Restonit FROST Ice Gel Mattress Review: Is the $1,852 Cooling Mattress Worth It?

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Sleeping hot is not a preference issue. It is a measurable physiological problem. Your core body temperature needs to drop by about 1 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit to initiate and maintain deep sleep. Research published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology has demonstrated that elevated sleeping surface temperature directly reduces time spent in slow-wave (deep) sleep and REM sleep.

If your mattress traps heat, it is not just uncomfortable. It is actively interfering with your sleep quality.

The Restonit FROST Ice Gel is designed specifically for this problem. It is the most aggressively cooling mattress in the Restonit lineup, and it is the one we recommend when customers tell us they have tried "cooling" mattresses before and still wake up hot.

Here is what makes it different, what it costs, and whether it is worth $1,852.

Quick Specs

8 min read

Who Actually Needs a Cooling Mattress This Serious

Not everyone who says they "sleep hot" needs a $1,852 mattress. Let us be direct about who this product is designed for.

You Need the FROST If:

• You sweat through sheets at night. Not occasional warmth. Actual perspiration that dampens your sheets and pillowcase. This is the primary indicator that your mattress is trapping significant body heat.
• You have tried a "cooling" mattress before and it was not enough. Many gel mattresses market cooling but deliver only marginal improvement. If you bought a $600 gel foam mattress and still sleep hot, the FROST uses a more concentrated formulation.
• You take medication that causes night sweats. Certain antidepressants, hormone therapies, and blood pressure medications list night sweats as a common side effect. A cooling mattress does not solve the underlying cause, but it can reduce the discomfort significantly.
• Menopause-related night sweats. The Canadian Menopause Society notes that approximately 75% of women experience hot flashes and night sweats during perimenopause and menopause. Temperature-regulating sleep surfaces are commonly recommended as a non-pharmacological management strategy.

You Do Not Need the FROST If:

• Your bedroom is just warm. If your room temperature is above 20°C (68°F), the problem is your thermostat, not your mattress. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends a bedroom temperature of 15 to 19°C (60 to 67°F) for optimal sleep. Fix the room first.
• You sleep warm but do not sweat. Feeling warm under blankets is normal. If you are comfortable enough to sleep through the night without disruption, a standard gel mattress like the Borealis Gel at $585 provides adequate cooling for most people.
• You want a good mattress and cooling is a bonus. Buy the Glacier Peyto at $1,045 instead. It is a hybrid with coil airflow that sleeps cooler than any all-foam mattress and provides better overall support. The FROST is only the better choice when maximum cooling is the priority.

Ice Gel vs. Regular Gel: What Is Actually Different

All gel memory foam mattresses work on the same basic principle: gel beads or gel layers mixed into the foam absorb body heat and distribute it across a wider area, preventing the hot spots that make traditional memory foam feel suffocating.

The FROST goes further in two ways.

Higher gel concentration. More gel per cubic inch of foam means more thermal mass to absorb heat. Think of it like the difference between a small ice pack and a large one. Both cool you down, but the larger one absorbs more heat before warming up.

Ice gel formulation. Standard gel beads are designed to be thermally neutral (they absorb heat to match your body temperature). Ice gel is formulated to feel actively cool to the touch, meaning the gel stays below skin temperature longer. The sensation when you first lie down is similar to flipping your pillow to the cool side, except it lasts longer because the gel has more thermal capacity.

Will you feel the FROST is cold? No. It is not air conditioning. It is a foam mattress that manages heat better than other foam mattresses. The cooling effect is relative, not absolute. On a warm summer night in Brantford (or Calgary, or Vancouver), it keeps the sleep surface from building up the oppressive heat that standard memory foam is notorious for.

How the FROST Actually Sleeps

First Impression

The surface feels cool when you lie down. This is the ice gel doing its job. The sensation is subtle but real, similar to lying on high-thread-count cotton sheets that have been in a cool room. It fades over 10 to 15 minutes as the gel absorbs body heat, but does not turn into the heat trap that standard foam creates.

Support and Comfort

Medium firmness (5.5 out of 10). Slightly softer than the Borealis Gel (6/10). The FROST has that classic memory foam body-conforming feel, slower to respond than a hybrid, with noticeable contouring around shoulders and hips. Side sleepers in particular benefit from the pressure relief.

Motion Isolation

Excellent, as expected from an all-foam mattress. If your partner rolls over, you are unlikely to feel it. This makes the FROST a strong choice for couples where one person sleeps hot and the other is a light sleeper.

Edge Support

Average. All-foam mattresses compress at the edges more than hybrids. If you sit on the side of the bed to put on shoes, the edge will compress noticeably. It is not a problem for sleeping (you typically are not at the very edge), but it is a practical consideration.

Through the Night

The key question: does the cooling last all night? Our experience from customer feedback is that the FROST stays noticeably cooler than standard memory foam through the entire night. It does not stay "cool to the touch" for eight hours, as no passive cooling material can do that. But it avoids the progressive heat buildup that wakes hot sleepers at 2 or 3 a.m. on conventional foam.

The Restonit Cooling Ladder: FROST vs. Borealis Gel vs. Cloud Vapor

We carry three Restonit mattresses that address heat, each at a different price point and cooling intensity. Here is how they compare.

The decision path is straightforward:

• Budget or mild heat: Borealis Gel at $585. Good enough for most people.
• Hot sleeper who also wants antimicrobial properties: Cloud Vapor at $1,400. The copper infusion provides both cooling and natural antibacterial benefits.
• Maximum cooling is the priority: FROST at $1,852. The coldest surface feel in the lineup.

If you are choosing between the Cloud Vapor and the FROST, the cooling difference between them is smaller than the difference between either one and the Borealis Gel. The Cloud Vapor adds antimicrobial copper, which is valuable for allergy-prone sleepers. The FROST edges it out on raw cooling performance. At $452 more for a queen, the Cloud Vapor is the better value unless maximum cooling is your top priority.

Adjustable Base Pairing

The FROST pairs with any adjustable base we carry. At $1,852, it pushes the total cost higher, so here are the most practical combinations:

An adjustable base actually enhances the FROST's cooling performance slightly. When the head or foot is elevated, air circulates under the mattress more freely than on a flat platform, which helps dissipate heat from the underside.

Honest Limitations

We sell this mattress, but that does not mean we think it is for everyone. Here are the honest drawbacks.

Price per year. At $1,852 with an expected lifespan of 5 to 7 years (all-foam), the cost per year is $265 to $370. The Glacier Peyto at $1,045 with a 7 to 10 year lifespan costs $104 to $149 per year. The FROST is a premium product with a higher cost of ownership.

No coil support. Like all Restonit all-foam mattresses, the FROST lacks the structural support that pocketed coils provide. Heavier sleepers (230+ lbs) may find the support insufficient for long-term use. A hybrid with cooling technology would be better for larger frames, but Restonit does not currently offer a hybrid at this cooling level.

Memory foam feel. If you do not like the slow, conforming sensation of memory foam, no amount of cooling technology will change that. The FROST sleeps cool, but it still feels like memory foam. If you want cooling and responsiveness, a hybrid is the better format.

Cooling is passive. The ice gel does not generate cold. It absorbs heat more effectively than standard foam. On a 30°C summer night without air conditioning, the FROST will still feel warm. It just will not feel as oppressively hot as a standard foam mattress in the same conditions.

Quick Comparison to Competitors

At $1,852, the FROST competes with several Canadian cooling mattresses:

• Endy Hybrid ($1,195): A foam-and-coil hybrid with a cooling cover. The Endy sleeps cooler than standard foam thanks to the coil layer's airflow, but it does not have the concentrated gel cooling of the FROST. Different approaches to the same problem.
• Silk and Snow Hybrid ($1,150): Similar to the Endy in construction. Good cooling from coil airflow, but not specifically engineered for maximum surface cooling.
• Douglas ($899): Uses gel foam and latex, which is naturally cooling. Good value, but less aggressive cooling than the FROST's ice gel formulation.

The FROST's unique positioning: it is the only rolled mattress we know of that uses a dedicated ice gel formulation at this concentration level. Other brands rely on coil airflow or phase-change fabric covers. The FROST addresses heat at the foam level itself.

Shop: Shop The Full Mattress Lineup

Sources

• Okamoto-Mizuno, K., Mizuno, K. "Effects of Thermal Environment on Sleep and Circadian Rhythm." Journal of Physiological Anthropology, BioMed Central.
• Krauchi, K. "The Thermophysiological Cascade Leading to Sleep Initiation." Sleep Medicine Reviews, Elsevier.
• Canadian Menopause Society. "Managing Menopausal Symptoms: Non-Pharmacological Approaches." sigmamenopause.com
• American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "Healthy Sleep Habits." sleepeducation.org

Related Reading

• Restonit Borealis Gel Review ($585)
• Restonit Glacier Peyto Review ($1,045)
• Queen Adjustable Bed Under $2,000 Canada
• SleepBeat Adjustable Base Review
• Restonit Cloud Vapor Copper Gel Mattress Review: Antimicrobial Cooling at $1,400