Bear vs Bear Star Hybrid Mattress Comparison: Which Is Best for You?

The Bear brand got its start making mattresses designed to support athletic recovery. But you don’t need to be a hardcore athlete (or even a weekend warrior) to benefit from one of these beds. Bear makes several quality mattresses, including the original Bear mattress and the Bear Star Hybrid.

How can you know which of these beds is best for you? By reading this in-depth Bear vs Bear Star Hybrid mattress comparison! We’ll cover everything you need to know to decide between these two mattresses, including their firmness, feel, construction, performance, and more.

Product

Firmness

Score

Product

Bear Original Mattress

Firmness

Medium-firm: 6.5/10

Score

3.8 / 5

Check Price

Read Bear Original Mattress Review

Product

Bear Star Hybrid Mattress

Firmness

Medium-firm: 6.5/10

Score

4.1 / 5

Check Price

Read Bear Star Hybrid Mattress Review

Bear Original vs. Bear Star Hybrid Mattress Overview

The Bear Original mattress is the flagship model from the Bear brand, which has quickly become a power player in the bed-in-a-box space. The Bear was designed to support athletic recovery while offering a sleep surface that is simultaneously comfortable and supportive. It’s an all-foam mattress that layers memory foam over firmer support foams.

The Bear Star Hybrid mattress is also sold by the Bear brand. As its name implies, this is a hybrid mattress. It layers soft comfort foams over sturdy and supportive coils. Like the original Bear, the Bear Star Hybrid has some features that are meant to support athletic recovery. Neither mattress is exclusively beneficial to athletes, however—these beds offer a variety of benefits for many types of sleepers.

Who Should Get the Bear?

• People who want a classic memory foam feel
• Folks who want to save some money
• Couples who want great motion isolation

Who Should Get the Bear Star Hybrid?

• People who want a more traditional mattress (i.e. with coils) with a pillow-top
• Folks who want an especially durable mattress
• People who want some added plushness and comfort

Bear vs. Bear Star Hybrid Mattress Video Comparison

Take the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid for virtual test drives with our in-depth video review! Our reviewer, Elisa, will showcase each bed’s construction and share how she felt while sleeping in every position on the Bear Original and the Bear Star Hybrid.

Bear vs. Bear Star Hybrid Mattress: Top Similarities

Given that these beds are made by the same brand, it probably won’t come as a surprise that they have several things in common. Here’s a quick overview:

• Both mattresses are sold by the same company (Bear).
• Both beds feature cooling memory foam in their comfort layers.
• Both of these beds should work well for back sleepers.
• Both mattresses have a medium-firm feel.

See how the Bear beds compare to other brands with our roundup of Bear mattress comparisons.

Bear vs. Bear Star Hybrid Mattress: Key Differences

Even though there are several commonalities between the Bear and the Bear Star Hybrid, they’re actually more different than they are similar. Here’s a look at some of the key differences between these two beds:

• The Bear Original mattress is an all-foam bed, while the Bear Star Hybrid is a hybrid mattress that uses coils in its support layer.
• The Bear Original has a classic memory foam feel, while the Bear Star Hybrid has more of a balanced foam feel and is a bit bouncier.
• The Bear Star Hybrid offers stronger edge support than the Bear Original.
• The Bear Star Hybrid will most likely last longer than the Bear Original.
• The Bear Star Hybrid costs more than the Bear Original.

Firmness and Feel Differences

To get to know any mattress, it’s helpful to start by looking at firmness and feel. So let’s kick off the in-depth portion of this review with a look at the firmness and feel on both the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid!

How Firm Are the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid Mattresses?

We ranked both the Bear Original and the Bear Star Hybrid around a 6.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale. The industry standard for average firmness is also 6.5/10, so this suggests both beds are right around medium-firm. The Bear Original mattress layers soft memory foam over firmer foams, while the Bear Star Hybrid balances soft comfort layers with supportive coils.

Of course, firmness is always a bit subjective. Based on your body weight and personal preferences, you might rank one or both of these beds a touch differently than we did.

Sleeping on the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid Mattresses

The Bear is a great choice for back sleepers. Back sleepers should enjoy a pleasant balance of comfort and lumbar support. There’s also some nice pressure relief while side sleeping on the Bear. Note that this might not be the case for heavier people—they could press through the softer comfort layers and “bottom out” in the firmer support layer. The Bear Original will probably be too soft for stomach sleeping. Your hips might bow into the mattress and your spine might not stay properly aligned.

As with the Bear, you should feel great while back sleeping on the Bear Star Hybrid. The mattress’s plush comfort layers and supportive coils offer a great blend of pressure relief and spinal support. Side sleepers should also feel nice pressure relief around the shoulder and hip. That said, note that heavier people might feel more pressure in this position. Overall, the Bear Star Hybrid is probably too soft for stomach sleeping. Its coil construction could be supportive enough for lightweight stomach sleepers, but average- and heavy-weight people will almost certainly need a firmer mattress to obtain adequate spinal support.

What Do the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid Mattresses Feel Like?

The Bear Original mattress has a classic memory foam feel. Sleepers slowly sink into the mattress and enjoy nice pressure relief and body contouring. At the same time, the firmer transition layer helps ensure sleepers don’t feel stuck in this mattress.

The Bear Star Hybrid has a balanced foam feel. It offers a softer pillow-top on top, but this is balanced out by the responsive coils underneath. Thanks to the bounce from the coils, it’s easy to move around and change positions on this bed.

Average-Weight Sleepers – 130lbs – 230lbs

Average-weight back sleepers should enjoy a great balance of comfort and lumbar support on the Bear Original mattress. Average-weight side sleepers should get adequate pressure relief on this bed, though folks who weigh closer to 230 pounds might find that it feels too firm. The Bear is almost certainly too soft for average-weight stomach sleepers.

The Bear Star Hybrid should be a great match for average-weight back sleepers, who will get a pleasant balance of spinal support and pressure relief. This mattress could offer enough pressure relief to average-weight side sleepers, although folks who weigh near 230 pounds might feel some pressure. The Bear Star Hybrid is probably not supportive enough for average-weight stomach sleepers.

Heavyweight Sleepers – Over 230lbs

The Bear Original mattress should be a great match for heavyweight back sleepers, who will enjoy a balance of support and comfort. Heavier side sleepers will probably find this mattress generates too much pressure around the shoulder and hip. Heavyweight stomach sleepers will require a more supportive mattress for heavy people.

Heavyweight back sleepers could enjoy fantastic spinal support (particularly in the lumbar area) on the Bear Star Hybrid. Heavyweight side sleepers may find that this mattress feels too firm, because they could press through the plush comfort layers into the firmer support layers below. The Bear Star Hybrid will probably not offer adequate support to heavyweight stomach sleepers.

Lightweight Sleepers – Under 130lbs

Lightweight back and side sleepers should both enjoy the Bear, which offers a blend of comfort and support in each of these positions. Most lightweight stomach sleepers will probably require a firmer mattress.

Lightweight sleepers of all stripes could find the Bear Star Hybrid to be a great match. Lightweight back sleepers will enjoy a nice balance of support and comfort, lightweight side sleepers should obtain plenty of pressure relief, and lightweight stomach sleepers could get adequate spinal support. Note that lightweight stomach sleepers who prefer a more supportive feel might need a firmer bed.

Mattress Construction Differences

Now that you know what it feels like to sleep on top of the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid, let’s dig deeper into these beds! We’ll reveal the construction of each mattress layer by layer and share how different materials affect feel and performance.

Cover

For $200, the Bear mattress offers a breathable cover that incorporates Celliant. This material helps dissipate heat, and it may support athletic recovery.

The Bear Star Hybrid features a breathable cover made with Celliant at no additional cost. In this case, the Celliant fibers are hand-quilted into the cover to create more of a pillow-top look and feel.

Comfort Layers

The Bear’s primary comfort layer consists of a graphite memory foam. This material has a classic memory feel: it’s slow-moving and gradually contours the body. Meanwhile, the graphite infusion helps with cooling. Beneath the memory foam layer, there’s a transition layer of more responsive foam. This helps ensure that sleepers don’t feel stuck in the mattress.

The Bear Star Hybrid’s comfort layers have a slightly more complex construction. First up is a cooling gel foam that helps pull heat away from the body. Below that, there’s a layer of premium comfort foam that offers targeted pressure relief for a variety of body types and sleeping positions. Finally, there’s a layer of responsive transition foam that offers additional pressure relief while helping to ensure that sleepers don’t bottom out in the coils below.

Support Layers

The Bear’s support layer is made from a high-density base foam. This material gives the mattress its overall structure.

The Bear Star Hybrid’s primary support layer consists of 8″ of a Quantum Edge Coil System. It’s made with coils that are very supportive, breathable, and durable, and they’re reinforced around the bed’s perimeter to shore up the edge support. The coils rest on a 1″ base layer of high-density support foam, which is long-lasting and durable.

Mattress Height

The Bear Original is 10″ tall, while the Bear Star Hybrid mattress is significantly taller at 14″.

Bear vs. Bear Star Hybrid Mattress Size Options and Price

Curious about the size and/or pricing information for the Bear or Bear Star Hybrid mattress? Then take a gander at the charts below! They show the most up-to-date information for each of these beds.

Bear Mattress

Size	Dimensions	Price
Twin	39″ x 75″	$786.00
Twin XL	39″ x 80″	$849.00
Full	54″ x 75″	$911.00
Queen	60″ x 80″	$998.00
King	76″ x 80″	$1304.00
California King	72″ x 84″	$1304.00

Bear Star Hybrid

Size	Dimensions	Price
Twin	39″ x 75″	$1498.00
Twin XL	39″ x 80″	$1598.00
Full	54″ x 75″	$1698.00
Queen	60″ x 80″	$1998.00
King	76″ x 80″	$2298.00
California King	72″ x 84″	$2298.00

Bear vs. Bear Star Hybrid Mattress Performance Differences

We pitted the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid head-to-head to find out how they stack up when it comes to temperature regulation, motion isolation, edge support, durability, and more. Let’s see how they performed!

Sleeping Hot or Cold

Both the Bear and the Bear Star Hybrid are designed to sleep cool, but the Bear Star Hybrid takes a slight edge here. The Bear does a great job of sleeping cool if you opt to purchase the $200 Celliant cover (which helps dissipate body heat), but also because of the cooling gel infusion in the top comfort layer, and the coils, which create plenty of space for air to circulate throughout the center of the mattress.

The Bear features a Celliant cover for free, as well as a cooling graphite infusion in its memory foam comfort layer. It doesn’t sleep hot, but it’s tough for all-foam mattresses to compete with beds that have coils simply because the coils allow for much more airflow.

Motion Transfer

The Bear Original mattress wins out. Its plush memory foam does a great job of absorbing movement and minimizing disturbances across the surface of the mattress. The Bear Star Hybrid offers decent motion isolation, but because it’s bouncier and more responsive, movement does travel a bit more. This means the Bear could be an especially great mattress for couples.

Edge Support

The Bear Star Hybrid takes the win. The sturdy coils in its support layer are designed expressly to offer decent edge support.

Because the Bear is all-foam, its edges collapsed a bit more when we sat and laid down near the perimeter of the bed. However, the Bear mattress still has great edge support, especially for an all-foam mattress. You should feel secure when sleeping or sitting on the edge of both mattresses.

Durability

The Bear Star Hybrid wins out. These are both durable beds, but the Hybrid will almost certainly last longer thanks to its durable coils.

Off-Gassing

We didn’t observe any notable off-gassing from either of these beds. Both mattresses are CertiPUR-US certified and low in VOCs, meaning they’re more eco-friendly than more conventional mattresses and shouldn’t produce noticeable odors.

Noise

At the time of our review, we didn’t notice any noise while moving around on the Bear and the Bear Star Hybrid. Because the Bear Original is all-foam, it should stay silent over the long-term. It’s possible the Bear Star Hybrid’s coils might start to squeak a bit as time goes on.

Sex

The best mattress for sex makes it easy for sexual partners to move around and change positions. Because the Bear Star Hybrid is the more responsive mattress, it will probably be a better fit. That said, the firmer transition layer in the Bear ensures that partners shouldn’t feel too stuck. Either mattress should be a decent fit, with the Bear Star Hybrid taking a slight edge.

Company Policies

Before purchasing any mattress, it’s important to acquaint yourself with the company policies in question. Let’s take a look at the warranty info, sleep trial, and return policies for the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid.

Warranty Info

Both Bear mattresses come with a lifetime warranty. This reflects the fact that they are likely to be durable mattresses.

Sleep Trial

Both Bear mattresses come with a 365-night, risk-free trial period.

Return Policy

Because the Bear and Bear Star Hybrid are both sold by the same company, these mattresses come with the same return policy. The Bear brand asks that you test out any of their mattresses for at least 30 nights so you can fully adjust to the bed. If you’re still not satisfied after 30 nights, you can arrange for a free return any time before the end of the 365-night sleep trial. The company will arrange a free pickup, donate the mattress to a nearby charity, and issue a full refund.

Bear vs. Bear Star Hybrid Mattress FAQs

Still pondering the Bear and/or Bear Star Hybrid mattress? Perhaps the answers to these commonly asked questions will help!