Vaya Mattress 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 feel 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	Vaya	Average
Overall Score	8.75	8.57
Price (Queen)	$699	$1,079 (Foam only)
Cooling – Score	9.0	8.7
Sinkage – Depth	2.14″	2.14″
Sinkage – Feel	Moderate	Moderate
Motion Transfer – Score	9.1	8.2
Motion Transfer – Acceleration	6.91 m/s²	8.78 m/s²
Response Time – Score	10	8.9
Response Time – Mostly Recovered	0.2 sec.	0.4 sec.
Response Time – Fully Recovered	0.3 sec.	0.9 sec.
Bounce – Height	8.38″	9.53″
Bounce – Feel	Moderate	Moderate
Edge Support – Score	8.7	8.6
Edge Support – Sitting	4.25″	4.04″
Edge Support – Lying	Excellent	Good
Sex – Score	8.0	8.4
Pressure Relief – Score	8.0	8.7
Comfort Layer Thickness	3.0″	4.1″
Mattress Thickness	12″	12.0″
Off-Gassing – Score	9.2	8.1
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	3 days	7 days
Company – Score	8.5	8.7
Trial	100 nights	177 nights
Warranty	10 years	25% have lifetime warranties, average of other 75% of mattresses is 13 years

How is Vaya Different?

The Vaya all-foam mattress has above-average overall performance a price tag that falls below average—35% less than the average foam mattress for a savings of $380 on a queen mattress.

Advantages

Besides the savings alone, other advantages of the Vaya include better cooling, lower levels of motion transfer, and faster material response time. The Vaya also has a slightly better edge support score than average.

Edge support when sitting is technically deeper than the average, but edge support when lying is better than average.

Neutral Factors

This mattress has moderate levels of sinkage and bounce. These two factors are considered neutral since different preferences can turn a neutral factor into an advantage or a disadvantage depending on exactly what you’re looking for.

Disadvantages

Disadvantages of the Vaya include worse support when seated right at the edge of the mattress as well as a below-average level of pressure relief. The Vaya only has a 3.0″ comfort layer, which is 1.0″ thinner than the average comfort layer.

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

Despite the mattress being an all-foam design, it breathes well, doesn’t retain heat, and keeps the surface of the mattress comfortably cool. The Vaya has several material and design choices that help cooling.

The thin cover helps air flow more easily in and out of the mattress. In addition, the mattress uses poly foam instead of memory foam, which is advantageous for cooling.

Lastly, the poly foams specifically use a formulation that allows for more “open cells”, which are essentially tiny air pockets within the foam that keep air more easily flowing.

• 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

In our objective temperature tests, we measured a max surface level temperature of 87.4° F, which is 2.2° cooler than the average max temp of 89.6°, based on all of our tests to date.

Heat Dissipation Over Time

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

The Vaya has a moderate level of sinkage. In our tests, we measured a pressure point sinkage of 2.14”. This is exactly the same as the average sinkage depth of 2.14”, based on all of our mattress tests to date.

The level of sinkage is documented in the image below.

The mattress creates a balanced body contouring hug. The thin cover allows the body to directly engage more with the foam layers so you really feel the hugging sensation around the body.

All that said, it’s not a dramatic or exacting hug like many memory foam mattresses are. However, there is still a hug to the body, it doesn’t form as sharply or precisely to the shape of the body.

The Vaya has a very low level of motion transfer. During our tests, we measured a total acceleration range of 6.91 m/s². This is 21% less motion transfer than the average of 8.78 m/s².

Certainly, the all-foam design is helping. Foams simply do a better job compared to most mattresses with coils when it comes to reducing motion transfer.

In addition, the thin cover easily glides with movements on the mattress, further reducing motion. The topmost 2.0” layer in particular has a nice level of softness.

In my view, it’s this 2.0” poly foam comfort layer that is doing most of the heavy lifting for 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 from 0 to 0.14 seconds. Motion drops thereafter, but remains spikey until 0.58 seconds.

By 1.01 seconds we’ve returned to near-zero levels of energy. While the motion duration is a little longer than is ideal, the motion intensity is still very well restrained.

When we consider the complete picture of motion transfer data I am confident most sleepers will find motion to be perfectly acceptable.

The Vaya has an extremely fast response time. During our tests, we measured 0.2 seconds for the mattress to mostly recover and 0.3 seconds for the mattress to fully recover.

These responsiveness speeds are effectively instant and tied for 1st with several other mattresses we’ve tested. The average mostly recovered response time is 0.41 seconds and the average fully recovered response time is 0.90 seconds.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

Suffice to say, that Vaya is considerably faster than the average in both measurement categories.

The fast response ensures you’ll never feel stuck and the mattress is easy to move around. Material responsiveness should be a non-issue for virtually all sleepers.

The Vaya has a moderate level of bounce. In our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 8.38”. This is 1.16” less bounce than the average of 9.54”, based on all of our tests to date.

The all-foam design notably reduces the total level of bounce. This lower-than-average bounce is greatly beneficial for motion transfer, but it does negatively impact sex performance (more on that in a bit).

Ideally, I like to see 8-12” of total bounce height. The Vaya is within that range, but definitely on the lower end.

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

For most sleepers, bounce at this level should be a non-issue.

However, if you know you prefer mattresses with more bounce and/or you’ve mostly slept on coil or hybrid mattresses you may find that the level of bounce from Vaya feels a bit lacking.

The Vaya has good sitting edge support and excellent lying edge support.

In our sitting edge support tests, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 4.25”. This is 0.22” more sitting sinkage than the average of 4.03”, based on all of our tests to date.

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

Despite the slightly deeper than average sinkage the mattress still maintains its shape and there is no collapse of materials. Notably, performance while lying on the mattress was even better.

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

While lying directly on the edge of the mattress I felt well supported in all sleeping positions. When weight is more evenly spread out across the edge the mattress support is notably better.

This is typical for many mattresses, but especially all foam mattresses. The mattress does not use any type of reinforced edge support foam, however, it doesn’t seem to need it.

Certainly having 9.0” of support foam creates ample support for the mattress in general, but also for the edge specifically.

The Vaya has good sex performance, but it’s also far from great.

On the more positive end, noise is minimal and cooling performance is excellent.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	65%	7.7	Moderate
Edge Support	20%	8.4	Good
Noise	5%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	8.0	Good
Cooling	5%	9.0	Excellent

However, pressure relief, edge support, and bounce all leave something to be desired. Edge support measured in at 4.25” while sitting directly on the edge.

This is a bit worse than the average level of sitting sinkage, which is 4.03”. Likewise, bounce was lower than average at 8.38”, which is 1.16” less bounce than average.

Both bounce and edge support are critical for improving the dance without pants. To be fair, neither bounce nor edge support are bad. Even so, they aren’t great either.

The all-foam design simply has limitations when it comes to achieving optimal amorous activities. For couples who want peak sex performance, the Vaya may disappoint. 

The Vaya has excellent pressure relief. During our tests, I did not feel any significant level of pressure points build up on my body.

The mattress is equipped with a 3.0” comfort layer split into a 2.0” and 1.0” poly foam layer. This is 1.0” thinner than the average comfort layer thickness of 4.0”, based on all of our tests to date.

Nevertheless, it didn’t seem to impact the performance or comfort. The comfort foams look and feel high quality.

The Vaya uses an open-cell foam formulation similar to their sister brand, Amerisleep.

While the foam isn’t as high-end as Amerisleep’s, it’s still a surprisingly nice foam given the price point.

When I consider the total picture of objective foam specs, subjective experience, and material analysis, I’m confident in my view that pressure relief is excellent. 

Pressure Map – Side Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Side Sleepers	0.20	1.35

Pressure Map – Back Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Back Sleepers	0.11	1.02

Pressure Map – Stomach Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Stomach Sleepers	0.11	0.83

Off-gassing on the Vaya all-foam mattress is strong right out of the box and takes 3 days to fully off-gas.

For reference, the average of all mattresses tested to date is 7 days, 4 days longer than the performance on the Vaya.

Vaya mattresses come with a 100-night trial period and a 10-year warranty. Both shipping and returns are free as well.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Trial Period	15%	8.0	100 nights
Warranty	10%	8.0	10 years
Shipping	5%	10	$0
Returns	20%	10	$0
Trust	50%	8.0	Good
Country of Origin	0%		USA

Comparing Vaya to all mattress brands tested to date, the trial period is shorter than average by 77 nights or 2.5 months. To some, this may be a significant amount of time.

The warranty is also quite a bit shorter than average. Comparing over 265+ mattresses tested to date, 25% of mattresses have lifetime warranties and the average of the other 75% of mattresses is 13 years. Vaya is shorter than both.

The Vaya mattress is available in a single firmness with a medium-firm feel, ranking 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale, where 10 is the most firm.

The Vaya mattress has excellent support. During our tests, I felt well-supported in all sleeping positions. The mattress is equipped with a 9.0” support foam layer.

This is notably thicker than the average support layer thickness of 7.9”, based on all of our tests to date.

While the support layer is simple in its design (ex, no zoning, no edge support), it’s still perfectly sufficient to meet the needs of most sleepers. Being thicker than average definitely helps.

In addition, foam quality looks and feels above average, which was the same with the comfort foams. Lastly, the medium-firm feel gives the mattress a level of pushback, support, and firmness that is appropriate to the needs of most sleepers.

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

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

Overall, I’m pleased with the support dynamic and expect most sleepers will find it to be sufficient.

Design

The Vaya mattress is a 12″ all-foam mattress with a medium-firm feel (6 out of 10 on the firmness scale). The Vaya is a foam mattress, but there is also a Vaya Hybrid if you’re looking for something with a pocketed coil base.

This mattress is value-priced and designed for people who don’t have complicated sleep needs and are looking for a simple mattress on a budget.

Materials

The Vaya is an all-foam 12″ mattress with three layers of foam. From top to bottom, the layers include:

• 2.0” poly foam
• 1.0” poly foam
• 9.0” support foam

The Cover

The Vaya cover is thin and breathable. It is quite basic and skips out on bells and whistles like reinforced fabric on the sides, carrying handles, zippers, or any tufted or corded accents.

The Comfort Layer

Beneath the cover is the comfort layer, which is made of two layers of foam. On top, we see a 2.0” poly foam followed by a 1.0″ transitional poly foam.

Unlike most other foam mattress layers, the edges of these layers have a tapered design to them, making the outermost edge of the foam a little thinner than the rest of the foam.

This doesn’t seem to negatively affect edge support too much and the mattress had reasonable good edge support overall.

The Support Layer

The support layer of the Vaya is a 9.0″ support foam. It is high-density and designed to fully support the foam layers above as well as sleepers up to 375 lbs. per side (of 750 lbs. across the entire mattress).

Product Evolution

The Vaya all-foam mattress was introduced back in 2020. Since its release, there have been no notable design or material changes made to the mattress.

Other Mattresses to Consider

Not sure if the Vaya is the right pick for you? Check out these three other top-rated foam mattresses for high-performing alternatives you may want to consider.

Frequently Asked Questions

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