Glance of a room in our mattress testing facility.
CNET has composed nine mattress experts who have been testing and reviewing mattresses for years. To date, the team has tested more than 300 beds. Each through our bed in Reno, Nevada, the test facility is subject to extensive hands-on testing for rating performance and quality.
Our team takes a holistic approach to mattress testing, which means our entire team is involved in evaluating key performance indicators. This allows us to represent all types of people.
Read more: Yes, we lie in bed to make a living. Here's how we test our mattress
firm
The mattress Smasher 9000 is ready to smash the bed and give us an objective firm score.
Firmness is one of our most critical factors for the highest plush mattress. Our team has a firm view of their collective experience in bed. This involves lying in different positions on the bed and evaluating how it feels.
In addition to the experiences experienced during testing, we also use the proprietary mattress Smasher 9000 to provide objective firm scores based on the strength of a 160-pound person. We always test the bed before the MS9K has a chance to smash it to make sure our experience is supplemented by the data and not replaced by it.
Sports isolation
Test motion isolation at the edge with a glass of water and roll on the bed.
Movement isolation is the degree of motion damage to the bed across the entire surface. This is an important factor for those who sleep with their partner, their pets jumping off in bed and on the bed. Soft memory foam mattresses tend to score high on sports isolation.
To test for exercise isolation, we have two main tests. First, I closed my eyes and lay on the bed as a team member moved on the bed next to me. Then, how much I evaluated my feelings. The second test we performed was the water glass test. By putting a glass of water on the edge of the bed, rolling towards it and away from the bed, we can measure the water spots in the glass.
Edge support
Edge support is the strength of the periphery of the bed as we describe. This factor is huge if you tend to sleep on the edge of the bed or encounter mobility issues that make it difficult to get in and out of the bed. To test edge support, we sat on the edge of the bed, measuring the level of compression under its weight.
Soft memory foam mattresses tend to lack edge support departments because they compress easily under our weight. Hybrids tend to perform well in this category.
temperature
Unfortunately, not every bed that says it has cooling technology will actually cool you down. There is no cooling level level before the brand can push its bed to cool. This is where our extensive industry knowledge comes from. In addition to testing the bed, we can also determine which elements of the cooling mattress may move the needles of the hot sleeper.
Our test chamber is temperature controlled and we test the bed without sheets to understand how cool the bed is.
