About 5 years ago I decided to get more serious about my sleep health.
I ended up investing in the Ooler Sleep System by Sleep.Me, and I used it every night for 3 years.
Overall, I had a good experience with it.
Sure it never quite got as cold as I wanted it to, there’s been some reliability issues, and it’s a little louder than I’d prefer – but it did a pretty good job of helping aid my sleep.
About two years ago, I started hearing more and more about the Eight Sleep System. I’d been considering upgrading my Ooler for a while to their Dock Pro system, but the more I heard about Eight Sleep the more curious I became.
I decided to pick up an Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover, and I’ve used it consistently at home ever since.
I feel like this is where I should add a little bit of mystery to keep you engaged, but honestly, I can’t.
This product is SO good.
SO SO good.
It legitimately blows away my Sleepme product in nearly every category.
BUT, it’s not perfect.
If you’ve been in the market for a temperature-regulated sleep system, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know in this Eight Sleep Pod Cover review.
I’m going to tell you what I love about it, what I don’t, and I’ll make some direct comparisons to the Ooler and BedJet systems which are among the biggest competitors to Eight Sleep.
Ready to get going? Me too, I’m excited for this one.
What is the Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover?
The Eight Sleep Pod Cover is essentially a super high-tech mattress pad with two main functions.
The first is it regulates temperature using water. The pad has tiny tubes built into it that will send water throughout the entire pad. This can be set to as hot as 110 degrees, as cold as 55, and anywhere in between.
There’s a single dock that controls this, and each Eight Sleep has dual side controls. Meaning, you and your significant other can each have totally different temperatures on your own sides of the bed.
The second major feature of the Eight Sleep is non-wearable sleep tracking.
For the last year I’ve been wearing my Garmin watch to bed because the sleep tracking is so impressive on the watch (I’ve found this to be the case regardless of whether I’ve used the S70, Epix 2, or now, Fenix 8.)
The Eight Sleep has sensors built in throughout the entire pad to garner all of the same information as my watch, without having to wear anything.
Data like wakeup times, sleep cycles, HRV, breathing rate, and more, are all calculated while you sleep.
If you’re trying to optimize your recovery, get deeper sleep, or simply be more comfortable in bed? There’s a very good chance the Eight Sleep Pod was made for you.
Choosing the Right Eight Sleep Product for You
Similar to the SleepMe Ooler I had before, you have a few options when purchasing an Eight Sleep product.
First off, there’s the Eight Sleep Mattress. This essentially has all of the same functions and features as the cover we’re talking about today, but is an entire mattress.
I’m perfectly happy with my mattress, so I didn’t feel the need to go through the extra hassle or expense of buying this.
There are currently 3 different cover options:
- Pod 3 Cover – The last generation cover and dock, and is what I’ve personally been using for 2 years.
- Pod 4 Cover – This features 2x more cooling power over the 3, is quieter, is more comfortable, has a tap-to-control feature on the side of the cover.
- Pod 4 Ultra – Everything in the Pod 4, but includes an adjustable base for snoring mitigation and reading
This review is based on two years of using the Pod 3 cover, but I have a very good sense of what the Pod 4 brings to the table and will be able to help you figure out if it’s right for you.
Depending on your bed size, you can save $300-400 if you go with the Pod 3, over the newer 4. But if you want the Ultra, the price jumps up significantly.
Personally, I look at this system as an investment in my long-term sleep health. So while saving a few hundred bucks is nice, and I’m perfectly happy with my Pod 3, I’d opt for the Pod 4 cover if I were buying it now.
Quite simply, this is the single best investment you could make for your sleep - it's that good. It's expensive, but worth it.
First Impressions of the Eight Sleep Cover
My Eight Sleep Pod 3 arrived very quickly, just a few days after ordering it. It showed up in two separate boxes, one for the dock, and one for the cover itself.
I never really thought my Ooler felt cheap, but I think this was partly because I’d never used any other similar product.
As soon as I took out both the dock and the mattress pad, I was legitimately surprised by how high quality it is.
Especially the cover itself. It is night and day better than the Sleepme system I had previously.
The Sleepme pad goes over the top of your existing mattress pad and uses elastic straps to attach around the corners of the bed. One of those broke immediately upon installing it.
The Pod 3 cover with PerfectFit is a full cover that fits over the entirety of your mattress. It’s softer and the dark grey color feels much classier than with my Ooler.
The hoses that attach to the dock are way more robust than I expected them to be as well.
