Forbes wrote a thorough article about their experience with the Bear Original Mattress and why it’s the Best Memory Foam Mattress for people on a budget. The article highlights Bear’s thoughtful design, including cooling gel memory foam and medium-firm support, which caters to back and stomach sleepers while ensuring motion isolation for couples. Here's a sample below and Read the full article.
Vetted: What Forbes Had to Say About Bear
As someone who spent years selling commercial and residential furniture, I’m often skeptical of items that come in a box and don’t require a delivery crew to bring in or set up. But when I was offered the chance to test the Bear Original Mattress, I was intrigued by its promise of a high-quality bed for shoppers on a budget. Would it live up to the hype? I had to see for myself (and also share with you in this Bear Mattress review).
The Bear Original is a memory foam mattress designed to offer pressure relief without the usual heat retention that can occur when sleeping on memory foam. It features a three-layer construction with a top layer of cooling gel memory foam that absorbs and disperses body heat. I slept on it for over 30 days (sometimes with a dog, a cat and a human bed partner), putting the pressure relief, temperature regulation and motion isolation to the test. In this Bear Original Mattress review, I’ll break down my findings and discuss who I think would sleep well on it.
Bear Original Construction, Firmness And Feel
Three Layers of Memory Foam Give Firm Support
The Bear Original is a 10-inch memory foam mattress with three foam layers.
- Cover: The cover is made of breathable Tencel fibers. You can also upgrade to one that is infused with Celliant for $130, a proprietary material the company says helps improve sleep quality by promoting tissue oxygen levels. Nothing looks particularly advanced about the fabric, but it does have a neat hexagon pattern. I also found the cover cool to the touch when not in use.
- Comfort layer: The layer directly under the cover is a cooling gel memory foam designed to draw heat away from the body.
- Pressure relief layer: The second layer is a memory foam designed to provide contouring comfort.
- Support layer: The base layer is a high-density foam made to provide support and stability to keep you from sinking into the bed.
Bear gives its Original mattress a firmness rating of 7.1 out of 10, which the brand considers medium-firm (but it’s on the firmer end of the medium-firm range). After sleeping on it for a little over a month, I agree with the brand’s rating. It’s supportive and hugs you a bit without the classic sinking feeling of memory foam, which makes it ideal for back sleepers, stomach sleepers or combination sleepers. The Bear Original might not be the best pick for side sleepers, who often need more cushioning to provide pressure relief at the hips and shoulders.
I’m primarily a side sleeper, but sometimes I rotate on my back. The first few nights were a little rough as a side sleeper. The mattress felt very firm with little to no give. But it did soften over time. Although it doesn’t feel as firm as those early nights after 30 days, I still feel more pressure than I’d like on my hips and shoulders when I sleep on my side. When I sleep on my back, I feel comfortable and supported on the Bear Original.
Bear Original Features
Solid Support For Back And Stomach Sleepers, And You Don’t Feel Your Partner Moving
When the mattress arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to move the box to the bedroom and onto the box spring myself. I did need help removing the plastic wrapping and unrolling it. The mattress seemed to plump right up as soon as it was unrolled, and there was very little odor.
This is one of those mattresses that you have to sleep on for at least 30 days to really know how it feels. Week one on the Bear Original wasn’t the same as week four. The mattress softened over time, almost like it needed to be broken in. If you’d asked me to write this review in that first week, I would have recommended it only to people who like a very firm mattress. Now that I’m past the 30-day mark, I think it’s a good value for stomach and back sleepers who want something medium-firm.
Pressure Relief
I tried laying in each sleeping position (side, back and stomach) to see how well the Bear Original relieves pressure. As I tested each position, I paid attention to how my shoulders and hips felt on my side, how my lower back and shoulders felt on my back and how the front of my body felt when on my stomach.
Side sleeping: Most of the time I sleep on my side. I did feel pressure build up on my shoulders and hips on this mattress. It wasn’t painful, but the pressure was enough to note. Sometimes I deal with a strain in my shoulder that likely stems from working long hours at a computer. On days when my shoulder didn’t feel good, I didn’t feel pressure relief from this mattress. I’d have to avoid sleeping on that side. I don’t think the Bear Original is a good choice for side sleepers, especially those who are on the lighter side, since in that case mattresses can feel firmer.
Back sleeping: When I rotated to sleep on my back, I felt well supported. There wasn’t any pain or strain in my lower back, and it did feel better to sleep on my back when my shoulder strain was bothering me. I think this bed is a good choice for back sleepers, especially those who like a firmer mattress and are on a budget.
Stomach sleeping: Since I don’t sleep on my stomach, I tested this position by laying on the bed for at least 15 minutes at a time to see how it felt. I also asked my bed partner, who is a stomach sleeper, what he thought. Stomach sleepers aren’t as worried about pressure points, but you don’t want to sink too far into the bed. If you sink too much in the middle, it can throw off how your lower back feels. This mattress is on the firmer side, so it gives enough support to keep the midsection from sinking. I think it’s a good choice for stomach sleepers.
Cooling
Bear claims the cooling gel memory foam in its Original provides temperature regulation for hot sleepers. While I wouldn’t call myself a hot sleeper, I wouldn’t call this a cooling mattress either.
My apartment is one of those places that somehow manages to always have the wrong temperature. When it’s 70 degrees outside, the place is still freezing. And if you turn the heat on before bed on a chilly evening, you’re probably sweating before the morning. The Bear Original felt cooler than other memory foam mattresses and toppers I slept on when I first got into bed, but I didn’t feel like it kept me cool while I slept. Maybe it doesn’t get as warm as other memory foam products, but I didn’t notice any cooling feeling when sleeping on it.
My dog Charlie (a dachshund mix who insists on sleeping under the covers) also notices a change in temperature at night. He’ll get out from under the covers when things feel toasty. I thought maybe this mattress’ cooling ability would reduce his need to alternate between in and out of the covers—something that can wake me up. But his behavior didn’t change, leaving me to doubt the cooling.
Motion Transfer
My main reason for choosing this mattress to test was the promise of not feeling the movements of others in the bed. Bear’s website highlights the Original as being best for “couples who want motion isolation.” At times, my bed can have two humans, a small dog and a cat—and these critters aren’t still all night. I didn’t have to do any special tests because I knew there would be enough natural movements for me to know how well the mattress handles motion transfer.
The mattress did its job. My cat likes to jump from the tall cat tree directly onto the bed. When he did this on the Bear Original, I could feel only a small, isolated movement. Charlie (the dog) likes to get in and out of the covers for his own temperature control, and he does a classic dog shake sometimes as part of his process. I’m happy to report that his shakes didn’t move the whole bed. The mattress contained them enough not to disturb me. My human bed partner’s usual movements were also barely noticeable. I am impressed by this mattress’ motion isolation, and I think it’s a good choice for people who don’t want to be disturbed by a partner’s movements.
Support
Bear doesn’t list a weight limit to how much the Original mattress can support, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for every size. As a general rule, memory foam doesn’t offer good support for sleepers 250 pounds or more. I’m a lighter-weight sleeper (under 130 pounds), so I felt supported on my back and stomach with a bit of pressure on my hips and shoulders from side sleeping. This mattress is probably best for average-sized sleepers between 130 to 230 pounds.
When I sat on the edge, the bed sank down. I was still able to get up and down easily, but that might have been different if I were heavier. I don’t think this mattress has great edge support.
Ease Of Movement
Memory foam can be notorious for giving you that stuck feeling of struggling to move from one position to the other. I didn’t find this to be the case with the Bear Original. During my testing, I found it easy to switch positions without feeling stuck. The mattress didn’t have a bounce to it. Based on this, I think the Bear Original is a good choice for combination sleepers who move around at night.
About Bear Mattress
Bear is one of the well-known bed-in-a-box brands. The Bear Original has over 10,000 reviews on the company website, with over 8,000 5-star reviews, and it made the Forbes Vetted best mattresses under $1,000 list. The 14-inch Elite Hybrid, which the company lists as its most popular model, has been endorsed by the American Chiropractic Association.
Bear mattresses are CertiPUR-US certified, GREENGUARD Gold certified and fiberglass-free, which means the mattresses aren’t made with harmful chemicals. The products ship directly from the factory in Arizona.
Shipping And Delivery
Bear offers free shipping and free returns but says additional fees might apply if the product goes to Alaska or Hawaii. The company ships its mattresses via FedEx, and delivery times can vary based on delivery location. The estimated shipping window is three to 10 business days.
The brand also offers white glove delivery service through a partner company called LoadUp, which includes in-home setup of the new mattress and removal of an old mattress. The service can range in price from $100 to $150, depending on what you need. For example, you can choose to have your old mattress removed and no help setting up the new one, or you can choose to get help setting up the new mattress and bed frame and help removing the old one.
Trial Period And Returns
Every mattress from Bear comes with a 120-night trial period. If you don’t like how the mattress sleeps within that period, Bear says it will assist you with a return. The company will issue a refund for the cost of the mattress if you arrange to have it removed from your home by “an authorized party of Brooklyn Bedding LLC” within the 120-night trial period. There are no refunds, exchanges or returns after 120 nights.
You can only do one refund or exchange per household or delivery address.
Warranty
Bear’s mattresses are covered by a limited lifetime warranty, which means you are covered under the warranty for as long as you own the mattress. Only the person who originally purchased the mattress can put in a claim under the warranty, and they must have the receipt as proof.
The warranty is limited to one replacement and covers defects and physical flaws that aren’t due to improper use or handling. It does not cover normal wear and tear, natural softening over time, damage caused by misuse or abuse (cuts, tears, stains, spills, etc.) or changes in your comfort preferences.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, choosing a mattress depends on your body type and sleeping needs. Even though the Bear Original wasn’t ideal for me as a petite side sleeper, I still think it’s a good value for the price point. I think it’s a solid choice for average-sized back and stomach sleepers because they should feel supported. I’d also recommend it for couples on a budget who don’t want to feel each other moving around at night. Hot sleepers looking for a memory foam option may like this mattress as well because it doesn’t overheat the way memory foam can.
Side sleepers who need more pressure relief should probably skip it because they’re likely to feel some pressure on the hips and shoulders. It might not be the best choice for sleepers over 230 pounds either because it’s made entirely of memory foam and doesn’t have good edge support, so it may sink too much. Check out our top mattress picks for side sleepers and heavy people for better options.
