Panda Classic Queen Mattress Review: Unboxing, Setting up, and the First Night
The Panda Classic mattress features the world’s most advanced memory foam technology, and it’s certified by CertiPUR-US and OEKO-TEX. Without trying a Panda Classic for yourself, however, it’s hard to know exactly what this mattress will feel like when you lay your head down at night.
As the content writer for PandaZzz, I recently had the chance to welcome a queen-sized Panda Classic into my home, and I’ve gained firsthand experience regarding what it’s like to receive, unbox, set up, and sleep on this ultra-comfortable, high-tech mattress. In this review, I’ll cover everything you need to know about what to expect when your PandaZzz mattress arrives at your door.
Delivery
I received tracking information the moment that my Panda Classic mattress shipped. My mattress was shipped via UPS, and I was able to track my package as it made its way from Southern California to my home in Northern Idaho. All told, it took my mattress three days to arrive after it was shipped. I was pleased that the bulkiness of the package didn’t result in any delays.
To satisfy my curiosity as I awaited my mattress, I checked the weight of the package using the provided UPS tracking number. As a reasonably fit young man, I knew that I wouldn’t have any trouble handling the 35 pound mattress box once it arrived. Individuals who are older or smaller than me, however, may want to ask for assistance unboxing and setting up their Panda mattresses.
Arrival
The box that my Panda Classic arrived in was about the same size as a mini-fridge box. It was approximately the same height as my four-year-old daughter, and it was maybe two feet wide on either side.
I half-lifted, half-dragged the box inside off of my porch, and I was immediately impressed by its condition. Large boxes tend to get mangled as they make their way across the country, but my Panda Classic box had proven sturdy enough to handle the usual beating. One corner was slightly squished, but there were no holes in the box, and the tape remained intact.
Unboxing
After some deliberation, I decided to remove the mattress from its box in my foyer before moving it into the garage for a full unboxing. Customers without kids or pets might be content to open their Panda mattresses in their living rooms, but I knew that my children would be jumping all over the mattress before it even had a chance to expand. Therefore, I offered the box to my kids as bait as soon as I had opened it, turned it on its end, and slid out the mattress inside.
I had ordered a memory foam mattress online before, but that was more than six years ago. To my recollection, my previous experience had been similar to receiving my Panda Classic mattress, but I’m certain that my PandaZzz mattress was packaged more efficiently and effectively than the cheap memory foam mattress I had ordered on Amazon. As soon as my Panda Classic slid out its box, I marveled at how well it had been compacted.
What I found
The mattress had been vacuum-compressed, folded along its length, and rolled up into a spiral. Therefore, my first impression was that my Panda Classic mattress was in two pieces, which was initially confusing. Upon further inspection, however, I noticed the fold at the bottom of the mattress. As far as I remember, the mattress I ordered in 2014 had not featured this fold, which significantly reduced the size of the package.
I carried the rolled-up, folded, and vacuum-sealed mattress to the garage before unboxing it further. The “mattress-roll-up” was surrounded by two layers of thick plastic, which I assumed was there to prevent the vacuum seal from being punctured. True to its purpose, the protective plastic had prevented any punctures in the vacuum seal, and after removing the thick sheets using scissors, my vacuum-sealed Panda Classic unrolled slightly without producing any telltale hisses that can indicate punctures.
Puncturing the seal
I unfolded the still-sealed mattress on a new tarp I had placed on my concrete garage floor, and I punctured the seal. Immediately, air started hissing into the puncture, and the mattress slowly started to expand. I continued the process by making a long, vertical slit along the length of the plastic, and I watched for a few minutes to see what would happen.
After approximately three minutes had passed, the mattress had expanded to around twice its original thickness. It had been around 2-3 inches thick when still fully sealed, and it had already attained a thickness of around five inches. I left the garage to wait for my Panda Classic to expand to its full thickness.
Setting up
My mattress had arrived at around 4 PM on the day of an unseasonable October snowstorm. Therefore, I resigned myself to not sleeping on my Panda Classic until the following night, and, as I expected, the low temperature in the garage seemingly delayed the expansion of my new mattress. By the time I went to bed that night, the center of the mattress had expanded to its full thickness, but the corners were still somewhat “deflated.”
The following morning, I entered my garage to find that my mattress had fully expanded despite the cold weather. The weight of the mattress was not a problem, but due to its bulkiness, I asked for my wife’s assistance as I carried it through the ground floor of my house and upstairs into our bedroom.
We have always placed our mattresses directly on the floor, so setting up my Panda Classic was remarkably simple and straightforward. Since it makes direct contact with our master bedroom carpet, the anti-slip silicone cover on the bottom of the mattress doesn’t make a difference in our situation, but for people putting their PandaZzz mattresses on conventional bed frames, this feature could be extremely handy.
To provide an accurate comparison between my old mattress, which was thin and futon-style, I equipped my new queen-sized Panda Classic with the same hypoallergenic cover and relatively thin topper that I had used with my old mattress. After equipping my PandaZzz mattress with blankets and fresh sheets, I was ready for the coming night’s snooze.
Night one
I had laid on my Panda Classic for a few minutes after I had set it up, but that brief taste wasn’t enough to get a comprehensive idea of how my new mattress felt. Sleeping on my queen-sized Panda Classic for the first night, there were a few features that immediately stood out:
Softness
My new Panda Classic was certainly softer than my futon-style mattress, and it was even softer than my old memory foam mattress, which we lamentably had to leave behind when we decided to travel the country in our 5th-wheel trailer. I felt my body sink into the upper layers of memory foam, providing a sensation similar to floating in water.
Support
After sinking through the memory foam, however, my body’s weight was supported by the firmer foam underneath. My previous memory foam mattress had consisted of a single chunk of foam, so this multi-layered design was new to me. Without the firm foam underneath, my Panda Classic mattress would have been far too soft, but it truly feels as if all the layers work together in harmony to provide the perfect balance between softness and support.
Body molding
After a few moments of laying in bed, I started feeling a pleasant sense of solidity throughout my body. The soft, upper layers of memory foam in my PandaZzz mattress had fully conformed to my body’s contours, making it slightly hard to move. For instance, I had to exert significantly more force to turn my body over than had been necessary when laying on my old mattress. However, the sense of relaxation and calm that resulted from this body-wide hug entirely made up for the minor difficulty involved in changing positions.
Rejuvenation
From the very first night, I thoroughly enjoyed the soft, supportive, and body-molding attributes of my PandaZzz mattress. I was truly shocked, however, by how rested and rejuvenated I felt the following morning. I almost always sleep well and deeply, but what was notably different was a sense of tingling energy that I felt throughout my entire body after sleeping on my Panda Classic for a single night. My body was clearly grateful for the added support while it rested, and sleeping on my new Panda Classic made me feel more relaxed and energized throughout the day.
The review continues
I have now slept on my new Panda Classic mattress for three nights, and every morning, I wake up feeling better than the day before. I’ll keep you posted as I continue to sleep on my PandaZzz mattress every night and soak up the benefits of truly regenerative, restorative sleep.