Stearns & Foster Reserve 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	Stearns & Foster Reserve	Average
Overall Score	8.63	8.53
Price (Queen)	$4,899	$1,519 (Hybrid only)
Cooling – Score	9.0	8.6
Sinkage – Depth	2.52″	2.26″
Sinkage – Feel	Deep	Moderate
Motion Transfer – Score	9.3	8.2
Motion Transfer – Acceleration	6.46 m/s²	8.82 m/s²
Response Time – Score	8.5	8.7
Response Time – Mostly Recovered	0.3 sec.	0.4 sec.
Response Time – Fully Recovered	1.5 sec.	1.0 sec.
Bounce – Height	4.70″	8.61″
Bounce – Feel	Very Low	Moderate
Edge Support – Score	8.1	8.8
Edge Support – Sitting	4.50″	3.82″
Edge Support – Lying	Good	Good
Sex – Score	6.6	8.2
Pressure Relief – Score	10	8.6
Comfort Layer Thickness	7.50″	4.36″
Mattress Thickness	16.00″	12.35″
Off-Gassing – Score	9.4	7.9
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	2 days	8 days
Company – Score	6.4	8.8
Trial	90 nights	195 nights
Warranty	10 years	41% have lifetime warranties, average of other 59% of mattresses is 13 years

How is Stearns & Foster Reserve Different?

The Stearns & Foster Reserve is a 16.00″ hybrid mattress with an overall performance level that is slightly higher than the average but also with a price tag that is significantly higher as well.

Advantages

Advantages of the Sterns and Foster Reserve mattress include better cooling performance, lower levels of motion transfer, and exceptional pressure relief. This mattress has a 7.50″ comfort layer thickness, which is 3.14″ thicker than the average mattress.

Another benefit is faster off-gassing. This mattress fully off-gassed in 2 days after we took it out of the bag, compared with the average of 8 days.

Neutral Factors

The Reserve Hybrid has a deep level of sinkage and very low levels of bounce. While the sinkage depth is deep, it’s not so deep as to be a polarizing feel. Deep sinkage works well for most sleepers.

Disadvantages

Obvious disadvantages of the Stearns and Foster Reserve mattress include a slightly slower material response time, weaker edge support, and a disappointing sex score that is well below average. The low sex score is a product of weaker edges and also very low levels of bounce.

Beyond the mattress performance itself, two of this mattress’s biggest disadvantages are its ultra-high price tag ($4,899) and the $175 return fee if you need to return it. In the world of online mattresses offered at lower prices and with free returns, these are two notable strikes against the Stearns & Foster Reserve Hybrid.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve has excellent cooling. During our tests, I did not experience any significant heat retention around my body.

The mattress has a couple of notable design elements that improve cooling. First, we have cooling fibers woven into the cover. Those fibers allow the cover to create a cool-to-the-touch feel.

The mattress was able to maintain much of that cooler feel for the duration of our tests. In addition, we have the hybrid design itself, which improves airflow and breathability.

• 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

The Reserve product page also makes mention of air vents along the side of the mattress as well as the fabric around the coils having holes in it.

Given the existing thinness and breathability of the coil fabric, in addition to the small size of the air vents, I’m more than a bit skeptical of how much of an impact these features could realistically have on cooling.

Even so, they are present and likely having at least some type of a positive impact.

In our objective temperature tests, we measured a max surface level temperature of 90.6° F. This is 0.3° warmer than the average of 90.3° F, based on all of our tests to date.

After getting off the mattress, the temperature declined by 4.1 degrees from minutes 0 to 1, which is 0.7 degrees less cool 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 excellent.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve has deep sinkage. During our tests, we measured a pressure point sinkage depth of 2.52″. This is 0.27″ more sinkage than the average sinkage depth of 2.25″, based on all of our tests to date.

The mattress creates a dramatic body-contouring hug. The Stearns & Foster Reserve has a more unique design that combines latex, poly foam, and memory foam. That said, the mattress feels more like a memory foam mattress than it does anything else.

The level of sinkage is documented in the image below.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve has a very low level of motion transfer. During our tests, we measured a total acceleration range of 6.46 m/s². This is 27% less motion transfer than the average of 8.79 m/s².

The lower motion transfer is primarily the result of a thick and dense memory foam layer, a thick pillow top, and an extremely thick comfort layer. These material and design attributes are working together to greatly absorb and disperse energy, resulting in significantly less motion transfer than average.

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 0.25 seconds. Motion declines notably immediately thereafter.

By 0.72 seconds, we’ve returned to near-zero levels of energy, which is 0.20 seconds shorter than the average motion duration of 0.92 seconds. Both motion duration and motion intensity are considerably better than average.

As a result, we see the Reserve earn a fantastic motion transfer score. I expect most sleepers will find this level of motion transfer to be more than satisfactory.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve is a mixed bag for material responsiveness, with a very fast mostly recovered response time and a slow fully recovered response time.

In our mostly recovered test, we measured a recovery speed of 0.3 seconds, which is 0.12 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 1.5 seconds, which is 0.47 seconds slower than the average of 1.03 seconds.

This mattress uses a mix of different foam types, including memory foam, poly foam, and latex foam. The poly foam and latex foam spring back to shape quickly, but the memory foam takes a bit longer to recover. The memory foam is the primary reason we see the fully recovered responsiveness time taking considerably longer than average to return to its original shape.

In our tests of the memory foam, we see that the material recovery speed becomes progressively and significantly worse when greater weights and compression are applied to it.

As a result, heavier-weighted sleepers and side sleepers (moderate or heavier weighted) could find the response performance to be notably worse. This is because the deeper you sink, the more you engage with the memory foam.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

While the poly foam and latex foam layers spring back to shape quickly, the memory foam is quite slow to recover to its original shape.

Lighter and moderate-weight sleepers won’t engage as deeply with that memory foam layer, making the response time better. But heavier bodies and side sleepers (since you have more weight isolated in a smaller area) will see greater engagement with the memory foam and therefore a slower material recovery speed.

All that to say, a slower material recovery speed negatively impacts ease of movement on the mattress. Ease of movement on the Reserve is okay, but also far from great.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve has a very low level of bounce. During our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 4.70″. This is 3.92″ less bounce than the average of 8.62″, based on all of our tests to date.

The lower bounce is primarily a product of the super-thick comfort layer and dense memory foam layer. The foam layers greatly absorb and disperse energy, resulting in there being less energy that can be returned as bounce. The lower bounce is the primary reason why motion transfer was also so low.

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

That said, a lower bounce does negatively impact ease of movement and sex performance. As a result, it’s worth considering which is more important to you. A lower motion transfer? Or better ease of movement and sex performance?

The Stearns & Foster Reserve has good sitting edge support and good lying edge support.

In our sitting edge support test, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 4.50″. This is 0.67″ more sitting sinkage than the average of 3.83″, 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 good in all sleeping positions. This mattress is equipped with reinforced coils running along the entire perimeter of the mattress.

While those reinforcing edge coils are certainly having a positive impact on edge performance, they aren’t able to overcome the ultra-thick comfort layer. The comfort layer is super thick, contains memory foam with a significant contour, and the sinkage depth is notably deeper than average.

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

This mix of material and feel factors creates the right conditions for an edge that is sinking deeper and feels a bit squishier. Overall, edge support is a bit worse than average, for both sitting and lying.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve has mediocre sex performance. First, let’s hit the positives with minimal noise, perfect 10/10 pressure relief, and excellent cooling. If nothing else, this is a comfortable and quiet mattress.

Moving on to a middling performance, we see edge support earning a good, but not great score. In our edge support tests, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 4.75”.

This is notably worse than average and means we have an edge that isn’t quite as robust as we ideally would like to see. The worse edge support will decrease the usable surface area of the mattress for amorous activities.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	65%	5.4	Very Low
Edge Support	20%	8.1	Good
Noise	5%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	10	Outstanding
Cooling	5%	9.0	Excellent

Lastly, we need to talk about bounce. When it comes to sex, more bounce is almost always better. This mattress measured 4.70” of bounce, which is significantly less than average. The lower bounce makes sex more tiring, more strenuous, and less fun.

When we look at the complete picture of factors impacting sex performance, it’s just not a great look for the Stearns & Foster Reserve. The super low bounce simply makes sex on this mattress considerably worse than average

The Stearns & Foster Reserve has an outstanding level of pressure relief. During our tests, I felt no significant pressure points on my body.

Quite the opposite, in fact, I found the mattress to be exceedingly comfortable. The mattress is equipped with 7.5″ of comfort material, which is 3.13″ more comfort material than the average comfort layer thickness of 4.37″, based on all of our tests to date.

All of that extra comfort material creates a dramatic hug around the body and provides ample comfort.

This mattress uses a mix of different foam types, including memory foam, poly foam, latex foam, and pillow top. These materials work together to create something of a blended feel, and yet, the memory foam within the mattress is still felt more prominently than any other material.

The foams are all high quality and at sufficient thickness levels to create plenty of pressure relief for the body.

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

The Stearns & Foster Reserve had a strong smell upon the initial arrival. The mattress smelled for 2 days. This is 5.6 days shorter than the average smell duration of 7.6 days.

Stearns & Foster mattresses come with a 90-night trial period and a 10-year warranty. Shipping is free. Returns are $175.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Returns	40%	5.0	$175
Trial Period	30%	6.0	90 nights
Warranty	20%	8.0	10 years
Shipping	10%	10	$0
Country of Origin	0%		USA

Comparing 121+ brands tested to date, the average trial period is 195 nights, 95 nights more than Stearns & Foster offers.

In addition to a shorter trial period, the warranty is also shorter as well. The average warranty is 13 years, but Stearns & Foster offers only 10 years. In addition, this average excludes the 43% of mattresses that offer lifetime warranties.

At $175, this is one of the highest return fees we’ve seen to date (tied with Tempurpedic + Sealy and only topped by Purple Restore + Airweave Nagomi).

The Stearns & Foster Reserve is available in three different firmness options—PT (Pillow Top) Soft, Medium, and PT (Pillow Top) Firm.

We did not test the PT Soft option directly, but based on my experience and analysis of material layers, I estimate that it would be a 4 out of 10 on the firmness scale, where 10 is the most firm.

We tested the medium version for this review and found it to be a 6 out of 10 on our firmness scale. We rate this as medium-firm, and it’s well-suited for the vast majority of sleepers.

Similarly, we haven’t tested the PT Firm option in person, but I would estimate it would come in at an 8 out of 10.

It’s important to note that the soft and firm versions are substantially thicker than the medium option because of the additional pillow top material. They are also more expensive—around $700 more for a queen at the time of publishing this review.

Support on the Stearns & Foster Reserve is outstanding. During our tests, I felt well supported in all sleeping positions.

Support Factor	Data
Comfort Layer	7.50″
Support Layer	8.50″
Firmness	Soft, Medium-Firm, and Firm
Body Contour	Dramatic
Zoned Support	No
Reinforced Edge	Yes

The mattress is equipped with an 8.5″ support layer. This is 0.52″ thicker than the average support layer thickness of 7.98″, based on all of our tests to date. Mattresses that deliver the best support do so by creating a neutral spinal alignment and providing ample pressure relief.

The Reserve easily achieved both of those requirements. This mattress is available in 3 firmness versions, including medium (no pillow top), pillow top soft, and pillow top firm. We tested the medium version and found it has a medium-firm feel, 6 out of 10 on our firmness scale. This firmness works well for all sleeping positions and will be the best choice for the vast majority of sleepers.

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

PT Soft Version

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleeper	Side Sleeper	Back Sleeper
Under 150 lbs.	No	Yes	Yes
150-250 lbs.	No	Yes	Yes
250-300 lbs.	No	Yes	Yes

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

PT Firm Version

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleeper	Side Sleeper	Back Sleeper
Under 150 lbs.	Yes	No	Yes
150-250 lbs.	Yes	No	Yes
250-300 lbs.	Yes	No	Yes

In all NapLab mattress tests, we make it a point to cut the mattress open to assess the material quality. In doing so, we found the memory foam at 3.91 PCF (pounds per cubic foot) and poly foam at 1.47 PCF.

A memory foam PCF density near 4 is good; no issues there. That said, I’m not thrilled to see a 1.47 PCF poly foam, that’s quite low, especially for a 2.0” layer that’s supposed to serve a major component of the comfort layer stack.

When it comes to density, denser foams typically perform better, last longer, and sag less. The opposite is typically true when foams are less dense. In addition, we also measured the coil gauge at 15.5. This is a little thinner than I typically want to see for a coil, especially one that is supporting such a thick and heavy stack of foams on top of it.

Overall, I’d say the material density and coil specs are a little disappointing, especially given the price point. Lastly, this mattress does not use zoned support. Instead, we have a consistent level of support and firmness from head to foot on the mattress.

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 Stearns & Foster Reserve to be outstanding.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve is a 16.00″ hybrid mattress that comes in three firmness options—PT Soft, Medium, and PT Firm.

Design Factor	Data
Type	Hybrid
Thickness	16.00″
Cover Type	Pillow Top
Weight	152 lbs.
Has Handles	Yes
Fiberglass-Free	Yes
Ships in a Box	No

This is a high-profile ultra-thick pillow-top mattress. It has handles on the outside, is fiberglass-free, and is not shipped compressed in a box.

For sleepers looking for a more traditional mattress, the Stearns & Foster may be an appealing option.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve is 16.00″ thick and contains a combination of multiple foam types and a pocketed coil support base. 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	2.00″	Not Available	1.30 PCF, 2.47 PCF
Latex Foam	1.00″	Not Available	3.95 PCF
Memory Foam	2.50″	Not Available	3.91 PCF
Poly Foam	2.00″	Not Available	1.47 PCF
Pocketed Coils	7.50″	Not Available	15.5 Gauge (inner), 16 Gauge (outer)
Support Foam	1.00″	Not Available	1.67 PCF

The Stearns & Foster Reserve comes with a standard pillow top cover or a thicker, more luxurious pillow top cover, depending on which firmness you choose. The version we tested (Medium) had the standard pillow top cover.

The Soft and Firm versions come with a thicker pillow top that is considered more luxurious (by Stearns & Foster). The cover on the Soft and Firm version is also a bit thicker than what we tested.

The comfort layer is 7.50″ thick, including the pillow top cover, and made of a variety of foam types. Directly beneath the cover is a 1.0″ layer of latex foam. Below the latex is a 2.5″ memory foam layer, followed by a 2.0″ poly foam.

These three foam layers work together with the pillow top layer to provide a robust comfort system on the Reserve.

The support layer is 8.50″ thick and made of a 7.5″ pocketed coil unit followed by a 1.0″ support foam base. These coils are encased in a ventilated fabric, which does improve cooling performance and helps limit heat retention throughout the night.

Product Evolution

Stearns & Foster has one of the longest histories of any brand we’ve tested, with origins that date back over 175 years. In 1933, Sealy merged with Stearns & Foster.

In 2009, the brand reworked its signature brand look to one that is very similar to the Stearns & Foster we see today.

In January 2016, the Stearns and Foster Reserve mattress was officially debuted, but it was redesigned in 2019 and 2023.

NapLab first tested the Stearns & Foster Reserve in 2026.

Other Mattresses to Consider

Not sure if the Stearns & Foster Reserve 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 Stearns & Foster Reserve mattress below and get the answers you’re looking for.