Sleep Number c2 Review – Proactive Support On The Go

Sleep Number c2 Review – As far as airbeds go, the Sleep Number c2 seems to cover all the basics. The first smart bed to come out of the Sleep Number factories, it’s also the one that personifies the brand’s mission more faithfully. That mission has to do with providing an adjustable bed with flexible firmness and proactive support that is easy to customize on the fly.

All mattresses come with a fixed firmness and feel. If you discover later that the mattress is either too soft or too firm for you, well, there’s not much you can do about it. You’re simply stuck with it. But the Sleep Number set out to change that and revolutionize the way mattresses are made and sold. With air chambers that can be inflated and deflated at will, your smart bed can be soft and plush or extra firm.

As part of the Classic series, c2 is more than just an airbed with a wide variety of bases sold separately. This review covers the following topics in more detail:

• Sleep Number c2 Overview.
• Sleep Number c2 Features.
• What Customers Think About Sleep Number c2.
• Alternatives to the Sleep Number c2.
• Final Thoughts.

Sleep Number c2 Overview

• Price: $899 a discounted price for a queen-size bed with the base sold separately.
• Ships for free across the USA with home delivery and free installation.
• 100-night free sleep trial.
• 15-year warranty.
• Easy to adjust and customize each side of the smart bed.
• Sleep IQ app offers insights and suggestions to improve the quality of your sleep.
• The cover is made from a blend of polyester and polypropylene that feels soft and cool against the skin. The breathable fabric promotes better air circulation and reduces heat build-up even if you spend hours in the same position.
• The 8-inch high mattress has the following layers:
  • Comfort Layer: A 2-inch fiberfill polyfoam layer is sewn into the mattress under the cover.
  • Support Layer: Two air chambers that can be inflated or deflated independently using the SleepIQ app.

For a smart bed with proactive support and adjustable firmness, the c2 doesn’t come with the usual comfort pads that the rest of the Sleep Number smart beds have. Even though the top of the mattress can be zipped open, you shouldn’t try to wash it.

In fact, that would totally ruin the smart bed. Which makes the design of the mattress a bit of a puzzle. Why the presence of the zip if not to wash the cover and keep it clean? Based on my understanding, the zip in the mattress allows you to take a peek inside and check on the air chambers if something goes wrong.

Analysis Of The Materials Inside The Sleep Number c2

Cover

The cover of the mattress is made of a special poly blend that is designed to achieve a maximum level of comfort, cooling, and breathability. Made of a combination of polyester and polypropylene the cover has excellent temperature- and moisture-wicking qualities that keep the surface dry and cool.

This is great news for people who like to sleep hot. They won’t have to worry about night sweating or heat getting trapped between the cover and the comfort layer. The breathability of the fabric ensures that the temperature dissipates quickly through the comfort layer. The only drawback is that the cover cannot be removed and washed.

Comfort Layer

The c2 doesn’t put much emphasis on the comfort layer. We have to keep in mind that this was the first prototype for all the Sleep Number products that followed. And while later designs added not just a separate comfort layer but even a pad as well, c2 remained unchanged with its sewn-in fiberfill layer that still feels like a generic placeholder that came as an afterthought.

Years later, the comfort layer of the c2 remains a 2-inch polyfoam layer that is attached to the top of the mattress. When you unzip the top of the mattress, you’ll see the polyfoam layer stuck to the bottom of the cover. The only reason I can think of for keeping that thin layer unchanged is to give the smart bed an extra firm feel for stomach sleepers, back sleepers, and large sleepers who relish the added firmness.

This thin comfort layer explains why most of the user comments praise the extra firm mattress. I imagine that making the comfort layer cushier would ruin that original concept. Besides, if you want to give the smart bed a softer and more plush feel, you can do so with the help of the SleepIQ app.

Support/Base Layer

The support layer of the c2 is its most distinguishing feature. It comes in the shape of two air chambers under the fiberfill comfort layer. And unlike the sewn-in comfort layer, the two air chambers work independently of each other and can be custom inflated and deflated to give each side of the bed its own feel and settings to suit couples with different sleep needs and requirements.

This layer is 6 inches high which when fully inflated brings the profile of the bed to 8 inches high. It’s super customizable and is the secret behind the flexible firmness of the smart bed. If there’s one aspect of the c2 that the majority of customers keep mentioning, it’s the adjustable flexibility. One side of the bed can be extra firm scoring 8 on the firmness scale while the other side can be soft with a score of 3.

You don’t have to buy the Split King bed option to achieve this dual-side customization either. Even a queen smart bed allows you to enjoy different settings for each side of the bed. This makes the c2 the most affordable mattress for couples who not only have varying sleep preferences but also need a bed with a zero-motion transfer. The two air chambers keep motion isolation at maximum levels.

Sleep Number c2 Reviews From Real Customers

One of the most satisfying aspects of researching this review for me was going through the huge number of comments and feedback from real customers. The Sleep Number website allows users to send their feedback and write reviews freely without trying to push top-rated comments up front while hiding negative ones. Here’s what I came up with after going through the reviews.

• The overall rating of the c2 was 4.6 out of 5 stars from 16,193 users as of this writing.
• About 94 percent of users awarded the c2 smart bed either 4 or 5 stars with the majority of those giving it full stars.
• People can upvote, downvote, or report each review which helps keep the comments objective and to the point and prevents abusive and pointless reviews.
• The recurring theme in the majority of the comments was how easy it was to adjust the firmness of the smart bed with the help of the SleepIQ app.
• Adjusting each side of the bed independently also got a lot of praise and mentions. Couples were happy with dual-side customizations without disturbing each other or waking up the partner.
• Even with a thin comfort layer, users were satisfied with the comfort levels of the c2 smart bed. That’s because the flexible firmness more than makes up for the lack of a plush comfort layer.
• The durability of the smart bed was mentioned in many comments as well. One user said that the previous c2 had lasted 26 years. That makes the Sleep Number c2 not just an affordable bed but a good investment as well.
• There were also negative comments and some users were not happy with the smart bed. For the most part, their complaints revolved around either damaged packaging or the sewn-in comfort layer that prevented them from getting the cover washed and replaced.

“I bought this 3 years after my firstC2. The company had fixed all the major issues with top padding, uneven filling of air tanks, quieting the air tanks, self-adjustable air tanks while sleeping, Sleep IQ technology app to better track your sleep plus a much better night’s sleep. I love this bed! It also came with an adjustable base this time.”

Sleep Number c2 Review Verdict

Calling a smart bed a basic one sounds like an oxymoron. But the truth is, among all the Sleep Number series, c2 is considered the most basic one. It comes with a thin comfort polyfoam layer that is attached to the cover. The mattress can be unzipped, but that doesn’t mean you can take off the cover, get it cleaned, then put it back.

On the bright side, this is a smart bed that can track your sleep patterns and gives you suggestions to help you get a better quality sleep every night. It is quite responsive and quickly adjusts to the right firmness level as you roll over or shift around on the mattress.

For all of these reasons and its quite affordable price, I recommend c2 for people of all sleep positions and couples who want different things out of their beds.