Bear Adjustable Base Review

• Review
• Specs
• Comments

This product is no longer available. Check out the The Best Adjustable Beds for our top recommendations.

We all want to find that perfect mattress, and there are more options today than ever before. No matter what you choose, though, unless you have an adjustable base, your mattress is going to lay flat. There are various elevations that can help relieve different problems like sleep apnea, snoring, and even indigestion, and today we’re going to see how the Bear twin XL adjustable base works to provide you a multidimensional approach to sleep.

Bear recently sent me their product, and I’ve had time to thoroughly review it so I can report back to you and help you determine if it could be right for your needs. Whether you just want something to help you lift your head to watch a little television at the end of the day or suffer from certain medical issues, keep reading to learn how the Bear adjustable base can offer the comfort and relief you’re looking for.

Bear Adjustable Base Specs

Height: 6-10 inches using adjustable legs

25 years limited warranty

700 pounds weight limit

Steel featured material

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Installation and Setup

Installation is pretty simple. Your adjustable base will be heavy, even if you choose the twin XL version. I’d recommend having someone around to help so you don’t drop it. Before you throw away any packaging, take a moment to do a quick inventory. You should have:

• Two corner mattress retainers with bushings
• Four legs
• Two headboard bracket assemblies
• One headboard bracket hardware kit
• One power supply which includes the power brick, electrical feed cord, and electrical power cord
• Two nine volt batteries
• One remote with three triple A batteries
• One warranty activation card
• Quick setup guide

White Glove Delivery

The good news is that Bear offers white glove delivery. This means you won’t have to deal with the initial setup. Your crew will set up your frame wherever you want and can even help you determine the best place if you aren’t sure. However, if you ever want to move it, it’s good to know how installation works.

Once you’ve established you have everything, start by removing the base from the box and placing it upside down on the floor. Install all four legs by screwing them into the tapped holes at the corners of the frame.

When they’re all on, lift the frame top-side-down and lean it against the wall. Make sure you don’t lean it on its legs to avoid damage. Next, remove and extend the electrical feed cord from the base and plug it into the power brick. Plug one end of the power cord into the brick and the other into an electrical outlet.

All the Little Things

Programming the Remote

The instructions recommend flipping the base at this point, but I found this to be a convenient time to go ahead and program the remote.

• • Insert your batteries and make sure your base is plugged in.
  • Placing the base on its side, locate the control box on the underside.
  • Using a small, pointed object, push the learn port in twice quickly. I used a bobby pin.
  • You’ll hear a click after each push, and the indicator light should light up.
  • Press and hold the Learn switch on the back of your remote above the batteries. Keep it held down until the indicator light goes off on the control box and the backlight on the remote starts flashing.
  • Place the frame on the ground.

To keep the mattress from slipping out of the base, you’ll need to install the corner mattress retainers at the foot of the bed. If you’ll be using a headboard, your instructions will walk you through the bracket installation instructions. Make sure to check out our video review to see us perform setup if you have any trouble.

Remote Control Rundown

Starting at the top left corner of the remote, you see the Set button, and this is used when you find a position you really like. For me, I like the head flat and feet slightly elevated. You might want to try this position if you suffer from back pain as it works to relieve that stress.

When you find your favorite position, press and hold. Set until the massage motors turn on and off. Then, press and hold the Cust button until the massage motors turn on and off again. You can now revisit this position by pressing the Cust button. This setting can be changed if you ever find something you like better.

Sleep partners often like two customized settings so each person can program their favorite position, so this could be a hangup if you and your sleep partner have varying preferences. However, we’ll take a look at how you can get around this here in a second.

Next, we see the flashlight button, and the icon is pretty self-explanatory. When you press this, a flashlight does come on. I found this to be very helpful to look around for stuff in the room at night. If you want to lock your remote so you don’t mess up your settings by rolling over on it while you sleep, press and hold the lock button for five seconds. When the backlight flashes three times, you’ll know it’s locked. To unlock, follow the same procedure. I really didn’t use this feature much, but I can see how it could come in handy.

Different Positions and How They Can Help

Beneath the first row, we find head and foot buttons that feature an up and down arrow each. This is where, you guessed it, you can raise and lower your head and feet. Of course, you can definitely play around with this to see what suits you.

• • • If you suffer from acid reflux, try raising the head partially and keeping the feet flat. This prevents stomach contents from entering the esophagus.
    • When watching television or reading, try lifting the head up completely and the feet just slightly. This is a very pressure-relieving position I think you’ll really like.
    • For side sleepers, I recommend flattening out the mattress when you’re ready to sleep. This can be achieved quickly by pressing the Flat button located between the head and foot raise options.
      • There is an option on the remote labeled Z Grav. This means zero gravity, and it’s a preprogrammed recline position that works to provide optimum weight distribution, allowing total comfort and relaxation. If you find you don’t really like this setting, you can reprogram it. This could be helpful for sleep partners if they both want to preset their favorite position. Follow the same instructions as you would for a customized settings but push the Z Grav button after Set instead of the Cust button.
  • 
    • For maximum comfort and entertainment for watching tv or reading, there is also a preset called TV. Again, if you aren’t a fan of it, you can always reprogram to suit your preferences. If you do replace the presetting for TV and Zero Gravity but decide you want to return to factory settings, simultaneously press and hold the Set and Flat buttons for five seconds. The massage motor will turn on and off to confirm the change.

You might be interested: The Best Mattresses For Adjustable Beds

Head and Foot Massage

Moving on to the bottom of the remote is my personal favorite part of this product. We see the head and foot options just like above, but these provide head and foot massagers that each feature three speeds. This in itself feels awesome, but the massage is isolated to the head and foot.

If you’d prefer for the vibration to resonate more fully across the entire body and more effectively activate places like your lower back, press the Wave button once you have the foot and head massagers set to your preferred intensity. You’ll feel as the vibrations move from head to foot in a continuous loop. The motor isn’t very loud, and it shuts off after 15 minutes. If you want to turn it off before this time, just push the wave on/off button located at the bottom center of the remote.

Eight USB Charging Ports

I don’t know about you, but one of the first things I do before I go to bed is plug my phone into the charger. Ninety percent of 18-29-year-olds report sleeping with their phones by their sides, and Bear makes this simple. On each side of the base are four USB charging ports. I found it very convenient to just place my charger in between the base and mattress. This prevents your charger from getting lost.

Base Support

While the many different positions and massaging function are all exciting, your base needs to provide adequate support. I found this product to help me in achieving good alignment, and the base did a great job keeping my mattress in place even when I elevated the head to its highest position. The many different positions you can experience helps you adapt support to meet your needs.

Potential Hangups

There is no sleep product that’s built to fit everyone. While I think Bear did a great job at packing a lot of features into their adjustable base, there are a couple of hangups that could be a problem for you. These include:

• Transition time is a little bit slow
• Massage time is only 15 minutes
• You want more than one customized setting without having to save over factory functions

Our Final Verdict

This product includes a variety of awesome features that can turn even an ordinary mattress into one that allows you to enjoy a whole new level of sleep. Laying down in bed doesn’t have to mean you’re calling it a day, and I’ve found a whole new meaning of leisure as I was able to basically turn my mattress into a couch for watching television, a pressure-relieving device after a long day, and even my own personal masseuse. You receive a 25-year limited warranty. The recommended weight limit including your mattress is 700 pounds evenly distributed. I think it’s definitely worth consideration if you:

• Suffer from painful sleeping, acid reflux, back pain, or snoring
• Spend a lot of time in bed watching tv, reading, or otherwise sitting in a more upright position
• Enjoy the idea of a massage while you relax

Bear Adjustable Base Specs

Installation and Setup	Weight Limit	Head and Foot Massage	Charging Ports
Simple	700 lbs	15 minutes	8 USB Ports