Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid Review

In This Review
Performance Tests | Firmness | Support & Sleeping Positions | Design | Materials | Comparisons | FAQs

At NapLab, we put each mattress to the test.

We test 10 different factors that impact the performance, comfort, and feel of the mattress. We then take the results of those tests and compare them to every mattress we’ve tested to date.

Check out the full performance table below to see how this mattress ranks:

Factor	Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid	Average
Overall Score	9.26	8.52
Price (Queen)	$1,856	$1,515 (Hybrid only)
Cooling – Score	10	8.6
Sinkage – Depth	2.54″	2.25″
Sinkage – Feel	Deep	Moderate
Motion Transfer – Score	7.8	8.2
Motion Transfer – Acceleration	9.89 m/s²	8.77 m/s²
Response Time – Score	8.4	8.8
Response Time – Mostly Recovered	0.4 sec.	0.4 sec.
Response Time – Fully Recovered	1.2 sec.	1.0 sec.
Bounce – Height	8.94″	8.69″
Bounce – Feel	Moderate	Moderate
Edge Support – Score	10	8.7
Edge Support – Sitting	3.00″	3.84″
Edge Support – Lying	Outstanding	Good
Sex – Score	8.8	8.2
Pressure Relief – Score	10	8.6
Comfort Layer Thickness	5.00″	4.35″
Mattress Thickness	14.00″	12.32″
Off-Gassing – Score	8.6	8.0
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	5 days	7 days
Company – Score	9.4	8.8
Trial	120 nights	192 nights
Warranty	Lifetime	40% have lifetime warranties, average of other 60% of mattresses is 13 years

How is Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid Different?

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is a 14.00″ hybrid mattress with an overall performance level that is significantly better than average and a price that is slightly more than the average hybrid as well.

Advantages

Specific advantages of the Elite Ultra Hybrid include better cooling performance, exceptional edge support, better sex score, and exceptional pressure relief.

This mattress has a 5.0″ comfort layer and is 14.0″ thick in total, both metrics measuring thicker than the average. For pressure relief, these thicker materials really help contribute to the mattress’s luxury feel and overall high performance.

Neutral Factors

This mattress has deep sinkage and moderate bounce, which are both considered to be neutral factors. Different sleepers may have different preferences in these areas, but the Elite Ultra has deep engagement and moderate pushback, giving the mattress a balanced feel.

Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage of the Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is higher levels of motion transfer and a slightly slower material response time (compared to the average).

This mattress comes with a 120-night trial period, which is less than the 192-night average, and the cost is slightly higher than the average as well.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid has outstanding cooling. During our tests, I did not feel any significant level of heat retention around my body.

This mattress is equipped with multiple design and material choices that help improve cooling performance.

First up, we have Celliant in the cover. Celliant embeds a blend of thermoreactive minerals (including quartz, silicon oxide, and titanium oxide) into the fibers of the cover.

The cover then absorbs that heat away and reflects back infrared energy, which has been clinically proven to increase blood circulation and tissue oxygenation (source).

• Baseline Temperature – the temperature of the mattress before anyone lies on it
• Maximum Temperature (0 minute) – the temperature of the mattress after lying on it for 15 minutes
• Ending Temperature (5 minute) – the temperature of the mattress after being lied upon and having no one on it for 5 minutes

In addition, we have phase change materials (PCMs) quilted immediately under the cover. PCMs help to absorb and store heat away from the surface, creating a cooler temperature for sleepers.

Lastly, the mattress is equipped with a layer of pocketed coils, which brings more airflow into the mattress.

In our objective temperature tests, we measured a max surface level temperature of 89.6° F. This is 0.6° cooler than the average of 90.2° F, based on all of our tests to date.

After getting off the mattress, the temperature declined by 6.1 degrees from minutes 0 to 1, which is 1.3 degrees cooler than the average 0 to 1 minute decline of 4.8 degrees.

When we consider the combination of objective data, my subjective experiences, and an analysis of the materials, I’m confident in my view that cooling is outstanding.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid has deep sinkage. During our tests, we measured a pressure point sinkage depth of 2.54″. This is 0.29″ more sinkage than the average sinkage depth of 2.25″, based on all of our tests to date.

The level of sinkage is documented in the image below.

The mattress creates a balanced body contouring hug. This mattress uses a mix of quilted cover, memory foam, micro coils, poly foam, and coils to create a more balanced and even feel.

The amalgamated feel of material layers works together and balances each other out. As a result, no one material feels too overpowering with so many different materials blended together.

Overall, I describe the feel as balanced, even, and non-polarizing. It’s a feel that many types of sleepers will enjoy.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid has a moderate level of motion transfer. During our tests, we measured a total acceleration range of 9.89 m/s². This is 13% more motion transfer than the average of 8.77 m/s².

This mattress has a varied mix of material types and design attributes, with some of those helping to reduce energy and motion, while others increase it.

The memory foam layers are certainly helping, as memory foam by its nature greatly absorbs and disperses energy. However, we also have a negative motion impact resulting from the microcoils and coil unit.

As a result of these competing material types, we end up with slightly worse-than-average motion transfer.

The level of motion transfer is also documented in the video below.

In our motion transfer chart, which visualizes our accelerometer data, we can see the highest motion peaks from 0 to 0.2 seconds. Motion declines thereafter, but we do see a small secondary energy spike from 0.5 to 0.6 seconds.

By 0.97 seconds, we’ve returned to near-zero levels of energy, which is 0.07 seconds longer than the average motion duration of 0.90 seconds. The total motion transfer picture is one that’s slightly worse than average.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is a mixed bag for material responsiveness, with a fast mostly recovered response time and a moderate fully recovered response time.

In our mostly recovered test, we measured a recovery speed of 0.4 seconds, which is 0.02 seconds faster than the average of 0.42 seconds, based on all of our tests to date.

In our fully recovered responsiveness test, we measured a recovery speed of 1.2 seconds, which is 0.18 seconds slower than the average of 1.02 seconds. This mattress uses a mix of material types.

The pocketed coils, poly foam, and microcoils all spring back to shape quickly.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

However, the memory foam layers take a couple of moments to fully recover back to their original shapes after they’ve been compressed down.

While these responsiveness speeds are slower than average, they are still far from slow. For most sleepers, these recovery speeds are fast enough to facilitate good enough ease of movement and not be a major problem.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid has a moderate level of bounce. During our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 8.94″. This is 0.25″ more bounce than the average of 8.69″, based on all of our tests to date.

Like motion transfer, we have some materials that are increasing bounce and others that are restricting it. The memory foam layers are more restrictive and prevent bounce from getting too high.

That said, the layer of pocketed coils and more responsive poly foam layers are generating more bounce.

The level of bounce is also documented in the video below.

Given the mix of different foam and coil types within this mattress, we have a more balanced and average level of bounce.

Bounce at this level is in a bit of a sweet spot. It’s enough to facilitate good ease of movement and sex performance, while at the same time not being so high as to create significant problems for motion transfer.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid has outstanding sitting edge support and outstanding lying edge support.

In our sitting edge support test, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 3.00″. This is 0.84″ less sitting sinkage than the average of 3.84″, based on all of our tests to date.

The level of edge support while seated is documented in the images below.

While lying directly on the edge of the mattress, I felt that the support was outstanding in all sleeping positions. This mattress is equipped with reinforced edge support coils on the left and right sides of the mattress. These coils are narrower in diameter, while still having a robust gauge of 15.25.

The level of edge support while lying is documented in the images below.

Those edge coils, in combination with the thicker-than-average total profile height and fantastic material quality from top to bottom, create the right material conditions to deliver exceptionally good edge support.

Notably, the edge coils do not extend to the head or foot of the mattress, which is a bit of a bummer, but also is likely helping to reduce the price of the mattress.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid has good sex performance. First, let’s talk through the positives, which include perfect 10 out of 10 scores in 4 out of our 5 testing categories.

Noise is minimal, while pressure relief, cooling, and edge support all earned outstanding scores.

In our edge support tests, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 3.00”. This is considerably better than average and helps to deliver a more robust edge that extends the usable surface area of the mattress.

Our last sex testing category is bounce, which earned a good score, but also one that isn’t amazing. In our bounce test, we measured 8.94” of total bounce height.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	65%	8.1	High
Edge Support	20%	10	Outstanding
Noise	5%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	10	Outstanding
Cooling	5%	10	Outstanding

This is more than average, which is great. Even so, in the world of sex, we want bounce to be as high as possible.

All that to say, while bounce could have certainly been higher, the overall sex score still earned a better-than-average score.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid has an outstanding level of pressure relief. During our tests, I felt no significant pressure points on my body.

Overall, I found this mattress to be incredibly comfortable, even while lying in the same positions for extended periods of time.

The mattress is equipped with 5.0″ of comfort material, which is 0.65″ more comfort material than the average comfort layer thickness of 4.35″, based on all of our tests to date.

In all mattress tests, we cut the mattress open to examine the material quality.

In doing so, I’m pleased with what we found. Foams look and feel high-quality on the body and in-hand. Foam and coil quality was further confirmed through our objective densimeter and digital caliper tests (see testing data here).

The Elite Ultra uses a quilted cover as opposed to a pillow top cover. This more restrained cover type helps increase engagement with the memory foam comfort layers below, contributing to excellent pressure relief and a body-contouring hug.

Overall, I found the feeling on the mattress to be one of balance. The mix of material types means that no one material feels overpowering or overly dramatic.

Instead, we have different materials each working together to create fantastic pressure relief and outstanding comfort. Lastly, in our objective pressure mapping tests, we measured a max PSI of 0.60, which is well within the 1.0 PSI threshold that I ideally want to see.

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Side Sleepers	0.10	0.52

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Back Sleepers	0.06	0.60

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Stomach Sleepers	0.06	0.35

When I consider our objective pressure-mapping tests, material thickness, material quality, and my subjective experience on the mattress, I’m confident that most sleepers will find the pressure relief outstanding.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid had a strong smell upon the initial unboxing. The mattress smelled for 5 days. This is 2.4 days shorter than the average smell duration of 7.4 days.

Bear mattresses come with a 120-night trial period and a lifetime warranty. Shipping and returns are both free.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Returns	40%	10	$0
Trial Period	30%	8.0	120 nights
Warranty	20%	10	Lifetime
Shipping	10%	10	$0
Country of Origin	0%		USA

Comparing 116+ brands tested to date, the average trial period is 192 nights, 72 nights more than Bear offers. The lifetime warranty is a welcomed benefit of the Bear Elite Ultra, as only 42% of mattresses we’ve tested offer a warranty that matches this length.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is available in 3 firmness options—Soft, Medium, and Firm.

We have not tested the Soft and Firm models personally, so the following ratings are estimations based on an assessment of their materials, design, and my general experience.

Soft Version

We would estimate that the Soft version would have a soft feel that we rate at a 4 out of 10, where 10 is the most firm.

Medium Version

The Medium version is the one we used in our tests, and it has a medium-firm feel, with a 6 out of 10 rating on the firmness scale.

Firm Version

We would estimate that the Firm version would have a firm feel, an 8 out of 10 on the firmness scale.

Support on the Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is outstanding. During our tests, I felt well supported in all sleeping positions.

Support Factor	Data
Comfort Layer	5.00″
Support Layer	9.00″
Firmness	Soft, Medium-Firm, and Firm
Body Contour	Balanced
Zoned Support	Yes
Reinforced Edge	Yes

The mattress is equipped with a 9.0″ support layer. This is 1.03″ thicker than the average support layer thickness of 7.97″, based on all of our tests to date.

For mattresses to create ideal support, they need to support the body, keeping the spine in a neutral alignment, while also creating sufficient comfort and pressure relief. The Bear Elite Ultra easily meets and exceeds these requirements.

This mattress is available in 3 firmness levels: soft, medium, and firm. We tested the medium version, which we rate at a 6 out of 10 on our firmness scale.

The vast majority of sleepers should choose the medium feel. If you are lighter weight, sleep mostly on your side, and/or just love a super soft feel, then the soft feel could be an option.

Likewise, if you are heavier weighted, sleep mostly on your back or stomach, and/or just love a super firm feel, then the firm feel could be an option. That said, most sleepers will be better supported by the medium version.

Check out the table below to see the sleeper weights and sleeping positions that would be best suited for this mattress.

Soft Version

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleeper	Side Sleeper	Back Sleeper
Under 150 lbs.	Maybe	Yes	Maybe
150-250 lbs.	Maybe	Yes	Maybe
250-300 lbs.	Maybe	Yes	Maybe

Medium Version

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleeper	Side Sleeper	Back Sleeper
Under 150 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
150-250 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
250-300 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes

Firm Version

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleeper	Side Sleeper	Back Sleeper
Under 150 lbs.	Yes	Maybe	Yes
150-250 lbs.	Yes	Maybe	Yes
250-300 lbs.	Yes	Maybe	Yes

Moving on, this mattress uses a zoned coil unit, which creates more support in the center third of the mattress. Zoned support helps improve support, pressure relief, spinal alignment, and mattress durability.

Last but not least, I’m pleased with the material quality of this mattress. In our tests, we found the memory foam layers at 2.85 PCF and 3.47 PCF, both of which are respectable density levels.

In addition, the coil gauge measured 13.5, which is a sufficiently thick wire to provide ample support and longevity. Based on all of my tests to date, an analysis of the materials, and my subjective experiences, I’m confident most sleepers will find support on the Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is outstanding.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is a 14.00″ hybrid mattress that comes in three firmness options—Soft, Medium-Firm, and Firm. According to Bear, these firmness levels are described as Soft, Medium, and Firm.

Design Factor	Data
Type	Hybrid
Thickness	14.00″
Cover Type	Pillow Top
Weight	115 lbs.
Has Handles	Yes
Fiberglass-Free	Yes
Ships in a Box	Yes

Within the Bear collection, the Elite Ultra is the top-of-the-line hybrid mattress with a high-profile aesthetic and plush pillow top cover. It has handles on the sides of the mattress, making it easier to rotate or transport the mattress.

Despite the luxury design and feel, the Bear Elite Ultra is still shipped in a box, making it a convenient option for sleepers looking for easy setup, delivered right to their door.

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is 14.00″ thick and contains a combination of memory foam, coils, and support foam. From top to bottom, here is a full list of the materials used in this mattress:

Layer Type	Thickness	Manufacturer’s Specs	Tested Specs
Pillow Top	1.25″	1.5 PCF, 15 ILD	1.56 PCF
Memory Foam	0.75″	2.5 PCF, 10 ILD	2.85 PCF
Microcoils	1.00″	Not Available	19 Gauge
Memory Foam	1.00″	3.6 PCF, 22 ILD	3.47 PCF
Poly Foam	1.00″	1.5 PCF, 52 ILD	1.51 PCF
Pocketed Coils	8.00″	14.75 Gauge (Head/Foot), 13.5 Gauge (Center), 16 Gauge (Edge)	13.5 Gauge (Interior), 13.5 Gauge (Zoned), 15.25 Gauge (Exterior)
Support Foam	1.00″	1.4 PCF, 35 ILD	1.29 PCF

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid has a 1.25″ pillow top cover with diamond-stitching accents. It is infused with Celliant, which is a material designed for improved cooling performance that pulls heat away from the body while you sleep.

The comfort layer is 5.00″ thick and made of multiple foam layers and microcoils. Directly below the pillow top cover is a 0.75″ copper-infused memory foam followed by a 1.00″ microcoil layer.

Below the microcils is a 1.00″ memory foam layer followed by a 1.00″ poly foam. As the last layer of foam before the support layer, the poly foam acts as a bit of a transitional layer and not solely a comfort material.

The support layer is 9.00″ thick and made of a combination of pocketed coils and support foam. Below the transitional poly foam is an 8.0″ pocketed coil system, where each coil is individually encased in a thin fabric.

Unlike a traditional innerspring base, this system allows each coil to move more independently of each other, which improves pressure relief and also helps to limit bounce and motion transfer.

At the bottom of the mattress is a 1.0″ support foam. This layer is designed to improve support and help the mattress retain its structure.

Product Evolution

The Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid was launched in 2025 as the brand’s top-of-the-line hybrid option.

Previously, the Bear hybrid collection was limited to the Bear Pro Hybrid (base level), Bear Star Hybrid (value level), and Bear Elite Hybrid (luxury level). The Bear Star Hybrid was later discontinued and replaced by the Bear Original Hybrid.

In 2026, we tested the Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid. There are no known differences or upgrades between the 2025 Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid and the 2026 version that we tested.

Other Mattresses to Consider

Not sure if the Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid is the right pick for you? Check out these three other top-rated hybrid mattresses for alternatives you may want to consider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Check out some of the top FAQs on the Bear Elite Ultra Hybrid mattress below and get the answers you’re looking for.