We tested the Bear Elite Hybrid mattress for 6 months; it's a great fit for couples and hot sleepers — plus it's on sale

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The Bear Elite Hybrid is a premium mattress that couples and hot sleepers should consider if they're looking for one of the best mattresses. Available in three firmness options, it offers excellent edge support, motion isolation, and cooling, copper-enthused memory foam to keep you comfortable throughout the year.

This long-term Bear Elite Hybrid review details my experience using the medium mattress at home for the last six months, covering both a particularly hot and humid summer and winter nights.

Bear also offers numerous discounts throughout the year and has extended Business Insider readers an exclusive 40% off site wide offer that includes two free pillows with a mattress purchase with code INSIDER40.

Construction

The Bear Elite Hybrid mattress blends the worlds of memory foam and traditional coil design for a feel of softness but with strong support underneath.

The surface is made with a luxuriously padded hand-quilted cushion layer that's cool to the touch without excessively wrapping around the body and causing you to overheat. The copper-fused memory foam layer directly beneath is an important feature, as copper draws heat away from the body and can help spread it out across the mattress instead. It's also an antimicrobial element that can add hypoallergenic properties and also helps to keep the mattress fresh and reduce the growth of bacteria, fungi, and odors. Remember that this is a thin layer of the mattress's construction - you still need to shower.

A thick layer of Dynamic Transition foam adds firmer support across the mattress, easing your weight onto the coils below. I couldn't feel any individual coils through it when lying down or forcing my hand into the mattress.

The coil size and placement design are carefully considered. With motion isolation in mind, all coils are individually cased. On the outside edges, they're wound more narrowly for stronger support. Coils toward the middle of the bed are thinner than the rest of the mattress to offer additional lumbar support.

One final layer of high-density support foam lies on the bottom for base support. However, it's not particularly hardy, and Bear does not recommend using the Elite Hybrid on a boxspring as you need something with a more evenly distributed support surface.

Our review of the Bear Elite Hybrid

Setup

The full-size Bear Elite Hybrid is delivered boxed and tightly rolled in multiple layers of plastic. While you can unbox it solo, you'll have an easier time with a second pair of hands, as unwrapping the clingy plastic requires some aggressive pulling to unravel it.

There are no markings to indicate which direction to point the mattress as you tug away, and it only starts unfurling after you have most of it off. When I realized the mattress was coming out sideways across the bed, I had to quickly spin it around before it finished erupting from its plastic cocoon, as it would have been difficult to move once it had laid itself out flat.

Some mattresses have a strong plastic or chemical odor at first. But this was closer to a nice "new carpet smell." Regardless, after unboxing the mattress in the morning, all traces of it had faded away by the time I went to bed that night.

Once the final loose layer of plastic was removed, the mattress promptly began to take its proper form, rapidly reaching its 14-inch thickness. Overall, the unboxing process took around five minutes.

Comfort and support

The Bear Elite Hybrid mattress is available in soft, medium, and firm variations, but on Bear's own scale of 1 (mushy) to 10 (rock), they rate those variations at 5, 6, and 7, respectively. That's not a huge difference, but the medium seems like a safe bet if you're mixing things up between side, back and some stomach sleeping or you and your partner prefer different positions.

I'm generally a side sleeper but sometimes lie on my back to read or watch TV, and both are comfortable once settled. If anything, I'd say the medium firmness option on the Elite Hybrid slightly favors back and stomach sleepers because I'd sometimes find myself fidgeting to "get right" at lights out. For reference, I'm around 5'7" and 150 pounds. Our reporter who wrote our guide to the best mattresses for stomach sleepers identified the medium Bear as a great option for front-facing sleepers with back pain, thanks to its ability to provide pressure relief and zone lumbar design where she needed it most. Though, heavier sleepers, especially stomach sleepers, might want to consider the firmer version of the Bear Elite Hybrid for extra support.

When on my side in a more upright position — think with your knees together or when closely spooning your partner — I found my lower back slightly uncomfortable. It didn't feel like I was aligned properly, when I checked my spine with the Mattress Checker app , which showed a 29-degree deviation between the base of my spine and the top of my neck.

However, if I sprawled out a bit more, half on my side, half on my stomach, and moved my top leg over in the same direction, I felt much more supported, and the discomfort in my lower back went away. My deviation degree here decreased to a much more acceptable 8.8 degrees, too. According to the app's developers, the ideal deviation is as low as possible, or under 7 degrees.

Edge support

When we refer to edge support, we're looking at how well weight is supported if sleeping close to the edge of the bed and basic requirements like sitting on the side and putting shoes on.

For the first couple of nights, I noticed that the edge support seemed a little soft, and I even seemed to dip inwards a little if lying back in the middle of the bed (not a usual sleeping position, I must say). However, after 48 hours, both issues had completely resolved themselves.

In fairness, Bear's website advises that a mattress might take 24-48 hours to fully decompress, but sleeping on it after it's had time to expand on that first day is fine. So, if you're having your old one removed from your home the same day the Bear Elite Hybrid arrives, you'll be fine to enjoy it on the first night.

In testing, I could lie right on the edge of the bed on my back or side without issue. I'd have to let myself lean a fair few degrees over before starting to fall. I also measured how far the mattress sunk on the side, bottom, and bottom corner when sitting on it like I might to put on my shoes, and it only went down by two inches. Anything under three inches is a good rating for edge support, so if you like to sleep dangerously on the edge, the Bear Elite Hybrid will embrace your daredevil dreams. This is especially handy if your partner is a sprawler (or maybe even a bit of an elbow swinger) or radiates too much heat, and you find yourself edging away a little.

Motion Isolation

To evaluate motion isolation, we dropped a 12-pound weight near a full soda can to see how many times it topples, and we found this would happen about 70% of the time. That doesn't sound great, as we've tested mattresses where the can survives at a higher rate, but I wouldn't go as far as to say the motion isolation is poor here.

Given that it's quite firm without being bouncy (I opted for Bear's medium-firmness mattress), I found I could toss and turn, fidget, and get out of bed without disturbing my partner, and I didn't feel any lurching or dipping movements when she did the same.

Cooling

The Bear Elite hybrid is a solid choice for those who sleep on the hotter side of the scale. After months of testing through a New York summer, I've found that it doesn't hold onto heat much at all. In the mornings, I'd measure the surface temperature with an infrared cooking thermometer, as 88 degrees Fahrenheit as soon as I woke up. Come back two minutes later, and that would have dropped to about 78 degrees on most days.

These cooling properties didn't betray me during the winter either, as a sensible level of body heat is maintained during the night without adding unnecessary chill to the surface, and I've not felt the need to turn the heating on in the room at all overnight despite it being the coldest room in the apartment. Picking up one of the best comforters won't hurt if you're fully revamping your sleep experience.

We've tested models that offer even cooler sleeps over on our guide to the best cooling mattresses, but don't forget your bedding can also be a major factor here, so it's not the end of the world if a mattress you like the look of might lose a couple of points for heat dissipation. Take a look at our guide to the best cooling sheets for hot sleepers to add a little extra chill comfort to your nights.

Trial period and warranty

You can try the Bear Elite Hybrid for up to 120 nights to determine if it works for you. You just need to sleep on it for 30 nights before it's eligible for a return, as Bear is confident that is the break-in period during which most buyers have been able to gel with it. Unlike some other brands, returns during this 120-night trial period are free, with no minimum shipping or restock fees to be concerned about.

However, items in closeout or clearance sales can not be returned, but these items should be clearly labeled as such in those sales. Also, if you're considering returning the mattress and picking up another Bear one, just be mindful that you cannot return the second one. You will still, of course, be able to enjoy the generous warranty offering on Bear's mattresses, though.

I've read through all of Bear's returns and warranty T&Cs, and it all looks pretty impressive. This mattress has a lifetime warranty, covering a range of defects, such as collapsing coils causing a visible indentation of 1.5 inches or more.

However, Bear's warranty won't cover you if you've been using a boxspring. They advise using a solid, flat surface with their mattresses, which makes sense given that they're on the heavier side. Adequate support is essential to keeping the mattress in strong condition for years to come. Normal wear and tear, misuse, and abuse are not covered.

Unlike returning the mattress during the trial period, you will have to initially bear the brunt of shipping it back to Bear. However, if they find a defect in the mattress, they will "assume all transportation costs associated with returning and replacing your mattress."

It all seems reasonable, with a few protections built in to protect them from fraudulent claims. If you'd like to comb through the details yourself, take a look at the warranty section on their site.

Cons to consider

This 14-inch mattress with coils and foam comes with considerable weight and awkwardness. Getting the bed set up is one thing, and a temporary problem for sure. But lifting the mattress corners to put on a fitted cover might be hard work for some, especially if the mattress is boxed into the corner of the room.

The heaviness issue is further compounded if you're moving house/redecorating and need to pick it up properly, as Bear has followed the irritatingly inconsiderate design flaw trend of only putting handles on the long sides of the mattress, with none on the shorter sides. If you've ever moved a heavy mattress in your life, you'll know what a pain this is as most people carry them lengthways (because doorways and stairs exist).

What are your alternatives?

Bear offers a few other less expensive mattresses, but they're only available in 'medium-firm.' Their Star Hybrid mattress is the next one down from the Elite and doesn't lose many features. The most notable difference is the lack of copper memory foam.

The Pro Hybrid and Bear Original models see further price drops, but hot sleepers in particular might want to take note, as the cooling isn't rated as highly on these models, and edge support isn't as strong on them either.

The Bear Original offers the biggest savings, especially compared to the Elite Hybrid, but the lack of coils in favor of an all-memory foam design won't be for everyone.

If you're looking for an option from a different brand, then the Leesa Sapira Hybrid is worth considering, as it's our No. 1 pick. They're very similar in nature — and made in the same mattress factory — , but if you're looking for a difference between the Leesa and the premium Bear Elite Hybrid, though, we'd argue the Bear has slightly better cooling and is better suited to hot sleepers.

The bottom line

The overall firmness won't be a match for all side-sleepers or those who prefer a super soft feel, but it's a very pleasing middle ground for couples wanting decent support. I've slept comfortably on my side for months with this mattress, and my partner rates it highly as someone who sleeps on her back and front a lot.

That cooling design and generous heat dissipation hold up well in hot and humid conditions. The firmer side of soft feel, combined with excellent edge support, makes the Bear Elite Hybrid one of the best mattresses for couples, both for sex and not feeling your partner tossing and turning or getting in/out of bed. I'm assuming that firm feel will hold up well over time, as I've not noticed any difference or degradation six months later.

Yes, all of this comes at a premium, but if you're spending this much on a mattress, it's reassuring to know it will last a long time. I'd go as far as to say that anyone looking for one of the best mattresses for couples or the best cooling mattress should surely have the Bear Elite Hybrid on their radar.