When your WinkBed arrives, give it a few hours to air out and decompress. Don’t worry, we found that the initial smell will go away within a day, but it can be rough at first. To make setup easier on yourself, you should also grab a buddy or two to help you out, since the bed is pretty heavy.
Bear designs mattresses with the active community in mind, ensuring that they get the proper rest and recovery to perform their best. The Elite Hybrid is the brand’s ultra-luxe option, dialing up some advanced features and superior cooling tech.
Our Tester’s Take
The Bear Elite Hybrid offers three firmness options: Soft, Medium, and Firm, allowing you to customize its comfort level according to your personal preferences. Our reviewer went down the middle, testing out the medium firmness model.
There is a lot of good in this mattress, but for our tester, what stood out was the cooling. The Bear Elite Hybrid combines phase-change material and Bear’s trademarked Sleep Recovery Technology powered by Celliant foam. Phase-change materials and Celiant foam work together to lower the overall surface temperature of your mattress, helping you sleep cooler and, therefore, sleep better. Bear’s reputation in the fitness and active community is mainly due to the inclusion of this foam, but the innersprings do a lot of the legwork in keeping air flowing throughout the night.
The Bear Elite Hybrid is a bed-in-a-box mattress that arrives compressed and rolled up in a box. Upon delivery, simply unbox and set it up. Assistance may be required as a queen-size mattress weighs 110 pounds. Like many new mattresses, it’ll require a few hours of off-gassing to air out. Any odor should dissipate once the bed is fully decompressed. To minimize odors, our tester recommends placing the mattress in a well-ventilated room for 24 to 48 hours before sleeping on it.
For a supportive, surprisingly cool sleeping experience, we recommend the Nolah Signature Foam—especially for those with shoulder pain or hip pain.
Our Tester’s Take
From the moment they first laid down, our tester knew this mattress would come in clutch for those with joint pain. They found that the foam nicely fills in the empty space in the lumbar area, wrapping them comfortably without sagging too much. On their side, they felt a bit of pressure around the shoulder, but were still comfortable enough to fall straight to sleep.
With that said, our tester decided that this mattress is a great option for back sleepers and side sleepers, and is especially good for couples thanks to its great edge support and motion isolation. While foam is a main component of the mattress, our tester warned against expecting the quicksand-like feel that most memory foam lovers are accustomed to—this one provides less of an enveloping feel in favor of back support.
With regard to cooling, our tester thinks the Nolah sleeps cooler than most memory foam beds thanks to its moisture-wicking organic cotton cover and surprisingly breathable Nolah AirFoam.
The Leesa Legend, a hybrid mattress, provides an array of notable features that justify its bold name. Crafted with recycled materials, it boasts an organic cotton and merino wool cover, catering to eco-conscious sleepers.
Our Tester’s Take
The softest mattress in the Leesa lineup, our testers were pleased with how it balanced the quicksand feeling of memory foam with the supportiveness of traditional coils and zoned support (which shows huge benefits in the shoulder area, specifically). Side sleepers or those with shoulder pain will love the Leesa Legend, as will folks who like to have a bit of bounce in their bed. The combo of softness and bounce is a surprising one, but we’ll take it.
While memory foam may be known as one of the sweatier materials in the mattress market, this bed neutralizes heat thanks to micro-coil ventilation and the top layer’s exceptional airflow. The bounce from the coils eliminates the tendency to trap heat, so you can move freely while staying cool. After testing, we would easily recommend the Leesa Legend as a cooling mattress for hot sleepers. Bonus points for the Merino wool cover, which is naturally moisture-wicking and odor-resistant.
The only drawbacks to the Legend will be for stomach sleepers—we wouldn’t recommend this one if you prefer to spend your nights sleeping on your belly. It’s also higher on the price scale, so people shopping on a budget should be wary.
The coolest thing about the Birch Luxe Natural is its eco-friendliness, while a EuroTop topper provides comfort for back or stomach sleepers.
Our Tester’s Take
The Luxe Natural is a fairly firm latex hybrid mattress that our testers found most apt for hot sleepers. Its individually wrapped coils, aerated latex, and wool layers provide excellent breathability, helping with temperature regulation. Unlike memory foam, latex mattresses don’t trap heat, making this mattress ideal for those who tend to overheat at night. Eco-friendly materials, like organic wool and latex, enhance the mattress’s cooling properties while providing a bit of peace of mind, considering there are no harmful chemicals used in the mattress.
Our testing found that the Birch provides ideal support for back and stomach sleepers. The latex foam creates a firm surface, and its durability makes it a good match for individuals over 230 pounds. Latex is also a resilient material, meaning you should be able to use this mattress for a long time. Back sleepers can also opt for the extra pillow top if they need more cushioning—however, side sleepers may find the mattress less comfortable due to its firmness around the shoulders and hips.
The Puffy Lux Hybridis a great pick for couples who don’t want to be bucked around every time their partner starts tossing and turning. The hybrid construction provides some nice cooling, and the mattress can be paired with dual-zone bases for comfort.
Our Tester’s Take
Our tester’s first bit of feedback on the Puffy Lux was encouraging, telling us that they felt like they were on a cloud, immediately noticing the soft, plush feel along with some pleasant cooling properties. They were also surprised by the slow-touch response, which isn’t often found on other hybrid beds that use coils for support. This isn’t a bad thing though—it is the reason for the cloud-like feel.
The mattress is a good pick for side sleepers and back sleepers, though the latter may find it more forgiving. In testing, we found that movement dissipated quickly from side to side, which is why we recommend this one so highly for couples—the seismic shifts coming from your partner won’t disturb you.
