It’s weird how you can put up with something horrible for months, even years, at a time. And so it was with our previous mattress, which was acquired at a fundraiser at my kids’ high school in Dedham two or three years back.

Our previous mattress to that had gotten soft and lumpy over 15 years or so. But the fundraiser mattress was a disaster from the get-go. We had to have the first one replaced by the manufacturer when the springs collapsed almost immediately. But its replacement got even worse over time. So naturally we held onto it. And then moved it to Pennsylvania. And then used it for another year.

I can’t explain this.

Anyway. We had friends over last weekend and after yet another terrible night’s sleep, we were talking about the mattress issue over lunch and I decided to just buy a Casper. Which I then did. From my phone. What an age we live in.

Yes, there are a lot of Casper-like mattresses out there: After all, no good idea goes uncopied. But we decided to stick with Casper because we’ve had good experiences with their mattresses, and with their pillows as well.

Full-disclosure: Years ago, Casper did send me a mattress when they were advertising with Windows Weekly, and it’s still on my son’s bed. But we’ve since purchased several items from the company, including a mattress for my daughter, several pillows and pillow covers of various sizes, mattress covers, and sheets. We legitimately like the mattresses and are now repeat customers.

When my daughter got her Casper mattress a year or two ago, she initially complained that it was too hard. My wife asked her to keep using it, since there is a good return policy. And after a few days, my daughter said she was growing to like it. And so we kept it.

Anyway, Casper currently makes three mattress models. I bought the middle of the line “The Casper” model, which is about $1000 in king size (non-sale) form. There’s a less expensive model, “The Essential,” and a new higher-end version, “The Wave.” The higher-end model was far too expensive for us (~$2500) and because it was rated identically to The Casper on Consumer Reports, whose reviews I trust, I felt comfortable going with the middle option.

The mattress arrived Thursday via UPS. And it’s fair to say that this was a package I was eagerly awaiting: I sleep terribly, and those rare mornings where I wake up refreshed are greatly appreciated. As with our previous Caspers, this one came rolled up inside a big box, but this one was even bigger because it’s a king sized mattress.

Which made getting it upstairs a bit laborious. That said, it’s still a lot easier than moving a gigantic normal mattress around. And I’m now dreading today’s job, which is moving the old mattress out to the trash.

In any event, unpacking a Casper mattress works a bit like inflating a life raft. You take it out of the box, place it on the box spring of the bed, unroll it, and then, in this case, unfold it too. Then, as you remove the plastic from the now-flat thing in the box, air starts to hiss and the mattress seems to inflate in place. Or rise, like bread. Within a few seconds, it was full-sized.

And … I was immediately surprised by how springy and soft it was, especially given our previous Casper experience. Convinced that it needed time or something, we left it up there on the bed and went about our days. But the mattress never got any firmer, and by the time we were ready for bed, I was nervous that we’d have a return on our hands.

Surprise: We both slept great, and the soft mattress creates a kind of memory foam-like mold around you when you are sleeping. By my second night on the new mattress, I had achieved something I’d only achieved three times since last August, according to FitBit: I actually slept over 8 hours (I normally average under 7) and, far more important, it was uninterrupted sleep: I normally toss and turn, and move around, alot. But I woke up the next morning, lying on my back, and with no desire to move around at all. Folks, this literally never happens to me.

So that’s interesting.

I’ll need more time to thoroughly understand how this mattress will impact the quality of my sleep. But it’s already markedly better than our previous mattress, which, yes, is a low bar. And my wife and I have both quickly adapted to the Casper’s softness after our initial concern. It’s already normal, even preferred.

So let me know if you have any questions. This isn’t a normal review by any measure, and I don’t really have a way (or a will) to compare the Casper to other similar online mattress offerings. But I’m quite happy with the purchase. And can recommend it from the perspective of someone who has put up with poor sleep quality for too long.

Note: Again, just to be clear: Yes, Casper has advertised on Windows Weekly in the past, and on What the Tech more recently. But I paid for this mattress with my own money and did not use a promo code for one of my own podcasts. We purchased this product because we really did need a new mattress and we had had good experiences with Casper in the past.

Tagged with Casper