Bear Hybrid Mattress Review

Our Verdict: Innovative design, combined support and cushioning make the Bear Hybrid Mattress ideal for many sleepers. It is not a budget option, but if you live an athletic lifestyle and place emphasis on recovery during sleep, it may be a worthwhile investment. A luxury mattress designed for athletes, the Bear Hybrid is a thick, supportive bed that claims to promote faster recovery. We love that the Bear Hybrid is 14” thick and really supportive. It’s also plush, which is rare to find among mattresses this tall. From its firmness level to its cover textiles, this mattress is designed to promote muscle recovery and increase the chances that you get a great night’s sleep.

What We’ll Cover in this Bear Hybrid Mattress Review

The Bear Hybrid mattress is made by Bear, a USA-based mattress and bedding brand that’s focused on marketing to athletes and physically active people. The Bear Hybrid was released in 2018.

This thicker-than-average mattress can work for any sleeper type, has amazing edge support, comes with eco-friendly certifications and has cool features for muscle and all-over body recovery. It’s considered medium-firm, or a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale, and is made with a cover that transmits energy back to the sleeper for recovery, a polyfoam comfort layer, a polyfoam transitional layer, pocketed coils and a layer of base foam.

We love that the Bear Hybrid is 14” thick and really supportive. It’s also plush, which is rare to find among mattresses this tall. From its firmness level to its cover textiles, this mattress is  designed to promote muscle recovery and increase the chances that you get a great night’s sleep.

In this Bear Hybrid mattress review, we’ll share what you need to know to decide if the Bear Hybrid is the best mattress for you. You’ll learn about the pros and cons of the hybrid mattress, its construction, which sleepers and body types it’s best for and important company policies that may impact your shopping experience.

Who the Bear Hybrid is Best For

Bear Hybrid Mattress Highlights

• 14” thick, which can work well or heavyweight and tall sleepers
• Coils improve durability
• More plush than other highly supportive mattresses
• A great firm hybrid mattress option
• Cover incorporates Celliant technology (an FDA wellness textile)
• Great motion isolation, noise reduction, and edge support
• Has a unique feel that’s supportive yet allows sleepers to nestle into the top layer

What Type of Mattress is the Bear Hybrid?

The Bear Hybrid is a hybrid mattress designed to comfort and cooling technology for athletes and other active people who are looking for a more restorative night’s sleep.

Bear Hybrid Firmness & Feel

On a scale of 1 to 10, the Bear Hybrid firmness level is around a 6. It has a medium or medium-firm firmness level that should appeal to many sleepers. The softer foams in the pillow-top cover and top comfort foam layer give it a nice plush, cushioned feel, even though the mattress doesn’t conform closely to the body. This means that pressure points will feel relieved without sinking too far into the mattress.

The surface is also pretty responsive, thanks to the coil system in the support layer and the stretchy quilted cover fabric. The overall feel falls somewhere between sleeping “on” the mattress and sleeping “in” it. You definitely won’t get the feel of sinking deeply into the bed’s layers like you would on a memory foam mattress, but the pillow top layer lets you “nestle” in just a bit. This makes for a pretty cozy experience regardless of your sleeping position.

How Well Does the Bear Hybrid Regulate Temperature?

Two layers of the Bear Hybrid are dedicated to cooling the mattress. The hypersoft cooling-gel foam delivers a cool sensation directly under your body, and responsive transition foam increases airflow so heat is not trapped inside the mattress. As a hybrid mattress, the additional coil system will also enhance breathability and ensure your temperature is regulated throughout the night. 

Is the Bear Hybrid Good for Couples?

Edge support and motion isolation are essential in the best mattresses for couples. The Bear Hybrid’s high-density support foam is great for durability, especially if the weight of two sleepers sits on top of the mattress each night. The coils of a hybrid mattress also increase edge support by distributing weight evenly on top of the mattress. The foams will also absorb motion as partners move throughout the night.

Bear Hybrid Mattress by Sleeping Positions

Side sleepers: Even though the mattress is very supportive, side sleepers should you may be surprised to find that it provides plushness and comfort in the side sleeping position. The top layer is really soft, so you’ll feel pressure relief in important areas like the hips and shoulders.

We think this mattress could work well for most side sleepers with one exception. Side sleepers in the average weight and lightweight categories will enjoy the Bear Hybrid most. If you’re heavyweight, you might encounter some pressure on your side if your body presses into the transitional layers of the mattress.

Back Sleepers: The Bear Hybrid is a solid mattress choice for back sleepers. The bed provides an amazing balance of gentle body-conforming in the top foam layer and even support. You shouldn’t experience any sagging in the hips or  shoulders thanks to the mattress’ above average support.

Stomach Sleepers : Even though it isn’t technically a firm mattress, the Bear Hybrid has coils that offer enough support to keep the spine of stomach sleepers in proper alignment. This means that you shouldn’t experience much sinking in the hips and midsection – which can cause back pain – on this mattress.

Keep in mind that the likelihood that this mattress sags in the stomach sleeping position is dependent on your weight. If you’re heavy, you may feel minor sagging in the hip area, but it shouldn’t present much of an issue, especially if you switch to other positions throughout the night.

Related: Best Mattresses for Back Pain

Combination Sleepers: The supportive layers of the Bear Hybrid should create a mattress for combination sleepers to stay comfortable throughout the night. The medium firmness helps this mattress suits multiple sleeping positions without sacrificing support or comfort.

Bear Hybrid Construction

The Bear Hybrid mattress is a medium-firm mattress made with cooling gel foam, pressure-relieving foams, pocketed coils for added support, and a unique, Celliant technology cover.

The cover is a hand-quilted Celliant fiber top made of a polyester-blend that’s infused with Celliant fibers. Celliant is designed to absorb body heat and convert it into infrared energy. The transmitting of that infrared energy back to the sleeper’s body increases oxygenation and helps sleepers recover at night. The cover features 2” of gel-infused polyfoam that offers extra padding and creates that plush pillow top surface. 

The top layer of the mattress is 2” of polyfoam. It doesn’t conform closely like memory foam, but it provides some contouring. It’s a little more responsive than memory foam, making it easier for combination sleepers to change positions.

The second layer is a transitional layer of 1” polyfoam. It simply buffers the sleeper from sinking into the dense coil support layer of the mattress.

The third and fourth layers are the support layers, which consist of 8” pocketed coils and 1” of high-density base foam. These stabilize the Bear Hybrid to encourage spinal alignment in all sleeping positions, provide edge support and reduce motion transfer. The coils also help keep the bed temperature neutral. 

See more: Memory Foam vs Hybrid

How Much Does the Bear Hybrid Cost?

Bear Hybrid Mattress Buying Experience

Shipping, Delivery & Returns

Bear currently ships the Bear Hybrid free to all 50 states as a bed-in-a-box. Most Bear orders arrive within 2-7 business days. It needs to be carefully removed from the box and allowed to expand for a day or so.

You’ll have the option to request a return after sleeping on the bed for at least 30 days, and you’ll have up to 100 nights to return the mattress free of charge. If you decide to return your new mattress, you’ll be refunded the cost of the mattress to your original form of payment.

There’s no need to worry about recompressing the mattress and fitting it back into the box if you decide to return it. Bear will make arrangements for it to be picked up and removed from your home. Returned mattresses are donated to a charity by Bear.

Trial Period

Bear gives customers 100 nights to test out the mattress and decide if it’s the right fit for their body and sleeping preferences. If you want to exchange your mattress for a new model, you must do it within the 100 night trial period. This applies to returns as well.

Keep in mind that Bear requires customers to sleep on the bed for at least 30 nights prior to making a decision. This is known as a break-in period, which allows you to get used to the mattress just like you would a new pair of running shoes.

Bear will arrange a free pickup and refund you the full cost of the mattress if you decide to return it within the trial period. You won’t be charged shipping fees for returning the mattress.

Warranty

The Bear Hybrid comes with a 20-year warranty, which is 10 years more coverage than the warranty that comes with the original Bear mattress. The warranty covers visible sagging, indentations and physical flaws.

During the first 10 years of ownership, Bear will cover the full cost of replacement if you find a defect. During the second 10 years of the warranty period, you’ll be required to pay a handling cost and a prorated replacement charge if you find a defect. This is known as a partially prorated warranty.

Availability

The Bear Hybrid mattress can be purchased from Bear directly online. Bear operates one brick-and-mortar showroom in New Jersey, but it is a viewing-only model as of 2020. Bear partners with two other stores in Virginia and Texas to provide viewing-only access to their mattresses.

Other Bear Models

Check out our full Bear Mattress Review to learn more. 

Bear Hybrid Mattress Final Review

Nerd Score: 4.7/5

We love this bed’s versatility because it can suit so many sleepers. Whether you’re lightweight or heavyweight, a dedicated side sleeper or a combination sleeper who tosses and turns, it’s pretty likely that the Bear Hybrid mattress can give you a good night’s sleep.

It also earns major points for thoughtful design. The incorporation of Celliant technology into the cover fabric and the combination of the plush pillow-top-like surface layer combined with a highly supportive base are two of its most enticing features.

The only drawbacks of this bed are its price – which, while not top-of-the-line, may be too high for some – and the fact that it sleeps warmer than other hybrids. The temperature issue may be due in part to the Celliant technology in the cover, which inherently traps sleepers’ body heat to transmit it back to their bodies for recovery.

If you like a hefty, thick mattress, want minimal body-conforming, are an athlete or regular exerciser and need a supportive bed that feels soft to the touch, you’ll probably love what the Bear Hybrid has to offer.

FAQs

What is the difference between a Bear Hybrid and other mattresses?

The Bear Hybrid is a premium mattress combining both coils and foams to create a 14” mattress that helps you recover faster and sleep better. The Bear Hybrid has individually wrapped pocketed coils for support, which sets it apart from other all-foam bed-in-a-box mattresses. 

Do I need to let the Bear Hybrid settle after opening it?

The Bear Hybrid may take 24–48 hours after opening to fully decompress.

Is the Bear Hybrid made in the USA?

Yes! In the same tradition as the Bear Mattress, the Bear Hybrid is manufactured here in the USA, in a Wisconsin factory. The Bear Hybrid uses CertiPur-US Certified foams.