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Before we kick off this comparison, we have to go over the similarities with the value proposition for both brands.
It’s largely the same with a lot of these bed-in-a-box mattresses, but definitely still worth going over in the event that you aren’t completely clear on what Bear and Sealy have to offer… beyond just the mattress of course. Feel free to skip this if you’re familiar with this whole bed-in-a-box concept.
In any event, both Bear and Sealy will ship their respective mattresses to your house for free, regardless of the size of mattress that you order (e.g., get a Twin, still free shipping).
The mattress shows up in a box that looks more appropriately sized for a mini-fridge than an entire mattress, but nonetheless, when you open it up you’ll find a vacuum sealed, rolled up mattress. It’s pretty remarkable how they can fit an entire mattress in basically a mini-fridge box.
Once you unroll the mattress and pull off the wrapping, it inflates in about 30 to 60 seconds, and there you have it, a full-size mattress ready to go.
The cool thing about these bed-in-a-box mattresses (beyond the fact that they’re really comfortable, brand new mattresses) is that you can use them for 100 nights risk free. With both Bear and Cocoon by Sealy, you can return your mattress at any time for any reason within the first 100 nights and get a full refund.
Even better, at no extra cost to you, they’ll send a representative to your house to pick up the mattress. But if you decide to keep the Bear or Cocoon mattress, they carry a 10-year warranty, so you’re covered for many years to come.
I know that was a little long-winded, but you can see why these mattresses are getting so popular — these brands have made it almost silly not to try out a new mattress.
Bear mattresses are good for:
- budget shoppers
- people who like memory foam
Details:
- free shipping and returns
- 100 nights trial period
- 10 years warranty
- made in USA
Bear mattress construction and materials
One thing that you’ll see with a lot of these direct-to-consumer mattresses is a similar story with regard to construction. In other words, if you were to cut them open, Bear and Cocoon have basically the same construction, despite the fact that they feel different when you lay on them.
With that in mind, Bear has a bottom layer of support foam to give the bed structure. On top of that you have two layers of responsive foam, which is a bit like memory foam in that it’s built to absorb pressure and help with durability.
The top layer is a graphite-infused foam that Bear specifically designed to provide a cooling effect for the bed. It does a really good job, and the mattress is in fact much cooler to sleep on throughout the night than a traditional memory foam mattress.
Bear even says that their foam dissipates heat and moisture three times faster than conventional memory foams. As you’ll read about below, however, the Cocoon Chill mattress is noticeably cooler to sleep on than even Bear. With that being said, we’d put Bear in a tier just below Cocoon for coolness. It is still very good.
The Celliant cover that Bear uses is supposedly designed to help circulate blood flow and aid in muscle recovery — I have no idea if the cover actually does this. The bed is comfortable and stays pretty darn cool all night long… that’s all I know.
With that said, the FDA actually recognizes Celliant technology as meeting the criteria of a wellness product. Also, Celliant has apparently been clinically proven to increase blood flow, promote recovery, and help with restful sleep, among other things.
As far as cleaning your Bear Mattress, they recommend you only spot clean the bed with detergent. The cover is technically removable, however, Bear suggests that you do not remove the cover nor should you put it in the washing machine.
That’s sort of a bummer, but you’ll see that most of these bed-in-a-box mattress companies make the same recommendations. If you’re worried about stains, etc. you should look into the Bear Protector — which is a waterproof, breathable mattress protector.
Bear mattress firmness, motion transfer, comfort
Bear is about a 6/10 in the soft to firm scale. It’s firmer than the average bed in a box (and marginally firmer than Cocoon), but yet still very comfortable.
It also happens to break in over time, so the mattress that you get today will be significantly more comfortable and softer after a year or so. That could be good or bad. If you like a slightly more firm mattress, Bear is a great option.
If you want something a little softer from the get-go, you may look into Leesa Mattress, for example. In any case, Bear is still very comfortable and has a little of that memory foam mattress feel.
If you’re mostly a stomach/back sleeper, Bear is a really good option, but if you sleep predominantly on your side, you should consider looking into a softer mattress or customizing a mattress to your exact preferences like you can with Helix Sleep.
In terms of limiting motion transfer, Bear is very likely the best mattress that we’ve tested out. There is virtually no motion transfer with Bear, thanks to the various layers of foam and firmness of the mattress.
Bear is therefore a pretty great option for anyone who tends to move around a lot at night. If you’re constantly disrupting your partner (or they’re constantly disrupting you), Bear is one of the better mattresses out there to try out.
Bear mattress promo code + price of mattress
Bear is one of the more affordable brands out there for direct to consumer mattresses. Purple Mattress, for example, can be as much as $100 to $200 more expensive than Bear — and that’s before any Bear Mattress coupon code.
Similarly, Cocoon Chill is as much as $200 more expensive than Bear, again, before any discounts. In any case, here’s the breakdown for Bear Mattress pricing:
| SIZE | PRICE (MSRP) |
| Twin | $500 |
| Twin XL | $600 |
| Full | $700 |
| Queen | $800 |
| King | $900 |
| Cal King | $900 |
Of all the premium DTC mattresses, only a few are more affordable than Bear. Zinus and Tuft & Needle are two of the better known, more affordable options, but other brands do exist.
The point is that Bear is very affordable, but if you need an even cheaper mattress, they are out there. Also, for a while, Bear was offering a promotion that discounted a mattress and bed frame bundle, but I don’t believe that’s a promotion that is always live.
You don’t have to be an athlete to get a Bear Mattress, and we’re not really convinced that it’s any better for athletes. It does have the Celliant cover, which seems to have some real advantages, but at the end of the day, it’s a quality, comfortable mattress that breathes well and is moderately priced.
You can’t really ask for much more. It’s not perfect, but everything that I have to say is pretty subjective. Mattresses are something you need to try for yourself. That’s part of the reason that we really admire the value proposition of a lot of these bed-in-a-box brands.
The fact that you can return Bear after 99 nights with virtually no questions asked is pretty neat.
Bottom line: We really like this mattress. Jeff has had a Bear Mattress for over a year and really likes it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the best (or right) mattress for you. That’s why we’re doing a comparison!
Cocoon by Sealy mattresses are good for:
- people who like memory foam
- hot sleepers on a limited budget
- people who like firmer beds
Details:
- free shipping and returns
- 100 nights trial period
- 10 years warranty
- made in USA
Cocoon by Sealy overview
You’re probably familiar with Sealy. They’re one of the biggest mattress brands in the world. They’ve been in business since 1881 and have a mattress for just about everyone.
But, not until 2016 did they have a bed-in-a-box option. Since then, however, Cocoon has been featured on Oprah’s list of favorite things for 2016, so they must be doing something right.
One thing from the get-go that sets Cocoon apart from Bear is that Sealy actually has two models of this bed, each in either a soft or firm feel.
They have the Cocoon Classic, which is the ultra-affordable option, and the Cocoon Chill, which is the bed that stays very cool at night and is the one that we’re discussing in this post specifically.
Cocoon by Sealy design and bed materials
Much like the Bear Mattress, Cocoon is composed of several layers of foam stacked on top of each other. You have a base layer of foam that gives the bed its structure and support.
On top of that is a foam designed for durability and to help with the longevity of the bed. The top layer is memory foam, which Sealy calls its “Perfect Fit Memory Foam.”
Now ordinarily, this is where I would say that memory foam mattresses tend to heat up at night and retain body heat. That can be uncomfortable and is the chief complaint with memory foam. Otherwise, memory foam is a dream (no pun intended). It’s soft, supportive, and cradles your body perfectly.
The saving grace with the Cocoon Chill mattress, however, is that it has a fabric cover over the bed that stays really cool throughout the night. So, while a lot of memory foam mattresses get hot, Cocoon Chill stays very cool.
It is likely the best mattress that we’ve tested for coolness. The mattress cover almost feels wet — that’s how cool it stays. It’s pretty remarkable. In our Cocoon vs. Purple Mattress comparison we noted that the only mattress similar to Cocoon in terms of its cooling effect is Purple.
Our one concern with the Cocoon Chill mattress, however, is how you care for it. Like Bear, Sealy recommends that you only spot clean the mattress.
That’s fine, but in the event that you do machine wash the mattress cover we’re concerned that it may mess with its cooling properties, though we don’t actually know if it will. So, just avoid outright washing this mattresses and instead opt for more sheets or a mattress protector.
Cocoon mattress comfort, motion transfer, responsiveness
This is a comfortable mattress — no doubt about it. It’s soft and cradles your body as good as any memory foam mattress out there. The soft option is about a 5.5/10 on the softness to firmness scale, meaning that it’s a little firmer than a Casper Mattress, for example, but slightly softer than Bear.
All this boils down to is that you won’t feel as if you’re sinking through this mattress. It will support you, but it won’t fight back. It absorbs your pressure and contours pretty much to your exact size. Cocoon is darn near perfect in terms of comfort, support, and pressure relief.
If you’re a back/stomach sleeper, Cocoon is a good option; if you’re a side-only sleeper, you will still likely be happy with Cocoon, although you may look into a softer mattress also like Casper.
If you’re a combo sleeper (meaning you rotate between back, stomach, and side), Cocoon is a really good option.
As for motion transfer, Cocoon is fantastic and is very similar to Bear. Both do a great job of limiting any motion with the bed and will be a good option for anyone who moves around a lot in their sleep.
You’ll see the same story with most memory foam mattresses, however. They just do a good job of absorbing pressure without disturbing the rest of the bed.
The flip side of that is that they do not respond as quickly. They slowly absorb pressure from your body and when you get off of the bed sometimes you’ll still have a body impression.
That’s not a big deal, but over time you may see the mattress bow a little, so make sure that with both Bear and Cocoon you rotate the mattress every so often. You’d have to do this with most memory foam mattresses.
Cocoon by Sealy coupon code and price details
As mentioned above, the Cocoon Classic is the more affordable option from Sealy, however, the Cocoon Chill is still affordable compared to a lot premium mattresses out there.
If you really need to save money, the Classic is probably your best bet with Sealy, but we do prefer the Cocoon Chill. In any case, below is the pricing breakdown for Cocoon Classic. You’ll notice that even the Classic is more expensive than Bear (albeit marginally).
| SIZE | PRICE (MSRP) |
| Twin | $399 |
| Twin XL | $449 |
| Full | $659 |
| Queen | $799 |
| King | $999 |
| Cal King | $999 |
And here’s the pricing for the Cocoon Chill:
| SIZE | PRICE (MSRP) |
| Twin | $730 |
| Twin XL | $770 |
| Full | $850 |
| Queen | $930 |
| King | $1,150 |
| Cal King | $1,150 |
As you can see, Cocoon Chill is quite a bit more expensive than both the Classic and Bear Mattress. Sealy does offer coupon codes and promotions that will make things cheaper, however.
Sealy makes a great mattress. We really like the Cocoon Chill and were thrilled with how well the cooling technology works. It’s obviously more expensive than Bear, but if you want a mattress that stays extra cool at night, it is a really good option.
Bear, of course, still does a fantastic job at limiting how much the mattress heats up at night, but it’s not quite to the level of the Cocoon Chill. Also, Cocoon is just flat out comfortable. It’s not too firm or soft, and it supports you well.
This is the type of mattress that causes you to oversleep. We’d love it if the mattress cover was machine washable and if the shipping was a little more expedited (will depend on where you live). Overall though, we’ve been very happy with both mattresses.
We can’t say we like one more than the other, but we can say that both have that memory foam feel and have a lot of advantages (shipping, returns, warranty, etc.) such that it’s hard to not at least try one.
Again, Bear is a little more firm, whereas Cocoon Chill (soft) is a little more soft, but they are very close in terms of feel.
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