Published on Jan. 06, 2025
It's cooling, comfy and supportive. In our Bear mattress review, we explain why this mattress is just right for every type of sleeper.
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Waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat is annoying at best, and plain old gross at worst. Fortunately, there are plenty of cooling products on the market to help hot sleepers. From cooling bed sheets and blankets to bed cooling systems, there are options when it comes to finding some relief. Another surefire way to help you stay cool at night is to invest in a good cooling mattress. We’ve tested dozens of the best mattresses and there’s one that stood out as being truly effective: the Bear Pro Hybrid mattress.
We found that the Bear mattress actually lived up to its claims of keeping you cool and supported while you sleep. So without further ado, here is our full Bear mattress review.
The Bear Pro Hybrid mattress is a cooling mattress. Its 10-inch profile is made up of four layers: a breathable quilted cover, cooling gel memory foam, Bear Dynamic foam and a six-inch base of individually encased coils. The combination of foam and coils is what makes it a true hybrid mattress.
The Bear mattress comes in seven sizes and you have the option to upgrade to a comfy, temperature-regulating pillow-top cover. This mattress is designed to be placed on any flat surface including the Bear foundation, adjustable base or platform bed. It can even be placed on the floor. However, the brand does not recommend placing this mattress on a traditional coil box spring because it does not provide an evenly distributed surface area for foam-based mattresses.
On the website, Bear lists the firmness as medium-firm, giving it a seven out of 10 firmness rating. And while it’s not an organic mattress, the mattress itself is Greenguard Gold Certified, Certi-PUR US Certified and fiberglass-free.
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This affordable mattress features a cooling gel layer and air-infused coils to move heat away from the body.
The mattress is wrapped in a soft, breathable cover. You also have the option to upgrade to a Celliant pillow top cover which helps regulate body temperature as well as enhance your overall wellness.
The cooling gel layer is directly under the quilted cover and draws heat away from your body. It also helps keep your spine properly aligned, reducing your chances of waking up with aches and pains.
This foam allows the mattress to contour to your body’s shape while keeping pressure off of your back, hips and shoulders.
The 6-inch layer of encased coils also helps keep you cool at night. That’s because it allows for more airflow than solid memory foam mattresses.
The Bear mattress is not organic, but it is non-toxic. As mentioned above, it is Greenguard Gold Certified, Certi-PUR US Certified and fiberglass-free. This means it’s made without harmful chemicals including formaldehyde, ozone depleters, phthalates, mercury, lead and other heavy metals.
We sent this mattress to our tester Emily Way, a stomach and side sleeper who describes herself as a living furnace. “I sweat through my pajamas. I sweat through my sheets. My body pumps out so much heat during my REM cycle that I’m sure everyone within a three-mile radius can feel it,” she writes in her Bear mattress review. Since she runs so hot, she was skeptical of this mattress’s ability to really keep her from sweating through her linens. But after 30 nights, she was shocked to discover that she never once woke up drenched in sweat.
The mattress arrived on Way’s doorstep shrink-wrapped and packed in a surprisingly compact box. The box was too heavy for her to lift on her own, so she and her husband carried it up to the bedroom together. Once they got it upstairs, they opened it up and watched as it inflated. Way points out that while you can sleep on it immediately, Bear recommends waiting 24 to 48 hours for it to fully inflate. She and her husband slept on it after about 24 hours since it seemed mostly expanded by then.
“Initially, I was a little surprised by the feel of this mattress. While it touts itself as ‘medium-firm, I’d say it’s much closer to the ‘firm’ side of things—something I wasn’t thrilled with at first,” writes Way. “However, my first night on the Bear Pro hybrid mattress completely changed my tune.”
Prior to the Bear mattress, Way and her husband often found themselves waking up with back and hip pain. Once they began sleeping on the Bear, that pain disappeared. “It’s supportive, thanks to the coils and firmness, yet also offers enough ‘give’ to cradle the body,” explains Way. “It’s actually much, much more comfortable than any other ‘firm’ mattress I’ve tried in the past. Now, I’m a true believer in the importance of a little firmness on a mattress for side sleepers!”
But what really impressed Way was the fact that she didn’t wake up drenched in sweat. Though she opted not to upgrade to the cooling pillow top, she found that the cooling gel layer and air-infused coils did a great job of moving heat out and away from her body at night. “Even on sweltering nights, I have yet to wake up drenched in sweat—a big win for me, especially for a budget mattress,” she raves.
At Family Handyman, we know how important it is to get quality sleep. Whether you’re a hot sleeper, a sleeper who suffers from back pain or someone who has their sleep interrupted by children, pets or restless partners, you deserve a good night’s rest. We have years of experience testing the best sleep products, from popular mattresses like the Saatva, Naturepedic and Zinus, to the best mattress toppers.
Our editors spend months sleeping with these products in their own homes. In many cases, they’re also sharing these products with their partners who add their own unbiased opinions into the mix. For this review, our editor and her husband spent a month sleeping on the Bear Pro Hybrid mattress to see if it actually kept them cool and comfortable. Our goal is to recommend only the very best products using honest and fair testing practices, and we will never recommend a product we don’t love.
No. According to the brand’s website, all Bear mattresses are 100% fiberglass free.
Instead of fiberglass, Bear uses WhisperShield. This is an environmentally friendly, inherently flame-proof rayon. It’s chemical-free, safe and effective.
Yes. The Bear mattress is designed to support all sleeping positions.
We tested both the Bear Pro Hybrid mattress and the Purple Restore Cool Touch Hybrid mattress. Both are hybrid mattresses made up of foam and coils. They both have cooling properties to help you stay dry at night and are designed to accommodate a variety of sleep positions. But there are a few key differences.
The Bear mattress has a 10-inch profile and is available at a variety of retailers. The Purple mattress has an 11-1/2 inch profile and is a Mattress Firm exclusive. Additionally, the Purple mattress retails between $2,245 and $3,295, depending on the size whereas the Bear mattress retails between $1,135 and $2,396.
If you’re shopping for a mattress on a budget, then Bear is the better choice.
After 30 days, both Way and her husband agreed that the Bear Pro hybrid mattress offered more support than their old memory foam mattress. Overall, it helped Way sleep more soundly and alleviated her husband’s aches and pains. “No more tossing and turning every single night, and—even better—no more night sweats. Overall, I find it amazing that two very different types of sleepers enjoy the same mattress equally. It’s like the Goldilocks of mattresses: just right,” she raves.
The Bear Pro Hybrid mattress is available directly on the Bear website and prices start at $1,395. It’s also available at Walmart and Wayfair. You’ll also want to be on the lookout for sales, as Bear regularly hosts discounts or sales. At the time of publication, Bear is offering a 30% discount plus two free pillows with any mattress purchase, so now is the time to snag your new cooling mattress!
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This mattress is designed to support a variety of sleep positions, making it ideal for back, stomach and side sleepers.
