Bear Mattress Review

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UPDATE: We have launched a new mattress focused website. Please click here to see the updated version of this review on myslumberyard.com.

 

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Bear is a lesser known brand, however, we really like their mattress. In fact, we like this bed so much we put it on the following lists:

– Top 5 Best Beds for Stomach/Back Sleepers
– Top 5 Cooling Mattresses in a Box
– Top 5 Best Bed in a Box Mattresses 2017

Not bad. Plus, like all of the other bed in a box brands, Bear offers free shipping where your bed will arrive at your doorstep in a matter of days in a box that looks like it should house a mini fridge, not a mattress. Once you open the box, unfold the bed, and allow it to inflate, you have 100 nights to figure out if this is the bed for you. If there’s one definitive thing that we’ve learned through testing all of these mattresses it’s that picking the right bed for you is a completely subjective process. We might love a bed, but you might ultimately decide you want something different. That’s why we really appreciate the trial periods and return policies with all of these brands.

With Bear, as mentioned above, you can test the mattress for yourself for 100 nights. If you like it, great. Keep it. If you decide that it’s not for you then return it. Bear will dispatch a charity to your house to pick it up for free and at no extra cost to you. Plus, you’ll get a 100% refund. And you can basically do this will all of the brands. So let’s say you’re in between Bear Mattress and Coocon by Sealy or Layla Sleep you can essentially test them all and return the beds that you don’t like. You’re sort of gaming the system here, but that’s kind of what the brands want you to do. Test their bed and see if it’s the one for you.

All this is to say that Bear matches the rest of the industry with a consumer-friendly shipping and return policy.

 

Construction of Bear Mattress

Bear has a three-layer construction that starts with a dense layer of support foam that provides structure and durability to the bed. On top of that is response foam that’s typically included to prevent beds from sagging and help with the longevity of the bed. The top layer is comprised of a graphite gel memory foam that helps keep the bed cool and comfortable.

This slab of memory foam is the thinnest layer, which means you only get a little bit of that memory foam feel. At no point will you get that ‘stuck in the mud’ sensation that you’re used to with memory foam. Also, since that layer is thinner, the bed is more firm than a lot of mattresses in a box…more on this down below.

 

For the cover Bear uses a Celliant material that is supposed to have numerous health benefits. Here’s a press release that discusses Celliant in more detail. And then, here’s what Bear says about the cover: “[it] absorbs the body’s natural heat and reflects far Infrared light back to the skin helping your body recover faster and sleep better.” All we know is that the bed is comfortable and we sleep great on it.

RELATED: Get $125 Off a Bear Mattress with Code: SY125

Bear markets this bed to athletes and indeed many athletes sleep on a Bear Mattress. Primarily, Bear promotes the wellness benefits associates with Celliant because it’s apparently been clinically proven to increase energy, stamina, and a host of other positive things.

 

Bear Mattress – Feel, Firmness & Coolness

As mentioned above, Bear has a little of that memory foam feel, but not as much as Zinus or Nectar, for example. We really like it. Additionally, we think it’s a 6/10 on that soft to firm scale with 0 being feather soft and 10 being rock hard. It’s actually one of the firmer mattresses that we’ve tested, but like most of the all-foam beds, it will soften up over time to be more like a 5.75/10 on that soft/firm scale.

Firmness, however, will depend on your weight. A heavier person will experience a softer mattress, while a lighter person will experience a firmer mattress. For reference, all of our testers are between 160LB and 210LB. We say 6/10 on the soft to firm scale, but it can really range from a 5 to an 7.5 depending on your weight.

For reference, Nolah Mattress is a 4.5 on that scale and the Brooklyn Bedding Mattress (medium) is a 6.5. We think Bear is ideal for back and stomach sleepers that tend to prefer firmer mattresses, but side sleepers and combo sleepers will likely want something a little softer. If you’re a combo sleeper that tends to favor your back and stomach, you’ll be just fine with Bear, however. Just know that with Bear you’re getting more supportiveness. Other beds will offer more pressure relief.

Also, since Bear is on the firmer end, you don’t get the roll off sensation when you’re near the edge of the bed. It keeps is shape like an innerspring mattress would. A lot of all-foam beds compress too much at the edges to where you feel like you’re going to fall off. Not with Bear.

SEE ALSO: Best Beds for Side Sleepers and Hip Pain

As for coolness, Bear is in our tier 2 category, meaning it’s one of the most efficient beds at keeping you cool. We don’t have any scientific data to back this up, but we think it’s very apparent that Bear stays cooler than the average bed in a box.

 

Bear Mattress – Responsiveness & Motion Transfer

Given that Bear does incorporate memory foam, it tends to slowly return to shape after you remove the pressure (i.e. get off of the bed). It’s not the best bed for responsiveness, however, we haven’t noticed any issues arising from this. For reference, most of the memory foam beds are slow to respond since that is basically the the whole premise of memory foam…it remembers your shape. Yogabed is actually one of the only memory foam beds that we’ve tested that responds immediately. So just know that Bear isn’t going to snap back into shape straight away and, like most other foam beds, you may want to rotate the it every six months.

Since Bear is an all-foam bed, you’d expect that it would be fantastic for limiting cross-bed motion…and it is. In fact, we think Bear is one of the best beds out there in terms of limited motion transfer. If you move around a lot in your sleep (or perhaps your partner does), Bear is a pretty dang good solution for keeping the motion transfer to a minimum.

Additionally, one thing that’s nice with Bear Mattress is that you can put the bed on different types of foundations such as slatted bed frames, platform frames, and the ground (i.e. you don’t absolutely need a box spring). That alone isn’t unique, but the fact that it also works with adjustable bases is somewhat of a differentiator. Let’s say after a few years you want to move over to an adjustable base, you have that option with Bear.

 

Bear Mattress Coupon Code + Price

Pricing for Bear is very moderate with all of their beds retailing for under $1,000, including the King and California King options. You can also get $125 off all Bear mattresses with code SY125 at checkout. Bear tends to be about $100-$200 more affordable than the bigger brands out there.

Sizes	Price
California King	$990
King	$990
Queen	$890
Full	$790
Twin XL	$690
Twin	$590

 

Closing Thoughts on the Bear Mattress

We really like this bed, especially for back and stomach sleepers. It’s affordable, comfortable, supportive, and cool. We’d love it if the cover was machine washable, but not much we can do there. All in all, we do think it’s a top tier mattress, particularly when you think of value. It’s a fantastic bed for back and stomach sleepers for under $1,000.