Dated receipts, updated as I go. Every price here is what I paid in September and October 2026. A few results are still coming, listed at the end, and I'll update this page as each one lands.
Why did I buy a Hest in the first place?
My camper is a Tune M1 on a 2023 Tacoma with the King Bed Extension: a 60" × 72" main platform plus a 20" × 72" piece that slides out over the cab at night. I sleep on my back and side. My partner is a stomach sleeper.
I'd planned to build my own mattress. Then the custom foam quote came in higher than I expected, and Hest went on sale for Labor Day. The Dually Wide fits the M1's main platform exactly, and Hest makes a matching Dually Extend 72 for the King slide. With a 100-night money-back guarantee, buying it looked like the low-risk way to learn what I actually wanted.
| Hest order (Labor Day 2026, 20% off) | List | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Dually Wide, 60" × 72" | $629 | $503.20 |
| Dually Extend 72, 20" × 72" | $249 | $199.20 |
| Delivered, with shipping and tax | ~$799 |
How did the Hest sleep?
Comfortable to lie on, too soft to sleep on, at least for me. Over about seven nights, side sleeping left my hips sore. The top layer is plush, the layer under it gives too, and on a hard camper platform my hip sank until the mattress stopped holding it up.
The Extend was the other problem. It's a separate pad that connects to the main mattress, and on the King slide it kept sliding around. The connection between the two pieces didn't hold them together.
Does Hest foam stay soft in the cold?
No, and that turned out to be my most useful night on it. Hest describes its top layer as "temperature resilient foam." On a night that got down to about 35°F, the mattress felt noticeably firmer, and for the first time I didn't bottom out. It was the best night I had on the Hest.
That's what memory foam does: it stiffens as it gets colder. The one long independent cold test I've found, CleverHiker's 60-plus nights, saw the same thing below about 10°F. My takeaway was simpler. If the Hest only felt right when it was cold, I wanted a firmer mattress, not a different brand of soft one.
What’s inside a Hest Dually?
I unzipped both pieces before sending them back. Each one is two layers of foam: 2" of plush memory foam on top of 2" of support foam. By hand, that support layer still feels softer than the HD36 base in my DIY build. There's no air chamber and no valve anywhere.
That last part surprised me. When I checked in August, the construction notes on the Dually product page described "an inflatable drop stitch base." The mattress I took apart was all foam. My guess is the line is carried over from Hest's Sleep System, which does pair foam with an inflatable pad.
What the weights say about the foam
On a bathroom scale, covers on, the Dually Wide weighed 24.7 lb (Hest lists 26) and the Extend 72 weighed 8.4 lb. The Wide is 60" × 72" × 4", which is 10 cubic feet. Take off two or three pounds for the cover and the foam works out to about 2.2 lb per cubic foot. The Extend lands at the same number.
That's ordinary foam density, the same range owners measure on Foam Factory's budget HD36. So the Hest isn't soft because it uses better foam. It's soft because that's how it's built.
Firmness and density are different things. Firmness is how soft foam feels. Density is how much material is packed in, and it predicts how long foam lasts. Memory foam can feel very soft and still be dense, so "it feels cheap" and "it's low density" aren't the same claim.
What did I replace it with?
A custom two-piece build from Foam Factory (the same company as foambymail.com), cut to the M1's main platform and the King slide:
- Base: 3" HD36-HQ polyurethane foam (Medium) for support
- Top: 1" Dunlop latex (Medium, 4.6 lb), springy instead of sink-in
- Covers: one zippered cover per piece, sewn to 4"
- No glue: the layers sit loose, so I can swap the top later
I picked latex for the top because I already sleep well on a latex mattress at home, and latex barely changes with temperature.
| Foam Factory quote, October 6, 2026 | Cost |
|---|---|
| HD36-HQ base, 3" × 60" × 72" | $118.10 |
| HD36-HQ base, 3" × 20" × 72" | $59.95 |
| 1" Dunlop latex, Queen + Twin sheets | $151.98 |
| Cutting the latex to size | $40.00 |
| Two 4" zippered covers | $159.98 |
| Custom order setup fee | $15.99 |
| Tax (shipping was free) | $22.13 |
| Total, delivered | $568.13 |
It arrived compressed in about a week. Without the King Extension, a single 60" × 72" piece works out to about $330 with its cover. If you're weighing vendors, the mattress guide ranks the cut-to-size options.
Hest vs. DIY, side by side
My first impression, from lying on both before the Hest went back: the DIY is much firmer, and my hips don't bottom out at all. I haven't logged real nights on it yet, so treat that as a first impression, not a verdict.
The covers are a closer call. The Hest's is sleeker and softer, it has carry handles, and it fits its foam a little better. The Foam Factory covers are thicker and feel tougher, and they fit fine.
| Hest (Wide + Extend 72) | My DIY (two pieces) | |
|---|---|---|
| Layers | 2" memory foam over 2" support foam | 1" Dunlop latex over 3" HD36-HQ |
| Feel | Plush, sink-in | Firm, springy |
| Side sleeping, room temp | Bottomed out | No bottoming out so far |
| Weight, both pieces | 33.1 lb (measured) | ~45 lb (estimate, weighing soon) |
| Delivered cost | ~$799 on sale | $568.13 |
| Returns | 100 nights, full refund of the product | Final sale |
| Replace just the top layer | No | Yes, unzip and swap |
The weight is the tradeoff nobody mentions. Latex is dense, so my build likely carries about 12 lb more than the Hest. On a truck camper that's payload, so run it through the payload calculator if you're close to your limit.
What’s returning a Hest like?
Starting the return was easy. Getting the mattress back into its box was not: rolling 4" of foam tight enough to fit the shipping box is a real workout, so plan for it. Hest's guarantee also requires the mattress come back clean and in like-new condition, and the original shipping charge isn't refunded.
I shipped it with tracking. As of October 28 it hasn't reached Hest's warehouse, so the refund is still pending.
Hest or DIY: which should you buy?
This applies to any flat platform, whether it's a truck camper, a van, or a rooftop tent.
Buy the Hest if:
- You don't know what firmness you like. The 100-night refund is a cheap test.
- You like a plush, sink-in feel, or you mostly sleep on your back.
- Your platform matches one of Hest's standard sizes.
Build your own if:
- You sleep on your side and need firm support on a hard platform.
- Your bed comes in pieces, like a slide-out or a van flare.
- You'd rather replace a worn top layer than the whole mattress.
What I’m still testing
- DIY weights: the real numbers, plus a density check on the HD36
- Sleep verdict: a few weeks of nights, from both of us
- The sliding over-cab piece: an airflow mat or grip pad underneath
- The Hest refund: whether and when it lands
My take
For a side sleeper on a hard camper platform, the Hest was the wrong mattress, and its refund is what made finding that out cheap. The cold night told me what I needed: firm support with a thin, springy top. The custom build gives me exactly that for about $230 less, in two pieces that fit the King slide, with a top layer I can replace. If you're still choosing, the M1 mattress guide covers dimensions, thickness, and headroom.