattresses will have more motion transfer due to the increased sinkage depth they create and that’s exactly what we measured here.

The softer feel allows the body to sink deeper, which means you make greater contact with the coil unit. This coil unit delivers more bounce, which also creates more motion transfer.

The level of motion transfer is also documented in the video below.

In our motion transfer chart, which visualizes our accelerometer data, we can see the highest motion peaks from 0 to 0.2 seconds.

Motion declines notably thereafter, but we do still have a moderate secondary acceleration spike from 0.50 to 0.60 seconds.

Ultimately, it’s not until 1.24 seconds that we return to near-zero motion levels, which is notably longer than the average duration of 0.88 seconds.

When we look at the complete picture, we see both higher motion transfer, longer motion transfer, and a secondary motion spike. While this level of motion transfer isn’t terrible, it’s also far from amazing.

The Helix Moonlight is a mixed bag for material responsiveness, with an extremely fast mostly recovered response time and a very fast fully recovered response time.

In our mostly recovered test, we measured a recovery speed of 0.2 seconds, which is 0.2 seconds faster than the average of 0.4 seconds, based on all of our tests to date.

In our fully recovered responsiveness test, we measured a recovery speed of 0.5 seconds, which is 0.49 seconds faster than the average of 0.99 seconds.

This material recovery speed is not the fastest we’ve tested, but it’s quite close. Moreover, it’s especially impressive to see a soft mattress this fast.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

Typically, softer mattresses will have a notably slower material recovery, as the greater sinkage depth that usually accompanies softer mattresses means there is simply more compression to recover from.

All that to say, the responsiveness and material recovery is incredibly quick, making ease of movement excellent and avoiding any type of a stuck feeling.

The Helix Moonlight has a moderate level of bounce. During our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 9.40″. This is 0.45″ more bounce than the average of 8.95″, based on all of our tests to date.

The higher level of bounce can be in part attributed to the limited use of memory foam. This mattress is mostly poly foam and pocketed coils, both of which create a higher level of bounce.

The level of bounce is also documented in the video below.

These design choices, combined with the deeper sinkage that allows sleepers to come into closer relative contact with the pocketed coil unit, which further helps increase bounce.

The higher-than-average level of bounce means that ease of movement is a non-issue and sex performance is solid. However, it also means motion transfer is slightly worse.

The Helix Moonlight has excellent sitting edge support and excellent lying edge support. In our sitting edge support test, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 3.50″. This is 0.45″ less sitting sinkage than the average of 3.95″, based on all of our tests to date.

While lying directly on the edge of the mattress, I felt that the support was excellent in all sleeping positions.

The Moonlight mattress is equipped with reinforced support coils along the left and right sides of the mattress. These firmer coils are absolutely helping to improve edge support while lying and sitting.

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

Notably, there are no reinforced edge coils along the head and foot of the mattress. The choice to exclude these is most likely aimed at decreasing the price of the mattress.

If full perimeter edge support coils are important, I would recommend the upgrade to the Moonlight Luxe mattress.

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

Beyond the edge support coils, we have high-quality materials, foams, and coils at every level, which are helping to create a more robust total support dynamic. Overall, edge support is excellent.

The Helix Moonlight has good sex performance. The Moonlight mattress is one with no significant weak performance areas when it comes to sex. Noise is minimal, and cooling, pressure relief, and edge support are all excellent.

With 3.50” of sitting edge support the edge is surprisingly supportive, especially for a soft mattress.

The supportive edge helps to make the edge a functional and usable part of the mattress for amorous activities. Last but not least, we have a bounce, which we measured at 9.40”.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	65%	8.4	High
Edge Support	20%	9.4	Excellent
Noise	5%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	9.0	Excellent
Cooling	5%	9.0	Excellent

This is notably higher than the average. More bounce is almost always better for sex, as it helps make amorous activities less strenuous. Overall, sex performance on the Moonlight mattress is good.

The Helix Moonlight has an excellent level of pressure relief. During our tests, I felt no notable pressure points on my body.

The mattress is equipped with 4.0″ of comfort material, which is 0.26″ less comfort material than the average comfort layer thickness of 4.26″, based on all of our tests to date.

The mattress creates plenty of sinkage, hug, and contour, without being overly enveloping or excessively dramatic around the body. Foams range from 1.8 to 2.5 PCF.

PCF is a measure of density and stands for pounds per cubic feet. Ideally, I want to see at least one comfort layer in the 3-4 PCF range.

Higher density foams are more durable, sag less, and are typically more comfortable. All that to say, these aren’t the absolute highest or best quality foams we’ve tested, but given the price point, they are a more than reasonable and good level of quality that I would expect.

If you do want higher density foams, the Moonlight Luxe and Moonlight Elite offer substantial improvements in foam quality and quantity, which will lead to better performance and better longevity.

Pressure Map – Side Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Side Sleepers	0.12	0.64

Pressure Map – Back Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Back Sleepers	0.06	0.43

Pressure Map – Stomach Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Stomach Sleepers	0.08	0.79

Moving on, the softer feel makes this pressure relief dynamic mostly ideal for side sleepers and less so for back and stomach sleepers.

Deeper sinkage can simply be too much for many back and stomach sleepers, but for side sleepers, it allows the body to create a more neutral spinal alignment.

In our pressure mapping tests, we measured a max PSI of 0.79. Ideally, I want to see PSI within 1.0, and we see that here.

When I consider our objective pressure mapping tests, material thickness, material quality, and my subjective experience on the mattress, I’m confident most sleepers will find the pressure relief to be excellent.

The Helix Moonlight had a strong smell upon the initial unboxing. The mattress smelled for 5 days. This is 1.8 days shorter than the average smell duration of 6.8 days.

Helix mattresses come with a 100-night trial period and a lifetime warranty. Shipping and returns are both free.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Returns	40%	10	$0
Trial Period	30%	8.0	100 nights
Warranty	20%	10	Lifetime
Shipping	10%	10	$0
Country of Origin	0%		USA

Comparing 102+ brands tested to date, the average trial period is 169 nights, 69 nights more than Helix offers. Helix also offers a lifetime warranty, an advantage only offered by 40% of all mattresses we’ve tested.

The Helix Moonlight is available in a single firmness, 4 out of 10, which gives the mattress a soft feel.

This firmness would be suitable for lighter-weighted sleepers or those who like more sinkage and engagement within the comfort layer of a mattress.

When it comes to support, firmness plays a critical role and the Helix Moonlight has a soft feel. The soft feel makes this mattress best suited for side sleepers and not as good for most back and stomach sleepers.

This mattress does not use zoned foam or zoned coils, meaning it creates a consistent firmness from head to foot. However, the mattress is equipped with reinforced edge support coils along the left and right sides of the mattress, which extends the supportive sleeping area on the mattress.

Check out the table below to see the sleeper weights and sleeping positions that would be best suited for this mattress.

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleeper	Side Sleeper	Back Sleeper
Under 150 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
150-250 lbs.	Maybe	Yes	Maybe
250-300 lbs.	No	Yes	No

Based on all of my tests to date, an analysis of the materials, and my subjective experiences, I’m confident that most side sleepers will find support on the Helix Moonlight to be excellent.

Design

The Helix Moonlight is a 12″ hybrid mattress that comes in a single firmness option—Soft. This mattress is a part of Helix’s standard Core Collection.

There are three main collections within the Helix lineup. There is the Core Collection, the Luxe Collection, and the Elite Collection. There is also a Helix Plus mattress for heavier-weighted sleepers (which has a Core, Luxe, and Elite version within it).

Materials

The Helix Moonlight is 12″ thick and contains a combination of different foam types with a pocketed coil support base. From top to bottom, here is a full list of the materials used in this mattress:

• 1.25” cover
• 1.00” poly foam
• 1.00” poly foam
• 0.75” poly foam
• 8.00” pocketed coils

The table below shows a more detailed look at the exact specifications of the materials used in the Midnight, according to the manufacturer.

Thickness	Layer Type	Density
0.75″	Gel Memory Foam	1.8 PCF
1.0″	Poly Foam	2.5 PCF
0.75″	Poly Foam	1.8 PCF
0.75″	Poly Foam	1.5 PCF
8.0″	Pocketed Coils	N/A
0.25″	Support Foam	N/A

The Cover

The Helix Moonlight has a thin quilted cover. It is breathable and has a simple design. This mattress also has the option to upgrade to a cooling cover, called the “GlacioTex Cooling Pillow Top” on Helix’s website.

This upgraded cover does increase cooling performance, as we’ve seen across our tests, but it also adds extra cost. The cooling cover has a pillow top design and adds an additional $299 to the total price.

For reference, the Helix Moonlight we tested had the standard cover and earned a cooling score of 9/10.

Other Helix mattresses that we’ve tested with the GlacioTex cooling cover (ie: Helix Midnight Luxe) earned a cooling score of 10/10 with the advanced cover.

The Comfort Layer

The comfort layer is 4.0″ thick and made of three layers of foam. Beneath the quilted cover, there are two 1.0″ poly foam layers (green and gray). Directly below the gray poly foam is yet a third poly foam layer, a 0.75″ poly foam (green).

All three of these layers work together to give the mattress a soft, yet supportive feel.

Helix also offers an optional support layer that you can add, the ErgoAlign support layer. This layer is designed to support spinal alignment, especially along the midsection.

This layer sits directly below the cover and is designed as a supportive foam that helps to reinforce support along the mid-section, thereby allowing less sinkage in the middle of the mattress.

I will say, this layer is quite firm and will not be right for all sleepers. We’ve already heard from some of our readers / viewers who purchased this optional foam upgrade that it made their mattress way too firm, creating an uncomfortable support dynamic.

However, if you really struggle with discomfort caused by too much sinkage in the middle of your mattress then adding this layer can help. This optional layer costs an additional $199 and is available in the Core and Luxe models.

The Support Layer

The support layer is 8.0″ thick and made entirely of individually encased pocketed coils. Each of these coils can move independently, which allows for better pressure relief overall.

If you’re looking for zoned coils and even better pressure relief, you may want to make the jump up to the Moonlight Luxe. The Moonlight Luxe uses zoned coils, which can provide more pushback for certain areas of the body that may need more support, namely the midsection.

Product Evolution

The Helix Moonlight has undergone a series of changes over the years, but NapLab has been around for multiple iterations, continuing to test the newest version of this mattress.

Here’s a look at the 2021-2024 version of the Helix Moonlight compared to the 2025 version.

Specs	2021-2024 Version (Discontinued)	2025 Version (Current Version)
Overall Score	8.44	8.87
Thickness	12″	12″
Firmness	Soft (4)	Soft (4)
Cover	Thin Cover or Cooling Cover	1.25″ Quilted Cover or Cooling Cover
Comfort Layer	1.5″ Poly Foam 1.5″ Memory Foam	1.0” Poly Foam 1.0” Poly Foam 0.75” Poly Foam
Support Layer	8.0″ Pocketed Coils 1.0″ Support Foam	8.0″ Pocketed Coils 0.25″ Support Foam

Compared to the older version we tested in 2021, the 2025 model is a pretty significant upgrade.

It skips the memory foam within the comfort layer, but also adds a 1.25″ quilted cover. Comparatively, the 2021 version of the Moonlight had only a thin cover.

These changes have created a mattress that offers higher performance over the previous version.

Other Mattresses to Consider

Not sure if the Helix Moonlight is the right pick for you? Check out these three other top-rated hybrid mattresses for alternatives you may want to consider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Check out some of the top FAQs on the Helix Moonlight mattress below and get the answers you’re looking for.