The Arrival 

The Purple Plus mattress is available for purchase online and at Sleep Country. It’s delivered to most of the United States and Canada for free, with the exception of a few remote areas that require an additional charge. Purple has differentiated itself from other online mattress companies by delivering mattresses in a weather-resistant bag instead of recyclable cardboard.

The Unboxing

The bag the Purple Plus arrives in is simple to unpack. Unzipping one side of the bag and sliding the compressed mattress out takes only a few moments. You’ll have to remove the mattress’ protective plastic cover and it will begin to decompress. The bag includes handles that make hauling it to the bedroom less of a chore.

The Look 

Depending if you’re in Canada or the United States, the Purple Plus mattress cover design might look a little different. We reviewed the Canadian version, which has a white top and a series of grey waves decorating the sidewalls.

The Feel 

Purple uses a hyper-elastic polymer (called the Purple GelFlex® Grid) for the top layer of its mattresses. This polymer has a rubbery texture and is incredibly flexible. It’s made from a series of columns that intentionally buckle under pressure to distribute pressure across the mattress. The Purple GelFlex® Grid, paired with only a 4-inch base layer, makes the Purple Plus mattress one of the softest mattresses featured on Mattress-Reviews.com.

The following results were determined by licensed 3rd-party engineers, commissioned by us:

Purple Plus Mattress Layers

The Purple Plus may look like a typical mattress on the outside, but taking a look underneath the mattress cover reveals some pretty distinctive construction.

• First layer: 2 inches of hyper-elastic polymer. This unique layer is a grid of open columns that easily collapse under pressure but quickly return to their original shape.

• Second layer: 2 inches of polyurethane foam. This foam is faster at responding to pressure than most foams and is part of the reason why the mattress sinks in as much as it does.
  

• Third layer: 3 inches of polyurethane foam. This layer is designed to provide some much-needed support beneath the top two layers and adds some stability to the mattress.

• Fourth layer: 4 more inches of polyurethane foam. This bottom layer is unique to Purple as most mattresses use at least 6 inches of rigid, high-density support foam to provide a durable base.

NOTE: Unlike many mattresses at its price point, the Purple Plus does not have perimeter edge support, or zoned support. This means there will be more sinkage along the sidewalls of the mattress, as observed in our third-party testing. It also means that the centre third of the bed, where most of the body weight resides, is likely to wear down at a faster rate than either end of the bed. This could form a divot over time, resulting in discomfort. Please consult Purple’s warranty information to ensure you are using a proper base to maximize the lifespan of the Purple Plus mattress.

Purple Plus Mattress Cover

The Purple Plus mattress has a dimpled cover that’s soft to the touch. It’s made with spandex, acrylic latex, polyurethane, and polyester. The design includes a series of grey waves adorning the sidewalls. It has a clean white top, but it may be a chore to keep it that way. The mattress cover is unable to be removed or machine washed. It must be spot-treated only, should any spills or stains come about.

If you’d like to prevent stains from reaching the mattress cover you could use a Purple mattress protector but it will cost you another $269 CAD for a queen size. Mattress protectors have become an essential part of improving the life span of your mattress. That’s why companies like Douglas now offer mattress protectors for free with every mattress purchase, something that Purple could learn from.

Purple is a publicly traded mattress manufacturer based in Tooele, Utah. The company was founded in 2015 by brothers Tony and Terry Pearce, but before then, the dream wasn’t necessarily mattresses.

It started in the 1990s with wheelchair cushions, then footwear, knee pads, and more. It was 1996 when the Pearce brothers first created their hyper-elastic polymer and it would be another 17 years before they began to construct mattresses with it. In 2015, they merged with Global Partner Acquisition Corp. and together have continued to build the Purple brand.

Purple offers free delivery to most of the United States and Canada on orders that cost $75 or more. For remote areas like Canada’s territories or Newfoundland & Labrador, there is a shipping surcharge of $120. Purple’s standard delivery services will give you a three-hour delivery window and a no-contact delivery option.

For an additional fee, Purple will provide you with Green Glove delivery. This means that Purple will assemble your new mattress in the room of your choosing and take up to three pieces of your old bed set away to be recycled or thrown out.

Purple’s return policy (or lack thereof) is probably its biggest setback. Purple does not offer money-back refunds. If you’re unsatisfied with the Purple Plus mattress, you’ll be restricted to the terms of Purple’s “Comfort Guarantee.” This is a 100-night sleep trial that specifies you will only be allowed to exchange your purchase for more Purple products.

Keep in mind that the Purple Plus is the least expensive mattress that Purple offers in Canada. That means if you’re not happy with your Purple Plus mattress, you’ll either have to spend even more money on a mattress upgrade or you’ll be exchanging your mattress for $3,300 worth of sleep accessories. If you purchased the mattress from Sleep Country, you will also need to pay a $65 exchange fee.

We hire 3rd-party engineers and use public data to rate mattresses on over 25 criteria.

While Purple has made a splash in the mattress industry with its unique GelFlex® Grid and eye-catching commercials, it appears to have fallen short in areas that really matter to consumers. The Purple Plus mattress scored low in third-party engineered testing that we commissioned regarding features that most sleep-seekers value such as edge support. These test scores also indicated that the Purple Plus might be far softer than some shoppers might expect.

By not offering money-back refunds on such an expensive product ($3,349 CAD for a queen-size mattress) the Purple Plus has lost favour on public review sites like Trustpilot.com, where it received a “poor” rating. If you’re looking for a mattress that outperformed the Purple Plus in engineered testing and will save you literally thousands of dollars, look no further than the Douglas mattress.