When my wife was entering the third trimester of her second pregnancy, we invested in a Casper mattress. And I’m glad we did. Despite a price tag well into the thousands of dollars, the sleep we have enjoyed ever since has been worth every penny. More on that soon.
At just about that same time we also needed a new mattress for the guestroom, meaning I was not going to spend Casper kind of money on it. Still wanting a good mattress, though, I did my research and then went with a Signature Sleep Honest Elements mattress. As it turns out, it’s better than good; it’s genuinely comparable to the Casper Wave Hybrid Mattress in terms of comfort, but costs less than $700 on Amazon (the king-size price).
Like Casper, Signature Sleep mattresses are ordered online and delivered in a big box. You pull the mattress out of the box, cut away plastic shrink wrap, and let the mattress expand for a few hours. (Manufacturers recommend giving these types of mattresses 48 hours to open fully before use, but no one does.)
In the case of the Casper, the fully expanded mattress is a commanding 13 inches tall. The Signature Sleep mattress is just seven inches in depth, and I’ll admit my first impression of it on visual inspection was skeptical at best; it just looked so much less substantial than the Wave. But, as it turns out, it was not.
And it’s highly comparable in other ways, too. Both the Casper Wave Hybrid and the Signature Sleep Honest Elements use an upper layer largely composed of wool, which is a fiber celebrated for its natural moisture-wicking and temperature regulation properties. In both products, the mattresses breathe well, allowing excellent airflow that keeps you evenly cool and that draws away that moisture that might otherwise leave you feeling hot and sweaty or cold and clammy depending on the ambient conditions.
The next layer of the Signature Sleep mattress is a foam made using organic cotton that lets your body settle in for custom comfort. Below the outer wool-based layer in the Casper are in fact three more layers of foam that, working in concert, relieve pressure points and support your shoulders and hips, allowing for ideal spinal alignment. These three foam layers feature differing thicknesses to allow your hips and shoulders to sink in while your legs and torso remain straighter, helping reduce aches and pains and making it easier to find a pleasing position. (Maybe because the Signature Sleep mattress lacks extra layers, I did find myself moving around a few times before settling fully, something I don’t typically need to do with the Casper.)
Beneath the foam, be it two layers or four, both the Signature Sleep and the Casper have a layer composed of hundreds of individually encased springs. These coils maximize the custom comfort and support of the mattresses: No two sleepers will leave the exact same impression on either mattress because the springs compress to accommodate exact weight, body shape, and position. These springs also reduce motion transfer almost to zero, so you are highly unlikely to wake your partner as you get in and out of bed or adjust your position.
Aside from the extra layers of foam, there’s one more thing the Wave Hybrid has on the Honest Elements: a reinforced perimeter. The firm edge of the mattress makes it easier to get into and out of bed and means more comfort as you sit on the edge to, say, put on your socks.
Ultimately, if you’re watching your budget, don’t even think twice and go with Signature Sleep. If you have a few bucks to spend, know you may well enjoy your Casper for the better part of two decades thanks to superior construction. It’s a decision worth sleeping on.
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