Casper Mattress Review

In April 2016, Casper sued me in federal court over my reviews and I am fighting that lawsuit. The review below, like all my reviews, reflects my honest opinion.

2017 Update – After over 2 years of mattress testing and sleeping on over 100 different mattresses, a lot has changed since I first tested the Casper mattress. These changes include Casper re-designing its mattress twice. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to test all three Casper mattress design iterations. If you’re interested in the specific changes, click here to see Casper’s design timeline.

Below is my updated review, including updated pictures, updated video (coming soon), and updated analysis.

Casper launched in 2014 and has quickly become one of the most popular mattresses on the internet. It’s hard to browse the web, drive your car, watch TV, or listen to the radio without hearing or seeing Casper ads.

But does Casper really live up to all the popularity and hype? Continue reading below to find out!

In a rush? Click here to jump to the Casper review summary.

Foam Layers

The Casper is an all-foam mattress utilizing four different layers of foam.

• Top Layer (poly foam) – 1.5″ of responsive poly foam. This layer provides the comfort, cooling, and bounce for the mattress.
• Second Layer (memory foam) – 1.5″ of memory foam. This layer provides support and pressure relief. It is placed below the poly foam layer to help avoid any potential heat retention issues that can sometimes result from memory foam. It has a density of 4.0 PCF (pounds per cubic foot).
• Third Layer (support foam) – 1.5″ of poly foam. This is a transitional poly foam designed to help ease sleepers into the base foam. It has a density of 2.5 PCF.
• Bottom Layer (support foam) – 5.0″ of support poly foam. This layer of foam acts as the foundational base for the mattress. It supports the above layers. It has a density of 1.8 PCF.

This mattress is designed to create a responsive, but contouring feel for sleepers by combining a response poly foam with memory foam. The biggest detractor to memory foam is its tendency to “sleep hot.” The memory foam absorbs heat and creates a core of support and pressure relief for the mattress. By putting the memory foam below a top layer of poly foam, you get the better cooling and responsive benefits of poly foam while maintaining the great support and body contouring that you get from memory foam.

One note about the foam densities listed above. These densities were previously published on Casper’s website. However, they have since been removed from where they originally were and I have not been able to find a new reference to them elsewhere.

FAQ:  How to choose a mattress?

Cover

The cover of the Casper mattress is simple and has become somewhat of the standard design for many online mattress companies. There is a single piece of white fabric on top that runs from edge to edge. The top piece of the cover is stretchy and quite thin and has a soft texture. The materials used within the cover are from Belgium (border fabric) and the United States. Most covers are assembled in the United States, with some covers being assembled in Mexico.

The cover is fairly porous, which helps improve the cooling and breathability of the mattress at large.

From a functionality standpoint, the cover meets its basic requirements. The thinness of the cover also allows sleepers to more directly feel the foam layers. The top portion of the cover (the white piece) is 100% polyester, side panels are 51% polyester and 49% polypropylene, and the bottom is 100% polyester.

Firmness, Feel, and Support

The Casper mattress has a medium feel. Casper is a “universal comfort” or one-size-fits-all mattress design. The foam layers and materials were selected because they create a feel that’s designed to be suited to the needs of most sleepers. I would rate the Casper at a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale.

However, the Casper can feel unsupportive for heavier sleepers. Casper states there is no weight limit on its website; however, in August 2016 I chatted with Casper’s chat support, who told me the following:

“The Casper was designed to hold a combined 450 pounds [for couples]. For optimal performance, we recommend that individuals be 250 pounds and below. If you are over this weight, you may find that the Casper is not firm or supportive enough for you.”

With only 3″ of true comfort layers (1.5″ response poly foam + 1.5″ memory foam), heavier sleepers can easily sink through these layers, forcing the transitional poly foam and base foam to engage more with sleepers. Based on my sleep test, Casper’s chat support, and feedback from my readers over the last 2 years, I feel that heavier sleepers should avoid the Casper.

The top layers of the Casper are fairly soft, allowing for about 3″ of sinkage (see below for specific sinkage measurements), but beneath these soft layers is a noted “support wall” that sleepers quickly hit.

The addition of the transition poly foam in May 2016 helps to ease the transition, but it’s still more sudden than I would like. Depending on your sleeping position and preference, that type of support may be well suited to you; however, many heavier sleepers and side sleepers especially may find the support too abrupt, creating pressure points.

The hug and contour of the Casper is fairly standard. Having response poly foam on top eliminates a certain degree of the sharpness in the contour that you would get with a 100% memory foam mattress. The contour reminds me a bit of a trampoline. There is a generalized compression around your entire body where pressure is applied, creating a type of bowl sinkage effect.

During my sleep test, I never felt particularly hot or uncomfortable on the Casper. If you have average cooling needs, the Casper should do a fine job of keeping you cool.

I experienced lots of smell with my Casper the first few days, with strong odors present especially while lying down on the mattress. However, by the end of a week most of the smell had dissipated.

Overall, the Casper mattress has average support in all sleeping positions.

The one exception to this would be edge support. In comparing Casper to the universe of competing similar online foam mattresses, the Casper is among those with the worst edge support. You’ll experience ~5″ of sinkage when sitting directly on the edge.

Additionally, sleeping close to the edge can be difficult. If you sleep on or use the edge of your mattress for your daily routine, watching TV, sex, etc., be prepared for lots of sinkage.

GUIDE:  Best mattress for sex

Casper’s Mattress Design Iterations

The following section outlines the major Casper mattress design iterations. Over the past couple of years, Casper has had at least three major design iterations. I have been fortunate enough to have tested all three different design versions. The three different designs looked like this:

• First Casper design – 9.5″ total thickness. 1.5″ latex, 1.5″ memory foam, 6.5″ support foam. $850 (Queen)
• Second Casper design (released May 2016) – 9.5″ total thickness. 1.5″ latex, 1.5″ memory foam, 1.5″ poly foam, 5.0″ support foam. $850 (Queen)
• Third Casper design (released January 2017; this is the current version that is shipping to customers) – 9.5″ total thickness. 1.5″ response poly foam, 1.5″ memory foam, 1.5″ poly foam, 5.0″ support foam. $950 (Queen)

Sinkage Test

For all Sleepopolis mattress reviews, I like to do five different sinkage tests. These tests are designed to show you how the mattress performs in varying positions and to give you an idea of the sinkage/hug you’ll experience with the mattress.

• Lying on back – In a normal lying position on my back, I experienced 2.5″ of sinkage. The hug is more generalized and does not sharply contour to your body (applies to all positions).
• Lying on side – In a normal lying position on my side, I experienced 3.5″ of sinkage.
• Sitting on edge (conservative) – In a normal edge sitting position (where I’m sitting a bit farther back on the mattress), I saw 4″ inches of sinkage.
• Sitting on edge (aggressive) – In the more extreme position, with all of my weight on the absolute edge of the mattress, I saw 5″ of sinkage.
• Standing in middle – Standing in the middle of the mattress with all of my weight focused on the same area, I experienced 6″ of sinkage.

Bear in mind that I weigh 140 pounds. Your sinkage results will vary based on your weight and body type.

Pricing

Size	Price
Twin	$550
Twin XL	$600
Full	$800
Queen	$950
King	$1150
California King	$1150

Other Details

• Shipping – Free shipping, comes compressed in a box in 2-7 business days (2-day shipping with Amazon Prime)
• Warranty – 10 years
• Trial Period – 100 nights
• Discounts – None currently available on Sleepopolis
• Made in the USA (mostly) – Border fabric is manufactured in Belgium; some covers assembled in Mexico; most materials and mattresses are made in the USA
• Weight – The King-size mattress that I received weighs 93.4 pounds. According to Casper.com, the Queen-size mattress is designed to weigh 83 pounds and the King-size is designed to weigh 103 pounds.

Is the Casper mattress right for you?

When I first tested the Casper mattress in 2014, I was fairly impressed. I upgraded to the Casper after sleeping on a low-end spring mattress that was about 8 years old. The Casper was a massive upgrade over that mattress and by most standards is still a very good overall mattress.

That said, over the course of the last 2 years I’ve tested virtually every online mattress (about 100 different mattresses), including all of Casper’s primary competitors. My conclusion at the end of these sleep tests is that, while the Casper is a pretty good mattress, there are many other mattresses that offer better quality and better performance for the same amount of money.

COMPARISONS:  See how Casper compares vs. others

The biggest issue with Casper is it only has 3″ of true comfort foams (1.5″ responsive poly foam + 1.5″ memory foam). The 2016 addition of the 1.5″ of transition poly foam did help to improve support, but it’s not enough, in my opinion. This transition poly foam that was added in the 2nd Casper design iteration feels more like a base foam than a comfort foam.

All things considered, the mattress still has a similar feel and continues to suffer from the same basic support, comfort, and edge support issues.

Final Summary – The Casper is an above average 9.5″ foam mattress, but it’s not above average enough. There are simply too many other mattresses available that I find offer better support, comfort, and feel for about the same price (some even less).

For these reasons I recommend other mattresses ahead of the Casper, including Leesa, Loom & Leaf (which is a little pricier, but gives you some nice extras), Helix, and Brooklyn Bedding. All offer improved performance at a better value compared to the Casper.

For more information on the Casper, visit Casper on Amazon.com.

Page last updated March 3, 2017, by Derek Hales.