Essentials

I ordered the Casper mattress and Saatva mattress. Here's the one I kept

By Lily Rose

September 1, 2022 / 9:00 AM EDT / Essentials

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How do you know when it's time to upgrade your mattress? For me, it was time to move on from my post-college Amazon mattress purchase when it stopped feeling comfortable and started trapping heat. When it was time to upgrade, I tested Casper and Saatva -- two top-rated, online-based mattress brands with tons of positive reviews. After sleeping on both, I found the mattress of my dreams. Keep reading to discover which mattress I kept.

Top products in this article:

Saatva Classic king mattress, $1,945 (regularly $2,170)

$1,945 at Saatva

Casper Sleep Original Hybrid mattress, $1,770 (regularly $2,095)

$1,770 at Amazon

Zinus green tea memory foam queen mattress, $309 (regularly $369)

$309 at Amazon

I really thought selecting my perfect mattress would be a breeze, considering how much time I spend researching products for CBS Essentials. I have amassed a hefty catalog of knowledge about sleep brands and products. I've even created a shopping guide on the best mattress deals and worked on how to buy a mattress online -- but if you don't know what you're looking for, ordering the wrong mattress can be a nightmare.

This summer I decided to upgrade from my six-year-old Zinus green tea memory foam queen mattress to a king-size mattress. The Zinus (available on Amazon) is a fairly affordable mattress option. The Zinus mattress had been a fine choice after college, but the longer I had it, the more it started to feel small, lumpy and like it was trapping a ton of heat -- especially once I started sharing it with a partner.

Because I'm a product-research pro, I knew that a hybrid mattress would likely sleep cooler than a dense memory foam one. According to the Sleep Foundation, cool air travels more easily through a hybrid mattress due to its coil support system.

The Casper Sleep Original Hybrid and the Saatva Classic mattresses both promised a cool sleep, including comfort and support. Both mattresses are similarly priced, and frequently go on sale. Casper and Saatva offer retail stores in select locations where you can try out the mattresses for yourself. Casper offers free, no-contact delivery and 100-night sleep trial. Saatva offers free in-room delivery and set-up, as well as a 365-night trial. I ended up trying both.

Casper Sleep Original Hybrid king mattress

Full disclosure, I love Casper. Thanks to personal experience, I think the brand makes some of the best sheets, duvets and pillows on the market. Due to that familiarity, plus the variety of mattresses it offers, Casper was my first choice. Even better: While I was mattress shopping, Casper was also having a major sale.

Casper Sleep Original Hybrid Mattress, $1,770 (regularly $2,095)

$1,770 at Amazon

The brand lists the Casper Sleep Original Hybrid as Casper's "most-loved" mattress. It has a five-star rating on the Casper site and a 4.5-star rating on Amazon, as well as many positive reviews. The mattress features a bottom spring layer to prevent sinking and promote airflow, a middle memory foam layer with three ergonomic zones for support and a top perforated-foam layer for breathability and comfort. The mattress sounded comfortable, and most importantly, like it slept cool. I clicked "add to cart".

My first night with this mattress was like sleeping on a cloud. The Casper Sleep Original Hybrid is soft, airy and light. I didn't wake up sweating or feeling like I needed to peel all the covers off. But by my third night of sleep, I felt like I was sinking through that fluffy cloud and falling, unsupported, into a waking nightmare of back and shoulder pain. This dreamy mattress was just too soft for me.

What I hadn't realized was that years of sleeping on a dense foam mattress had turned me into a hard-mattress person. I didn't just need a mattress that would sleep cool, I needed a mattress that was going to feel sturdy and would support my body from my neck down to my back. I needed to return the Casper.

I began my search for a firm mattress, secure with the knowledge that Casper gives you a 100-night sleep trial. The first brand to appear when I Googled "best firm mattress" was Saatva. I noticed that Saatva's Classic mattress includes a comfort-level feature that allows you to select your desired mattress firmness -- a feature not included with any mattress from Casper.

Saatva Classic king mattress

I chose the Saatva Classic mattress in firm, which Saatva describes as "designed to feel like you're lying on top of the mattress rather than sinking in, with firmer foams for balanced resistance."

Saatva Classic king mattress, $1,945 (regularly $2,170)

$1,945 at Saatva

The moment I lay down, I knew I'd found the mattress for me. Every night of sleep since has felt as though I am comfortably resting on my bed, not sinking down into it. The curves of its plush pillow-top support my neck, shoulders and back. Plus, its coil support layer keeps air flowing, so I don't sleep hot.

Casper v. Saatva

The Saatva Classic mattress is a must-have for people who want a firm mattress. If you want a cushy bed, get a Casper.

In hindsight, I could have swapped the Casper Original Hybrid for the the Casper Wave Hybrid, which Casper lists as the brand's most supportive option.

Although I'm sure that mattress would have provided more support, I was more impressed with Saatva's comfort-level choices. This feature helped ensure that I chose the mattress with the most support for me.

Shop Labor Day deals on top-rated mattresses

Looking for a Labor Day discount on a new mattress? While I didn't try these mattresses personally, they are all top-rated and offer similar try-at-home sleep trials to the Casper and Saatva.

And the best part: They're all on sale now.

Casper Wave hybrid queen mattress: $2,450

This Casper mattress is highly rated by customers. It's outfitted with gel pods that lift your waist and lower back for better alignment. The mattress is made with Casper's AirScape 3 + cooling gel technology, which helps prevent the mattress from growing hot.

Casper Wave hybrid queen mattress, $2,450 (reduced from $2,895)

$2,450 at Casper

If you tend to sweat while you sleep, the Casper Wave hybrid can also be purchased with Casper's Snow Technology. The brand's advanced cooling feature is made with a layer of cooling gel that helps prevent overheating for up to 12 hours.

Casper Wave hybrid queen mattress plus Snow Technology, $2,875 (reduced from $3,395)

$2,875 at Casper

Purple queen mattress: $1,299

Technically foam models, Purple mattresses feature the company's Purple Grid technology, which layers hyper-elastic polymer between tiers of foam or coils, depending on the model. The traditional Purple mattress features two levels of the brand's trademark gel, paired with dual-layer foam, while the Purple Plus boasts two extra layers of comfort foam. The Purple Hybrid adds pocked coils for more airflow and durability, and the Purple Hybrid Premiere 3 or 4 -- luxury models -- offer three or four inches of the buoyant-feeling gel. Every mattress comes with a 100-night, risk-free sleep trial period.

Purple queen mattress, $1,299 (reduced from $1,399)

$1,299 at Purple

Purple queen Hybrid, $2,199 (reduced from $2,399)

$2,199 at Purple

Purple queen Hybrid Premiere, $2,699 (reduced from $2,999)

$2,699 at Purple

Serta cooling gel memory foam queen mattress: $350

Amazon has a Serta mattress on sale. This cooling gel foam mattress uses compression technology to pack the mattress into Serta's smallest carton yet, making it an ideal choice for people who live alone and might have trouble transporting a mattress from the front door to the bedroom.

Serta 7" cooling gel memory foam queen mattress, $350 (regularly $399)

$350 at Amazon

Layla memory foam queen mattress: $949

Whether you suffer from intermittent back problems or are on the fence about whether you prefer a softer or firmer mattress, Layla serves as both. Available as both a memory foam and hybrid, this clever sleeping surface offers "flippable firmness," soft on one side and firm on the other. And, constructed out of a pressure-relieving antimicrobial copper foam, it helps you sleep cooler, cleaner and more comfortably. Layla offers a 120-night, money back guarantee.

Layla memory foam queen mattress, $949 (reduced from $1,099)

$949 at Layla

Birch Luxe Natural by Helix queen mattress: $2,499

Birch is an offshoot of popular mattress brand Helix, offering comfortable and luxurious beds, responsibility sourced and sustainably produced, handcrafted and assembled in the USA. The mattresses are also Greenguard Gold certified and GOTS certified organic. They offer two options, including the upgraded Birch Luxe Natural (shown here), made with materials such as organic cashmere, organic New Zealand wool, Fairtrade cotton and Pulse latex. This medium-firm hybrid limits motion transfer with the help of 1,000 individually wrapped steel coils and natural latex to cradle the body and relieve pressure points.

Birch Luxe Natural by Helix queen mattress, $2,499 (reduced from $2,899)

$2,499 at Birch

Tuft & Needle Original queen mattress: $796

One of the top-selling and user-supported mattress brands on Amazon, Tuft & Needle offers a great mattress value. With two layers of foam -- a firm and supportive base with a plush, cooling top layer -- the medium-firm, 10-inch mattress is made out of chemical free materials and is both Greenguard Gold and CertiPUR-US certified. The company offers a 100-night trial; that said, the brand maintains that 95% of customers opt to keep sleeping on Tuft & Needle mattress.

Tuft & Needle Original queen mattress, $796 (reduced from $895)

$796 at Amazon

Best Labor Day deals to shop this week

Want to check out even more Labor Day deals? Your friends at CBS Essentials (that's us!) found plenty of Labor Day discounts on all sorts of items for your home and family, including sales on furniture, appliances, tech and more. Shop these deals this Labor Day weekend: