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DHP Sydney Full Over Full Metal Bunk Bed
Basic Facts
- Crafted of durable steel metal
- Weight capacity for top bunk: 300 lbs
- Dimensions: 78.5” L x 56.5” W x 72” H
- Guardrail height: ~11.5”
- Maximum mattress thickness for top bunk: 6”
- Space between bottom and top bunk: 47”
- Clearance — floor to bottom: 11”
- Space between mattress slats: 2.5”
- Available in 5 colors
- Net weight: 108 lbs
Introduction
DHP’s Sydney full over full metal bunk bed (branded Eljah at Wayfair) is an uncomplicated, some would say plain-looking piece of furniture, designed to provide plenty of sleeping space as well as comfort to its users.
At 72 inches, the Sydney full over full is quite high for a bunk bed. While for metal loft beds it isn’t anything unusual to reach such heights, an average bunk bed is usually about 65 inches tall. Give or take a couple of inches.
This means two things. First, the ceiling in your room has to be at least 8 feet high. 9 would be better. The mattress support for the top bunk lies about 60 inches high, and that means the top of a 6 inch mattress dwells 5 and a half feet up in the air. With an 8-foot ceiling that leaves just 2 and a half feet of empty space on the top bunk, which might feel a little cramped to an adult.
Second, while the bed’s height seen from this angle might be considered a downside, there is also an upside to it: the distance between the top and bottom bunk is a whopping 47 inches, offering unprecedented comfort for the resident of the bottom bunk. It’s almost as if this bunk bed is intended to be used by adults.
The guardrail height looks to be about 11.5 inches here, possibly a trifle more, as those metal slats are placed slightly below the top edge of a side rail. This allows for the use of a mattress up to 6 inches thick on the top bunk, nothing more. Which is also what the manufacturer recommends.
The weight limit for the Sydney full over full bunk bed is specified at 300 lbs for the top bunk and 450 lbs for the lower bunk. These are very solid figures for a metal bunk bed.
The mattress support system seems identical on the top and bottom bunks: 22 slats and a centered metal rod supporting them. Why is then there such a difference in weight support specification between the two beds is anyone’s guess. Of course, should the top bed collapse the consequences would be much more calamitous, so someone might have reasoned why not reduce the chance of that happening by reducing the allowed load up there.
The ladder(s). There are two of them here, one at the headboard and one at the footboard. Vertical, clipped on. These are not the easiest to climb, but on the other hand they don’t take up any floor space. Those rungs look rather thin and uncomfortable, but that unfortunately is a recurring theme with most metal bunk beds. Covering the rungs with some sort of cushioning should alleviate the issue. There actually exist bunk bed ladder pads made specifically for that purpose. Or you could just use some pool noodles.
DHP Sydney Full Metal Bunk Bed is supposed to be available in 5 finishes: black, white, silver, pink, and Indigo Blue. I wrote ‘supposed to’ because at the time of this writing the actual availability of some of these finishes on different shopping sites was rather sketchy. For some I couldn’t even find any images.
What Users Say
Up to the time of this writing I have come across thousands of ratings on this metal bunk bed throughout various shopping sites. The average rating depends on the site, but is usually around 4.2 or 4.3 stars.
Quality Of Build: While there are plenty of users who characterized this bed as sturdy or very sturdy without any reservations, there are also many who reported a degree of wobbliness. Opinions on just how wobbly the bed is vary significantly, though. There are those (I’d say a minority) who absolutely couldn’t live with it and labeled the bed unstable and not sturdy at all and befittingly gave it a one star rating.
On the other hand there are many users who seem to not be bothered by a little shakiness and still awarded the bed five stars. Some call it sturdy but wobbly, if that makes sense. As in, it does move when someone climbs up to the top bunk, but not in a way that feels unsafe. Some others suggested you can’t really expect a bunk bed of such height to not sway a little. Attaching the bed to a wall is proposed as a solution.
There are some complaints about the ladders and their uncomfortable thin rungs but, frankly, not as many as I’d expect. One user expressed her skepticism about pool noodles as a solution to this problem, saying you have to change them very often.
Ease Of Assembly: The Sydney bunk bed is said to be fairly easy to set up with a little teamwork. It takes two and all that. Although, there are individuals who claim to have put it together all by themselves. Overall the job is described as not overly complicated and the instructions are reported to be clear and helpful and easy to follow.
Bottom Line
When you see a product with thousands of ratings to its name (most of them 5 stars, btw), then you know probably ten times as many people actually bought that product. And that to me is the best endorsement there is. People wouldn’t keep buying something that sucks. Just be aware of this bunk bed’s height if the ceiling in your room is on the lower side.