Casper Cooling Select 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 that test and compare to every mattress we’ve tested to date.

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

Factor	Casper Cooling Select	Average
Overall Score	7.85	8.55
Price (Queen)	$649	$1,104 (Foam only)
Cooling – Score	7.0	8.6
Sinkage – Depth	1.91″	2.16″
Sinkage – Feel	Minimal	Moderate
Motion Transfer – Score	9.6	8.2
Motion Transfer – Acceleration	5.86 m/s²	8.74 m/s²
Response Time – Score	8.4	8.9
Response Time – Mostly Recovered	0.4 sec.	0.4 sec.
Response Time – Fully Recovered	1.2 sec.	1.0 sec.
Bounce – Height	6.66″	9.33″
Bounce – Feel	Low	Moderate
Edge Support – Score	7.2	8.6
Edge Support – Sitting	6.00″	4.06″
Edge Support – Lying	Good	Good
Sex – Score	6.8	8.4
Pressure Relief – Score	8.0	8.7
Comfort Layer Thickness	4.5″	4.2″
Mattress Thickness	12″	12.1″
Off-Gassing – Score	5.8	8.2
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	15 days	6 days
Company – Score	8.8	8.6
Trial	365 nights	177 nights
Warranty	10 years	25% have lifetime warranties, average of other 75% of mattresses is 13 years

How is Casper Cooling Select Different?

The Casper Cooling Select is a 12″ foam mattress with below-average overall performance, but also a below-average price tag—32% less than the average foam mattress, saving $455 on a queen size. For budget sleepers, this could be a good option, as long as you’re willing to accept the performance disadvantages.

Advantages

The biggest advantage to the Cooling Select has got to be the low price. Saving $455 on a queen mattress (compared to the average foam mattress) can be a compelling advantage to any sleeper on a tight budget.

This mattress also has less motion transfer than average and a longer 365-night trial period (188 nights longer than average). But that is where the advantages stop.

Neutral Factors

The Casper Cooling Select has minimal sinkage and low levels of bounce. Despite having a medium-firm feel, there’s not a lot of give to the materials used on this mattress.

Disadvantages

Disadvantages of the Casper Cooling Select include a slower material response time, worse edge support when seated or lying at the edge, and a worse sex score—6.8 where the average is 8.7. The low sex score is largely due to the lower level of bounce and weaker edges, as these two factors are critically important to good intimacy.

Another big disadvantage to the Casper Cooling Select is (ironically) worse cooling performance than average. The average cooling score across all mattresses tested to date is 8.6, but the Casper Cooling earned a score of 7.0 with moderate levels of heat retention and a cooling sensation that only lasts for a few minutes before dissipating.

If you’re specifically looking at the Casper Cooling Select for a budget-friendly foam mattress with excellent cooling, this is not likely to be the right pick.

The Casper Cooling Select has fair cooling. During our tests, I felt a slight to moderate level of heat retention around my body. While the mattress didn’t reach a level I would describe as “hot” it was certainly warm.

The mattress seems to struggle to release heat and breathe well. The mattress cover has a cool-to-the-touch feel. While it does feel cool initially, that cooling sensation only lasts a few minutes before it loses the cooling feel.

• 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

Beyond the cover, we have an all-foam design with 3.0” of memory foam on top. All foam mattresses simply don’t breathe as well as hybrid or coil mattresses. In addition, memory foam is typically warmer than poly foam and latex foam.

When we look at the combination of material and design choices it’s easy to see why cooling performance isn’t amazing.

In our objective temperature tests, we measured a max surface level temperature of 91.8° F. This is 2.1° more than the average of 89.7° F, based on all of our tests to date.

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 fair.

Heat Dissipation Over Time

The Casper Cooling Select has minimal sinkage. During our tests, we measured a pressure point sinkage depth of 1.91″. This is 0.25″ less sinkage than the average sinkage depth of 2.16″, based on all of our tests to date.

The mattress creates a balanced level of body contouring hug. Despite the fact the mattress uses 3.0” of memory foam on top, it has a lot of push back and the hug feels far more similar to poly foam mattresses we’ve tested.

The level of sinkage is documented in the image below.

Typically, an all-foam mattress with memory foam on top would have a dramatic body contouring hug, but that’s not what we measured or experienced.

For those sleepers who love a more classic feeling memory foam and the feel of a dramatic body hug, the Casper Cooling Select isn’t likely to be a good fit.

The Casper Cooling Select has a very low level of motion transfer. During our tests, we measured a total acceleration range of 5.86 m/s². This is 33% less motion transfer than the average of 8.74 m/s².

The all-foam design, in combination with the 3.0” of memory foam on top, creates the right material conditions to greatly reduce bounce, which greatly reduces 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 0.07 seconds.

Motion drops significantly thereafter and by 0.58 seconds we’ve returned to near-zero levels of energy. Both the motion duration and motion intensity are well restrained.

As a result, I don’t expect motion transfer will be a problem for most sleepers.

The Casper Cooling Select 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.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

In our fully recovered responsiveness test, we measured a recovery speed of 1.2 seconds, which is 0.23 seconds slower than the average of 0.97 seconds.

The poly foam and support foam layers within the mattress return to shape effectively instantly. However, the two 1.5” memory foam layers take a moment to recover to their original shapes after being compressed.

As a result, the mattress has a slightly slower than average time to fully recover. For most sleepers, this level of responsiveness should be perfectly satisfactory. However, more sensitive sleepers could find it problematic.

The Casper Cooling Select has a low level of bounce. During our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 6.66″. This is 2.67″ less bounce than the average of 9.33″, based on all of our tests to date.

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

All foam mattresses typically create less bounce, as do mattresses with memory foam. Casper Cooling Select has both of those material attributes and as a result, it was no surprise that we measured a below-average level of bounce.

The lower bounce makes it more difficult to move around on the mattress and also significantly impacts sex performance on the mattress.

The Casper Cooling Select has mediocre sitting edge support and good lying edge support. In our sitting edge support test, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 6.00″. This is 1.94″ more sitting sinkage than the average of 4.06″, based on all of our tests to date.

While sitting directly on the edge there is a complete collapse of materials. As a result, there is simply insufficient support to sit comfortably along the edge.

In addition, the mattress cover is incredibly slick, so not only is the edge of the mattress unsupportive it’s also slippery and easy to slide off. This effect could make your amorous activities especially dicey.

While sitting edge support was incredibly disappointing, lying edge support was better.

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 good in all sleeping positions. Mind you, it’s only good, but still far from great.

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

Overall, I’m not happy with the level of edge support on the Casper Cooling Select. It is well below the average level of performance among all mattresses we’ve tested to date and is among the weakest performance areas for the mattress as a whole.

The Casper Cooling Select has mediocre sex performance. On the positive side, noise is minimal and pressure relief is good. However, that’s where the positives end. Cooling is fair, but still far from good.

The limited cooling performance could mean a hotter amorous activity performance, at least as far as temperature is concerned. That said, the biggest sex performance issues are bounce and edge support.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	65%	6.6	Low
Edge Support	20%	6.3	Mediocre
Noise	5%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	8.0	Good
Cooling	5%	7.0	Fair

Edge support measured at 6.00” while sitting along the edge. This is significantly worse than the average and is a tremendous detriment to those who like to use the edge of the mattress for sex. In addition, bounce measured 6.66”. This is 2.67” less bounce than the average.

The all-foam design that includes 3.0” of memory foam on top notably reduces the level of bounce. As a result, there is less bounce, which means it will be more strenuous and difficult to have sex on. Overall, sex performance is incredibly disappointing.

The Casper Cooling Select has a good level of pressure relief. During our tests, I felt no significant level of pressure points building on my body. The mattress is equipped with 4.5″ of comfort material, including 3.0” of memory foam.

Despite the memory foam layers, the mattress creates a more balanced and even type of body contouring hug. This effect is reinforced by the minimal level of sinkage created by the mattress as a whole.

The Casper Cooling Select has 0.34″ more comfort material than the average comfort layer thickness of 4.16″, based on all of our tests to date. Materials are reasonably good quality, especially at this price point.

To be fair, they certainly aren’t amazing, but we’ve definitely seen worse material quality than this. All that to say, I’m not overly concerned with the quality of the foam layers resulting in problems for pressure relief longevity or durability.

In our pressure mapping tests, we measured a max PSI of 1.06. This is well within ideal levels. A PSI of 2.0 is a high pressure point and the Cooling Select was nowhere near those levels.

When I consider the objective pressure maps, material thickness, material quality, and my subjective experience on the mattress, I’m confident most sleepers will find the pressure relief to be good.

Pressure Map – Side Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Side Sleepers	0.19	1.06

Pressure Map – Back Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Back Sleepers	0.09	0.66

Pressure Map – Stomach Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Stomach Sleepers	0.11	0.99

The Casper Cooling Select had a strong smell upon the initial unboxing. The mattress smelled for 15 days. This is 8.6 days more than the average of 6.4 days.

The Casper Cooling Select is sold exclusively at Costco and therefore follows the Costco company policies. Convenient for sleepers, the Costco company terms are actually quite a bit friendlier than Casper.com’s policies.

Purchased at Costco, the mattress is backed by a 365-night trial period (due to Costco’s generous refund policy) and it has a 10-year warranty (covered by the manufacturer). Shipping and returns are both free as well.

You don’t even have to get it back in the box. If the mattress ends up not being great, just load it up and take it to Costco for a full refund (assuming there are no stains or signs of major wear).

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Trial Period	15%	10	365 nights
Warranty	10%	8.0	10 years
Shipping	5%	10	$0
Returns	20%	10	$0
Trust	50%	8.0	Good
Country of Origin	0%		USA

Comparing all mattresses tested to date, the average trial length is 177 nights so Casper’s trial is shorter than average. That being said, 100 nights should still be enough time for you to properly decide if you like the mattress or not.

The Casper Cooling Select is available in a single firmness, 6 out of 10, with a medium-firm feel.

Support on the Casper Cooling Select is good. During our tests, I felt well-supported in all sleeping positions. The mattress is equipped with a 7.5″ support layer. This is 0.38″ thinner than the average support layer thickness of 7.88″, based on all of our tests to date.

This is a mattress designed to be well-liked by most sleepers. Its minimal to moderate sinkage depth, medium-firm feel, and balanced body contouring hug, create the right conditions for good support for most body types and most sleeping positions.

In addition, we have 4.5” of comfort material, which is thicker than average, creating sufficient pressure relief such that sleepers can remain comfortable in the same sleeping position.

If you are a heavier weighted sleeper, especially over 250 pounds, but definitely over 300 pounds, then you likely want to opt for a different more supportive mattress (see our list for the best mattresses for heavy people).

However, most other sleepers should find the Cooling Select to be sufficiently supportive.

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 Casper Cooling Select is good.

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

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

Design

The Casper Cooling Select is a 12″ foam mattress with a medium-firm feel. It is designed as a budget-friendly foam mattress, aimed to have a balanced feel that would be attractive to a wide range of budget sleepers.

Materials

In total, there are four layers of foam that make up the Casper Cooling Select. The layers are listed below (from top to bottom):

• 1.5” memory foam
• 1.5” memory foam
• 1.5” poly foam
• 7.5” support foam

The Cover

The Casper Cooling Select has a thin knit cover that is soft to the touch and very breathable. That being said, the materials do not include any that are especially advantageous for cooling (ex: no cooling fibers or phase-change materials).

The Comfort Layer

The comfort layer is made up of two layers of memory foam (shown as blue foams below). The foams are open-cell, which helps allow for better airflow and improved breathability.

The third foam is a poly foam (gray) which has a denser feel. This layer is designed to be a transitional layer between the top comfort foams and the support layer below.

The Support Layer

The support layer is a 7.5″ base foam. It is the firmest of all foams used on this mattress and the harder feel provides support.

Product Evolution

The Casper Cooling Select was released at Costco in 2023, around the same time as the rebrand of their mattress lineup on Casper.com. There appears to be no change between earlier versions of this mattress and the present-day version sold from Costco.com or in Costco warehouses.

Other Mattresses to Consider

Not sure if the Casper Cooling Select is the right pick for you? Check out these three other top-rated foam mattresses under $1000 for high-performing alternatives you may want to consider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Check out some of the top FAQs on the Casper Cooling Select mattress below and get the answers you’re looking for.