The Helix Midnight and Casper Original share the same firmness levels and offer great motion isolation. However, they differ in key ways, namely their construction and who they’re best for. In this mattress comparison article, we share important information about each bed to help you decide which is right for you.
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Helix vs Casper Mattress Review
Comparing Helix vs. Casper Mattresses
Casper is a three-layer mixed foam mattress with polyfoam and memory foam comfort layers and a high-density polyfoam base. The Helix Midnight, is a memory foam hybrid with the same firmness level. In this Casper vs. Helix review, we compare the Casper Original and Helix Midnight mattresses. Keep reading to learn about each bed’s highlights, their differences and similarities, how they’re made, and who we recommend each mattress for.
Differences
- Style—The Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress, and the Casper Original is a mixed memory foam mattress.
- Noise and Motion Isolation—The Casper Original reduces noise and isolates motion better than the Helix Midnight thanks to its all-foam construction
- Pressure Relief—While both mattresses offer above-average pressure relief, the Casper is a step ahead of the Helix Midnight in this performance category.
- Support—The Midnight’s pocketed coil layer and dense polyfoam base make it slightly more supportive of the entire body than the Casper.
Similarities
- Firmness Level—Both mattresses have a medium firmness level at roughly a 6/10 on the firmness scale.
- Mattress Height—The Casper measures 12” tall and the Helix Midnight (standard) measures 12” tall as well. The Helix Midnight LUXE is 14” high.
- Cost—Both beds cost less than $1,500 in all sizes.
- Trial and Warranty—The Helix Midnight and the Casper both come with 100-night sleep trials and are backed by a 10-year warranty.
- Shipping—Both mattresses ship free in all 50 states.
Helix Midnight
The Helix midnight provides tailored support and a medium-feel geared specifically for side sleepers. The hybrid construction promotes airflow to keep you cool, while the foam layers provide cradling and support where you need it.
Score
4.8
/
5.0
Firmness
6
Trial period
100 nights
Reason to buy
Made for side sleepers
Who is the Helix Mattress Best For?
Best For…
- Sleepers who enjoy a balance of contouring and support
- Couples and co-sleepers
- Sleepers who experience aches or painful pressure points
- Lightweight and average weight sleepers
- Shoppers on a budget
- Those who sleep hot on other foam beds
May Not be Best For…
- Shoppers who enjoy a responsive, bouncy mattress
- Heavyweight sleepers
Read our full Helix mattress review to learn more.
Casper Original
The original mattress that made the brand famous, the Casper is known for its design that suits all sleep positions. Casper's Zoned Support feature is engineered to prop up the hips, shoulders, and back to keep the spine aligned. At an affordable price point too, this mattress is hard to beat.
Score
4.8
/
5.0
Firmness
6
Trial period
100 nights
Reason to buy
Affordable mattress made for all sleepers
Who the Casper Mattress is Best For
Best For…
- Sleepers who prefer a Medium firmness and close conforming
- Those who sleep hot
- Lightweight and average weight sleepers
- Shoppers on a budget
- Shoppers in need of edge support
May Not be Best For…
- Those looking for traditional memory foam, deep sinking feel
- Couples
Read our full Casper mattress review to learn more.
Deciding Between Helix and Casper
Firmness / Feel
A mattress’ firmness is how soft or firm it feels to a sleeper. In the mattress industry, a firmness scale of 1 to 10 is used, with 1 being very soft and 10 being very firm. Most mattresses fall in the middle portion of the scale.
Firmness is both a preference and an important factor in ensuring the bed healthily supports your body weight and sleeping position. What’s “right” for a sleeper will vary based on the feel they enjoy, how they sleep, and their body weight. For example, side sleepers need more contouring in the hips and shoulders, which, when allowed to sink deeper into the mattress’ top layers, encourage a neutral spine.
Average weight side sleepers usually find these qualities in a medium or medium-firm mattress, but heavyweight sleepers will need a medium-firm or very firm mattress to achieve this same feel and level of support. The opposite is true for lightweight side sleepers.
The Casper Original and Helix Midnight share a medium firmness level (6/10) that suits most lightweight and average weight sleepers. Both mattresses suit side sleepers, back sleepers, and stomach sleepers well, but side sleepers will appreciate the beds’ conforming top layers most.
See: Best Firm Mattresses
Motion Isolation
When you change positions or get out of bed, your body creates movement that may be felt by your sleeping partner. If you or your partner are light sleepers, this can create disturbances and prevent a restful night’s sleep. A bed’s ability to isolate motion is dependent on several factors, including its thickness, firmness level, and foam or latex layers.
In general, foam mattresses like the Casper Original isolate motion very well. Hybrids, which are generally more responsive, don’t isolate motion quite as well, but they’re nowhere near as poor at this as innerspring beds, which offer little to minimize motion transfer. Some hybrids have built-in motion-isolating properties, and while the Helix Midnight has some aspects that encourage this, it still scores about average in this performance category.
Edge Support
Edge support, or how well the mattress withstands pressure at its edges, is an important consideration for certain people. For example, elderly individuals who have trouble getting in and out of bed should look for beds with strong edge support as a safety measure. Edge support can be closely correlated with a mattress’ durability as well, so it’s never a bad idea to purchase a mattress that performs well in this category.
The Helix Midnight has exceptional edge support thanks to a high-density foam base that reinforces the pocketed coil layer. The Casper Original, like most all-foam beds, sinks significantly at its edges.
Pressure Relief
Sleepers of all sizes and sleeping positions have pressure points, and a bed with pressure relief can help alleviate areas of acute aches and pains to encourage a better night’s sleep. The comfort layers of a mattress are most influential in determining its ability to relieve pressure.
Both the Casper Original and the Helix Midnight provide comparable levels of pressure relief, although the Helix Midnight may slightly excel in this area. The Casper is especially good for sleepers who experience low back pain and have sensitive areas along their spines, while the Helix provides a more general close conforming feel.
Spine Alignment
Even when you’re sleeping, your spine should remain as aligned as possible; this means your hips or shoulders shouldn’t sink too much. Beds that cater to your sleeping position and can adequately support your (or you and your partner’s) bodyweight are a good place to start when searching for this quality in a mattress.
The Helix Midnight’s comfort layers are made from memory foam, which will contour to the body and help improve spinal alignment, especially for side sleepers. Similarly, the Casper’s polyfoam and memory foam comfort layers provide the bed’s Medium firmness and conform closely to help align the spine very well for side sleepers and well for back and stomach sleepers.
Durability
Durability refers to how long a mattress and its materials will last. Most mattresses in the industry have a lifespan of five to eight years with seven years being average. Both Casper and Helix are relatively new brands to the market, so they haven’t been around long enough for us to comment substantially on their longevity.
The quality of a bed’s construction and materials correspond closely with its durability, however, and both the Casper and Helix come from reputable makers. The bed’s support cores, 7.5” of high-density foam and a pocketed coil support core, respectively, may also help them last longer than competitors. For both, you can prevent body impressions and encourage longevity by rotating the mattress every three to six months.
Temperature
A mattress’ ability to provide a cool night’s sleep will depend on its style and the materials used in its construction. In general, all-foam beds trap more heat than hybrid mattresses, which have breathable pocketed coil layers to encourage constant airflow. Many foam mattresses, however, now incorporate materials specifically designed to prevent heat retention, like gel-infused foams, open-cell foams, and copper-infused covers.
The Casper offers a temperature neutral night’s sleep. It won’t trap body heat and sleeps somewhat cooler than other foam mattresses. The Helix Midnight (and all Helix beds) has standout temperature neutrality. The coil layer promotes steady airflow and the comfort layers have lower-density foams to absorb less body heat and sleep cooler than other hybrid beds with more dense foam varieties.
Helix vs Casper Mattress Construction
| Helix Midnight | Casper Original | |
| Cover | Polyester | Polyester |
| Comfort Layer | 2” 2.5 PCF Memory Foam | 1.5” Polyfoam
1.5” 4 PCF Memory Foam 1.5” 3.5 PCF Polyfoam |
| Transitional Layer | 1” Transitional Polyfoam (Helix Dynamic Foam) | N/A |
| Support Layer | Pocketed Coils
1” PCF HD Polyfoam |
7.5” 1.8 PCF HD Polyfoam |
| Mattress Thickness | 12” (14” in LUXE version) | 12” |
Helix Midnight Construction
The Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress constructed with a 2-inch layer of PCF gel-infused memory foam, a low-density foam that absorbs very little heat when compared to foams of higher densities, allowing the surface of the mattress to sleep comfortably cool. The 1” transitional layer features Helix Dynamic Foam, which acts as a buffer between the sleepers and the dense support coils.
The support core of the Helix mattress is 8-inches of pocketed coils and a 1-inch PCF high-density foam base. The pocketed coils stabilize the mattress, enhance responsiveness, reduce sagging, improve edge support, and promote airflow for a cool night’s sleep. The bed’s layers are encased in a stretchy polyester cover. Overall, the bed has a medium-firm feel that’s roughly a 6/10 on the firmness scale, and its layers contour to the body to alleviate pressure while providing even support.
Casper Construction
The Casper is a mixed foam mattress with a polyester cover and polyfoam and memory foam layers. The comfort section of the mattress contains two 1.5” polyfoam layers and a middle 1.5” memory foam layer, which provides a medium feel that conforms closely yet supports the spine in proper alignment.
The bed has a 7.5” high-density polyfoam base and measures 12” tall. Although its design is simple, the Casper provides strong overall support for a memory foam mattress. Lightweight and average weight sleepers should feel good on this bed in all positions, and the thick comfort section provides a plush, cushioned feel.
Shipping and Returns for Helix & Casper
Both Casper and Helix offer free shipping with purchase in all 50 states. Casper ships free anywhere in Canada as well, and Helix ships free to some parts of Canada. Both mattresses are shipped as a bed-in-a-box, which means they’re compressed, roll-packed, and sent to your home as such. Once they arrive, you simply remove the bed from the box, unroll it, and allow it to expand to its original shape.
Casper offers White Glove delivery for an additional fee of $149, and it includes old mattress removal and in-home set. Helix does not appear to offer White Glove delivery.
If you’re not satisfied with your Casper Original during the 100-night trial period, you may return the mattress for a full refund. Casper will coordinate mattress removal from your home after a return is requested. Keep in mind that you may face additional charges if you purchase your mattress from Amazon or another third-party retailer like Wayfair.com. Exchanges are also available during the 100-night trial.
Helix requires sleepers to sleep on the bed for 30 nights before returning the mattress. If you don’t like your Helix Midnight mattress after 30 nights, you may return the mattress for a full refund. Helix will coordinate the mattress pickup from your home. If you’re not satisfied with the bed’s firmness in particular, Helix will mail you an additional comfort layer to make the mattress more plush or more firm at no charge to you.
More Casper Mattresses
Casper Wave Hybrid
The Casper Wave Hybrid is Casper’s luxury mattress and has a medium-soft feel. It combines foam and pocketed coils for a more responsive feel and is very breathable.
Read our full Casper Wave Hybrid mattress review to learn more.
Casper Element
The Element features three layers of foam and is Casper’s most affordable mattress. Its simple design and low price point are suitable for shoppers on a budget.
Read our full Casper Element mattress review to learn more.
Casper Nova Hybrid
The Nova is Casper’s softest mattress, with a cloud-like feel and a mid-range price point. It comes as a hybrid which promotes support and airflow.
Read our full Casper Nova mattress review to learn more.
More Helix Mattresses
Helix Midnight Luxe
The LUXE shares a similar construction to the Helix Midnight Standard, but includes an additional transitional layer and zoned, multi-gauge coils. It’s also 14” tall, making it a better fit for heavy sleepers.
Read our full Helix Midnight LUXE mattress review to learn more.
Helix Plus
The Plus is a Helix hybrid that’s designed specifically for heavy individuals.
Read our full Helix Plus mattress review to learn more.
Our Helix vs. Casper Final Review
So, which is the best mattress? We’ll let you decide. The Helix Midnight and Casper share a lot in common, including price point, firmness level, foam types, and height. Both conform closely to the body and provide great pressure relief for less than $1,500 in all sizes.
However, we think the Casper is a better choice for shoppers looking for that signature memory foam feel. It’s plush, conforming top layers will give you the sensation of sleeping “in” the mattress rather than “on” it, and if that’s what you love, the Casper is your bed.
The Helix Midnight is a better choice for sleepers who tend to get hot throughout the night, as the pocketed coil support core will encourage temperature neutrality. It also offers better full-body support than the Casper, so back and stomach sleepers, especially those in the average weight category, may find that the Helix Midnight is a better fit than the Casper over time.
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