Review: Puffy Cloud Mattress

I will admit that, once upon a time, I was not the Puffy Cloud’s biggest supporter. I’ve tested this memory foam mattress multiple times over my five-year mattress testing career and believed it simply wasn’t for me—too soft, not enough spinal support. Well, times change, don’t they? Granted, during my previous tests, I didn’t spend a whole week sleeping on the Cloud in my own bedroom, as I did this time. I now also consider myself a side sleeper, which has a whole other set of requirements than my previous sleeping position of choice, which was on my stomach.

Fast forward and I'm having a hellish week with two sick dogs, in and out of the emergency vet. I’m ready to collapse into bed. But, of course, it’s night one testing a newish mattress—you really don’t know how well you'll be sleeping as you acclimate.

I shouldn’t have worried. I was knocked out the entire week, and by the end of it, I found I was actually looking forward to receiving a “hug” from the Puffy Cloud. Here’s what made it stand out on my mattress radar that could make it appealing to you too. (If you want to research more first, check out our guide to the best mattresses.)

Head in the Clouds

Photograph: Julia Forbes

A lot of Puffy's material names involve clouds. I love a theme, but I’ll break down what these terms actually mean as we go. There are six total layers to this bed, despite its only having a 10-inch height when fully inflated out of the box.

First is the Cool Touch Cloud Cover, complete with embossed clouds scattered across the surface. The knitted material is designed to feel cool to the touch and helps prevent the bed from trapping heat, a common complaint about memory foam. The cover was not a cooling superstar in the way I've seen with other mattresses I've tested (like the Wolf Luxury Firm Memory Foam Hybrid). Still, I can't say I felt absolutely roasted during my time testing, either.

Next is a Climate Fiber layer, which I found to be pretty undetectable. Its purpose is to help with temperature regulation, but it adds some subtle softness as well. The first layer of Cooling Cloud foam is only 2 inches thick, and it uses gel infusions to further temperature control and pressure relief. Cloud Comfort Pressure Relief Foam supplements this underneath, as indicated by the name. You’ve then got the thickest layer of the bunch, a 6-inch Firm Core Support Foam that keeps the overall mattress from being too much like a cloud. We want some support, after all. The last layer is a “grip” material on the bottom cover, so that the bed doesn’t slide on the frame. I found it actually was pretty effective—another area in which my previously naysaying ways were humbled.

Soft Landing

Photograph: Julia Forbes

My experience with other all-foam and memory foam mattresses gave me a baseline to measure the Puffy Cloud against. Memory foam's density is designed to prevent a mattress from shifting when a sleeper moves on it. It also adapts to the sleeper's body shape to aid in pressure relief. But in doing this, it can trap heat. Memory foam also isn't the strongest when it comes to edge support, either, especially compared to mattresses that have reinforced coils. The Puffy Cloud was fine (though not fabulous) with edge support, provided I lay on the edges rather than sit.

The Cloud was relatively easy to unbox and get set up. I was a bit concerned after it was fully unboxed to see that the packaging had left wrinkles all down the center of the mattress. This can happen with foam, but to ensure it didn't impact performance, I gave the Puffy an extra day to settle before testing. It's a bit concerning when you consider that a standard mattress should take just 24 hours to inflate, or 48 at most. Puffy actually recommends just two hours for its mattresses, but in my experience, this would be nowhere near enough. Start with 24 hours and go from there. My logic ended up panning out. By the end of the week, the wrinkles were mostly gone. So if you see this with your own mattress, don’t panic. Plus, if something is wrong, that’s when you call upon your warranty.

As previously mentioned, I was having a really rough time resting, not because of the mattress, but because my poor dog was mimicking a foghorn all day and all night. The surface of the bed (along with some cooling sheets) made it a really inviting place to get cozy on because of how soft the surface was. To be exact, the Puffy Cloud felt like more of a medium-soft for someone of my stature (5′ 10″ and 165 pounds), as I sank in more than on the firmer hybrids I’ve tested as of late.

Photograph: Julia Forbes

This wasn’t a bad thing, as my hips and shoulders received their own special treatment when it came to pressure relief. My lower back’s alignment was not thrown off either, as the core layer helped keep everything pushed up. I will say, for heavier body types, you may find yourself feeling this core layer if you sink through the topmost foam layers. I found that moving between sleeping positions took a bit of effort. It wasn’t overkill for me, but I could see it being a nuisance for some.

These are common issues sleepers with this body type face with all-foam mattresses, and for this reason, I don’t think this would be the best mattress for heavier buyers. Hybrids will offer more full-body support. Petite and average builds, however, especially those who sleep on their side, back, or both, should be happy with this mattress. I wished I had grabbed a picture, but in our exhaustion, I caught my puppy multiple times with his belly up and legs in the air, snoring. Safe to say he is also a big Puffy Cloud fan.

It's also worth considering what kind of sleeper you are and what type of frame you’ll be using with the Puffy Cloud. I say this because one night, for whatever reason, I was overcome with insane hiccups—which is a wild way to test motion isolation. Despite the all-foam construction and the sturdy Zen bed frame from Puffy, these didn’t do much to stop even minimal motion from my one person. This was also a bit concerning, and not just because memory foam didn't come to my rescue like it usually does for motion isolation. The Puffy Cloud is supposed to be pretty flexible when it comes to bed frames to pair it with; so long as your frame has slats (if you choose this style of bed frame) that are a maximum of 4 inches apart, you should be set. However, while the Zen bed frame checks this box, it just didn't stabilize the Cloud as well as I would have expected.

Variable Value

Photograph: Julia Forbes

In short, the Cloud mattress came through for me at a time when I most needed sleep. While I’ve highlighted some areas of concern, the biggest one may well be value. The Puffy is a good mattress, but I think the price could be a smidge more affordable for an all-memory-foam mattress that's on the thinner side. We can argue about specialty foams and construction all day long, but I live within the mattress landscape and see what competitors are doing, and I think Puffy could do better on this front. My advice is to pay attention to the promo codes being dropped for Labor Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, which should help bring the price right on target to where I think it should be. Still, regardless of when you buy a Puffy, you’ll get free shipping, a 101-night sleep trial, and a lifetime warranty.