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“Are you starting to feel restricted or cramped on your current bed? “
Possibly you are taller than average or you sleep with a furry companion at the foot of the bed. The California king mattress could be your best choice if you'd like to stretch out more, especially lengthwise.
Sleeping on the right mattress can make a huge difference in your health and well-being. A good night’s sleep is one of the most important pillars of living a healthy life—alongside, of course, a balanced diet, exercise, and so on. One of the best ways to get a good night’s sleep is to have a comfy mattress.
Making the switch to a bigger mattress can be interesting, but it can also be daunting and confusing. In this guide, we will discuss our favorite Cal king mattresses, and who we believe they are best for instead of a king-size mattress.
Quick List of Top California King Mattresses
| Mattress | Best for |
| PlushBeds Botanical Bliss Organic Mattress | Best California king mattress for Back Pain |
| GhostBed 3D Matrix | Best California king mattress for Side Sleepers |
| Leesa Legend | Best California king mattress for Heavy Person |
| T&N Original | Best California king mattress under $1000 |
| Puffy Original | best California king Memory Foam Mattress |
1. Editor’s Pick: PlushBeds Botanical Bliss Organic Mattress
PlushBeds Botanical Bliss organic latex mattress is made in the USA with the most excellent quality GOLS-certified organic latex, GOTS-certified organic cotton, and GOTS-certified pure wool.
This mattress is high on the recommendation list of Orthopedic experts and chiropractors. Its uniqueness comes from the fact that you can reorder the layers of latex at home, so each side of the bed can be adjusted to your desired firmness.
PlushBeds Botanical Bliss beds are available in two firmness options, namely, Medium and Firm, suitable for different body types. These options translate to “medium-firm” (6) and “firm” (7) feels in our firmness range, respectively.
- You can choose Medium if you weigh under 130 pounds, whatever your preferred sleep position may be.
- You can pick firm if you weigh more than 130 pounds, and if you sleep on your stomach or back.
PlushBeds Botanical Bliss medium-firm mattress is best for side sleepers of up to 230 pounds.
What we like
- There are no hazardous chemicals in the mattresses and they are naturally immune to allergens.
- This Botanical Bliss by Plushbeds has been designed specifically to be synthetic glue-free, with a robust zipper system, allowing you to adjust the firmness or softness of the mattress from the comfort of your own home.
- With a 100-night sleep trial and a generous 25-year warranty period, it becomes a long-lasting mattress and a great buy.
What we don’t like
- Botanical Bliss mattresses are bulky and may be difficult for some people to move.
- Heavier sleepers can find the mattress lacking support due to its firmness.
2. GhostBed 3D Matrix Mattress
If you are tired of waking up drenched in sweat, the GhostBed 3D Matrix mattress is the best pick for you. It works wonders for a hot sleeper, to keep their body cool, all night long. The GhostBed 3D Matrix Hybrid is the ultimate sleep upgrade you have been waiting for.
This perfect mattress incorporates a comfort layer that adjusts to your body shape and temperature simultaneously, so you and your partner sleep in an ideal environment. In addition to distributing your weight evenly, the gel polymer layer absorbs excess body heat throughout the night.
GhostBed offers a 101-night sleep trial and a 25-year warranty, both of which are far better than industry standard warranties.
With seven layers of comfort, this mattress keeps you cool and provides enough restorative sleep so you wake up refreshed. A patented pressure relief system is combined with cooling technology in GhostBed's newest hybrid mattress, 3D Matrix.
It is best for people with back pain because they can feel the top layers of foam filling in the space at their lumbar region for some nice pressure relief. It also offers a lot of cushioning around your pressure points, so side sleepers should be comfortable on this bed too.
What we like
- The coolness of the mattress is an enormous bonus for hot sleepers.
- This bed provides a cushioned feeling for side sleepers, ensuring full-body relaxation.
What we don't like
- The softer feel of this mattress could affect its durability for heavier sleepers.
- Some customers may find the GhostBed’s cover a little slippery. In some cases, it was hard to keep their fitted sheets on the mattress. We would recommend adding a mattress protector to the bed to get a little extra traction if you run into this issue.
3. Leesa Legend Mattress
The Leesa Legend uses several innovative design elements to differentiate it from other hybrid mattresses available on the market.
To create the cover of Leesa Legend, some materials are involved which make it stretchy, breathable, and flexible.
It is also worth mentioning that Leesa makes an extra effort to have a clean environment. Each bed eliminates dozens of plastic bottles from the environment, making it a huge selling point for eco-conscious buyers.
There are many layers of comfort in the Leesa Legend mattress. Polyfoam makes up the top layer, which is mildly shaped and has an aerated structure that promotes airflow. The second layer is of comforting and motion-isolating memory foam.
The next layer of the comfort system uses one of the new materials found in the Leesa Legend. The layer is 1.5 inches thick and made up of micro coils and polyfoam. By providing targeted pressure relief for hips and shoulders, as well as reducing motion transfer, this product offers the most advanced support and durability available.
The fourth layer of the comfort system is one inch of transition polyfoam that minimizes pressure on the support core.
The bottom layer of the support core is one inch of a high-density base polyfoam that helps sustain stability and cut down on possible noise from the movement of the coils.
With all these layers working in conjunction, it provides extra support for a heavy person. For overweight couples, we recommend Leesa Legend. Additionally, Lessa Legend Mattress comes with a 10-year warranty that covers all manufacturing and material defects.
What we like
- It has a beautiful and sustainable super soft cover to help you keep a comfortable sleeping temperature no matter what the weather is.
- A Leesa Legend mattress provides edge-to-edge support and targeted hip and shoulder comfort with its dual hybrid pocket springs.
What we don’t like
- Being a luxury mattress, budget shoppers may want to look elsewhere.
- As with most California King size mattresses, it can be difficult to lift and move.
4. Tuft & Needle Original Mattress
Tuft & Needle Original Mattress is made with T&N Adaptive foam technology, which contours and bounces back to provide body support. Its foam helps prevent deep body impressions while wicking away heat and precipitation for a night of deep, restful sleep.
It is a great pick for back sleepers. Moreover, the mattress has antimicrobial protection to prevent bacteria from harming the mattress.
Besides the breathable knit mattress cover, T&N also offers the option of adding HeiQNPJ03, which helps to prevent mattress odor due to bacteria.
This mattress features one comfort layer known as Adaptive Foam. It is soft, responsive, and contains graphite and ceramic gel infusions that dissipate heat and prevent overheating during the night.
Who we like
- We could not find a single option that can compete with it as the best California mattress under $1,000 in our reviews.
- The top layer of foam is also infused with graphite, making it cool to sleep on. This mattress has excellent thermoregulation properties, making it ideal for people who sleep hot.
What we don't like
- Those who sleep on their stomachs may suffer from sagging in their midsections, making it harder for their spines to be aligned.
- The Tuft & Needle scores average for sleepers who like the hug of memory foam.
- If you're frequently perched near the edge of the bed, you may want a model that provides more edge support.
5. Puffy Original Mattress
Puffy is designed with the capability to work with any frame or surface. Among these are box springs, flat frames, slats, or adjustable frames. You can also buy a Puffy Bed Frame or Puffy Adjustable Base to save money on your Puffy Mattress.
Designed with an innovative five-layer sleep system, it provides a perfect balance of cooling, comfort, and support. A few of the key features of Puffy include stain-resistant cloud cover, cooling CloudFoam™, climate comfort foam, a firm core support base, and a grip base cover.
By using a hypoallergenic cover, you will help protect your mattress and eliminate dust mites, dust, and other allergens from entering it and causing irritation.
Puffy's cooling gel memory foam cloud layer also helps regulate your body temperature. It’s cool to the touch and does not absorb heat so you can sleep without obstruction.
What we like
- It offers a good balance between support and pressure relief, especially for back sleepers.
- If you suffer from pain due to pressure and enjoy the feel of memory foam you might enjoy the Puffy. It was designed specifically to relieve pain around pressure points.
- The Puffy is one of the best California king memory foam mattresses. It couples a stain-resistant cover with adequate cushioning and support for lighter bodies in every sleeping position.
- Puffy mattresses have a lifetime warranty. As long as all of the Puffy warranty conditions are met, Puffy will repair or replace the mattress at no charge if a defect arises at any point in time.
What we don't like
- Heavier sleepers won’t get the support they need on the Puffy. They might require a firmer mattress.
- For stomach sleepers, the Puffy might be too soft to support their hips.
Buying Guide: Things to Consider While Buying a California King Mattress
Different people require different qualities in a mattress depending on their preferences, sleep position habits, budgets, and body weights. The following factors define how a mattress feels to you, its lifespan, how well it supports your body during the night, and more.
Pricing
Do you wonder, does a Cal king mattress cost more because of its slightly unusual shape? Actually, no. They’re typically the same price as a king-size mattress most of the time or just slightly more expensive.
Comparatively, a Cal king is notably more expensive than a queen-size mattress if you consider raising your budget from queen size. An average California king mattress from an online bed-in-a-box retailer typically ranges between $1,200 and $2,000, before discounts.
From what we’ve seen, in-store prices are a little higher than online and have lesser options, but not so much that it should deter you from looking.
Sleeping Position
For a mattress to be good, it is important to provide the right amount of sinkage while also keeping your spine in the correct alignment. It is therefore important for shoppers to pick the mattress firmness based on their sleeping position.
- Back sleepers: These types of sleepers must pick firmer mattresses that offer adequate lumbar support. Back sleepers need to have a medium-firm feel that falls right between these two extremes. For these sleepers, a hybrid mattress with foam and coil layers is best.
- Side Sleepers: Side sleepers require pressure relief on their shoulders and hips. They need a mattress with adequate flexibility to prevent developing pressure points on their shoulders and hips. For this reason, side sleepers will likely benefit from innerspring or hybrid mattresses that feature coils along with either pillow tops or quilted covers.
- Stomach Sleepers: Like the opposite of side sleepers, stomach sleepers require a firm mattress that raises the hips in line with the shoulders. The biggest issue for these sleepers is a soft mattress that causes their hips to sink out of spine alignment, so they'll want to consider mattresses that are slightly firm for better lumbar support.
Mattress Type
The materials that make up the various layers of a mattress define its type. The kind of bed you select will influence the support and overall sleep comfort you experience.
Here are 4 of the most common mattress types based on materials:
1. Memory Foam
You can sleep with total weightlessness on a memory foam mattress because of its exceptional comfort and contouring. Due to the special qualities of this foam, unlike most mattress materials, sore muscles can rest and heal without strain. These beds are extremely helpful for all sleepers, including those with back pain, as these beds help them find more comfortable positions at night.
2. Hybrid
Hybrid mattresses offer the contouring of memory foam with the bounce of an innerspring bed. The comfort layer consists of 2 to 3 inches of foam—either memory foam or latex foam. Hybrid mattresses have a base layer of steel coils wrapped around them. They are usually balanced – softer near the hips and shoulders, but firmer near the neck and back.
3. Innerspring
The same as hybrid mattresses, innerspring mattresses feature steel coils under the cover. Innerspring mattresses have a lot of airflow and maintain a neutral temperature during the night. In contrast to a foam or hybrid mattress, an innerspring mattress will not trap heat the way an all-foam mattress may. Finding a well-built innerspring mattress from a reputed manufacturer can be a task.
4. Latex
Latex foam has a support level similar to memory foam. But the elasticity of latex forms a mattress with slightly more bounce. Although this foam does not provide the deep compression that memory foam does, those who like to feel more uplifted on the mattress may prefer a latex bed.
Room Space
It is important to analyze how much room space will be left around the bed and ensure that the bed itself does not cover the entire room. To ensure that you have enough space on both sides, it is recommended that you leave 25 to 30 inches.
You should also leave a gap between the bed and the nightstand of at least 2 inches to separate the furnishing.
In addition to buying a perfect California King bed, you need to think about how you will bring it into your bedroom. Mattresses of such width cannot always fit through small staircases.
Furthermore, they tend to be quite heavy, so you may want to enlist the help of a few friends. If that is not possible, then you may consider buying a Split California King mattress instead.
Why Do You Need a California King Mattress?
Before discussing why you need a California King Mattress, let us first discuss who might need a California King Mattress. California king mattresses might be the answer to your problems if
- You or your companion are taller than 6 feet. California kings are 4 inches longer than standard kings, making them a good choice for tall people. With those extra inches, you will be able to spread out without having your feet hang off the bed.
- Your pet sleeps in your bed with you. Additionally, California king mattresses provide convenient sleeping space for you and your pets.
Pros and Cons of California King Bed
This type of bed isn’t all that common and has its own set of pros and cons.
A California king-size mattress comes with various benefits.
Pros
These mattresses:
- Fit well into a master bedroom
- Provide more legroom for taller sleepers
- Provide more space for couples to spread out
- Create a more gratifying sleep experience
Cons
However, they do have some drawbacks.
- It may be difficult to find its accessories—such as bed frames, sheets, and bedding.
- Due to its weight, moving this type of mattress can be a challenge, and may not fit through all doorways
- Standard size bedrooms may be inadequate for them to fit comfortably.
FAQs
Conclusion
Buying a perfect new bed is often stressful. This is because of all the brands and features available, especially since the emergence of the online mattress industry.
If you need more space to spread out on your bed, a California king mattress is sure to provide adequate space. These beds also provide enough width to allow sleepers to have a sound sleep without getting forced onto the edge of the mattress.
Larger mattresses often come with a higher price tag, but there is tremendous value in experiencing a good night’s sleep. We hope that you feel more confident in deciding whether a Cal king is for you and what brand is most suitable for your specific situation.
