Our Classic Brands Cool Gel 6 Inch vs. Douglas mattress review will help you decide which is the right mattress for you. Classic Brands is a budget brand and is well-known for selling memory foam mattresses via Amazon, Walmart, and Wayfair. Douglas is more expensive than the Classic Brands mattress we are reviewing, but it offers more refinement regarding its foams and customer service. Douglas recently expanded its sales channels and is now available on Amazon.ca and BestBuy.ca, so it’s the perfect time to compare these ‘Amazon-friendly’ brands.

Classic Brands, which is based in Maryland, sells to both the USA and Canada and was launched in 2002. Classic Brands has multiple height options available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca for US & Canadian customers. Classic Brands mentions no clear environmental commitment on its website and imports its mattresses from China.

Douglas’ offices are in Edmonton with manufacturing in Quebec and Ontario. Douglas is a brand of Novosbed, one of the first online-only mattress brands (since 2009). Douglas is exclusive to Canada, is available online only, and promotes a strong commitment to eco-friendly design and the environment. From its unbleached, recycled box, to its use of low-carbon ecoLight™ foam, to its sustainably-farmed cover, Douglas uses production materials that are better for the environment.

The Classic Brands 6 Inch Cool Gel mattress had a significant chemical smell after taking off the plastic packaging. The smell was still there after 72 hours. While the Classic Brands 6 Inch Cool Gel did not expand as quickly as other bed-in-a-box mattresses, it did reach a firmness of 8.1 out of 10 after 72 hours.

Douglas did not emit the significant odor sometimes associated with new foam mattresses.

Both Douglas and Classic Brands mattresses are hybrid foam mattresses, meaning they use a combination of different types of foam to achieve optimal comfort and support. These hybrid configurations are designed to offer great support from memory foam and great comfort and cooling, provided by a layer of gel foam.

Foam layers

Classic Brands Cool Gel foam layers

Classic Brands 6 Inch Cool Gel also uses two foam layers. The top layer is 1 inch of gel memory foam, while the second layer is 5 inches of high-density foam. Gel foam is ideal for providing airflow and cooling throughout the night, which helps prevent the mattress from sleeping too hot.

Douglas foam layers

Douglas uses three foam layers. The top layer is 2 inches of cooling gel ecoLight™ foam. The second layer is 2 inches of Elastex™ foam. The third layer is 6 inches of poly foam. Gel foam is ideal for providing airflow and cooling throughout the night, which helps prevent the mattress from sleeping too hot.

According to Douglas, ecoLight™ foam (unique to Douglas) is made with less material but has the same feel and durability as fast-response high-density memory foam. This results in a significantly lower carbon footprint, without an impact on quality. Elastex™ foam (also unique to Douglas) is a responsive elastic transition layer.

Classic Brands 6 Inch Cool Gel lack a middle layer of foam for extra spring and support. If you use your bed for more than sleep, you’ll want a mattress that supports vigorous activity without too much sinkage. Douglas provides this middle layer.

Mattress cover

Classic Brands Cool Gel mattress covers

Classic Brands 6 Inch Cool Gel mattresses have traditional, single-tone covers. It has a white base, with an off-white top cover and sides. The white piece of fabric is relatively thin, stretchy, and porous. It is made from polyester. This provides excellent breathability and cooling.

Douglas mattress cover

The Douglas’ cover features a striking mountainscape, reflecting the company’s proudly Canadian roots. The cover is cut from a single piece of fabric and woven together, so it’s almost entirely seamless, except for the zipper on the side. The top and bottom halves of the Douglas mattress cover is joined with a red zipper, ensuring the top portion of the Douglas mattress cover is washable.

The Douglas cover fabric is made from a Natural Eucalyptus Fabric™ (Tencel™) and polyester blend. This fabric is made from sustainably-farmed eucalyptus trees. The cover is stretch-knit, very soft, and extremely durable. Tencel is promoted as being great for moisture wicking and breathability.

Environmental sustainability

Douglas’ website talks a lot about its commitment to the environment, using ecoLight™ cooling gel foam to reduce its carbon footprint.

Classic Brands does not mention any explicit environmental commitment on its website.

Firmness

Both Classic Brands Cool Gel mattresses are  firmer than Douglas. Douglas comes in at a 5.3 out of 10 on the firmness scale, while Classic Brands 6 inch is an 8.1 out of 10.

Feel

The Douglas feels softer than its counterparts. The middle 2” layer, made of Elastex™ foam, gives the mattress more bounce. However, according to its website:

Douglas is a medium-firm mattress with a plush, supporting feel and pressure point relief for all sleeping positions.

• Best-in-class spinal alignment for side sleepers
• Balanced support for back sleepers
• Pressure-point relief for stomach sleepers

The Classic Brands 6 Inch mattress is constructed with only 2 foam layers. The base foam, at 5 inches may be high density, but that does not alter the fact that this is a thin mattress.

Sinkage

During the test, we observed 2.69 inches for the Douglas.

There is 1.84 Inches of sinkage on the Classic Brands 6 Inch.

Despite the fact that the sinkage is similar, the Elastex™ foam in the Douglas makes the experience of this mattress noticeably different.

Edge support

The edge support for the Douglas is 5.8 out of 10, while the Classic Brands 6 Inch rated an 8.4 out of 10 for edge support.

The Douglas has typical sinkage for foam mattresses.

Motion transfer

Motion transfer is minimal on most foam mattresses. There is very minimal motion transfer detectable with the Classic Brands, and Douglas mattresses.

The Classic Brands 6 Inch ranked a 6.2 out of 10 on the scale, while the Douglas was an even 8.0 out of 10.

Bounciness

The Douglas and Classic Brands 6 Inch scored a 5.3 and 4.3 out of 10, respectively. The Douglas and the Classic Brands 6 Inch were quite bouncy, most likely due to their higher firmness ratings.

Memory foam mattresses are generally not as bouncy as traditional innerspring mattresses.

The Classic Brands 6 Inch Cool Gel mattress has a lower price point than the Douglas. Prices for the Classic Brands are taken from Amazon.ca and Amazon.com. See the Price Comparison between Classic Brands 6 Inch and Douglas below.

Classic Brands 6 Inch Cool Gel vs Douglas Comparison

We’ve covered the comparison points between Classic Brands 6 Inch Cool Gel and Douglas. The following table is a summary of the main points in our Classic Brands vs. Douglas mattress review: