Bear Mattress Review: After a Year Sleeping on This Hybrid Mattress, I’m Still in Love
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SPY’s original Bear mattress review was published in January 2020; we have updated this post with additional information.
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Bear’s mattresses are designed to help active people recover, whether you’re a regular at the gym or simply live a physically demanding life. Their technology is made to support muscles and joints and help your body truly relax so you can attack your next workout, training session and day with as much vigor as possible.
I’m an athletic person who trains six days a week, so when I was given the chance to try out a Bear mattress, I was excited to see what it had to offer. I originally tried out Bear’s mattress in early 2021, and I can confidently say I still feel everything I said below. In fact, my appreciation for this mattress has only grown in the last 365 days. After a year of sleeping on it, it’s one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever had, and it helps my body wake up pain-free every day.
You can find my full Bear mattress review below.
Buy: Bear Hybrid Mattress $1,499.00
Bear Hybrid Mattress Review
Bear has three different mattresses available for purchase at the moment: the original Bear Mattress, the Bear Pro and the Bear Hybrid. The Hybrid is known as their softest mattress which is why I chose it, as I tend to prefer something a little softer. It’s also made to be a “hybrid” mattress for all sleepers — back, stomach and side. It’s made of a mixture of memory foam and coils, which together give it a more conventional feel, as opposed to the Pro and original mattress that are both 100% memory foam.
The Pro is built for athletes who want the best technology possible for helping their bodies recover, whereas the original mattress is aimed at the price-conscious buyer who’s intrigued by memory foam. They’re all built with cooling elements for temperature regulation during sleep, and all come in sizes from twin all the way up to California king. You can find more comparison information between the three mattresses here on Bear’s website.
Unboxing the Bear Mattress
My Bear Hybrid mattress came compressed in a box about the size of a mini fridge, which was impressive given that it was a king size. Once my boyfriend and I had successfully setup the new mattress frame we opened the box and had to quickly spread the mattress out over it. It started to expand way quicker than we expected — and even knocked over a water bottle in the process! Within 10-15 seconds it had expanded to its full size and was ready to put sheets on. Impressive. I was expecting it to take longer or need to air out for a while before use but it came completely ready to use.
It also, to my surprise, had no unpleasant smell. Due to the compression and/or it being brand new I expected it to have a chemical smell that would fade eventually but it didn’t — a pleasant surprise.
Sleeping on the Bear Mattress
We put new sheets on it, spread our new Brooklinen duvet over the top and crawled into bed a few hours later. To my delight — it’s the perfect level of soft for me. My boyfriend prefers firmer mattresses so it took him a second to get used to it — but I was in love right away. You sink into it a little, and it has a pillow-y top that feels soft, but it doesn’t feel like I’m sinking or can’t move around. It feels very supportive, and the edge support is excellent, just like their website claims.
There’s no squeezing or unpleasant noise from the coils, and the standard sheets we bought fit over it perfectly despite the fact that it’s quite a thick mattress. It also has great bounce, something I always miss when sleeping on memory foam mattresses.
We sleep with an Ooler, a cooling mattress pad that we’ve also covered on the site, so I can’t exactly speak to the cooling technology. Supposedly the innerspring coils transfer heat 28% better than memory foam, and this very well may be true. I did notice that it was warm sitting in it without the Ooler on, but that could just be the temperature in our apartment. It’s also quite heavy, so putting on a new fitted sheet is a bit more labor-intensive than I imagine it would be for smaller, thinner mattresses.
I’ve been sleeping on the Bear Hybrid for a week now and I can honestly say I’ve gotten deeper, more restful sleep each night and have woken up with less muscle soreness and joint pain. I actively have noticed a difference in my sleep quality and how I feel when I wake up. I’m a combination side and stomach sleeper so the softness of the mattress works for me on my stomach while still being supportive of my hips and knee joints when I sleep on my side. The Serene Foam it’s made with, that theoretically offers 4x as much pressure relief, delivers. My boyfriend is a combination sleeper as well, primarily side, and despite thinking it was too soft for him at first he’s come around and has also gotten deeper sleep.
Bear Mattresses and Firmness
If you’re a person who likes medium-soft mattresses and needs a mattress for recovery — Bear is perfect. If you suffer from joint pain when sleeping or are recovering from an injury a Bear mattress might also be what you need. They’re a bit more expensive than other options out there, but from what I’ve experienced the price is worth it. Their mattresses are designed for active people but through improved support technology would be comforting and aid anyone, no matter your fitness level, in a more restful night of sleep. Through adequate joint and muscular support, your body will be able to truly relax as you drift off, and those hours of tensing and awkward positioning saved will benefit your physicality long-term.
Also, quick side note, I also got a chance to try the Bear Pillow and loved it as well. It’s large and at first felt like it was angling my head upwards in a weird position, but then I realized all my other pillows just weren’t providing the right support. I’ve slept on it every night and woken up with no neck pain. Hallelujah.
Bear Hybrid Mattress
Buy: Bear Hybrid Mattress $1,499.00
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