You’re looking for a memory-foam mattress that contours your body and provides enough relief to keep you cool. We found one that can deliver all three of those things!
The Bear Original mattress is a popular choice for many sleepers. If you don’t know what it is, the Bear Original mattress is one of the most popular all-foam mattresses on the market. This mattress is also one of the best-valued, as it offers many convenient and comfortable features in one product.
In this review, we’ll take a detailed look at the Bear mattress by testing it for ourselves and seeing if our results align with what we’ve been advertised. It may be a recommended choice for active individuals, but how well will it perform in giving them a good night’s rest?
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review from Sleep Advisor’s YouTube channel. To get a comprehensive overview of DreamCloud’s Bear Mattress, you may still want to check out our article below.
Overview: The Bear Original Bear Mattress Layers
The Bear Original mattress is an all-foam mattress designed to provide all-around relief and comfort to those with active lifestyles. It has vital properties, such as the gel-infused memory foam on the top layer, which cushions the body’s key pressure points while keeping it relaxed. It not only makes the sleeper feel comfortable but also has Bear’s open-cell response properties that increase airflow throughout it. The state-of-the-art Celliant fabric covers the mattress, making it powerful enough to prevent the body from overheating.
The Bear Original is a bed-in-a-box product with a medium-firm comfort level. Most people prefer medium-firm mattresses regardless of their type or construction. However, this mattress is unique because it has a slightly bouncey feel. The Bear mattress is one the most popular products from the company named after it. It was created in 2014 with the sole purpose of making bed apparatus that can be used by athletes, first responders, frontline workers, and others who have a proactive way of living.
Who are the ideal users of the Bear Original?
- For those who want an all-foam mattress at an affordable price
- People who like to sleep on memory foam, but aren’t averse to the sinking sensation associated with it
- People who sleep hot after a long day of intensive work or hard activity are more likely to be comfortable.
- Back sleepers who prefer a mattress that is firm, supportive, and can alleviate pressure points
- Couples who share the same bed with one who tends to get restless at night and the other who doesn’t want to be disturbed
Who shouldn’t use Bear Original?
- Those who are looking for a bouncier bed – all-foam mattresses, including the Bear Original, are notorious for not being too springy
- Those who may appreciate beds with stable edge support
- Side sleepers of light weight may find this mattress too firm for them.
- This may be too soft for average-weight stomach sleepers.
- Heavyweights who prefer to sleep flat, on their stomachs or backs, are called heavyweights
What is the Bear’s Original Feeling?
Is it going to give you the relief that you need from your aches and pains? How much will it sink your body? Is it as cool and comfortable as its makers claim? To answer these pressing questions, we tested the Bear mattress based on its firmness, pressure relief performance, and cooling capabilities.
Firmness
What we do here in ranking mattresses is usually through a scale from 1 to 10, with one being super soft, five medium, and ten extremely firm. Based on what we found while testing the Bear Original, we can confidently say that its comfort level is between medium and firm. 7 to be exact.
The Bear company has advertised its namesake mattress to be medium-firm, so at least they were accurate in providing that information. Considering the use of memory foam, which has gained notoriety for its sinking feel on the body, the overall construction still somehow manages to be sturdy and stable. The Bear Original has a thick layer of high-density foam foundation, and high-density material is characteristically solid and not as pliable as spring coils.
This mattress has more benefits by having the material underneath the memory foam. The top layer may be pliable enough to shape the sleeper’s silhouette, but, thankfully, it’s countered by a more rigid foundation underneath, creating what appears to be a perfect balance. We have had plenty of issues when testing on memory foam mattresses, but not on this one. We felt like we were sleeping on the surface of the Bear, not beneath it.
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Pressure Relief
The Bear Original mixes the flexible softness of the memory foam and the solid strength of the high-density foam into one balanced mattress. As a result, it can provide adequate pressure relief that most sleepers may enjoy. No pressure buildup was observed in the heat map tests, regardless of what type of sleep position.
We are impressed by its incredible pain relief abilities, but we must also mention that it is only available to a small number of people. Average-weighted people, in particular, may find the Bear mattress to be much more suited to their needs. For heavyweights and lightweights, the experience may vary – some may feel more firm whenever they sleep on the sides, while others may feel too much pressure that it leans more towards discomfort. Bear Mattress Layers
Temperature
As previously mentioned, the Bear mattress has open-cell foam, gel infusion, and Celliant fabric, all combined to keep the body cool enough that it doesn’t overheat. Although all-foam mattresses are not known for having the best insulation, this mattress performed admirably in maintaining the temperature at least to a neutral level. It is not too hot nor too cold.
While we can’t promise the Bear Original to have the same cooling properties as any innerspring or hybrid mattress, its three insulating features are enough to soothe a person, especially after a day filled with long, arduous tasks. They are also sufficient to prevent the couple from becoming too hot – two people can heat up on the mattress faster than one. If you’re in a relationship and looking for an affordable all-foam cooling bed, you may want to try the Bear mattress!
Analyse of Sleep and Body Type
How effective will the Bear mattress bring much-needed comfort to the light, average, and heavy sleepers?
Testing the Bear Original in Various Sleep Positions
The Back
The Bear Original has proven yet again in providing the best back relief for most sleepers. Lightweight individuals will find enough comfort with this mattress, with a healthy balance of conformity and support to keep them relaxed while laying flat. Those of average weight will appreciate it even more as it gives them the best-optimized care they truly deserve.
In the case of heavyweight sleepers, however, the Bear may not work well in their favor. They shouldn’t expect the all-foam mattress to conform to their bodies like their lighter- or average-weight counterparts. It usually ends up in sinkage, which doesn’t sound nice especially if you move often. We also noticed on the heatmap that the pressure points were higher then the rest.
Stomach
While the Bear delivers remarkable benefits to most back sleepers, stomach sleeping is different. While some people may experience a positive collective experience when they sleep flat on their stomachs, others may feel the surface is too soft to offer pressure relief for their hips or keep their spine straight.
Both light- and average-weighted persons feel the same way when sleeping in this position. At first, they may find the Bear to have the appropriate support on the stomach. But in the long run, since the mattress is all-foam, softness and sinkage may be inevitable, and it’s up to them to adjust. For heavyweight individuals, sleeping on the Bear with their stomachs laid flat on the surface will not bring them the benefits they crave. They often feel like they are sinking and have more pressure points than if they were sleeping on their backs. Bear Mattress Layers
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Sides
Similar to laying flat on the stomach, how the Bear feels on the person while sleeping on either side will depend on personal circumstances. Some lightweights may find the surface too firm for their liking, while others may receive the pressure relief they need on the shoulders and hips. The majority of average sleepers would agree with this assessment.
Heavyweights will not appreciate how the Bear feels while sleeping on the side as much as they want. According to a few of our testers, while they experienced the support and comfort from the mattress, the firmness, sinkage, and high-pressure point outweigh the pros.
Combination sleeping positions
Regardless of body weight, we found that the Bear Original should work okay with most individuals who usually sleep in a combination of positions. Based on our observations, it was adept enough to deliver comfort and relief to the testers even when they slept in altered postures. In regards to changing positions, there is a possibility that some sleepers may have slight difficulties in the movement since the mattress, after all, has a top layer of memory foam.
Mattress Performance
The testing doesn’t end there. Aside from the main tests, we also analyzed how well the Bear Original performed in terms of other factors, such as motion transfer, ease of movement, and more. For couples wondering if the mattress will serve them benefits, you should check this one out!
Motion Transfer
The perfect mattress must have motion isolation to help you sleep and not be disturbed by movements. Since the Bear’s all-foam layers are designed to absorb motion and dampen the vibrations caused by it, it does exceptionally better than, say, innerspring mattresses.
Ease of Movement
The Bear’s foam is not as conforming as other mattresses, but it can still provide a floating sensation. For average and light sleepers, the ease of movement is 50/50. In the case of the heavy ones, however, they’ll most likely have challenges in maneuvering on the surface.
Edge Support
Edge support is a measure of how strong the bed’s perimeter is in supporting multiple bodies. Mattresses with strong edge support will not have couples or groups worried if one of them suddenly falls off. The Bear was able to maintain adequate stability around its edges, even though it is not as strong than innerspring models.
Sex
Memory foam or all-foam mattresses have drawn flak for not being the best beds to use for sexual activity. However, the Bear was more responsive to rapid movements and didn’t conform as well as other foam mattresses. We conclude that the Bear is capable of performing well during sex.
Unboxing and Off-Gassing
The Bear is a bed in a box mattress. This means that there will be some off-gassing and compression after you open the packaging. All-foam mattresses have gained a reputation for emitting strong, sometimes unpleasant odors caused by volatile organic compounds (VOC). Bear Mattress Layers
The Bear is no different, but since the foam materials used are GreenGuard Gold and CertiPUR-US-certified, the off-gassing smells go away much faster compared to other all-foam beds.
Construction
Bear Original mattress measures 10 inches thick. It is made up of three layers of unique foam, each one being a different type.
Top comfort layer – This is the first of three layers. It’s a graphite gel memory foam which provides pressure relief and contouring to the body’s silhouette. It has a thickness 2 inches and is packed with open-cell cooling capabilities to regulate the sleeper’s temperature. This is something that traditional memory foam often lacks.
Transitional middle layer – Below the memory foam comfort layer, there’s a 2″ thick transitional response foam. It is both soft and firm, helping to prevent the body from sinking. The sleeper will feel like they’re laying on top of more than into the surface of the mattress.
Foundation layer – Holding the Bear altogether is a thick high-density support foam. With a height of 6″, it serves as a firm and stable foundation for the sleeper’s body to rest on.
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All three layers of the Bear Original are wrapped together by a mattress cover made out of Celliant fabric. Celliant is an FDA-regulated fiber material formulated to help speed up the individual’s recovery period while they rest, with design elements to improve blood circulation. It’s soft and provides enough airflow to prevent the body from overheating. The Bear mattress is marketed as a mattress for athletes, high-energy professionals and others who are active.
Prices and sizes
Available in all standard sizes, the Bear mattress is a specially-designed bed that you can get at a range of valuable prices. The Bear mattress is not the most budget-friendly, but it’s also not very expensive. Below is a complete list of sizes available and the prices for each.
MATTRESS SIZE | PRICE (PRIOR TO DISCOUNT) |
Twin | $748 |
Twin XL | $811 |
Full | $873 |
Queen | $998 |
King | $1,248 |
Cal King | $1,248 |
Split King | $1,622 |
Final verdict on the Bear Original Mattress
We are confident that the Bear Original delivers comfort, relief and peace of mind after undergoing a series of tests. It’s a solid choice for those who prefer sleeping on a memory foam surface, but also like to move as swiftly as possible. It is designed with recovery in mind and has many features that will appeal to active people who are looking for a mattress they can provide what they need.
While we can admire how well it performs on most sleepers, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that it may not be fully suitable for heavyweight sleepers. After all, many mattresses will always have limits. Nevertheless, with tons of sweet elements packed into a product with a highly valuable price range, the Bear Original mattress is something you should look forward to buying! Bear Mattress Layers
FAQ Bear Mattress Layers
Where can I buy the Bear Original?
You can buy the Original mattress online at Bear’s official online store at bearmattress.com, as well as find its limited sizes through their Amazon store. You can visit their showrooms in the following states/territories to see the Bear mattress in person:
- New Jersey (Bernardsville and Hoboken)
- New York (New York City metropolitan area)
- Florida (Miami)
- Washington, DC (metropolitan area)
Bear offers free shipping on all mattresses. And how does it ship to my location?
Bear offers free shipping on all models, even the Bear Original. This applies to Canada and the US mainland. Additional transportation costs will be required for residents of Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The Bear mattress comes compressed in a box within 2-7 business days from your first purchase.
Is there any way for me to return the Bear mattress?
The Bear Original mattress is covered by a 120-night risk-free trial period. If in any way you’re not satisfied with the mattress’s overall performance, you may call Bear’s customer service hotline to ask for a full refund and return within the given period. The team will then pick up the mattress from your household free of charge.
Does the Bear come with a warranty?
The Bear comes with a lifetime warranty, which only applies to mattresses purchased through authorized sellers, including the website. It covers workmanship and material defects, such as 1.5″-deep indentations and splits and cracks in the foam foundation, as well as some additional terms and conditions. Bear Mattress Layers