If you’re like us, you’ll still need a few hours of shuteye each night when you’re living that #Vanlife. Getting a good night's sleep can make the difference between tackling a 1000’ free climb or just lying around all day in a pile of potato chip crumbs being sad in your uncomfortable bed. With this in mind, we really wanted to find a comfortable mattress that was a good value. We’re happy we landed on the Linenspa Gel Mattress collection, as we love our mattress and the price is fantastic!

So honored to have @adamfu add some neon work to our love nest.

The Linenspa Firm Support 5" Gel Mattress comes in sizes ranging from twin (39”x75”) to California King (84”x72”) and comes in thicknesses of 5”, 6”, and 8”. We are rocking the 5” queen (80”x60”) in our build, and it offers plenty of room for the two of us (plus the dog on chilly nights). The 5” offers a 1” soft, cooling gel layer with a 4” supportive foam memory base. The gel layer is designed for comfort and cooling and it is in fact, comfortable and pretty cool on warmer nights. The open cell memory foam is firm and long-lasting - which is backed by a 10-year warranty.

The bed bands keep our fitted sheets nice and taught.

In addition to the Linenspa Firm Support 5" Gel Mattress, we purchased the LUCID Encasement Mattress Protector that was specifically designed for this mattress, which includes deep corner pockets and elastic that keeps the protector in place. The protector makes any spills easy to clean and keeps sweat and other liquids from staining the mattress. The hypoallergenic fabric is thin, quiet, smooth and breathable. The protector is tricky to put on, but you rarely have to remove it. We also purchased Bed Bands to keep our fitted sheet in place when opening/closing our Murphy Bed. These little bands are miracle workers, as our fitted sheet is always tight when we’re ready for bed.

Why we love it: When designing our layout, we didn’t want to have to make the bed every night and have a lot to disassemble each morning. While doing research, we didn’t see a lot out there that wasn’t the traditional “rear always-out bed” or the more assembly-required “tables+benches+extra parts = bed”. Our murphy bed folds up out of the way during the day and opens up when we’re ready to hit the hay in the evening with minimal effort. We needed a firm mattress that was flexible enough to work with our unique bed and this mattress is pliable, light (33lbs), but plenty firm. It works well and it’s super comfortable - if you prefer a firmer mattress as we do.

Queen size mattress with mattress protector.

Part of how our bed works is that the bedding components are all folded into it when closed. John folds the mattress in half around the pillows and Rumpl. This soft taco of bedding is closed behind the bed platform to wait until bedtime.

Things to keep in mind: Mattresses don’t like to be handled. They are slippery, bulky, and do their best to be impossible to carry or move. This mattress is no exception, but it doesn’t put up a big fight due to it’s very reasonable weight. Like most foam mattresses, it can get a little hot/warm when the weather is toasty. The cooling gel does make the mattress feel cooler than other mattresses we have slept on in the summer months. It was sold to us as a 5” mattress, but we’re not sure if it ever expanded to a full 5” mattress. None the less, it’s very comfortable at the thickness that it is.

The mattress protector, which is great for protecting the mattress from spills & stains, but it’s a bit of a magic trick to get it on.

The take away: This is a really comfortable, cool, and firm mattress. We didn’t know how a mattress was going to perform or what would be the best gel to foam ratio for comfort and function on our Murphy Bed, but this mattress is perfect. Purchasing the LUCID mattress was a bit of an experiment, but the incredible price made the purchase worth the risk. We’re so glad we bought it. Check out how affordable this mattress is at the link below!