When you’re asleep, the last thing you want to deal with is getting too hot or sweating through your sheets. Thankfully, a cooling mattress pad can help with that by offering a layer of comfort—especially if you’re a hot sleeper or if you have a dense mattress that tends to retain heat. However, because there are many options to choose from, deciding on the right model for your needs can feel a bit overwhelming. To help you narrow your choices, my partner and I tested a popular option from Red Nomad by sleeping on it for a week straight. Although it’s more of a barrier to keep your mattress safe from stains and other harmful elements, it doesn’t add any heat to your sleep, either. Ahead, I break down the design, durability, washing process, and texture of this mattress protector.
Material and Texture: Soft bamboo
This mattress protector is made with bamboo jacquard fabric, which has a reputation as a cool alternative to cotton sheets and pads. The underside of the pad, however, feels slightly thicker and its texture isn’t quite as smooth, so make sure you put it on correctly. Given that this material feels very soft and cotton-like, I was surprised at how water-resistant it was. To test its capabilities, I poured a substantial amount of water (about a palm-full) onto it. Eventually, the water did soak into the first layer, but even then there was no sign of the liquid through the underside of the pad. Overall, I found it very impressive that this mattress protector could repel moisture and still be incredibly soft to the touch. Additionally, one of the nicer things about this mattress cooling pad is that it doesn’t add any extra noise to your bed. Thanks to the texture of the padding, we didn’t notice any crinkling or jostling.
Design: Accommodating for tall mattresses
There’s nothing more annoying than buying a bed accessory and realizing that it doesn’t fit your mattress. This mattress pad accommodates mattresses up to 18 inches tall and also has a fitted skirt to help keep everything in place. Our mattress is 10 inches thick and we didn’t have any problems, but if you have an especially thin mattress, you may run into issues with the extra fabric causing the pad to slip around. Because this was a fairly thick mattress pad—we measured a little more than an inch tall—we didn’t feel our actual mattress underneath. This was fine for our situation, but if you depend on the texture or the exact firmness of your bed, you may run into a few comfort issues with this mattress pad.
Washing: Holds up well with no bunching
Red Nomad claims that this mattress pad is machine-washable. We gave it a wash ourselves and didn’t have any issues. We did notice that it wrinkled a bit until we put it on our bed again, but that wasn’t a dealbreaker. One thing to note: If a pure white mattress pad is what you’re after, prepare to wash the Red Nomad very often. While I haven’t noticed any discoloration yet, keep that in mind if the thought of an off-color mattress pad makes you crazy.
Durability: Sturdy enough
Although the material is very soft, as I mentioned previously, it does feel sturdy enough to handle the day’s sharp edges. After a week of testing, my partner and I didn’t notice any snags or rips.
Features: Hypoallergenic and free of harmful chemicals
This mattress pad comes with a hypoallergenic barrier, which is a fancy way of saying it helps combat the build-up of dust and other allergens without incorporating animal down or other materials that commonly attack the sinuses. It’s also OEKO-TEX-certified, meaning that it’s free of any harmful chemicals, and it does not contain any PVC, vinyl, or phthalates.
Price: A value pick
No matter which size you choose, you won’t pay more than $50 for the mattress pad from Red Nomad. Considering it’s easy to drop at least $100—sometimes much, much more—for fancy mattress pads promising life-changing results, this sleeper hit is worth the money ten times over.
Competition: A safe bet
Despite not being a cooling mattress pad by definition, the comfort and heat-relieving design of this mattress pad help it stand out among the competition—especially for parents dealing with the occasional bedtime accident. Interested in reading more reviews? Check out our list of the best cooling mattress pads. This mattress pad is an excellent value for the price. It reduces heat, resists liquids, and manages to be soft and comfortable. Overall, buying it is a no-brainer.
