Casper recently added springs to its all-foam mattress - here's how it's different and what sleeping on it feels like

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• A high-quality online mattress should offer supportive and comfortable options for a wide array of sleeping styles with a reasonable money-back trial period, since you still need to sleep on the bed to truly see if it's the right one for you.
• Casper has been creating quality beds since 2014, and I like the new Hybrid mattress, which includes memory foam and springs.
• It provided the right amount of pressure relief when I slept on my side, didn't trap heat, and the reinforced edge support kept me from falling off when my wife decided to commandeer my side of the bed.
• Though it's on the pricey side (currently starting at $850 on Casper.com), the mattress is backed by a 10-year limited warranty and you can try it risk-free for 100 nights. I'd recommend the mattress for people who sleep on their sides or backs, and who sleep hot, like me.

Online companies continue to grab more of the market share from the brick-and-mortar establishments in the mattress industry. One of the leaders in the e-commerce space is Casper.

I recently had the opportunity to test the company's new Hybrid, a 2.0 version of its original memory foam mattress with inner springs and reinforced edge support. Below are my thoughts on the bed as well as comparisons to the all-foam Mattress.

Read more: Casper quietly updated its most popular mattress - here's what's new and what sleeping on it feels like

Design

The new Casper Hybrid is unique because it features four memory foam layers found in the flagship mattress as well as innerspring coils that are individually wrapped to minimize motion transfer for a 12-inch thickness.

The foam is made without the use of ozone-depleting chemicals and is CertiPUR-US certified, which is something you'll want to look for since you're sleeping on the bed at least six hours a night. There's also a zip-off cover that's easy to clean and remove.

The Casper Hybrid is available in Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, and California King; my wife and I tested the Queen. You can check out the Casper website for specs of each size; the weight of each mattress is particularly helpful since you might have to carry the box up a flight of stairs or move it between rooms.

In case you wanted to try out Casper mattresses before you buy, there's a brick-and-mortar store in every major city nationwide where you can schedule a 30-minute sleep trial. Casper mattresses are also sold in more than 1,000 Target stores across the country.

Set-up process

By choosing in-home setup at checkout, you can have someone else take care of the setup. Casper sends someone to your home to set up your mattress, foundation, and bed frame, if you have one. The service also includes removal of the packaging along with your old mattress and foundation. It's a flat $149 for the cost of this service for any area, even in Lansing, Michigan where I'm based.

I decided to set up the mattress without help, which was made easier with the included unboxing instructions and took about five minutes. Once I broke the vacuum seal of the mattress, I could hear the pop-pop-pop of the springs expanding in their pockets.

I had a little bit of trouble moving the mattress around because it's heavier than your average mattress - the Queen weighs 106 pounds. Fortunately, I had my wife there to help. I strongly, strongly recommend having a friend or partner to help you with the unboxing process, or you can always choose the in-home setup option.

I didn't sleep on the Casper Hybrid right away. Instead, I waited a couple of nights to let it air out since memory foam usually has an initial odor to it. After that initial waiting period, the odor went away.

The Casper Hybrid is designed to work on all standard bases. I just slept with the mattress on a low-pile carpeted floor since I was in the process of testing multiple mattresses and wanted to keep as many factors consistent as possible.

Read more: I switched to a Casper adjustable bed frame - and it relieved both my swollen legs and nighttime indigestion

What makes it stand out

If you want to know if a mattress is right for you, the only way you can know for sure is to sleep on it for at least a couple of weeks - this is why a risk-free trial is important. Thankfully, Casper lets you try out its mattresses for 100 nights.

If the mattress isn't right for you, you can call the company and it'll have a local recycling center or charity pick it up; Casper won't take a mattress and put it back on the (online) selling floor. The full refund should hit your account within two weeks, though the time frame would depend on your credit card's processing windows as well. Casper doesn't take out any shipping or restocking fees from the refund either way.

I'm a hot sleeper, but I never overheated while sleeping on the Casper Hybrid. Granted, I was testing the mattress mid-spring and temperatures were still quite cool at night, but I could tell that the bed did an excellent job of dissipating heat instead of trapping it.

The edge support of the Casper Hybrid is good, but not amazing. There is a fair amount of give as you lay on the very edge, but I never felt like I was going to fall off when my wife slowly invaded my side of the bed. The edge support is good enough for couples sharing a bed, but you may want to sit on a chair in the mornings when putting on your socks rather than the side of the bed.

I'm a side sleeper with stomach sleeping tendencies, and this mattress is ideal for me. The Casper Hybrid is less firm than the industry average which has the right amount of give to keep my spine aligned. And I never woke up with lower-back pain, which is a common ailment for my sports-battered body. The softness of the mattress does require me to add an extra low-pile pillow for more head support though.

Like other Casper mattresses, the Hybrid is covered by a limited 10-year warranty. If the mattress develops major indentations, deterioration, has manufacturing defects, or physical flaws, the brand will fix or replace your mattress entirely. The warranty is in effect as long as you use a supportive foundation, handle the mattress properly, and the problems arise through normal usage.

Read more: The best mattresses you can buy

Cons to consider

Unlike the all-foam Mattress, the Hybrid does not do a good job of dampening motion transfer.

To test this, I placed a soda can in the center of the mattress. Then I dropped a 20-pound weight from four feet above the mattress so that it landed 12 inches from the soda can. Each time I tested, the soda can fell over.

I could also feel my wife shifting positions throughout the night. Full disclosure - my wife is tall and likes to sprawl, but for mattresses I've tried that have passed the motion transfer test above, her tossing and turning was not an issue. To me, this suggests that the Hybrid may not be ideal for light sleepers who share a bed with others. Instead, you might want to consider the regular all-foam Casper mattress, which performed well in my motion transfer tests.

The bottom line

Overall, I really like the Casper Hybrid mattress. Though the motion transfer properties could be better (especially for the high price), the softer feel offers comfort and support as I sleep on my side. The edge support keeps me on the bed even when my wife is crowding my space. And the foam does an excellent job of dissipating the heat I put off in the night.

• So should you buy the Casper Hybrid? Maybe. Since the Casper Hybrid is softer than your average mattress, it's ideal for people who sleep on their sides. Too-soft mattresses can cause back problems in heavy individuals, but at 6-feet tall and 250 pounds, I'm decidedly overweight and was fine. I would also say this mattress is ideal if you're a side sleeper who tends to sleep hot - especially if you (luckily) don't share a bed with anyone.
• Which size should you get? There are two factors to consider when choosing a mattress size - the size of your bedroom and how big or heavy you and/or your partner are. If you're smaller and plan on sleeping alone, the Twin may be good enough for you. Otherwise, if you're tall or bigger and sleep alone, consider the Twin XL and Full respectively. If you share a bed with another person or just like to have plenty of room to move around, go with a Queen, King, or Cal King. Queen is good enough for a couple. But, for bigger people like my wife and I, we tend to prefer a King or California King. For comparison, the Cal King is longer than a King but
• the King is wider.
• What model should you choose? As mentioned, Casper offers five mattress sizes and three styles, all in foam or hybrid options. I've also tried the standard all-foam Casper, which is firmer and has better motion transfer dampening than the Hybrid. This makes it a great pick for stomach and back sleepers, especially if you share a bed with others.

If you're on a budget, the Casper Essential (starting at $450) mattress may be your best bet, since it's the least expensive offering. There are three layers of premium foam that total to 11-inches thick. This might be a good option for a guest room or youngsters.

The Wave is Casper's premium offering, starting at $1,375. The 13-inch-thick mattress has five layers of foam, including supportive gel pods that help align your spin and support your hips and core. If you have a little extra to spend, this mattress suits a broad array of sleepers.

Regardless of which mattress you choose, you can rest easy knowing that you can always return it within the first 100 nights if you find it's not right for you.

• Pros: 12-inches thick with four breathable foam layers and supportive coils, great for side sleepers, good edge support, 100-night risk-free trial
• Cons: Expensive, failed motion transfer test, hard to lift and rotate because of mattress weight, edge support is good but not amazing

Buy the Casper Hybrid mattress from Casper for $850 (Twin) to (King and Cal. King)

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