The Bear Pro mattress is great for hot sleepers like me — I was impressed with its cooling properties even though the effects of copper-infused foam aren't yet proven

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

• I tested the Bear Pro Mattress and was impressed with the comfortable and cooling foam, motion isolation, and the slightly softer-than-average firmness that was just right for sleeping on my side.
• A queen-sized mattress currently costs $890 so it's not cheap by any means but the price is reasonable for the quality of materials and more importantly, quality of sleep I got during testing.
• It's also backed by a 10-year limited warranty and a 100-night risk-free trial so you can test the mattress in the comfort of your home before committing.
• Read more: The best mattresses

Table of Contents: Masthead Sticky

When you think of copper, your mind probably goes to the wires found in just about anything that uses electricity.

Mattress manufacturers like Bear are starting to incorporate this material into their products because of its reported ability to conduct heat. The brand claims that copper-infused foam absorbs your body heat and allows it to dissipate giving you a cooler sleep.

However, there aren't any substantial studies or reports to support this claim, so I decided to test it out myself with Bear Pro Mattress, which I received for free. The mattress is made with copper-infused foam, and despite the lack of studies, I was still impressed with its ability to keep me cool and provide soft comfort and support.

Bear focuses on making mattresses that are ideal for athletes and other fitness buffs. We've previously tested the brand's namesake mattress and ranked it as the best mattress for athletes who sleep on their side.

Specs

The Bear Pro Mattress consists of five layers:

• High-density support foam – this supportive base offers long-lasting durability
• Responsive transition foam – provides pressure relief and balanced support
• Gel memory foam – helps remove the absorbed body heat
• Copper-infused foam – Bears claims this helps absorb your body heat to whisk it away and is antimicrobial and antibacterial, but these claims are unverified at best
• Breathable Celliant cover – Celliant also helps with cooling

You can try out the Bear Pro in showrooms in New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia, though stores are currently closed due to nationwide lockdowns.

You can test the mattress for 100 nights risk-free. If you don't like the mattress, a local charity will arrange to safely come and collect it, and you get a full refund. Bear backs the Pro mattress with a 10-year limited warranty, though the warranty doesn't cover the cost of handling or transportation associated with repairing or replacing your mattress.

The Bear Pro is heavier compared to other all-foam mattresses — Casper's comes in at 79 and Leesa's is 71 — but the difference is probably due to the extra layers of foam in the Pro — Casper has three layers and Leesa has four. My Queen Pro weighed 80 pounds, which was easy for me to rotate and carry, or move when changing sheets, but still heavy nonetheless. I'd recommend getting a friend or partner to help.

Set-up process

The unboxing process is similar to other beds-in-a-box.

There was a helpful instruction card that gave me some tips on how to remove the packaging and set up the mattress. It suggested that I allow 24 hours for the bed to fully expand, which turned out to be more than enough time. There was an off-putting odor initially — which I call the "new bed smell" that all-foam mattresses seem to have – but that was gone by the time I went to bed 14 hours later. I recommend unboxing your mattress in the morning so it has time to expand and air out.

If the idea of unboxing a heavy mattress doesn't sound appealing, Bear usually offers white-glove delivery for an extra $100. This service has been modified due to the novel coronavirus and only offered in some areas, so you'll have to contact Bear for the most up-to-date service info. With the modified service, the carrier will leave your mattress where you normally receive packages and you'll receive an email confirming they were delivered.

When the service is offered normally, a local delivery company unboxes, sets up your mattress in a spot of your choice, and takes the packaging with them. For an extra $50, the workers will also remove and dispose of your old mattress and foundation.

Bear recommends using the Pro on a hard, flat surface, specifically the Bear Foundation though any platform bed or adjustable base will also work. The company warns against using a coil box spring since it doesn't provide an evenly supportive surface. My Zinus foundation worked fine with the Bear Pro.

What makes the mattress stand out

I'm a bigger guy, weighing 250 pounds, and I like to sleep on my side or stomach. With the firmness level of the Bear Pro – slightly softer than average firmness – I preferred sleeping on my side, which I found to be incredibly comfortable.

I also put off a lot of heat, so I like to be cool when I'm sleeping. Fortunately, the Bear Pro Mattress did an outstanding job of dissipating the heat I put off to keep me cool through the night. I can't say that the copper-infused foam did anything here and there are no studies to back up the brand's claims, but I did stay cool throughout my testing. This could've been due to the gel layer or the breathable Celliant cover.

I put every mattress I review through a motion transfer test. I place a 12-ounce can of soda in the middle of the mattress and then drop a 15-pound bowling ball from above so that it lands about a foot from the can. If the can stays upright, I know the motion isolation properties are good. If the can falls over, the motion dampening is lacking. With the Bear Pro mattress, the can of soda stayed upright consistently.

Sharing the mattress with cats also showed me that motion isolation was impressive. When the cats walked around the bed while I slept, it didn't wake me, though the mattress didn't stop them from licking my face.

Cons to consider

The edge support of the Bear Pro isn't very good. When I would sit on the side of the bed to put my shoes on, the edge would sag significantly. When I tried to lay on the edge, I fell off. When sleeping in the center of the bed, I felt fine but it got dicey on the sides. With this in mind, couples might want to opt for a King bed so they have room on the sides.

The mattress box arrived in pretty bad shape and once I unboxed it, I found there was a small gash in the bottom, which appeared to be due to mishandling in transit by a third party. I contacted the PR rep who facilitated the testing unit and they immediately offered to send another mattress. I didn't take them up on the replacement offer because I didn't feel that the gash would affect performance during testing.

While the prompt response may be an exception as a member of the media, customer reviews do frequently mention how good the customer service is.

The bottom line

There's a lot to love about the Bear Pro Mattress, but there are alternatives you might want to consider.

Should you buy it?

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better cooling mattress at this price point. I've tested plenty of all-foam mattresses from Leesa, Nectar, Amerisleep, Layla, and Tuft & Needle (some of which you can read here in our guide to the best mattresses) and many are under $1,000. But they also trap body heat — something that the Pro does an excellent job preventing.

Also, thanks to its slightly softer-than-average firmness, it should work for a wide array of sleepers. I preferred sleeping on my side with this mattress but found sleeping on my stomach was also comfortable. And, as a runner who suffers from occasional back pain, I can attest to its muscle pressure relief.

Based on my experience, I'd recommend this bed to many people. I'd only suggest people who sleep cold or prefer extra-soft or extra-firm mattresses look elsewhere.

If the price is a concern, keep your eyes on the Bear website for discounts. It doesn't have sales often, but when it does, they usually run for at least a week. For example, as of publishing time, Bear is offering up to $250 off with two free pillows as part of big sitewide sale.

What are your alternatives?

I have tested dozens of mattresses and wrote the buying guide to the best mattresses.

The main attraction of the Bear Pro is its cooling properties. Dubious copper claims aside, it did a great job of keeping me cool throughout the night. I create a lot of heat when I sleep, and I sleep with my wife and occasionally, my cats, so this is an impressive feat. In this department, I'd say it's only eclipsed by the Tempur-Pedic PRObreeze, which I reviewed here. The PRObreeze is the main mattress I sleep on when not testing others and it always keeps me cool. The main problem with it is the price tag — it currently costs about $4,000.

If you are looking for a softer mattress, I recommend the new Casper Nova Hybrid, though it costs nearly twice as much as the Bear Pro. I'm not usually a fan of soft mattresses, but I found the Nova Hybrid was quite comfortable and surprisingly supportive. I'm currently testing and working on a review of this mattress.

And if you want an extra-firm sleep, the New Airweave Mattress, made in Japan, uses an airfiber core and breathable mesh cover to combine cool sleep with two levels of firmness. You can insert the pillowtop layer for a level of plushness while still maintaining strong support, or you can remove the plush layer for maximum firmness. I preferred to sleep with the pillowtop layer installed. I'm also currently testing this mattress.

Overall, I think the Bear Pro Mattress offers the best balance of price and cooling, and strongly recommend giving it a try if you're a hot sleeper.

Pros: 100-night risk-free trial, 10-year warranty, great motion isolation, features copper-infused foam for cool sleeping, great balance of comfort and support, excellent customer service

Cons: Poor edge support, expensive for an all-foam mattress