Bear Mattress Reviews (Analyzed and Compared)
We aim to review the best sleep-related products on the market. If you make a purchase through one of the links on our site, we may earn a commission. Read our full Affiliate Disclosure.
Material Quality
Company Reputation
Return Policy
Value for Money
Highlights:
- 100-night trial
- Free shipping
- 10-year warranty
- 20-year warranty for the Bear Hybrid
June 15, 2020
Are you waking up feeling tired and low on energy? Are you an athlete whose performance is affected by low-quality sleep? With Bear’s mattresses, this won’t be an issue anymore. All three of the beds we’ll cover in our Bear Mattress reviews ensure that users get the recovering sleep they need, so they wake up rested and ready to tackle everyday challenges and activities.
What is Bear so special? One of the features that make this brand stand out is the patented and clinically tested Celliant fabric—a material that uses body heat and infrared energy to aid recovery and help heal sore and strained muscles.
Is Celliant technology all it’s cracked up to be? To provide you with the answers, we’ve reviewed all three mattresses based on construction, the support and comfort they provide, and mattress price. We also covered the brand’s other products and the company’s policies on returns and deliveries just to give you a glimpse of how Bear operates and why it’s one of the best in the business.
From $500
Get DealCertiPUR-US certified
Reputable company
Great value for money
Excellent customer service
Pros:
Might be too soft for heavyweight sleepers
Cons:
About Bear
Bear is a family company that has been in the mattress business for 25 years. The brand strives to provide premium quality and a first-rate customer experience, all while placing its focus on athletics and fitness. To that end, Bear works closely with a team of fitness and health enthusiasts and uses their experiences and expertise to produce the best for its customers.
Besides the high-quality mattresses we’ll cover in our Bear Mattress reviews, the brand sells foundations and frames, as well as a wide range of sleep accessories, from protectors and pillows to toppers and blankets. All of Bear’s products are designed with active people in mind, and they help achieve the company’s overall goal of providing everyone with a rejuvenating, refreshing sleep.
Bear offers three types of mattresses: the original Bear mattress, the Bear Hybrid, and the Bear Pro. In this review, we’ll discuss all three beds in detail and assess them on comfort, firmness, construction, and other features and factors.
From $500
Get DealCertiPUR-US certified
Reputable company
Great value for money
Excellent customer service
Pros:
Might be too soft for heavyweight sleepers
Cons:
Our Bear Mattress Review
The Original Bear Mattress: Review and Specs
Let’s kick things off with the features of the company’s flagship product, the original Bear mattress.
Construction
This 10″ Bear mattress incorporates three layers of foam, contributing to much of the bed’s height.
- Cover: The cover of the Bear mattress is a polyester and Celliant material blend designed to absorb body heat and transmit it back to the user. This process is said to supply more oxygen to the tissues, provide a temperature-regulated sleeping surface, and help the body recover faster from physical exertion.
- Comfort layers: Bear’s original mattress has a 2″ comfort layer of gel-infused graphite memory foam offering pressure relief and contouring. Bear Mattress customer reviews report a sensation like a gentle cradle, allowing users to move around the surface without any problems. This layer has an open-cell structure designed to keep heat away from the sleeper, which, combined with graphite’s cooling properties, makes this mattress perfect for hot sleepers.
- Transitional layer: The gel memory foam is set on top of a 2″ transitional layer of polyfoam that stops sleepers from sinking into the mattress by offering firmness and adequate support.
- Support layer: After the transitional layer, the original Bear mattress has a 6″ support core of high-density foam used to reinforce the bed and keep the sleeping surface flat and stable—excellent for back sleepers.
Firmness
Based on various reviews for the Bear mattress, and our tests, we believe this bed to be a medium-firm mattress ranking around 7 to 7.1 on the 10-point firmness scale. This firmness rating puts the original mattress on the firmer side compared to other all-foam mattresses, but there’s still enough sinkage to offer contouring and comfort.
All of these features make this bed a great option for back and combo sleepers, but it might be too firm for side-sleepers who may feel a bit of tension in the hips and shoulders.
Sinkage
With the Bear mattress, you aren’t sinking, but you aren’t floating on the bed either—it’s somewhere in between.
This balanced foam feel also produces a subtle bounce effect, which customers’ Bear Celliant Mattress reviews say is quite unlike the “stuck” feeling most sleepers get with memory foam beds.
Support
The combination of the soft foam in the top layers and the stable, high-density foam in the base provides excellent support and alignment. This is particularly important for back and stomach sleepers who report having ample support and alignment both in the lumbar area and the shoulders.
Pressure Relief
Depending on your sleeping style, you’re bound to feel pressure on some points on your body. The good news is that the combo of softness on top and firmness at the bottom allow the Bear mattress to provide sufficient relief for most body shapes and sizes.
If you check out a Bear Mattress review from 2019 or earlier, you’ll see that lightweight back and stomach sleepers experienced consistent pressure relief with little to no discomfort. However, heavyweight and side sleepers have reported feeling some pressure on their shoulders.
Temperature Neutrality
The Bear Mattress has many features meant to help cool users through the night, from the breathable Celliant fabric in the cover to the graphite in the comfort layer. However, despite the Bear Mattress Celliant technology, this review found the original mattress to be temperature neutral. This verdict is actually good news, considering how notorious all-foam beds are when it comes to trapping heat.
Edge Support
Just like other foam-based mattresses, the Bear tends to sink when you sit on the edge. The dense foam in the core provides firmness, but expert Bear Mattress reviews indicate it doesn’t do much in terms of edge support. An innerspring or hybrid mattress might be a better fit for users who like to stretch out on the bed’s surface.
Motion Transfer
Motion isolation is where memory foam beds excel, and the Bear mattress is no exception. Even though this bed is more responsive than other foam-based mattresses due to the gel memory foam in the top layers, motion transfer is still successfully eliminated. In fact, the Bear is so good at motion isolation that most users don’t even feel the other sleeper moving at all. If you’ve ever slept with a partner who won’t stop tossing and turning, you’ll know what a blessing this could be.
Pros:
- 10-year warranty
- Bear Mattress user reviews praise the balance of firmness and comfort
- Ideal pressure relief for back and stomach sleepers
- Excellent motion isolation
- Great price
Cons:
- Too firm for side sleepers
- Adequate edge support, but not great
- Temperature neutral
Bear Hybrid Mattress Review
As the name suggests, this bed is a combination of multiple foam layers and an 8″ pocketed coils core. The Bear Hybrid, which debuted in 2018, is well-suited to all body shapes and sleeping styles, especially heavyweight sleepers.
Construction
The first thing to cover in our Bear Mattress Hybrid review is the construction of this six-layered bed. The Bear Hybrid is 14″ thick—taller than most mattresses on the market, primarily due to its construction of pocketed coils and five foam layers.
- Cover: Like the Bear original mattress, the hybrid cover also uses the brand’s patented Celliant fibers, incorporated into a hand-quilted polyester blend.
- Gel foam layer: The cover is quilted with 2″ of cooling-gel foam designed to cool hot sleepers and provide extra padding for the body.
- Comfort layer: Bear’s Premium Comfort Foam is precisely engineered to offer body molding and pressure relief. Based on company claims and external Bear Hybrid mattress reviews, this comfort layer is particularly beneficial to people looking to recover from muscle aches.
- Transition layer: This layer of responsive transition foam increases airflow, creating a balance between responsiveness and firmness.
- The core: The individually wrapped 8″ coils give this superior mattress support and spinal alignment, as well as a nice bounce, making it easy to move around on the surface on the bed.
- Support layer: The last segment of high-density foam supports the entire bed and gives the mattress durability and stability.
Firmness
Considering our tests and several Bear Hybrid mattress reviews, we rank this mattress a 6 on the firmness scale. It’s leaning a bit on the softer side, so customers looking for an extremely firm mattress, such as stomach sleepers, might want to consider other options.
Sinkage
The top layers are soft and cozy but don’t hug the body as memory foam beds would, making the Bear Hybrid ideal for people who like to float on their mattress rather than sink in. On top of that, the coils give the bed a super bouncy feeling—perfect for side and combo sleepers who like to move in their sleep.
Support
Apart from side and combo sleepers, back sleepers would benefit significantly from this mattress—numerous Bear Mattress Hybrid reviews by users report that this bed has worked wonders with alleviating backaches. That’s why it’s ranked as one of the best mattresses for back pain.
Pressure Relief
Pressure relief is where the Bear Hybrid really shines. The dense foam at the bottom and the coils in the core, combined with the soft, cushiony feeling of the top layers, account for superior pressure relief for all kinds of sleepers.
Temperature Neutrality
Like other hybrid beds, the Bear comes highly recommended for hot sleepers. Increased airflow through the coils, gel cooling in the cover, and the clinically tested Celliant technology are all features contributing to cooler nights.
Edge Support
Compared to other hybrids, this bed offers weaker-than-average edge support. Bear Mattress reviews regarding sag around the edges aren’t that favorable, particularly ones expressed by heavier users.
Still, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue, as edge support also depends on the dimensions of the mattresses used. With full-size mattresses or bigger, users can stretch out over the entire surface of the Bear Hybrid without feeling any instability whatsoever.
Motion Transfer
The Bear Hybrid has moderate motion isolation, mostly because of the bounce from the pocketed coils in the core. Even though the coils are individually wrapped and the layers of foam absorb some of the motion, they still don’t entirely eliminate motion transfer. This hybrid bed is not a bad choice for couples, but when it comes to the Bear Mattress vs. the Bear Hybrid, the original mattress would be a better fit for couples.
Pros:
- 20-year warranty
- Excellent pressure relief
- Comfortable and supportive
- Perfect for combo sleepers
- Ideal for hot sleepers
Cons:
- More expensive than other mattresses from the same brand
- Might be too soft for heavyweight stomach sleepers
- Less edge support compared to other hybrid beds
Bear Pro Mattress Review
The latest addition to the Bear mattress selection, the Bear Pro, incorporates layers of memory foam on a polyfoam foundation—the ideal choice for people looking to heal sore muscles and get higher-quality pressure relief in the hips and shoulders.
Construction
The Bear Pro is a five-layer mixed-foam mattress that measures at a total height of 12″ (the thickness of the bed is a plus because it allows users to get on and off the bed more quickly and easily).
- Cover: As we mentioned earlier in our Bear Mattress independent review, the Pro model uses Bear’s Celliant material, offering multiple benefits for athletes and hot sleepers.
- Comfort layer: This 1″ copper-infused layer molds to the body like memory foam (providing immediate comfort and sinkage). It also keeps the surface cool (thanks to the copper’s thermal conductivity and the company’s Celliant fabric). This antimicrobial, copper-infused foam layer is unique to the Bear Pro.
- Contour layer: After the copper memory foam, the Bear Pro has a 1.5″ layer of contouring gel memory foam that conforms to all body shapes and sizes. In terms of other mattress reviews, the Bear Pro stands out thanks to these two comfort layers. Simply put, the body molding, softness, and cushioning provided by this mattress are ideal for active people looking to relieve some of their muscle strain from daily exercises and activities.
- Transitional layer: The comfort layers rest on 2.5″ of polyfoam that balances out the sinkage in the upper layers with the firmness and stability of the base layer.
- Support layer: The Bear Pro is supported by a 7″ layer of high-density polyfoam, giving this mattress shape and stability.
Firmness
How does the Bear Pro feel on a scale of 1–10? Judging by other expert reviews for Bear mattress and our own assessments, the Pro is positioned in the middle at 6, potentially 6.5, on the firmness scale. It offers the perfect balance between the softness in the top layers and the firmness offered by the high-density foam in the support layer.
Like with other medium-firm mattresses, the Bear Pro might be too soft for heavyweight stomach sleepers. In fact, it’s one of the most commonly mentioned issues in the Bear Mattress reviews covering problems and complaints.
On the other hand, it provides sufficient support and comfort for back and side sleepers of all sizes and body shapes.
Sinkage
Like most memory foam mattresses out there, the Bear Pro cushions and hugs the body, but it doesn’t let the sleeper sink too far in the bed, primarily because of the polyfoam in the transitional and base layers. These properties of the Bear Pro make it an excellent option for people who want that “hugging” feeling in a mattress but still need plenty of bounce.
Support
Just because the Bear Pro is a “mixed-foam” mattress doesn’t mean there isn’t enough support for all kinds of sleepers.
While there isn’t an official chiropractor review of the Bear Pro mattress, remember that fitness experts created this bed to give users the spinal alignment they need for a healthy sleep, muscle recovery, and comfort.
Pressure Relief
Side sleepers will love the Bear Pro because of the fantastic pressure relief it provides on the shoulders and hips. For back sleepers, the memory foam in the comfort layers fills up the gaps in the lumbar area, ensuring that weight is distributed evenly across the surface, thus soothing various pressure points.
The way the Bear Pro and other mattresses by Bear perform in a mattress review on pressure relief should come as no surprise. After all, the Bear mattresses are all designed for a rejuvenating and recovering sleep that eases muscle aches caused by physical activity.
Temperature Neutrality
Memory foam beds are known for trapping heat and sleeping hot, especially in comparison to hybrid and latex beds. However, the Bear Pro is not your typical foam mattress. Thanks to the materials used, such as the light and breathable fabric in the cover, and the copper and gel-infused memory foam, no wonder Bear mattress customer reviews by hot sleepers are raving about the Pro model.
Edge Support
Proper edge support allows users to sleep across the entire surface of the bed, which is of particular significance to couples and heavyweight sleepers. The Bear Pro shows impressive results in this area, even though it’s a memory foam bed.
Motion Transfer
Can you feel your partner’s every move even when you’re fast asleep? The Bear Pro eliminates this problem. The combination of multiple layers of foam ensures you don’t feel any disturbance while you sleep, as testified by countless Bear Mattress reviews by couples.
Pros:
- 10-year warranty
- Perfect for side sleepers
- Excellent body conforming properties
- Ideal for hot sleepers
- Highly rated in motion isolation
Cons:
- Isn’t very responsive
- Too soft for heavyweight stomach sleepers
Bear RV Mattress
What’s an active lifestyle without the great outdoors? To make sure customers get quality sleep wherever they go, Bear has introduced its new RV mattress. This bed combines several layers of foam in an 8″ thick bed that’s durable, responsive, and comfortable.
Durability and Maintenance
Product Lifetime
Even though not enough time has passed to properly determine the durability of these beds (the first mattress from this company came out on the market in 2015), there are no Bear Mattress reviews showing problems with durability.
Going by the quality of the materials and the construction, the estimated lifetime of the original mattress is seven years (on par with other all-foam beds). The Hybrid model should be usable for seven and a half years, while the Bear Pro should last for around eight years.
Maintenance
Flipping a Bear mattress is not only unnecessary, but it isn’t recommended. All Bear beds are one-sided, and the foam technology used is engineered to hold up during the mattress’s lifetime. Nevertheless, a body impression can still form, so rotating the bed every six months is advisable.
Since the mattress cover isn’t removable, Bear recommends investing in a mattress encasement or topper. Using a Bear Mattress protector, this review believes, is one of the best options as it not only protects your bed from damage and stains but from bugs, dust mites, and other irritants.
Review of Bed Bases
Bear offers three types of bed bases:
- The Bear foundation is the perfect fit for any bed, providing the best support and base for your mattress. It’s made of solid natural Canadian Spruce for maximum sturdiness and then upholstered for a high-end, comfy look. Setup is so easy that no tools or special skills are needed.
- Like the foundation, the Bear frame is easy to assemble. This bed frame combines steel and fiberglass-infused resin, resulting in an ultra-strong base that can hold over 2,500 lbs. During our Bear Mattress independent review process, we found both the frame and the foundation to be the best choice for someone looking for easy-to-assemble, affordable, safe, and long-lasting support for their mattress.
- If you have trouble finding the perfect position to sleep in, Bear also offers an adjustable base. Bear’s adjustable base fits all mattresses (except water mattresses). It’s made with a ready-to-assemble, lightweight aluminum frame and is sold with a wireless remote, allowing users to adjust their sleeping position with a simple click of a button.
Review of Accessories
High-quality mattresses are not all Bear has to offer. How do the company’s sleep accessories measure up? Check out our Bear mattress accessory review and Bear Mattress pillow review to find out.
- The Bear Pillow uses a combination of LOFT-X hybrid foam for the ultimate support and double ICE fabric to keep sleepers cool through the night. This hypoallergenic pillow, one of the best on the market, has a cover with mesh panels at both ends for maximum ventilation, which can be easily removed, washed, and tumble-dried.
- As the name suggests, Bear’s Cloud Pillows are as fluffy as the softest cloud. At the same time, these 100% polyester fill and 100% polyester cover pillows offer support and spinal alignment and keep users cool and allergy-free throughout the night.
- The Bear Mattress Protector doesn’t just protect your mattress from stains, water damage, bacteria, and dust. According to the Bear Mattress Protector reviews, it also transports moisture and heat, creating a microclimate for the perfect sleep environment. More importantly, the HeiQ Adaptive Technology incorporated in this product doesn’t affect the benefits of the Celliant fabric used in the Bear mattresses, so users get the best of both innovative sleep technologies.
- The Bear Encasement provides six-sided protection for your mattress from bed bugs, dust mites, mold, and other allergens. It’s easy to remove and wash, and thanks to the Breathe-a-Barrier technology, it’s smooth and airy.
- Combining the copper-infused memory foam and Bear Mattress’ Celliant technology, our review shows that the Pro Topper by Bear doesn’t just keep sleepers cool, it gives them an added layer of body-contouring support and comfort as well.
- Bear’s 15 lb Weighted Blanket provides just the right amount of weight to encourage deep-pressure stimulation, which is said to reduce anxiety and stress. This cozy microfiber cover is quilted to distribute glass beads across the entire surface of the blanket and create a feeling of being gently hugged into relaxation and sleep.
Customer Service
According to most Bear Mattress user reviews, this brand is synonymous with fantastic customer service. In particular, users appreciated how knowledgeable and helpful the customer support is and how quickly and efficiently they address all customer issues.
Besides the live chat on the company’s official site, Bear’s experts are available to answer any and all questions and complaints seven days a week via phone or email.
Terms of Sale
Trial and Return Policy
Bear offers a 100-night trial period to test out your new mattress. If you aren’t satisfied with the product, you can return the bed after 30 days, no questions asked. With the exception of the bed frame, the 100-night trial policy applies to all other Bear products.
As for the Bear Mattress return process, reviews show that this is a quite generous policy, even though it isn’t the most comprehensive or longest in the mattress industry.
Shipping and Delivery Policy
Bear ships all its products for free nationwide (extra costs may apply for Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico). It also delivers to Canada.
All Bear mattresses are made to order from factories based all across the US, so delivery depends on your specific location, although it takes an average of 2–7 days.
Besides standard shipping, Bear provides White Glove delivery for an additional charge. The company doesn’t remove your old mattress, but they’ve partnered with a hauling company that offers discounted prices for Bear customers.
Warranty
As mentioned earlier in this Bear Mattress review, these beds come with a 10-year limited warranty—except the Hybrid, which has a 20-year limited warranty.
The warranty, which begins on the date of the original purchase, covers the usual sagging and indentations in the sleep surface (not deeper than 1″). The warranty does not cover physical damage to the mattress in the form of burns, cuts, or stains.
Bear will replace or repair your mattress in the first 10 years of ownership, provided it’s used as instructed.
Customers have one year to return the outer mattress cover if it’s defective or there are faults in the material or workmanship.
Price
As stated earlier in our mattress reviews, Bear offers three mattresses, all of them competitively priced and available in six sizes.
Original Bear | Bear Hybrid | Bear Pro | |
Bear Mattress Twin Size Bed | $500 | $1,090 | $940 |
Bear Mattress Twin XL Size Bed | $600 | $1,190 | $990 |
Bear Mattress Full Size Bed | $700 | $1,290 | $1,040 |
Bear Mattress Queen Size Bed | $800 | $1,390 | $1,090 |
Bear Mattress King Size Bed | $900 | $1,690 | $1,290 |
Bear Mattress Cal King Size Bed | $900 | $1,690 | $1,290 |
The company is dedicated to providing customers with the most refreshing sleep at the lowest possible cost, which is why it offers holiday, military, healthcare, and first responder discounts, as well as coupon codes and promotions. When conducting our Bear Mattress payment review, we discovered that there are great financing options, too. With Affirm, customers can pay for a Bear mattress over 6, 12, or 18 months at 0%–30% APR.
Bear Mattress Review Summary
Bear mattresses offer some of the best features for athletes and active people who want a relaxing, cooling, and peaceful sleep. The brand’s proprietary technology, as these Bear Celliant mattress reviews have shown so far, is clinically tested to provide muscle relaxation and recovery, especially after physical activities and workouts.
But the benefits of these beds don’t stop there. Hot sleepers and fans of medium-firm mattresses who want all the advantages of foam-based beds, but none of the drawbacks, will not be disappointed if they go for a mattress from a company as reputable and reliable as Bear.
If there’s one main takeaway from our Bear Mattress reviews, anyone—regardless of sleeping style, weight, and budget—can feel the perks of having a restful, undisturbed sleep and waking up rejuvenated and full of energy.
FAQs
What is Celliant technology?
Celliant is an FDA Determined Medical Device designed specifically for active people, although anyone can benefit. It’s a material created to convert body heat into infrared energy and transmit it back to the user through the skin, thus increasing blood flow, improving sleep quality and wellness, and helping the user recover more quickly from workouts and physical exercise.
Are Bear mattresses any good?
The short answer is yes. We highly recommend Bear mattresses for all sleepers looking for a medium-firm, all-foam, or hybrid bed that will give you the sleep of a lifetime at a mattress price you can afford.
Is the Bear mattress good for side sleepers?
Back and side sleepers will reap most of the benefits of Bear mattresses as these beds offer excellent support for back sleepers and phenomenal pressure relief in the hips and shoulders, i.e., where side sleepers need it the most.
How long will a Bear mattress last?
Bear mattresses have an average lifespan of 7–8 years. All three models use quality foam, even the Hybrid, which combines foam layers with a coil core, thus ensuring that many years will pass before users notice signs of sagging and the usual wear and tear.
Who makes the Bear mattress?
All beds by Bear are made in the US using domestically sourced, eco-friendly materials by a company that has been in the market for 25 years.
Does the Bear Mattress need a box spring?
According to the company, Bear beds are engineered to lie on a hard, flat surface, but it doesn’t recommend using a traditional box spring as this structure doesn’t offer even weight distribution for foam-based beds. Bear sells bed foundations and frames that are compatible with all three Bear mattresses to ensure that users get the most out of their beds, both in durability and comfort.
What is the Bear mattress made of?
What makes Bear mattresses stand out is the use of the brand’s patented Celliant technology. This fabric activates the body’s natural heat and transmits it back as infrared energy. This process helps reduce muscle inflammation and speeds up recovery by increasing blood flow. In addition to this ground-breaking tech, Bear uses premium quality foam in all its beds, guaranteed to give users the best sleep ever.
Where can you buy Bear mattresses?
Like most bed-in-a-box mattresses, Bear beds are sold online. The company has a showroom in Hoboken, New Jersey, where customers can try out the beds, but they still need to make their orders online.
How long does it take for the Bear mattress to expand?
It usually takes most mattresses at least 48 hours to fully expand. The company and most Bear Mattress reviews out there recommend giving the mattress a day or two to expand before using it. Bear also advises trying out the bed for 30 days so that sleepers get used to the feel of their mattresses.