Napp Mattress Review: Your Only NZ Made Mattress In A Box

If you’re a Kiwi looking at a mattress in a box, you might be wondering about the differences between your options and how you can choose the one that’s best for you. Napp is the only one made right here in New Zealand, and was also rated the most durable by Consumer Magazine. In this Napp Mattress Review we take a detailed look at the details of the mattress and discuss whether it’s the right choice for you.

In this review I’ll cover:

• Introduction To Napp
• How Is Napp Different From The Other NZ Mattresses In Boxes?
• Napp Mattress Features
• What’s So Special About The Foams In Napp?
• What Does A Napp Mattress Mattress Feel Like To Lie On?
• Is Napp The Right Mattress For You?
• Comparison With Other Mattress In A Box Brands
• What Are People Saying Who Love Theirs? (Reviews From Real People)
• Napp Adjustable Bed Packages
• Final Opinion

Introduction To Napp

Napp was formed as an online-only company in 2016. Owned and run by a New Zealand family who’ve been in the bed industry since 1978, they know something about what it takes to make a good mattress. Napp has a small showroom on Auckland’s North Shore if you live nearby and want to take a look. They also make incredibly high quality adjustable beds, which you can buy as a package with Napp mattresses.

Napp is the only “mattress in a box” that is manufactured right here in New Zealand. When you buy a Napp mattress, you’re supporting local jobs: your Napp mattress is manufactured by A.H Beard in Auckland (who actually make a lot of those really expensive mattresses you see in the big box stores and have done for years, they also know something about what it takes to make a good mattress).

If you contact Napp customer service, you’ll probably chat directly with Brendan, the founder and Managing Director of Napp. Not only have I found him incredibly responsive to my messages while researching this article, you’ll see lots of customers mention him by name in their reviews. How many other brands give you that level of service?

How Is Napp Different From The Other NZ Mattresses In Boxes?

New Zealand has several mattress in a box options, and the market is becoming increasingly competitive. Kiwis are really getting into the idea of trying these mattresses at home for 100 nights instead of doing the awkward perch on the edge of a bed in a store. Here’s how Napp distinguishes itself from the others:

• Napp mattresses are manufactured right here in New Zealand
• The foams inside the mattress are sourced from Australia, not China
• Napp has been around since 2016. This might not sound long, but it’s longer than other mattress in a box brands. They also have a long family history in the bed business
• The largest range of mattress size options
• Package deals with their adjustable bed bases
• Amazing customer service with fast response times (my first contact with Napp was a Saturday night, they had responded by Sunday morning)
• In their 2017 review of mattresses in boxes available in Australia and New Zealand, Consumer Magazine found Napp to be the most durable of those tested

Want to know how Napp compares to other mattresses in boxes? Click here for Napp Vs Ecosa and here for Napp Vs Winkl. 

Napp Mattress Features

Napp has the biggest variety of sizes I’ve seen for New Zealand (single, long single, king single, double, queen, king, super king). The long single might be one you’ve not heard of, this would be great for growing teens and also fits well on some of the larger Napp split adjustable bases.

Napp mattresses are priced from $800, which is exceptional value for such a high quality NZ made mattress.

Your Napp mattress comes with:

• 100 Night sleep trial (yes, you can try it out at home for more than 3 months). If you decide you don’t like it, Napp will refund your money and arrange for their charity partner, Habitat For Humanity, to collect it. You’ve got to keep the mattress for 35 nights before you can return it, but it takes about 30 nights for your body to fully adjust to a new mattress so this is totally reasonable.
  
• 10 Year warranty – this is pretty standard for a mattress in a box,but mattresses from bricks and mortar stores often have 5 year warranties, so the Napp warranty is twice as long.
  
• Free delivery nationwide. Delivery times are 48 hours to Auckland and
  3 to 5 working days to the rest of New Zealand. Please allow for extra delivery time as freight returns to normal post lockdown.
  

A Look Inside The Napp Mattress:

Cover: 

Breathable stretch knit. The cover packs some great features before we even get into the foam layers of the mattress:

• Water resistant
• Removable for cleaning (this isn’t as common a feature of mattresses as you might think)
• Cool to touch
• Created with Outlast© technology. This was originally developed for NASA, and uses phase change molecules to absorb, store, and release heat. Sound technical? All you really need to know is that this cover is going to work hard to help you feel comfortable. It’s not “moisture wicking”, it’s active temperature management

Internal Layers:

There are three foam layers inside, each with a very specific purpose:

1. 5 cm layer of Hygroflex foam. This is a foam specially formulated to have great pressure point relief and temperature control. It’s kind of like a hybrid foam: it acts like both a memory foam and a high resilience foam. This means you’ll get the pressure relief you need without feeling like you’re sinking into the mattress like a traditional memory foam. Its open cell structure is how it helps with temperature control.

2. 5 cm layer of gel infused high density memory foam. This foam layer acts as both a second comfort layer and a transition layer supporting the firm base foam below. The memory foam properties of this layer promote the pressure relief you need from the comfort layers while the high density rating of it keeps you from feeling the hard base foam below. Since this is a high density memory foam, the gel infusion plays an important role. The gel particles draw body heat away and out of the mattress. It’s crucial to have a heat controlling mechanism in this layer as there is no way for heat to escape the polyfoam base (this is true for pretty much all memory foam mattresses)

3. 15 cm layer of high density polyfoam. This is pretty standard for a memory foam mattress so there’s not much comment to make here. This layer plays the critical role of allowing the comfort layers to do their job on a stable and durable base.

You can see that Napp has 10 cm of comfort foams in the top two layers. This is incredibly generous for the price. To give some perspective: in America, where buying mattresses in boxes is a billion dollar industry crowded with competitors trying to be the best, the average layer of comfort foams is only 7-8 cm, so Napp has more than some big brands that have customers all over the world.

What’s So Special About The Foams In Napp?

There’s actually quite a bit more to say about the foams in the comfort layers of your Napp mattress than the brief explanation above.

This is especially true for the Hygroflex foam, which has been scientifically tested and shown to outperform other memory foams in many critical ways. Without boring you with all the information from the technical report, here are the key takeaways:

• Hygroflex better distributes pressure
• Hygroflex is better at conforming to your body shape without you sinking in (it distributes the force over a larger area)
• It’s easier to roll over or move around on Hygroflex foam than other memory foams
• Hygroflex has a high hysteresis (basically this means it bounces back quickly and is responsive) – studies have shown this is important for sleep quality, amount of deep sleep and general comfort
• Heat is transferred faster through the Hygroflex foams than the other memory foams it was being tested against

Hygroflex foam is exclusive to Napp in New Zealand.

I also want to emphasise the importance of the gel infusion in the middle layer. Napp have used a high density foam here, which usually means a smaller cell structure, which equals better quality and durability but less heat transfer. The gel infusion in this layer is therefore really important for temperature control.

I’ve seen many overseas mattress companies use a low density foam in the middle layer for the better airflow. However, this makes a weak link in the mattress as low density foams don’t last long and are what are often the layers responsible for mattresses sagging with a couple of years of use. I really like the fact that Napp have chosen to use a better quality foam in this middle layer, while engineering it for temperature control.

One more thing: all comfort foams made by Joyce are embedded with CompriShield during manufacturing. This provides protection against moulds and eliminates dust mites, which is great news for allergy sufferers.

What Does A Napp Mattress Mattress Feel Like To Lie On?

Napp has gone for a medium feel with their mattress. This is a firmness level that will be very comfortable for the vast majority of people. It’s aiming for that Goldilocks spot of “not too soft” and “not too firm” and I think they’ve got it right.

When you lie on a Napp mattress, you should feel like your pressure points are well supported but without sinking into the mattress. It should feel soft but strong.

The cooling abilities in the cover, the hygroflex foam and the gel infused foam work hard to keep you from heating up during the night. Heat retention is a common complaint with memory foam mattresses, but Napp foams are no ordinary foams. When I read through the customer reviews, comments about heat is always something I’m looking out for with all-foam mattresses, and there is not even one comment about Napp feeling hot.

Is Napp The Right Mattress For You?

As explained above, Napp has a medium firmness which will work well for most people. The foams inside have been carefully chosen to provide good pressure relief, support and comfort that will have you sleeping soundly.

I think Napp will be a good fit for:

• Back sleepers
• Side sleepers
• Combination sleepers
• Couples who can’t agree on a mattress firmness (Napp should feel like a good compromise that works for both of you)
• Pretty much everyone!

The only exception would be if you are really set on a very firm mattress. If this is you and you want a mattress in a box, then Ecosa is going to suit you better. Ecosa is definitely the firmest of the options in New Zealand, and many find it too firm (and switch to Napp). I own an Ecosa myself and its comfortable enough, but I actually wish I had something softer (without compromising support) like Napp instead.

Comparison With Other Mattress In A Box Brands

Click here for Napp Vs Ecosa

Click here for Napp Vs Winkl

Click here for Napp Vs Emma

What Are People Saying Who Love Theirs? Reviews From Real People

There are lots of happy Kiwis out there who have a lot to say about how much they love their Napp mattress. Here’s a small selection of the comments they had:

Napp Adjustable Bed Packages

To compliment their mattresses, Napp also offers adjustable bed bases. An adjustable bed base is one where you can raise the head and foot of the bed to adjust the position
you use it in. Napp adjustable bases are also made by A.H Beard in Auckland, and are sold in a package deal with Napp mattresses, so you don’t need to make any extra purchases.

Napp have a range of adjustable bed bases available, including their popular split models, where you can adjust one side of the bed only. This allows both people on the bed to sleep in exactly the position they want to. You might have thought that adjustable beds were only for hospitals, but that’s not
the case at all.

Here’s a short video from Napp outlining the seven main reasons you may want to consider an adjustable base.

The price of an adjustable bed package is certainly a bigger investment than just a mattress, but the prices are extremely competitive with the bricks and mortar stores, and I believe you’ll be getting better quality. Napp also allows you to pay via Splitit, which is the only buy now pay later plan that lets you use a credit card.

Read my detailed post on the best adjustable beds in New Zealand here.

Final Opinion

I think if you’ve read this far, it’s pretty clear I’m a fan of Napp. I always approach my reviews with a critical eye, but there’s just nothing to find fault with here.

Combine the fact that you’re getting a mattress made from high quality materials that will feel extremely comfortable with the fact you’re truly supporting local, your decision to buy a Napp mattress becomes a no-brainer.