Finding a mattress with the specifications that meet your needs can be a daunting task, but seeing those specifications side by side for comparison can help, especially when you’re considering three high-quality mattresses you might order. With the wealth of online options, you’ve probably had quite the time of narrowing it down to three.
The Leesa Mattress, the Tuft & Needle Mattress, and Casper Original Mattress – all have some excellent features that can make them perfect for your preference. Consider, though, the differences carefully so you can make an informed decision and be sure you’re ordering the mattress that has everything you desire. With this comparison, you can more readily decide between the Leesa, the Casper Original, or the Tuft & Needle mattresses as your viable candidates.
A Breakdown of the Leesa Mattress
Construction
The Leesa Mattress is built from three separate layers of foam that total 10 inches, one of which is a patented, very breathable Avena foam for comfort and helps to keep you cool and comfortable while you sleep.
Lycra Cover
Before you get to the material of the Leesa mattress itself, you’ll find the cover to be comfortable and soft with a velvety texture that is pleasant to the touch. It’s made from polyester and lycra, which means it’s breathable and also stays firmly wrapped around the mattress. It’s perfect for protecting the mattress from spills, stains, and gathering allergens, and it’s completely removable so you can machine wash it to keep it clean.
Top Layer
The comfort layer that makes up the top of the Leesa Mattress is two inches thick and made from a specialized foam, called Avena. There are several benefits to this layer, one of which is its high breathability. It allows a great deal of airflow that assists with keeping your sleep environment cool and conducive to excellent, comfortable sleep. It disperses the heat that would otherwise be trapped inside the memory foam so that you don’t overheat or have night sweats, leading to a better night’s sleep. The second advantage of the Avena foam is it’s sturdier and longer lasting construction than the typical latex you often find incorporated into the comfort layer of most mattresses. According to the manufacturer, the Avena layer can last up to three times as long as a latex layer, and this helps protect your mattress longer against average wear and tear.
Second Layer
Another two inches of memory foam beneath the Avena layer make up the second layer of the Leesa bed. This second layer is designed to contour to your body for a perfect sleep position, rather than forcing you into a position that throws you out of alignment and leaves you sore and uncomfortable. Memory foam is created to take the pressure off aching joints and help relieve sore muscles by conforming to the curves and angles of your body so that your spine stays straight, taking pressure off your hips, shoulders, and neck. This is true for the Leesa mattress, no matter what your preferred sleep position is. One problem a lot of people have with memory foam is that, due to its thick, plush nature, it tends to absorb the body heat you release as you sleep. This can lead to overheating and sleep sweats, disturbing your rest multiple times through the night. The Leesa mattress doesn’t have this problem because the memory foam is beneath the initial Avena foam that breathes and allows that trapped heat to escape. At the same time, it still offers the contouring necessary for a comfortable rest.
Third Layer
Another four inches on the bottom makes up the base support layer of the Leesa mattress. This is a sturdy, high-density support foam that acts to hold the mattress’ shape and create the necessary firmness so you get the good support you need. While the top two layers offer a little sinkage and the ability to settle into the bed for contouring, this final layer works to assure that those layers don’t sink too deeply, leading to difficulty in movement and misalignment. It assures your weight is properly supported and works to provide an even sturdier foundation to the four corners of the mattress, creating a consistent feel throughout, which helps you fall asleep and stay asleep without interruption to the changes on the surface. It’s also great at absorbing motion transfer so that, if you sleep with a partner, you reduce the likelihood that either of you will wake the other up through the night.
Firmness and Feel
The high-quality construction of the Leesa mattress is apparent from the consistency of the evenness in firmness and feel throughout the surface. The mattress itself rates about a 5.5 on a scale of 1 to 10, which makes it hit the low end of medium-firm, and that particular ‘feel’ is consistent across the entire surface and all the way out to the corners. That means that you’ll never feel like you’re going to roll off the bed when you get close to the edge, speaking to the success of the base construction and the edge support it provides in shaping the mattress. You’ll also find that you can sleep in any position – back, side, or stomach – and feel comfortable and assured you’ll breathe easily without disturbance. The medium-firm definition makes it a great compromise for sleep partners who have different taste in mattress firmness so you can still share the sleep space with your significant other.
The Leesa bed doesn’t offer multiple firmness options, so what you see is what you get. The medium-firm definition is assured when you purchase the mattress. But because that particular firmness level makes it truly versatile, it should satisfy almost any customer. The feel of the mattress starts with a soft touch and quick response to compression from the top layers. But the base layer keeps it from sinking to an uncomfortable level, so you have plenty of range of motion if you like to change positions through the night.
Unique Features
Lycra/Polyester Blend Mattress Cover
The mattress cover is completely protective, covering the entire mattress with added lycra to keep it tight to the surface. This fights stains, spills, and allergens that could affect your ability to sleep. It’s also aesthetically pleasing with its patterned surface, and it’s smooth to the touch for comfort.
Avena Top Layer
The memory foam used in the Leesa mattress is covered with the Avena layer, negating the concern of sleeping hot based on captured body heat in that memory foam. The Avena foam disperses that heat instantly with its breathable nature due to construction that allows for greater airflow. In addition, Avena foam has greater durability than other latex, which is more commonly used in top comfort layers for mattresses. Latex can start to wear out shortly after purchase, depending on how rough you are on the mattress, but the long-lasting Avena material prevents damage, normal wear and tear, and age from causing problems for up to three times as long as standard latex comfort layers.
A Breakdown of the Tuft & Needle Mattress
Construction
The Tuft & Needle mattress is a simply constructed option that is straightforward. This bed in a box has two distinct layers, and it is considered to be built as the perfect solution for all sleepers based on the company’s study of support, pressure relief, and cooling- being the main concerns of buyers.
Cover
The cover of the Tuft & Needle bed is woven from polyester and Tactel, making it stretchy and giving it high breathability. The fact that it has such great airflow and is so thin aids tremendously in temperature control, keeping your mattress cooler and more comfortable during your sleep cycle, dispersing the body heat your release. It also dries quicker than several materials with the Tactel being used to replace cotton to also add greater breathability.
Top Layer
The top layer of the Tuft & Needle mattress is 3 inches thick and serves as the comfort layer. It’s a proprietary poly foam from Tuft & Needle with a density of 2.9 pounds. It offers a great deal of pressure relief, especially for aching joints, which also assists in relieving muscle soreness. This foam is highly responsive and reacts quickly to pressure with a bit of additional bounce that keeps you from ever feeling as though your stuck in – or to – the mattress.
Second Layer
Since the Tuft & Needle mattress only incorporates two layers, the second layer is the base layer of the mattress that provides the necessary support and gives the mattress its shape. The layer consists of high-density poly foam (1.8 pounds) that provides a foundation for the top comfort layer. It’s sturdy and durable and holds the structure of the bed together. This 7-inch thickness keeps the top layer from sinking too far under the pressure of you lying on it while still allowing it to contour to the shape of your body while you sleep.
Edge support perimeter
The Tuft & Needle mattress does an excellent job of keeping support even across the mattress. Whether lying in the center or along the edge, I felt fully supported and never worried I might roll off the bed. Even when sitting on the edge of the bed, where your weight is concentrated in a small area, you don’t have that uncomfortable feeling you might slide to the floor, showing excellent and consistent construction.
Firmness and Feel
The firmness of the Tuft & Needle bed is a little different to describe than those with more than two layers. Because it doesn’t have a middle transition layer between the comfort foam and the support foam, the firmness can seem greater when you first lay down because your pressure on the top layer goes straight through to the firmer base layer. However, once you settle in, you’ll find it much more conducive to a comfortable sleep. When you’ve settled in, you’ll find that it’s on the high side of medium-firm, rating about a 6.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. What’s great about this is that you get the contour from the upper layer you need, but you don’t have too much sinking in the area of the hips when you sleep on your back or stomach so your back stays straighter. At the same time, side sleepers find that hips and shoulders sink just enough to keep their backs aligned. The firmness also assists with less motion transfer when you sleep with a partner, and it helps maintain a secure feel wherever you lay on the mattress.
Unique Features
“Well-Rounded”
Tuft & Needle has taken time to achieve a design and construction model that will please all customers with a single mattress, regardless of preference for firmness, the feel, sleep position, and temperature control issues. They took the time to study and break down what goes into a quality mattress and has defined the features so they can work to meet those needs for everyone.
Low Price
There’s a craze of ‘bed in a box’ options offered for low prices these days, which consumers seem to find preferable more and more often than seeking an in-store purchase. What’s unique about the Tuft & Needle bed is that you get one of the lowest prices out there while not compromising the quality of the mattress. Tuft & Needle continues to provide quality materials and construction, despite being incredibly affordable.
A Breakdown of the Casper Original Mattress
Construction
The Casper Original Mattress offers two distinct materials that offer support as well as a more traditional feel, utilizing both memory foam and a bouncier, cooler poly foam.
Cover
The cover of the Casper Original Mattress is made of 100% polyester which is soft and just thick enough to add a sense of coziness to the surface of the mattress. It’s well fitted to the mattress, snapping immediately back into place when pulled, and I didn’t have any issues with it bunching up beneath me when I moved while I slept. The cover also allowed for the mattress to breathe, promoting airflow, so it offered a very cool night’s sleep.
Top Layer
The Casper Original mattress’ comfort layer is 1.5 inches thick and made of a proprietary ‘response’ foam. This layer has a similar feel to latex foam, which means that it responds quickly to pressure, offering a little bit of bounce and lots of soft comfort. With the small amount of sinking allowed by this layer, it creates a cozier, more traditional feel to the mattress. The material of the top layer is also much cooler than traditional memory foam, allowing airflow and dispersion of heat.
Second Layer
A second 1.5-inch layer of 4-pound density memory foam is next in the Casper Original bed, intended to provide pressure relief, especially on joints that are aching or sore. This type of foam responds more slowly to pressure as it pushes through from the comfort layer above. The idea of placing this supportive, contouring layer beneath the proprietary foam layer has two benefits. First, you get the same relief from aches and pains with the alignment of your body as you would should the memory foam be on top, but you don’t fall victim to the feeling of being stuck you get sometimes with memory foam. Second, the comfort layer has greater breathability, meaning you don’t suffer from overheating due to the tendency of the memory foam to hold in body heat.
Third Layer
The next 1.5 inches of the Casper Original bed is a layer of poly foam with a 2.5-pound density. The density makes this layer firmer, allowing it to work as a transition layer between the memory foam and the base. It responds quickly to pressure, which adds a little more bounce to the mattress for that traditional spring feel but with smooth control and consistency.
Fourth Layer
The final layer of the Casper Original mattress is the base, which is 5 inches of poly foam with a 1.8-pound density. Much firmer than the other layers of the mattress. This base acts as a foundation and support that helps hold the shape of the bed and keep its structure sound. Because it’s heftier and denser, it also keeps the mattress durable.
Edge support perimeter
Because I move a lot in my sleep, I find edge support important because I want a consistent feel across the mattress. With the Casper Original mattress, I could lie on my back or side near the edge without any changes to the support compared to the center of the mattress. Even when I let my arm or leg hang over the edge, I didn’t feel like I would roll off, meaning that the edge support was plenty firm. The real test comes when you sit on the edge of the bed, concentrating your weight in a small area at the very edge of the mattress. With the Casper Original mattress, I found some compression occurring in this position as expected, but it is only in the softer top layers. To me, this says that the Casper Original mattress is built with plenty of edge support to hold a person’s weight and keep its shape.
Firmness and Feel
The Casper Original mattress has a great supportive memory foam layer, and when I apply pressure and release it, I can instantly see and feel the foam reshaping every time. Testing various sleep positions to see how firm the mattress was, I found careful pressure relief from the slow response of the memory foam, along with the easy comfort of the top layer that kept me from sinking too deeply into the mattress. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, after consulting with two other testers I enlisted who have different body types and weights, we determined that this ranks a 6.5, which is a medium-firm that tends to appeal to all types of sleepers and those who like a mattress that’s not entirely soft.
When it comes to the feel of the Casper Original mattress, it’s going to depend a lot on how you sleep. If you sleep on your back most of the time, you’ll be able to move around with ease, never feeling caught in the mattress. The pressure relief is incredible for knees and hips, as well as the neck. For side sleepers, the shoulders, knees, and ankles benefit greatly, and though you’ll probably be deeper into the memory foam layer, you should still experience a range of motion without trouble. Sleeping on my stomach can produce a problem when my chest sinks too far into the mattress, making it difficult to draw a good breath comfortably. With the Casper Original mattress, my weight was evenly distributed with no additional pressure on my chest, and I found that the responsiveness of the foam kept my hips from sinking in too deeply as well so that my back stayed properly aligned in the process.
Unique Features
Proprietary Foam Top Layer
Most memory foam mattresses include a layer of memory foam as the comfort layer. However, the Casper Original mattress creates a different feel that has greater appeal with their ‘response’ foam at the top. This particular material is more breathable so you sleep cooler than you would on traditional memory foam. You also get the support of the memory foam bed beneath but a bit of soft, sinkable pleasure from that top layer.
Springy Transitional Layer
By adding a transition layer between the memory foam and the base polyfoam, the Casper Original layer continues its innovative means of clinging to that bouncy feel of a traditional spring mattress while still adhering to the needs of people with a preference for memory foam. You can get the pressure relief you need without giving up that nice, bouncy feel you’re used to.
Which One to Get?
You can see why choosing among the Leesa Mattress, the Tuft & Needle Mattress, and Casper Original Mattress could be difficult, especially since they have similarities in features, such as cooling aspects and similar firmness. They’re also made to contour to your body, no matter what position you sleep in or what type of firmness you prefer in your mattress. Yet, they each have their own appeal based on their differences. With such high-quality options, making a decision is difficult until you put them up next to each other and really consider what’s important to your level of comfort.
Leesa Mattress
The Leesa bed appeals to all styles of a sleeper, including side, back, and stomach with a medium-firm feel that is consistent across the entire surface. The construction is sturdy, and you’ll find that there is little to no motion transfer, making it great if you don’t sleep alone. You won’t have to worry about waking your partner when you get up or turn over, and vice versa. You also have the Avena layer, which assists in cooling the sleep environment by allowing airflow to release any of the body heat you expel during the night and provides extra protection for the rest of the mattress with its extremely durable nature. You also still get the incredible contouring you need to promote good posture and joint pressure relief. The cover is effective in protecting against allergens as well as spills and stains, and it’s completely removable for washing, making the Leesa mattress ideal for a clean, healthy sleep solution.
Tuft & Needle Mattress
The Tuft & Needle mattress appeals to those who want all the benefits of a high-end mattress with no frills and a low price tag. You get a firmness that is made to appeal to every sleeper based on extensive research on the part of the manufacturer to provide the ideal sleep environment. The mattress has optimal temperature control and additional contouring capability so you don’t lose out on comfort in any sleep position with pressure taken off aching joints and painful muscles. The Tuft & Needle is made to accommodate both sleeping single and with a partner with reduced motion transfer aided by the firm base layer, while the top layer is soft enough to make sure you’re cozy and don’t feel like you’re floating above the mattress. There is plenty of support to assure you don’t sink so far that it’s difficult to move or get out of bed.
Casper Original Mattress
The multiple layers of the Casper Original mattress create a perfect blend of memory foam technology with its contouring and pressure relief features while also retaining the traditional bounce of a spring or latex mattress. The cover is light and airy and well-fitted, and the top layer creates a cool comfort that breathes and keeps the space the perfect temperature for a good night’s rest. It’s also soft enough to allow some give so you can feel cozy as if you’re sinking in just enough.
The edge support of the Casper Original mattress is better than a lot of memory foam mattresses, holding your weight even on the edge without you feeling like you might slip and fall on the floor. The evenness also means great support no matter which direction you sleep, taking pressure off the parts of your body that tend to get misaligned or have joint pain. This mattress also keeps motion transfer at bay so that you don’t get woken up every time your partner moves, making this mattress ideal for sleep with a partner or otherwise.
Leesa vs Tuft & Needle vs Casper Original Comparison Table
| Leesa | Tuft & Needle | Casper Original | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layers Used | 3 layers
|
2 layers
|
5 layers
|
| Height | 10 inches | 10 inches | 12 inches |
| Firmness | Medium-Firm | Medium-Firm | Medium-Firm |
| Motion Transfer | Minimal | Tolerable | Minimal |
| Breathability | High breathability due to Avena layer | Good breathability due to polyester/Tactel cover | Good due to airflow through cover |
| Trial Period | 100 Nights | 100 Nights | 100 Nights |
| Warranty | 10-year, limited | 10-year | 10-year |
| Pricing (Queen) | $940 | $995 | $1,095 |
| Shipping | Free across the US | Free across the US | Free across the US and Canada |
Conclusion
The information you find in this article should help you determine with greater ease and assurance of satisfaction which of these high-quality mattress options will meet your needs more completely. Each stands out above the crowd for its own reasons and has its own features to make it unique among the overwhelming number of offerings out there. Have you ever owned or used any of these three quality mattresses?
Your feedback or comments are welcome in order to assist others in making the appropriate decision. Firsthand knowledge and experience are always best when trying to put together a personal opinion and in weighing options, so in addition to the comparisons here, your input could help someone choose their next mattress.