What’s The Best Hybrid Memory Foam Mattress?

Best Hybrid Memory Foam Mattress – Top 5 Best Of The Best

What’s The Best Hybrid Memory Foam Mattress? I have an opinion about the one, but we’re all different! You might be looking for the hybrid memory foam mattress that’s best at cooling, or the one that’s the best budget pick. I’ve taken lots of different needs into consideration when trying to answer the question “what’s the best hybrid memory foam mattress”, and detail my recommendations below. Along with my top choice Puffy (the easy top choice for its generous and amazingly well thought out foam layers), you’ll also find:

• The Best Hybrid With Different Firmness Options And Foam Types
• The Best Cooling Hybrid
• The Best Luxury Hybrid
• The Best Budget Hybrid

Best Hybrid Memory Foam Mattresses: The Details

Here are all the details you need to know about each of your top 6. Find out:

• Features of each mattress
• Why it’s achieved “best” status
• Who the mattress is best suited to
• All the need to know details
• Links to detailed reviews of the individual mattresses

1. Best Overall: Puffy Royal Hybrid

2. Best Hybrid Memory Foam Mattress With Different Firmness Options: Helix Luxe Hybrid Mattress Range

Features: This mattress is made in the USA and is 14 inches tall. Breathable tencel quilted cover. Under the cover you have two layers of memory foams, followed by a transition layer of polyfoam. The support core of a Helix Luxe mattress is zoned support coils, with reinforced coils around the perimeter for superior edge support. This all sits atop a layer of dense polyfoam which is there to cushion the coils.

Why It’s The Best: Not just a great quality mattress, Helix truly offers something for everyone with their Luxe range. Not only do you have three different firmness options, you also have your choice of whether you want foam that is more contouring (to cradle those pressure points, great for side sleepers) or foam that is more responsive (great for back and stomach sleepers). The two layers of memory foams and zoned support coils are real standout features here.

Need To Know Details: 

1. Firmness: You choose: soft, medium, or firm.
2. Sleep Trial: 100 nights
3. Warranty: 15 years
4. Price: From $995, but follow my links to find today’s best deals

Best Suited To:

• Everyone. Helix have got a mattress within this range for all sleepers! If you’re not sure exactly which Helix mattress is the best fit for you, you can take the sleep quiz on the Helix website. I’ve tested it out and think it’s pretty accurate.
• TOP TIP: the Helix Midnight Luxe mattress is the most popular choice. This is the medium mattress with contouring foam, and it’s the one I’d choose for myself as an average weight person who likes to fall asleep on my side but wakes up on my back.

Click To Read A Detailed Helix Review

3. Best Hybrid For Cooling: Brooklyn Aurora Hybrid Mattress

Features: This mattress is made in the USA and is 13 inches tall. The cover is a knit weave featuring cooling phase change technology. There are three foam layers in the comfort layers, two of which are proprietary Brooklyn Bedding foams. The support core is a pocket coil system that sits atop a layer of dense polyfoam to cushion it.

Why It’s The Best: This is a hybrid that has been designed with cooling in mind. From top to bottom, your body temperature through the night has been thought about carefully. The phase change material in the cover of the Brooklyn is technology is a beautiful feature in the cover, and something that can cost a lot of money elsewhere. The foams in the comfort layers have been infused with copper and gel to help draw body heat away.

Need To Know Details: 

1. Firmness: available in soft, medium, or firm (see below for my specific guidelines on which level to choose)
2. Sleep Trial: 120 nights
3. Warranty: 10 years
4. Price: From $999, but follow my links to find today’s best deals

Best Suited To:

Anyone who likes the feel of memory foam, but is very concerned about getting hot during the night.

CHOOSE SOFT IF:

• You are a very light person who struggles to find a soft enough mattress
• You are a light person who sleeps on their side and really wants that deep pressure relief for your shoulder
• You prefer the feeling of being “hugged” by your mattress (the softer the foams, the more you’ll sink into them)

CHOOSE MEDIUM IF:

• You are a couple who like the sound of this mattress but have different firmness preferences: this should be a happy compromise
• You want the most balance between contouring and support
• You are an average weight person who sleeps mainly on their back or side

CHOOSE FIRM IF:

• You sleep mainly on your stomach (you need the firmness to support your hips)
• You want a flatter feeling mattress
• You weigh more than 180 lb (I’ve set my weight threshold slightly lower for the firm mattress here, because I think the medium above is a touch softer than your average medium mattress)

Click To Read A Detailed Brooklyn Aurora Review

4. Best Luxury Hybrid: Saatva Mattress

Features: The Saatva mattress is made in the USA and is available in 11.5 or 14.5 inch heights. I focus on the 14.5 inch model here, as that is the one I consider to be the best luxury hybrid. The 11 inch is still a great mattress, but 11 inches is not high enough to fit in the luxury category.

The top of the Saatva mattress is a luxury pillow top. Under the organic cotton cover you’ll find a cushioning layer of memory foam. The Saatva is unique in that it has a double coil support system. A layer of pocket

microcoils make up part of the comfort layer, and a layer of thickly encased traditional innerspring coils (the casing give great edge support) makes up the core. Saatva have also included a wire around the lumbar zone of the mattress to give you enhanced back support.

Why It’s The Best: Saatva is the best luxury hybrid mattress for a number of reasons. First, it’s not a “mattress in a box”. It comes delivered at its full size, and delivery includes free set up of your mattress (and removal of up to two bed items, if you wish). As far as I’m aware, Saatva are the only company offering this level of service. The materials inside are of the highest quality, and the dual coil system works hard to keep you comfortable. I used to own a dual coil system mattress: it was a lot more expensive than Saatva and it was extremely comfortable.

As you’ll see from the price tag below, luxury does not necessarily mean the most expensive.

Need To Know Details: 

1. Firmness: your choice of plush soft, luxury firm (the best seller – 81% of Saatva customers choose luxury firm, this is like medium), firm
2. Sleep Trial: 180 nights
3. Warranty: 15 years
4. Price: From $849, but follow my links to find today’s best deals

Best Suited To:

• People who want their mattress set up for them, with free removal of your old mattress
• Those who love the feel of coils
• Those who like the idea of memory foam for comfort and support, but don’t want deep contouring (the memory foam in Saatva is a thin layer, the coils are the stars of the show here)

Click To Read A Detailed Saatva Review

5. Best Budget: Classic Brands Mercer Mattress

Features: This mattress is made in China and is 12 inches high. Featuring a white and grey knit cover, inside this budget beauty you’ll find three layers of comfort foams (including gel foam and breathable open cell foams) atop an innerspring

Why It’s The Best: The composition of this mattress reads very similarly to more expensive models, so it represents excellent value for money. Classic Brands is an extremely popular brand and 85% of the thousands of customers who’ve already bought this mattress give it 4 stars or more. Of all the budget mattresses around, I think this one packs the most features and comfort for your money.

Need To Know Details: 

1. Firmness: Medium
2. Sleep Trial: No trial as such, but as this is an Amazon product, it falls under the usual Amazon 30 day right of return policy.
3. Warranty: 10 years
4. Price: Amazon prices vary regularly, but it’s safe to say that you can pick this one up from under $300.

Best Suited To:

• Those wanting to try a memory foam hybrid but are on a tight budget
• People who don’t mind no sleep trial
• People looking for a great mattress for guest rooms

Hybrid Memory Foam Mattress Buyer’s Guide

This buyer’s guide contains everything you need to know when you’re thinking about buying a hybrid memory foam mattress. I’ve organized it into the following sections:

• What is a hybrid mattress?
• Who are they suitable for?
• What materials will I find in a hybrid mattress?
• What are the important questions I need to answer before I make my purchase?
• Emily’s bonus tips

What is a hybrid mattress?

A hybrid mattress is one that takes two other mattress types, and combines them to form a comfortable and supportive mattress. They always contain springs of some description as the supportive base layer of the mattress, and then another material for the comfort layer such as memory foam, which sits on top of the support layer. Because hybrids contain at least two different inner materials for the two different functions of support and comfort, they are called a hybrid. A pure spring mattress would just have springs and a plush quilted cover or pillow top, and a pure memory foam mattress would have a high density foam support base instead of springs.

In the case of a hybrid memory foam mattress, the mattress will contain:

• Memory foam in the comfort layers
• A coil core (this could be a traditional innerspring unit or pocket coils)

Your mattress may contain multiple layers of foam, such as open cell foams and gel infused foams. You’ll also find polyfoams used as transition layers between the memory foams and the coils, and also as a base for the coils to rest on in high quality models.

Who are they suitable for?

Hybrid mattresses are suitable for a wide range of people and a wide range of sleeping styles because they tend to have a medium feel. This means they work great for couples where one likes a soft mattress and one likes a firm mattress: there will always be a happy medium to be found with a hybrid mattress.

Companies are becoming more and more aware that consumers like more than one choice, so many brands now offer multiple firmness options.

If you like a really really hard mattress (stomach sleepers in particular tend to need a firmer mattress) there are still options for you in hybrids, including some in this review. Same goes for if you like a softer one. Hybrids really can offer something for everyone.

They are a great choice for those wanting to dip their toes into newer mattress materials such as memory foam but not veer too far away from the traditional springs they grew up with at the same time. I think hybrid mattresses are a great bridge between tradition and innovation.

If you are a “hot” sleeper, you will find that alongside whatever cooling tech is in the comfort layer, having the springs as the support will allow for good breathability. In the hours of research I put into this review, I only came across one person reporting they slept hot on their mattress, and they realized the problem was actually their mattress protector, not the mattress itself (more on that below).

What materials will I find in a hybrid mattress?

• Support layer:
  • Pocket springs: these are individually wrapped springs that act independently, providing superior motion isolation and support to the contours of your body. Wrapping the springs individually in fabric minimizes friction and maximizes support. Since they move independently and are encased in separate pockets so they contour precisely to each person. A Sleep Foundation survey found that partner movement disturbs the sleep of 24% of people, so this is an important quality to consider when choosing your mattress.
  • Innersprings: the traditional spring support you would have been used to growing up. The springs are not individually wrapped and are not as efficient as providing motion control and individualized support. My own personal opinion from testing out hybrid mattresses in store is that these springs also feel a bit bouncier than pockets (they would make the whole bed bounce unlike latex, which is bouncy but absorbing and supportive). It is outdated technology and becoming less and less common. Only one mattress in this review has this type of spring, and it’s actually a good mattress, so don’t let it put you off.
• Comfort layer:

  • Examples of comfort layer materials: latex, memory foam, gel memory foam

    Memory foam: memory foam was developed by NASA scientists and the technology has been picked up and innovated further by the sleep industry. Generally the foam is made from petrochemical products, which is why they can lead to an off gassing smell when you first open up the mattress (more on that below). Memory foam is a foam that will allow your body to sink into it, and it will then wrap around pressure points to support them. Modern memory foam should leave you feeling supported on the mattress, not stuck in a hole. There are lots of interesting innovations happening in memory foam, such as infusing them with other materials like charcoal for odor control, which you can read about in one of the mattresses in this review.

  • Gel memory foam: this is a memory foam with gel infused particles. This makes gel foam softer and cooler to sleep on than other memory foam because it is more porous (has more holes) than conventional foam.

What are the important questions I need answers to before I make my purchase?

• How long is the warranty?
  • I think it is reasonable to expect a warranty of ten years for a new mattress. Many offer five years… while this is not a deal breaker for me I think it’s stingy and doesn’t say much about how much a company stands behind their product. You’ll have seen that the mattresses that have made the cut as the best hybrid memory foam mattresses all have a minimum 10 year warranty.
• Is a trial period available?
  • The beauty of buying a mattress in a box from the internet is that you can usually try it out in the comfort of your own home, obligation free. As you’ve seen above, 100 nights is standard, with some brands offering up to 18 months! Sleep trials are one of the first things to drop away with the more budget options, which you can see above with the Classic Brands Mercer Hybrid.
• What do other people using the mattress think?
  • I believe that the most useful tool you have when buying a mattress online is the opinions of other users just like yourself. Sellers can market anything to make it look good, so it is the opinions of other customers that really give the proof. That is why I tell you what people who love the mattress are saying, and try to help you decide how much importance to place on the one star reviews also. Click through to any of my detailed reviews on the mattress you are interested in to find out more.
• What does the mattress feel like?
  • As you can see in the mattresses above, that while most float around having a medium feel, there are a couple that are definitely soft and one that is definitely firm. Make sure you have a good idea for the mattress you are looking at, and what your needs are, as choosing the wrong firmness is something that can lead to a lot of dissatisfaction.

Emily’s bonus tips

These are a few tips I have collated throughout my mattress research. They are either answers to questions that pop up on every single mattress, or things people could have done to improve their experience with the mattress they bought.

• Buying on Amazon: make sure seller is either Amazon themselves or the manufacturer. There are many storefronts/sellers on Amazon, and some of them have less than stellar ratings.
• Make sure you have a suitable base for your new mattress. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen negative reviews about mattresses sagging when really, the problem all along was that they were not put on a supportive enough base. Any mattress will sag if it is not supported properly underneath. Hybrid mattresses generally work well on all base types, including adjustable bases. Just don’t put them (or any mattress) directly on the floor. If you are using a boxspring, make sure it is in good condition and not worn out. If you are placing it on a slat base, make sure the slats are no more than 3-4 inches apart. If using a metal grate platform, make sure it has a sturdy support down the middle.
• Always use a mattress protector, and make sure it’s breathable. Using a mattress protector is the easiest and most convenient way to make sure your mattress stays clean. Some have a cover which looks like you can remove it, when actually it was not designed to be removed. Most companies will advise you to spot clean only, and will void your warranty if you get any stains on it. So it’s a bit of a no-brainer to use a mattress protector. Make sure you choose one that is made of a breathable material such as bamboo, as this will help you retain any cooling tech inside your mattress. If you put a non-breathable protector on, you will block the flow of heat to the mattress and you may end up sleeping hot despite the mattress having cooling technology. This is another completely avoidable thing I’ve seen people leave one star reviews about.
• If you choose a hybrid that contains memory foam (which I guess you are given you’ve landed on an article about foam mattresses), it may have an off gassing smell from memory foam components when you first open the mattress. This is totally normal and nothing to worry about, let the mattress air out and it will dissipate quickly. All mattresses in this review are CertiPUR-US Certified for your peace of mind.