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Do you constantly wake up to change positions and relieve pressure? If so, you may benefit from a pressure-relieving mattress like the Bear Elite Hybrid. After testing this Bear mattress, our Reviews Team awarded it a perfect score for pressure relief. The Bear Elite Hybrid evenly distributes body weight in all sleeping positions so pressure doesn’t build up, which can lead to longer periods of uninterrupted sleep.
Here’s how it works: when pressure is applied to any area of the body, small blood vessels get blocked [1] Ren L., et al. Effect of Mattress Bedding Layer Structure on Pressure Relief Performance and Subjective Lying Comfort. Journal of Tissue Viability. February 2023 . Your brain will prompt you to move to release the pressure and restore blood flow. When you’re asleep, that usually means rolling over—and for many people, rolling over also means waking up. If this process repeats throughout the night, it may disrupt the sleep cycle. Disrupted sleep has been linked to side effects like increased pain [2] Medic G., et al. Short- and Long-Term Health Consequences of Sleep Disruption. Nature and Science of Sleep. May 19, 2017. , inflammation, stress, and mood disorders.
This may explain why most of the Bear mattress users we surveyed in January 2024 said they experienced better overall mental health and spent more time asleep since purchasing the mattress. If you’re looking for similar results, consider the Bear Elite Hybrid.
The Bear Elite Hybrid comes in three firmness options: soft, medium, and firm. Our Reviews Team tested the Bear Elite Hybrid in a medium, and all of our comments refer to that firmness level. If you’re not sure which firmness is right for you, consider starting with a medium mattress and exchanging it for the soft or firm model, if needed, within the 120-day trial period.
The Bear Elite Hybrid stands out as one of the best mattresses for pressure relief, regardless of whether you prefer sleeping on your side, back, or stomach. Our testers felt like their weight was evenly distributed, with no painful pressure points anywhere on their body.
On other mattresses, testers typically felt pressure in their hips and lower backs when lying on their backs, and side sleepers often reported feeling pressure in their hips and shoulders. In contrast, our Reviews Team considers the Bear Elite Hybrid one of the best mattresses for back pain, especially if you sleep on your side.
People with hip pain may also benefit from this mattress’s 14-inch height. “For someone with hip pain, keeping the bed height at a level that if you sit your knees are slightly below your hips will keep you comfortable and safe getting in and off the bed,” said Caryn McAllister, a physical therapist with High Quality Home Therapy in Stamford, Connecticut.
The Bear Elite Hybrid is one of the tallest mattresses we’ve reviewed, so be sure to pair it with an appropriately sized bed frame—climbing in and out of bed can be painful and increase your risk of falls, especially if your feet don’t reach the floor when you sit on the edge of the bed.
“The time to push yourself with range of motion and strength is not when you feel tired. Falls occur when people get out of bed quickly to go to the bathroom,” said McAllister.
Our testers found it easy to change positions on the Bear Elite Hybrid, but this may not be the case for people with less strength. If you sink into the plush pillow top, you’ll need to put more effort into lifting yourself out of the material. This mattress is not very bouncy, so it doesn’t provide much momentum to help you stand.
The Bear Elite Hybrid is also a good choice for couples. Testers said they didn’t feel disturbed when another person moved around on the other side of the bed, and the fact that it’s comfortable in any sleeping position means you’re both bound to like it. But if you need a lot of space and tend to hug the edge of the bed, this mattress may not provide enough support to keep you there. “I feel like someone could easily roll over the edge,” one tester said.
If you have limited mobility or need extra edge support, a Saatva or Nolah mattress may be a better choice than a Bear mattress.
“I barely feel my partner toss and turn at night. It does a much better job of isolating motion compared to our old innerspring mattress, but the memory foam layers do make the Bear Elite Hybrid a little hotter than the innerspring. We figured out the best room temperature and we’ve been fine ever since.” – Nicole H., Bear Elite Hybrid user
Who may love it
Who may want to avoid it
You can reach Bear customer service by:
Bear accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, PayPal, Google Pay, and Venmo. Financing is available through Affirm and Shop Pay.
The brand offers a 40% discount for military members, first responders, health care workers, and teachers. This discount can’t be combined with other promotions or sale prices.
| Price for queen* | $2,305 | $1,319 | $1,332 | $3,295 |
| Firmness | Soft, medium, firm | Medium-firm | Soft, medium, firm | Medium |
| Mattress type | Hybrid | Hybrid | Hybrid | Hybrid |
| White-glove delivery** | Yes (starting at $100) | Yes (in some locations) | No | Yes (free) |
*The cost of mattresses excludes promotions, discounts, and shipping charges.
**Shipping and installation of new mattress and removal of old mattress
If you often wake up at night needing to change positions to relieve pressure, the Bear Elite Hybrid may be a good choice. Because it’s comfortable for back, side, and stomach sleepers, the Bear Elite Hybrid is also ideal for people who change positions throughout the night or couples with different sleep preferences. Its 14-inch height may also benefit people with hip pain.
The only people who may want to avoid the Bear Elite Hybrid are those who need a stable edge or bouncy material that’s easy to push against. The company offers a 120-night trial to help you decide if a Bear mattress is right for you.
The Bear Elite Hybrid has a quilted pillow top made with phase change material and a synthetic fiber known as Celliant. Both absorb excess body heat. Two layers of memory foam are located under the pillow top. The top layer is infused with copper, which also supports cooling. The thicker second layer—called Dynamic Transition Foam—contours to the body and provides some support.
Most of the mattress’s support comes from the coils underneath the foam. They’re individually wrapped rather than linked together, which helps reduce motion transfer. Finally, the entire mattress sits on top of high-density support foam.
Other Bear mattresses feature cooling gel foam instead of copper-infused foam. The Bear Natural has latex and cotton. All Bear mattresses are fiberglass-free.
Bear offers two shipping options: free box shipping or white-glove delivery. With free box shipping, the Bear mattress arrives compressed and rolled inside a box. It’s a heavy box and mattress, so you may need to ask someone to help you unpack it and lift it onto your bed frame.
With the white-glove service, delivery personnel carry the box into your home, unwrap the mattress, and lift it onto your bed frame for you. For an extra fee, they can also set up your Bear bed frame and/or haul away your old mattress. White-glove delivery starts at $100 for mattress setup only and costs up to $200 for installing the new bed frame and mattress and removing the old ones.
Like other mattresses that arrive compressed in a box, a Bear mattress needs time to expand and air out. One Bear Elite Hybrid user said they had to leave windows open for three days to allow the plastic, metallic smell to dissipate. This is known as “
off-gassingⓘ
The chemical odor given off from a new mattress. The smell is harmless and is usually gone within the first few days.
.” You may want to sleep elsewhere for a couple of days until the mattress is ready for use.
Yes, Bear mattresses come with a limited lifetime warranty that covers manufacturing defects and visible indentations greater than 1.5″. If your mattress is defective, Bear will replace it for free. You must be the original purchaser to file a warranty claim, so be sure to keep your receipt. Visit the Bear warranty page for more information.
Have questions about this review? Email us at reviewsteam@ncoa.org.
