Koala Calm As vs Emma Comfort Mattress Comparison

We reckon side sleepers will get a great night’s sleep on the Koala Calm As mattress. With its 5 layers and foam construction, it offers a lot of soft, sinkable support for side sleepers’ necks and spines, helping to keep them in the correct alignment. The Original Koala mattress (the precursor to the Koala mattress) impressed Cosier writer Elese with its minimal partner disturbance and the Calm As mattress, with 2 extra layers, will be even more effective. Co-sleepers, this one’s for you.

Any type of sleeper who’s after a supportive, cradling night’s sleep might appreciate the Emma Comfort - especially if you prefer a firmer mattress. With its great ability to minimise partner disturbance, it’s ideal for co-sleepers.

We reckon so. Designed to suit a range of sleepers, but especially good for side sleepers, the Koala Calm As foam mattress is great at providing supportive comfort all night long. It suits Aussie sleepers well, thanks to the attention paid to keeping you cool as you sleep. Partner disturbance is also minimal. Koala itself is a great Aussie company with some really solid eco-credentials.

• The supportive comfortable feel of the mattress.
• Customisable firmness level that can be flipped.
• The attention paid to keeping you cool on hot nights.
• Koala’s environmental and sustainability focus.

• It’s pretty deep at 29cm so check if your fitted sheets will work.
• No handles which makes turning and moving it tricky.
• It’s heavy, weighing up to 51.75kg for the king - those handles really would have come in handy.

Thousands (literally) of Aussie sleepers reckon the Emma Comfort mattress is a very good mattress. Even CHOICE, Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group, named it as their top scoring mattress for 2021. This all-foam mattress is supportive and pressure relieving for all sleepers and sleeping positions, although some sleepers do find it very firm.

From our personal experience, we feel the Emma Comfort mattress is one of the best budget mattress buys on the market, just bear in mind it suits sleepers who like it firm.

• The removable, washable cover which is the only one we’ve found.
• It’s pretty light for a mattress in a box so it's easy to move.
• The lack of partner disturbance.

• Some sleepers (including Daniel, our tester) found it very firm (and borderline hard).
• The buying process isn’t the most streamlined.

The Koala Calm As mattress is a foam mattress with 5 layers:

1. A 7cm polyester sleeping surface and a 1cm quilted cover. This sleeping surface is designed to keep you cool and dry as you sleep.
2. Flippable comfort layer which offers you a medium-firm or firm feel.
3. A support layer with 3 support zones that are targeted to your important bits, like your back and shoulders. It’s got air tunnels too to help air move freely and avoid that sticky feeling. It’s also designed to spread your weight evenly across the mattress.
4. Another support layer, much deeper this time. It’s the firmest core of the mattress and should provide great support for every type of sleeper.
5. Edge support to make sure you don’t sink when you perch on the end to put your socks on.

All the foam is polyurethane foam that’s certified free of formaldehyde and other nasties and is low-VOC (volatile organic compounds).

The foam Emma Comfort mattress has 2 layers:

1. A layer of Airgocell foam which is intended to minimise partner disturbance and is also moisture wicking to keep you cool and dry all night long.
2. A layer of supportive HRX foam to help your hips, shoulders and spine stay in their correct alignment. It’s also breathable to promote good airflow.

The Emma Comfort mattress has a removable and washable cover that’s 99% polyester and 1% elastane. It’s also got a side cover (100% polyester) and a bottom cover (87% polyester and 13% polypropylene).

Emma seems less bothered about environmental concerns than other brands, with information tucked away in the ‘quality mark’ accordion. There we found that every layer complies with OEKO-TEX® Standard 10 which means it’s free of harmful substances.

With the average free trial period being 100 nights, Koala beats it by offering 120 nights. Koala will only pick up the mattress for free in most areas of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. If you’re outside these areas, you’ll need to bring it to the nearest Koala warehouse - ouch. Although they promise a full refund, note that delivery fees are non-refundable.

Koala ships for free nationwide, although they do offer weekend delivery for $70. Delivery can be same day in metro areas. Outside metro areas, you’re looking at 1-15 business days. They have a delivery checker on their website so you can get a more accurate idea of how long it could take.

The Koala Calm As mattress has an industry standard warranty of 10 years that covers any physical damage and defects in the materials and workmanship. It doesn’t cover normal wear and tear, which includes ‘softening of the product that does not affect performance’. This sounds a little subjective to us as your idea of your mattress becoming too soft they might argue isn’t performance related.

Emma offers you 100 nights to try the Comfort in your home. They do ask that you try it for at least 3-4 weeks before deciding if it’s right for you. If it’s not, simply email them to arrange a free pick-up - as long as you live within their delivery area. If you’re outside these areas (not listed on their website), you’ll need to take it to your nearest drop off location. Once it’s been picked up (or dropped off), Emma will refund you within 14 days.

You need to wrap it in its original plastic packaging ready for collection and it needs to be free from mould, dirt, stains, smells and bed bugs.

The Emma Comfort comes with a 10-year warranty that covers sags or dips that are greater than 2.5cm, cracks or hollows in the foam, a mattress that doesn't fully inflate within 2 weeks, and damage to the cover (but not normal wear and tear). To claim under the warranty, you need to email Emma with photos of the problem.

Shipping is free, Australia-wide. If you live in metro areas (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide) and order before 10am on a weekday, you should get it between 2 and 6pm that same day. Otherwise you can expect it within 2-7 business days. Tracking information is provided via SMS for metro areas, and via email for everywhere else.