Bear Mattress Review 2024 : Is It Worth It?

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Bear has been a family-oriented company in the mattress business for over 25 years. Their mission is to provide the best mattress to ensure customers get a good night’s sleep without having to break a bank account to do so. They are based in Hoboken, NJ, with manufacturing facilities in South Carolina and Georgia.

The company is geared toward those who lead an active life, and who recognize that sleep is one of the most vital aspects of recovering from a heavy workout. Sleep is when the body rebuilds its damaged tissues with the help of a high-protein diet, plenty of water, and a good mattress on which to sleep.

Bear employs experts to help design the best recovery-oriented mattress for customers.

As part of their efforts to promote healthy active lifestyles, Bear donates 1 percent of every mattress sale to Good Sport, an organization dedicated to getting children involved in sports.

Product Offering

Bear currently offers two products: a memory foam mattress and a hybrid. The memory foam model incorporates multiple layers of foam, including a specialized graphite-gel foam, and another product called Celliant. This last component acts as a cooling layer to keep you from sweating at night.

The hybrid model, meanwhile, replaces the first layer of support foam with a bed of springs to add a little more bounce than would otherwise be present. It is considered a luxury mattress and costs more than the standard mattress model. The foam variant is more popular based on what we found.

Customer Support

Bear is based entirely in the United States. Most of the customer support is done through the website, including an extensive FAQ for both mattresses. You can, however, call (844) 311-0035 to coordinate the return of your Bear mattress if you aren’t satisfied with it.

Visitors to the website can also chat with a representative, provided one is available. If not, you can send an email with any questions you may have, and you will get a timely, pertinent response.

Sleep Trials, Warranties & Return Policy

Bear knows it isn’t possible to get a true idea of a mattress’s performance by spending fifteen minutes lying on it in a store with an over-eager salesperson watching you and trying to make a sale. You need time for your body to get used to the mattress and time for it to decompress. Because of this, Bear allows its customers a no-obligation trial period of 100 nights.

If you aren’t satisfied with your mattress during this 100-day period, you can contact the customer support team by phone or email and coordinate a return after 30 days starting from the date of delivery. You’ll need to have your proof of original purchase. Also, only one return is allowed per customer, household, or delivery address.

The company ensures product quality with a 10-year limited warranty. This warranty allows you to get a replacement for a mattress that the company deems defective at manufacture. If you damage it in any way, the warranty is void. One measure of defectiveness is sagging of more than one inch that isn’t a result of the foundation sagging. Bear guarantees that the foam used in mattress construction will retain its shape.

Ensure that you don’t misuse or damage the mattress. Any cuts, burns, or other damage incurred by the owner will void the warranty. For example, if you flip the mattress and put it on the frame, it will damage the Celliant cover.

Coupons, Discounts, Sales & Deals

Bear offers affiliate discounts from various websites such as Sleepopolis, Sleepjudge, and MattressClarity. MattressClarity offers the biggest discount we found, at $60, whereas the other two currently have $50 coupons. Simply navigate to the website, follow the link to Bear’s website, and enter the indicated coupon code. For example, if you were going through MattressClarity, you’d type “CLARITY60” in the promo coupon section.

Bear itself provides a 5% discount if you purchase the Bear Bundle: a bundle featuring the mattress, mattress protector, and pillows.

Reviewed: Bear Mattress

What Sizes Is It Available In?

The Bear mattress comes in six sizes: twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, and California king. Here are the dimensions for each.

• Twin: 39 inches x 75 inches
• Twin XL: 39 inches x 80 inches
• Full: 54 inches x 75 inches
• Queen: 60 inches x 80 inches
• King 76 inches x 80 inches
• California King: 72 inches x 84 inches

All sizes of this mattress are 10 inches thick, with four layers of different types of foam. You can expect sinkage of about 2 inches.

What’s It Made Out Of?

Starting from the bottom, you have a high-density support foam layer that’s 5 inches thick. This support layer has an indentation load deflection (ILD) of 30. The Bear mattress ILD refers to how many pounds of pressure it takes to indent a foam surface by 25 percent of its total thickness. The higher the number, the firmer the mattress is. The bottom layer of foam is intended as support, and it does this exceptionally well.

The second layer of foam is slightly lower-density foam intended as a transition layer. It is two inches thick and has an ILD of 18. The third layer is response foam, intended to disperse the weight of the sleeper. It is also two inches thick but has an ILD of 10.

The top layer, just below the mattress cover, is made of an inch of graphite gel memory foam. Its main selling point is heat dissipation, so you don’t have to worry about sleeping hot. It is also soft, flexible, and thin, with an ILD of 9.

Finally, the highlight feature of the mattress is the cover, which is made of Celliant fiber. This is a technology that can convert the body’s heat into infrared radiation, which has been shown to have health benefits.

All materials in the mattress are CertiPUR-US certified, meaning they are determined to be eco-friendly. If you’re concerned about the environment, you can rest assured that Bear mattresses are environmentally friendly.

Is It Good For…?

Side Sleepers

No. While not exceptionally bad for side sleepers, the Bear mattress has the same flaw that many foam mattresses do in this regard: it doesn’t eliminate the pressure points that tend to form in the shoulders and hips. If you couple this with a poorly-chosen pillow, it can also cause problems with your neck.

You can buy a Bear pillow either separately or as part of the Bear Bundle. It is made of many of the same materials and intended to keep your head and neck from experiencing too much pressure during sleep.

If you sleep predominantly on your side you can still manage, but you might want something that has a little less firmness. The Bear mattress has a middle-of-the-road firmness that doesn’t necessarily contour enough to keep your spine straight.

Stomach Sleepers

Yes. Stomach sleepers often will benefit more from a firmer mattress due to the concentration of weight in the abdominal cavity. Without adequate support from the mattress, the sleeper’s back will arch, causing spinal problems, and there tends to be excessive pressure on the internal organs.

Bear has created a mattress that offers just enough firmness to give stomach sleepers the support they need during the night. Even if you sleep on your stomach throughout the entire night, there should be few problems. Sleeping in the so-called “sprinter” position with one leg bent can make it even better.

The firmness of the mattress makes it good for multiple sleepers because it does not transfer motion. Therefore, if you’re sleeping with a partner who tosses and turns or gets up frequently you can continue to sleep undisturbed throughout the night.

Back Pain

Yes. Like stomach sleepers, back sleepers do best with semi-firm support because the spine needs to be kept straight throughout the night. A bed that’s too firm creates pressure points that can exacerbate back pain, and one that’s too soft does not offer enough support and ends up also sleeping hot.

If your back pain is caused by muscle soreness, the Bear mattress is one of the best choices for you. Bear focuses primarily on athletes and people with an active lifestyle. The Celliant mattress cover is intended to redirect your body’s heat as infrared energy. This causes vasodilation just like heat does and aids in muscle recovery. The added benefit is that you don’t feel the heat.

Hot Sleepers

Yes. The Celliant mattress cover takes your body’s heat and converts it into infrared energy that, while you can’t feel it as heat, still offers several health benefits to relieve sore muscles while keeping you cool. Not only does the Celliant cover provide this benefit, the graphite gel memory foam does not retain a lot of heat either, so the two work together to promote airflow.

Finally, the mattress itself is firm. A soft mattress ends up hugging the sleeper and not allowing air to flow. Throughout the night, trapped air heats up and transfers this heat back to the sleeper. When combined with continuously-generated body heat, it doesn’t bode well for sleeping cool.

Heavy People

No. This isn’t a flaw necessarily specific to the Bear mattress because foam mattresses bottom out when put under excessive weight. As a rule, if you weigh over 250 pounds or have a sleep partner who will bring the total load over 500 pounds, the Bear will not be a good option for you. Heavier people need a thicker mattress, at least 14 inches is the accepted amount. The Bear is only 10 inches thick.

Sex

No. The Bear mattress doesn’t really have enough bounce to compensate for your motions, leaving your rhythm at the mercy of the memory foam. Without enough bounce, your motion isn’t transferred effectively. Another problem is the lack of edge support. Most positions need at least some edge support, and foam mattresses don’t have much to keep their edges in proper shape.

Most of your energy will be spent recovering and keeping your position, rather than letting the mattress do some of the work for you.

The mattress is, however, quiet. If you can get past the other flaws and still be in the mood for fun times with your partner, you at least don’t have to worry about disturbing others with a squeaky bed or other sounds.

Where Can I Buy It?

Currently, you can only buy the Bear mattress from their main website. If you’re in the Hoboken, NJ, area you can stop by a Bear showroom and take a look at the mattress for yourself. Also, several mattress review sites offer links and coupons to the website. They allow you to get discounts ranging from $50 to $60. Bear has disclosed no plans to make their mattresses available to standard mattress retailers.

How Much Does It Cost?

The Bear mattress is a great value for the price you’re expected to pay. The lowest price is $540, and the highest price is $940. There is no sales tax involved unless you’re ordering or shipping to New Jersey. California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have a recycling fee.

You can also finance the mattress with Affirm. Simply choose the option to finance at checkout with Affirm. You’ll need to provide some basic information, and you’ll get a decision almost instantly as to whether you receive a loan for the mattress. It is subject to income and credit checks. You have the option of 6, 12, or 18 months of 0 percent APR financing, depending on your credit decision. Below are the prices for each size of the mattress.

• Twin: $540
• Twin XL: $640
• Full: $740
• Queen: $840
• King: $940
• California King: $940

Is It Worth It?

Overall, this mattress is extremely worth the price in our opinion. Although there are a few problems that are common for all foam mattresses, the mattress has plenty of qualities to recommend it.  It is made of high-quality materials and has excellent construction. You can count on Bear to meet your sleep needs with good customer service.

You aren’t going to get much more value for the price Bear asks, especially when coupled with an affiliate coupon.

Shipping Info

Bear uses FedEx Ground to get mattresses to you. From the point at which you place your order, you can expect about 4 to 7 days wait before you get your mattress. You can have it shipped from anywhere in the US, or you can visit the Canada website to have it shipped to a Canada location.

Currently, the company does not ship to any location other than the United States or Canada.

You do not have to have anyone home at the time of delivery; FedEx will simply leave the box outside your front door. If you have a FedEx Delivery Manager account, you can set up special instructions for delivery such as address change, vacation holds, or you can ask FedEx to hold the package for delivery at another date.

The mattress comes shipped in a box at nearly full size, and you can keep it in the box for up to 90 days. After that, it’s recommended that you unbox it and allow it to decompress.

Best Bed Frame/Foundation for the Bear Mattress

The Bear mattress is meant to rest on any flat surface but Bear itself offers a foundation and bed frame. Both are made of solid wood. The frame fits together easily with the use of metal glider pieces. You can assemble it in less than five minutes.

The Bear mattress has to rest on a solid frame. If it does not, you risk breaking it and thereby voiding your warranty. Another thing you have to watch out for is flipping the mattress. The mattress is not meant to be flipped; it is one side only.

Reasons NOT to Buy a Bear Mattress

The Bear mattress is made of various layers of foam, so if you prefer the feel of springs, you might want to look for another brand of mattress. Foam has several characteristics that might not appeal to everyone, If you want a softer mattress or one that’s good for side sleeping or sex, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

Similar Brands

If you want a different mattress, try something like the Leesa hybrid, the Bear hybrid, or even the Purple mattress. All of these products address the concerns that many customers have with the Bear foam mattress.

If you’re a heavier person, but still want to use foam, try out the Nolah. Where most foam mattresses are rated at only 500 pounds or 250 pounds per person, the Nolah can handle 350 pounds for a single person or 700 pounds total and still maintain its expected working lifetime. It won’t necessarily bottom out for even heavier people, but the lifetime of the Nolah will shorten.

Conclusion

We can conclude that the Bear mattress is well worth the investment you’ll make, based primarily on four areas. First, customer support. Bear provides excellent customer support, with an entirely U.S-based staff, strong Web presence, and ease of contact. The mattress has a fair and generous return policy and warranty, so you can be sure your money is well spent. We’ll give customer service an A.

The Bear mattress itself is made of a special graphite foam that is designed to keep you cool. This is the top layer, with the bottom two layers made of progressively denser foam. It holds its shape and maintains support very well. The Celliant layer is the most innovative part of the mattress. We haven’t seen many products that actually reflect body heat as infrared and promote muscle healing. The Bear mattress is quite effective for a foam mattress. The product quality here gets an A+.

Bear aims to make people healthier by making it easier to pursue a workout regimen with a recovery-aiding mattress. The company believes strongly in the value of exercise and being active. In this vein, part of the sales for each mattress go to a charity dedicated to providing children with the opportunity to play team sports. We can’t say no to a company fighting for a good cause. We give company policy an A+.

Looking at the website, everything is easy to find. We didn’t have any problem looking for information about the Bear mattress, nor did the website have any problems loading. The design is rather sparse but still conveys the knowledge you need. We’ll give the presentation an A-.

Overall, the Bear mattress gets an A.