Getting a great night’s sleep is one of life’s best pleasures—just ask anyone sleeping on an old, uncomfortable mattress. The search for a quality mattress can be a hassle, though. Testing mattresses in a showroom for just a few minutes with a salesperson looking on can hardly give you an idea of how well you will sleep on it—not to mention the trouble of transporting it back to your home. That’s where bed-in-a-box brands like Casper come in. The company has devised a twin-size mattress that’s delivered straight to your door and comes with a 100-night risk-free trial. Read on for what we thought of the uber-popular mattress’s setup, performance, design, and price.
Delivery and Setup: Right to your doorstep
Purchasing a mattress from a showroom isn’t a practical solution for most families. Transporting any large item means taking out carseats and folding down minivan seats. When making a big purchase like a mattress, my husband and I would much rather shop around together. With two young toddlers who need to be in carseats, though, one of us inevitably has to stay home while the other goes to pick up the item on their own. Being able to simply unpack a box at home was a huge time-saver for our family. For those with smaller vehicles, having a large item delivered right to your home can also mean significant savings as you don’t have to rent a truck or otherwise find a friend willing to help you. Shipping is included in the price of the Casper and return shipping is even covered should you decide it’s not the right mattress for you. Casper’s twin mattress showed up at our doorstep wrapped in plastic and stuffed into a big blue box. Fortunately, we only had to drag it inside our front door and down a short hallway to our toddler’s bedroom. If you plan to carry it up any stairs, you should have at least two people on hand to move the box; it’s packed efficiently, but is still too bulky for one person to handle. When we first pulled the mattress out of the box, we used a small pair of scissors to remove the plastic sheeting and let the mattress unroll on its own. We were surprised to see that it took only a few minutes to fully bulk up to its 12-inch thickness. The memory foam is advertised as hypoallergenic and environmentally-friendly, but there was still a distinct new-mattress smell for a few hours. We ended up leaving it in a well-ventilated area overnight so the odor could dissipate before we moved it into our son’s room.
Performance: A comfortable, soft mattress
We found the Casper twin mattress to be just as advertised—a soft, cloud-like sleeping experience. As it is a memory foam mattress, the Casper is meant to conform to your body when you lie down. We found this was true for all of the testers in our household—adult and toddler alike. The Casper mattress is comprised of four layers of breathable and supportive memory foam. It also provides firmer support under the hips and softer support under the shoulders—a feature the company dubs Zoned Support. We didn’t notice any apparent differences in various areas of the mattress, but we woke up without stiff joints in either our hips or shoulders, so we’d say it works. The mattress is on the softer side but still offers plenty of support. An average-sized adult should expect to sink into it a little bit. We found the mattress was adequately supportive, but if you prefer firmer foam, you may find the Casper to be too soft. A visiting family member who has back problems and needs the extra support a very firm mattress provides was not able to sleep on the Casper for more than a quick nap. It is solidly constructed with durable seams and thick fabrics, and has held up well to two toddlers pulling on it, jumping on it, and testing its durability at every opportunity. This includes pulling themselves up by grabbing onto the cover and seams, as well as driving small toy trucks and cars along the top of the mattress. So far, the Casper twin mattress has proved exactly what we needed in our toddler’s room. If staying cool helps your child sleep more soundly, the Casper mattress is an ally you can’t do without. The company uses open-cell foam in all of their mattresses in order to keep sleepers cool throughout the night. Because we use the Casper mattress in our son’s room, we also wanted to know that he wasn’t breathing in concerning chemicals as he slept. We were comforted knowing Casper’s foam is certified by CertiPUR-US, a program that monitors the presence of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in products. Plus, as an added bonus, the memory foam top offers less bounce than traditional spring mattresses. This meant less jumping on the bed for our two boys and fewer headaches for us.
Design: Keep the profile in mind
We initially intended to use this mattress in the trundle portion of our toddler’s bed. With two young children, one of us often ends up sleeping on the trundle and a soft, comfortable mattress would make the sleep disruption more tolerable. Unfortunately, the mattress’s 12-inch profile proved too tall for the trundle, which tucks away under the bed frame. Instead, we put the Casper mattress in our toddler’s bed for him to enjoy. It took him a couple of days to get used to climbing into a higher bed but he loved sleeping on it. His bed is pushed up against a wall, which can sometimes make it challenging to put on new sheets, but the memory foam was easier to handle when attempting to get a fitted sheet over the far corners, making the annoying chore faster and easier for us to complete. It’s not often that we display an uncovered mattress in our home, but the aesthetic of the Casper is modern and clean-looking. The dark gray side panels and crisp white top look nice right out of the box. Being able to unzip and remove the cover for cleaning also helps keep the mattress looking fresh for the long haul.
Trial and Warranty: Added peace of mind
The biggest selling feature, in our opinion, is the 100-night risk-free trial. It’s extremely difficult to know if a mattress is right for you with only a few minutes in a brightly-lit mattress store—and even more difficult when you buy it online with nothing but reviews to go off of. The ability to return the Casper mattress within 100 days if you decide it’s not for you is what Casper is known for—in addition to next-level comfort, of course. On top of the trial, Casper also guarantees their customers’ satisfaction with a 10-year limited warranty which covers defects like indentations of more than one inch, splits or cracks in the foam, and broken mattress cover zippers. Because mattresses are meant to be replaced every eight to ten years anyways, we’d say that’s a pretty solid warranty.
Price: An investment in good sleep
If price is your top concern, there are plenty of other mattresses available that also have doorstep delivery and warranties. Traditional spring mattresses are usually the most cost-effective, but there are memory foam options—from well-reviewed brands like Linenspa and Zinus—available for less than $200 as well. If you’re willing to invest in your twin mattress, however, the $595 Casper is well-constructed and comfortable—noticeably more so than the budget mattress we had previously been using. If it were for short-term use, we probably wouldn’t invest in the Casper, but since our toddler will likely use this mattress for the next ten years (or more), we think it’s worth it. The 10-year warranty is also reassuring should any defects appear.
Competition: High and low—depends on your budget
Zinus 8-Inch Hybrid Green Tea Foam and Spring Twin Mattress: This was the mattress that we replaced with the Casper twin. At less than $100, the Zinus was more affordable and a good option for transitioning our son from a crib to his own big boy bed, but we didn’t expect it to last long. The Casper is certainly more of an investment, but it’s noticeably more comfortable and won’t need replacing anytime soon. The Wave Twin Mattress by Casper: This is Casper’s top-of-the-line option which comes with a $1,295 price tag. We just couldn’t justify spending that much on a mattress for our toddler, who would just as happily sleep in a fort made of old blankets and towels. But, if money is no object and you’re in the market for a mattress with five layers of specialized support it’s worth your consideration. Otherwise, enjoy Casper’s original model for a fraction of the cost. The Essential Twin Mattress by Casper: Casper’s 11-inch version with only three layers of foam is a great starter mattress for small children. At $395, it’s more economical and a good option for those who want the convenience, free trial, and comfort of a Casper mattress at a lower price point.
