Casper Original mattress review – our experience with this plush memory foam mattress
This bed-in-a-box is one of the best but if you need further convincing that the Casper Original mattress is for you, read on
Soft enough to enjoy that ‘aaaand relax’ experience when you first climb in, but still supportive. The top layer is an open-cell foam that provides immediate bounce and has cooling properties. If you suffer from back pain you might find it comfier to sleep on your back.
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Cool, comfy foam
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Brilliant customer service
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Usual chemical smell, but it does fade… very, very slowly
Why you can trust Real Homes Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Casper mattress at a glance
Type: Original (hybrid option too)
Sizes: Twin, Twin XL, full, queen, king, Cal. King
Depth: 11"
Firmness: it rates as medium.
Sleep position: ideal for side and back sleepers.
Your weight: it's suitable for people of average and above-average weight.
Motion transfer: partner tosses and turns? You won't feel it.
How it feels: supportive but soft.
RRP: $695- $1,495
Beds-in-a-box have become a full-blown phenomenon over the last few years, but Casper mattress was one of the first brands in the sector to make a big splash. We wanted to see if it lived up to all the hype so we gave it a try ourselves, and put together this detailed Casper mattress review to help you decide if this is the mattress for you.
The Casper is currently sitting in the second spot on our best mattress guide, and we rate it highly for its optimal level of firmness and overall support. By having our mattress tester, Linda, and her husband Nick review this and other mattresses (such a tough job). we've been able to create a balanced view of what each mattress is like for both men and women. We conducted some semi-scientific testing and tapped in to all the spec details and more to know who the Casper mattress will suit and if it's worth the money! We really put these mattresses to the test, so scroll down to read about the Casper and to feel confident in your choice when you go to buy your mattress online.
Be sure to read all our mattress reviews ahead of choosing the best mattress for you!
Who will the Casper Original mattress suit?
Why you can trust Real Homes Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
- This is a real crowd-pleaser. There’s even a Casper bed for your dog!
- Perfect for anyone seeking memory foam with a bit of bounce.
- Medium firmness fans who, as we've said above, like a bit more bounce than sink-ability;
- Hot sleepers: it might be memory foam, but it's breathable;
- Side sleepers and joint pain sufferers;
- Fidgets or anyone with a fidgety partner: you'll hardly know they're there;
- Apartment/condo and small home dwellers: it's a bed in a box, so it's easy to deliver to the bedroom.
- Need help choosing a new mattress? Let us guide you
What's the Casper mattress like to sleep on?
Can you use an electric blanket with a Casper mattress?
It may be far from your mind in the middle of summer, but as nights start to cool off towards the autumn and winter months, you may be thinking about using an electric blanket with your Casper bed. Although breathable, meaning you won't get too warm in bed like you might have with the original memory foam mattresses, we still find modern memory foam topped mattresses quite warm to sleep on. However, if you tend to be chilly even with the heat on, you'll be happy to know it's perfectly okay to top your Casper with an electric blanket. 'You can absolutely use an electric blanket with any of your Casper products!' says the company (dog beds excluded we suspect...).
The first thing we noticed when laying on the Casper was that it has a little more give than other memory foam versions. It is marketed as "not too soft and not too hard," and that’s a pretty accurate assessment. Think of it as the Goldilocks' Choice mattress — just right! Both of our testers found it pretty comfortable when sleeping on their sides, backs, and fronts (plus starfish, in one case). Being squishier, it also offers more comfort on your bottom and lower back when propped up on the pillows reading or enjoying breakfast in bed.
Most foam mattresses seem to score well on motion transfer compared to springs. The Casper is no exception. Linda reports that, despite Nick's incessant flailing, she slept very well.
As mentioned, this is a medium mattress on the firmness front and you definitely feel your body sink into it, but not drastically. There’s no need for a rescue team on standby. Happily, concerns that the slight sinking factor would lead directly to Sweatsville proved unfounded – and this was during a particularly hot and muggy week. Our half-dozen tame testers (three male, three female, ranging from 140 to 230 lbs) gave it mostly fives for firmness (see graph above), which is slap bang in the middle of our one to 10 scale. And they all made positive remarks about its comfort, too.
The weight test (below) confirmed that this is indeed a squishy number, with the laser marking between 9 and 10cm – the top of our scale. The center was only marginally deeper, which indicates fairly equal support across the full surface of the mattress. Despite having a king bed, I often find myself clinging to the edge of the mattress at 2 am so this is a definite bonus.
Regarding posture, both Nick and Linda report feeling supported by the Casper, and this could be due to its zoned support layer, which is designed to reduce pressure on the shoulders and hips. Our laser test shows a slight dip in Nick’s spine (see below) but it wasn’t enough that he felt cranky in the mornings. Pressure relief when sleeping on our backs was equally impressive, if not more so. In fact, our testers had a carpenter friend with fairly significant back issues house-sit for a week, and he said the Casper wasn’t comfortable when lying on his side, but when he turned onto his back it was better than the orthopedic mattress he has at home.
Casper Original mattress construction
This is a four-layer mattress that is all tucked neatly within a soft cover — the top zips off for easy cleaning. The top layer is an open-cell foam that provides immediate bounce and has cooling properties that we can certainly vouch for. Next is a high-density memory foam layer, which supports your pressure points. The Transition Layer deals with even weight distribution, and the final layer acts as a supportive base that helps keep everything stable. Foam nerds might enjoy this video covering the science behind the Casper mattress’ construction.
How does the Casper Original mattress rate online?
On Amazon, the majority (73 percent of 263 reviewers) give it the top five-star billing.
Over at Trustpilot things are just as rosy, with 71 percent of 5,000+ reviewers rating the mattress as "excellent," and another 14 percent calling it "great." Highlights from the positive reviews include claims of alleviated back and neck pain, great support, and responsive customer service. The most common complaints are around delayed delivery and out-of-stock product.
What do you get for your money?
A 10-year warranty, free delivery and returns, plus very good customer service — it’s hard to find a review that doesn’t applaud Casper’s "Snooze Specialists" (cheesy moniker notwithstanding). Look out for discount codes on the Casper website — typically around 15 percent.
Do Casper mattresses last?
The Casper mattress will last a long time. It's a really sturdy and firm product so you can tell that it will last at least the full seven years that you can expect to keep a mattress for before you should definitely invest in a new one.
Ordering and delivery
- Ordering is super easy with online tracking and free shipping with UPS
- If you're in one of Casper's in-home delivery and setup markets (offered in the 48 contiguous U.S. states Canada), you can pay $149 for the delivery peeps to carry it into your bedroom, unpack and take back the packaging. This includes removal of your old mattress.
- Not only does Casper offer the now standard 100-day free trial but, if you order it direct from Casper.com, they’ll also come and pack it up and remove it from your bedroom if you’re not happy, which is actually quite a bonus given how heavy and unwieldy mattresses can be.
- The redundant mattress is then either recycled or donated to charity — bless them!
Is the Casper mattress worth it?
All the foamy layers, zone support and breathability (etc.) sound impressive but in reality all you need to know is: what does it feel like? Our verdict is soft enough to enjoy that ‘aaaand relax’ experience when you first climb in, but still supportive. You don't feel your bones creak when you get out in the morning, even if you’re over 50, like our reviewer Nick, or someone who spends far too many hours hunched over a screen, like those of us who write product reviews for the internet. We happily recommend this mattress, but if you suffer from back pain you might find it comfier to sleep on your back.
More mattress reviews to check out:
About our review – and our reviewer
Linda Clayton has been writing about homes and interiors for nearly 20 years, working for publications such as Homes & Gardens, Country Homes & Interiors, Real Homes, Ideal Home, Livingetc and House Beautiful. Linda and her husband spend between five and 10 nights sleeping on each mattress. Find her on Twitter at @lindaclayton and @lindaclaytonwrites on Instagram.
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Casper Original mattress construction
This is a four-layer mattress that is all tucked neatly within a soft cover – the top zips off for easy cleaning. The top layer is an open-cell foam that provides immediate bounce and has cooling properties that we can certainly vouch for. Next is a high-density memory foam layer, which supports your pressure points. The Transition Layer deals with even weight distribution, and the final layer acts as a supportive base that helps keep everything stable. Foam nerds might enjoy this video covering the science behind the Casper mattress’ construction.