Provides Excellent Support & Comfort
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- The Leesa Hybrid is the best mattress for back pain in our guide.
- It combines innerspring and memory foam for excellent support and little motion transfer.
- The Leesa Hybrid has been the mattress I routinely choose to sleep on for over a year.
By some estimates, there are currently more than a hundred brands that deliver compressed memory mattresses to your door. These “bed-in-a-box” companies are taking on traditional high-pressure mattress showrooms with low-stakes e-commerce, lengthy risk-free trials, and easy delivery and returns.
One of the biggest names in the industry is Leesa. We’ve tested almost all of its mattresses (which you can read about here), as well as many of its bedding accessories, and have always had positive experiences with them. One of my favorite Leesa mattresses is the Hybrid.
Our Leesa Hybrid mattress review
The Leesa Hybrid mattress arrived in a box, which is a beast so I encourage you to tip your delivery person generously. The king-size mattress I tested weighs 142 pounds, so you may want to have a couple of friends help you. My wife and I were able to carry it up a winding staircase to our second-floor bedroom, but it took at least a few breaks and several curse words.
Since the mattress is heavy, don’t plan on moving it after it’s been opened. In other words, open it where you plan on keeping it. With this in mind, I opened the box alongside my bed foundation.
I did as much assembly and installation as I could on my own. I unboxed the mattress, put it on the foundation, and removed the plastic without help, but I don’t recommend anyone do this on their own if they can help it because the mattress is large and heavy. The unboxing and positioning of the mattress took me about 15 minutes.
I was surprised by how odor-free the mattress was right out of the packaging. Since I was in the process of renovating my home when the mattress arrived, it sat in the box for over a month. Longer storage times usually make memory foam odors worse, commonly called “off-gassing.” Before sleeping on the mattress, you should allow it to air out for a couple of hours or, if possible, days.
The Leesa Hybrid Mattress features individually wrapped coils and layers of foam. The 11-inch-thick Leesa Hybrid has five layers: the cooling foam top layer, contouring memory foam, and a 6-inch pocket coil system sandwiched between two layers of core support foam.
The feature that stood out to me most was the pocket spring coil system. You can feel the springs along the sides of the Leesa Hybrid mattress. Why does this matter? When you have springs that go right up to the edge, you can count on excellent edge support — this allows you to make the most of the entire area of your bed without feeling like you’re going to fall off. In my experience, the Leesa Hybrid provided superior edge support.
Since I could feel the coils, I thought I might as well count them. There were 46 along the width and 50 along the length for an estimated grand total of 2,300. All factors being the same, the more coils there are, the more support and durability you can expect. The better innerspring mattresses have 600 to 1,000 coils.
The individually wrapped coils also kept motion transfer to a minimum and offered firm support. Although I’m a light sleeper, if my wife had to get up early or our 4-year-old jumped into bed with us, I would rarely wake up. To put the motion transfer to the test, I dropped a 20-pound weight from 3 feet above the bed approximately 12 inches away from a can of sparkling water. I did this several times, and the can didn’t move at all.
Before the Leesa Hybrid, I slept on a medium-firm mattress that would be about a 7 on the firmness scale and was just a little too firm for my tastes. The Leesa Hybrid is closer to a 6.5, which provided the balance of comfort and support that I need as a side sleeper, as well as someone who moonlights as a roller derby player, cyclist, and runner.
Often after roller derby bouts, I can’t sleep because of the pain, but I haven’t had any trouble falling asleep on the Leesa Hybrid. My wife has had a similar experience. It’s this soothing comfort that led us to name this mattress “the best for back pain” in our guide to the best mattresses. Of course, if you do suffer from back pain, I highly recommend you have someone else set up this hefty mattress for you.
I didn’t find that the Leesa Hybrid trapped heat, a common problem with memory foam. I’m a hot sleeper, and we were using the mattress during the height of summer heat. Regardless, I did not experience night sweats, which are an occasional problem for me.
Cons to consider
The Leesa Hybrid is outstanding and finding flaws was difficult.
Though I think it is worth it, the Leesa Hybrid mattress is more expensive than the vast majority of online mattresses. However, it is a hybrid bed, and they tend to be more expensive than ones with just innerspring or foam. When you consider that the mattress can last you for more than a decade, the expense is reasonable, though still an expensive investment.
Another concern is how incredibly heavy and unwieldy the mattress is. If you are someone who moves frequently, you may want to enlist the help of professionals when it comes time to move this massive mattress.
Trial period and warranty
Leesa offers a 100-night risk-free trial period and suggests that buyers try their mattress for at least 30 nights. If you aren’t satisfied, they will coordinate the pickup of the mattress or foundation. You don’t have to worry about attempting the impossible task of fitting everything back into the box. There is no fee for returns unless you’re in Alaska or Hawaii, in which case it will cost $100.
There is also a 10-year mattress warranty. The warranty is limited to physical flaws in the cover or mattress craftsmanship and mattress deterioration that results in an indentation of more than an inch. The warranty covers the full replacement of the mattress, but the buyer has to pay for shipping.
Leesa offers a “white glove” delivery service in select locations. For an extra $100, a two-person team will deliver your mattress and foundation, unbox it, set it up, and remove the packaging. For $50 more, they will remove your old mattress and box spring, which is helpful since most municipalities charge extra for disposing of mattresses. I chose not to go with the white glove service because I wanted to get the full buying experience.
Alternatives to consider
There is no one-size-fits-all mattress. Depending on your sleep style and preferences, you may want a firmer, softer, or adjustable mattress. We’ve outlined mattress picks for every type of sleeper in our guide to the best mattresses.
The bottom line
Thanks to my job, I’ve tested more than a dozen different bed-in-a-box mattresses, but for more than a year, I chose the Leesa Hybrid as my main bed.
The edge support is outstanding. There is very little motion transfer if my wife decides to get up early, which isn’t really much of an issue because she rarely wants to leave the comforts of the bed before me. I haven’t had any trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, and it’s by far one of the most comfortable beds-in-a-box I’ve tested.