Tom's Guide Verdict
The Leesa Legend Hybrid is a medium-firm luxury mattress crafted with side sleepers in mind. After sleeping on it for a month, we can confirm that it delivers blissful pressure relief across the shoulders, hips and knees when lying on your side. Plus, it’s supportive enough for light weight back sleepers too (though most stomach sleepers will need something a little firmer.) It isolates motion across the top of the mattress well, making it a great choice for couples. With its recycled, natural and fiberglass-free materials, the Leesa Legend Hybrid will also appeal to sustainable shoppers. However, despite its cooling credentials, we felt that temperature regulation was fairly average.
Pros
- +
Excellent pressure relief for side sleeping
- +
Supports lightweight back sleepers
- +
Recycled, fiberglass-free materials
Cons
- -
Can trap heat on warmer nights
- -
Too soft for front sleepers
- -
More expensive than direct competitors
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Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress review in brief
The Legend Hybrid Mattress is brought to you by Leesa, an Arizona-based sleep brand that places an emphasis on sustainably built luxury mattresses. Think cozy covers crafted from organic cotton and Merino wool, responsive support by way of over 1,000 recycled steel coils, and ultra soft fibers derived from recycled plastic bottles. Plus, Leesa pledges to donate one mattress for every 10 sold.
In terms of comfort, this bed has been built with side sleepers in mind but offers decent support for lighter weight back sleepers too (stomach sleepers will need something firmer.) Crafted from a combination of plush, body contouring foam, zoned micro springs for pressure relief and a base layer of steel coils for support, the Legend promises deep pressure relief across the touch points of a mattress when side sleeping; the shoulders, hips and knees.
Does it deliver luxurious, eco-friendly comfort? We slept on a full-size Leesa Legend Hybrid for four weeks to find out whether it deserves a place in our guide to the best mattress of the year, curated by sleep experts. You'll find our in depth review of the Legend below, but here's a snapshot if you're in a hurry...
Type: Memory foam hybrid
Materials: Memory foam, Merino wool, organic cotton, springs, micro-springs
Firmness (1-10): 6/10
Depth: 12"
Trial period: 100 nights
Warranty: Lifetime
MSRP: from $1,899 at Nolah
Last year, we spent an afternoon testing the Leesa Legend hybrid at the brand's factory showroom in Arizona. During our dry-run Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress hands-on review, we found it immediately comfortable when resting on our sides.
This year, however, we decided to give the Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress our full attention by testing and sleeping on it for a whole month. Our lead tester, who weighs under 130lbs and sleeps on both her side and back, felt comfortably supported in both positions. While she prefers the ultra-plush feel of the best pillow top mattresses when side-sleeping, she could appreciate the balanced support it provides to side sleepers between average-weight side sleepers and lighter-weight back sleepers.
Meanwhile, stomach sleepers on our wider testing panel didn't feel supported enough, and average-weight back sleepers said they'd prefer something firmer. However, all testing panel members unanimously agreed that it's a hot contender for a spot in our guide to the best mattresses for side sleepers. While Leesa rates the mattress as a medium-plush, we scored it as a medium to medium-firm and awarded it a 6/10 firmness rating (10 being the firmest.)
As for the design and materials, we love the appearance of the Legend Hybrid's marshmallow-white cover. Complete with Leesa's signature chevron cover design, it certainly looks like a premium mattress. More importantly, we appreciate the mattress's fiberglass-free build with both organic and recycled materials, including recycled steel springs and luxurious Merino wool. However, we found the temperature regulation to be average and support around the perimeter of the bed to be inconsistent — despite its airflow-boosting and perimeter-stabilizing coils.
Price-wise, the Legend Hybrid sits firmly in the luxury price bracket at both MSRP and standard discount price. Monthly mattress sales regularly take 20% off all sizes, bringing a queen down to $2,079 from $2,599. However, we have seen a 30% discount around major holiday sale events, which bring a queen down to $1,819. While their free shipping and 100-night sleep trial is industry average, the brand recently changed their 10-year warranty to a lifetime warranty and made their returns free. You'll often find some freebies, too, ranging from a two-pack of pillows to a free sleep bundle.
Keep reading for our full Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress review, and find out if it's the best hybrid mattress for your sleep needs...
Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress Review: Price & Trial
- Regularly 20% off, with a queen regularly sold at $2,079
- 30% off during major sales, taking a queen to $1,819
- Leesa has now lengthened the warranty and scrapped the returns fee
Leesa has four mattress collections: Original (basic and most affordable), Sapira (second-least expensive), Legend (luxury territory), and Reserve (most expensive.) The Legend Hybrid is one of two mattresses in Legend Collection. The other is the Legend Hybrid Chill, a cooling mattress that has a starting MSRP $200 more than the original Legend Hybrid's but offers advanced cooling for very hot sleepers.
Sitting in Leesa's second-most expensive collection, the Leesa Legend Hybrid is a premium mattress when sold at both full MSRP and after discounts. A queen is $2,599 at MSRP, but is regularly sold at $2,079 after an evergreen 20% off discount.
However, during major sale events such as Black Friday or federal holidays such as the upcoming Memorial Day mattress sales, you'll likely find 30% off the Leesa Legend. This deal takes a queen to $1,819, and you'll often score a free bedding bundle, too (including pillows and a sheet set). Outside of big sales, Leesa usually throws in two free pillows.
Here are the official prices for the Leesa Legend Hybrid, and the prices you can expect to pay:
- Twin: MSRP $1,899 (normally sold at $1,519)
- Twin XL: MSRP $1,999 (normally sold at $1,599)
- Full: MSRP $2,299 (normally sold at $1,839)
- Queen: MSRP $2,599 (normally sold at $2,079)
- King/Cal king: MSRP $2,999 (normally sold at $2,399)
As for benefits, you'll get 100 nights to try out the Leesa Legend Hybrid, which is a fairly average length in the mattress industry. However, Leesa has made a couple of positive changes to its after-purchase policies. The first is the introduction of a lifetime mattress warranty, which replaces a 10-year one. The second is, along with the free shipping, there are now free returns, too. (However, there is a $100 return fee if you live in Canada, Alaska, or Hawaii.)
To better understand whether the Leesa Legend Hybrid is worth its premium price tag, let's look at its direct competitors. The Saatva Classic sits at the top of our best luxury mattress guide, among others. It achieved near-perfect scores in our Saatva Classic Mattress review, while customizable firmness options make it suitable to all sleepers. At fill MSRP a queen Saatva Classic is $2,099, which is $500 cheaper than a full-priced queen Legend Hybrid.
Like the Legend Hybrid, the Classic comes with a lifetime warranty and free shipping. Despite a $99 return fee, the Classic's sleep trial is 265 days longer than Leesa's. Like the best mattresses in a box, the Leesa Legend comes vacuum compressed and rolled in a box while the Classic is shipped flat and comes with complimentary white glove delivery.
Another worthy foe is the Helix Midnight Luxe, a luxurious hybrid also designed specifically for side sleepers. As we note in our Helix Midnight Luxe Mattress review, the 13.5" bed provides ample relief for side-sleeping pressure points and comes with targeted zoned lumbar support (which is why you'll find it in our best mattress for back pain guide for side sleepers.) Plus, although a queen's full retail price is $2,373.33, a frequent discount means you'll typically get it for $1,780. The extras are the same as Leesa's, although Helix returns have a fee.
While we're not saying that the Legend Hybrid's premium price doesn't reflect its top-quality design and sustainable materials, we do think there are other luxury mattresses for side sleepers that provide better value for money.
Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress Review: Materials & Design
- The 12" fiberglass-free hybrid is made up of six internal layers
- GREENGUARD Gold certified with organic and recycled materials
- Has a stylish hypoallergenic cover made with soft Merino wool
Let's begin with appearance: this is a beautiful-looking mattress. The snow-white cover features a chevron pattern and Leesa's signature stripes, complete with an earthy green logo tag in the bottom right-hand corner. While we know that the cover will be buried under sheets and comforters, the Leesa Legend Hybrid does score some brownie points for looks alone.
As for the cover's function, its made from moisture-wicking organic cotton and soft Merino wool for enhanced breathability. The cover is also microbial, which means it's resistant to allergens such as bacteria, mold, and mildew, which is ideal if you need a hypoallergenic sleep surface.
Beneath the covers, you'll first find a 1" layer of ventilated comfort foam, followed by another 1" layer of pressure-relieving memory foam. Next, you'll find the first of two spring tiers, this one being a short 1.5" layer of flexible micro-springs for limiting motion transfer and additional pressure relief.
A 1" transition layer of support foam leads to the 6" layer of individually-wrapped springs, providing the core support structure. All the above layers are supported by the bottom stability layer of high-density foam.
The entire design is chemical-free and fiberglass-free, and the springs are made up of recycled steel. The knit cover is composited of 19% organic cotton, 12% natural Merino and 28% recycled polyester (although the remaining 40% is made of non-recycled polyester, spandex, and rayon). While the GREENGUARD Gold certification does give peace of mind, devout eco-conscious shoppers may want to check out the best organic mattresses instead.
Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress Review: Comfort & Support
- We feel it's firmer than it's medium-plush rating
- Foam has a slight hug but is responsive enough for combi sleepers
- Provides a balance of comfort and support for side sleeping
To properly gauge how comfortable and supportive the Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress, we slept on the Legend Hybrid in a full for one month. In conjunction with sleeping on the bed in our night-to-night lives, we also performed a pressure relief test and gave our wider testing panel some hands-on time with the mattress.
Our side-sleeping lead tester was chosen based on Leesa's assertion that the Legend Hybrid provides the ideal amount of pressure relief to all kinds of side sleepers. She's also a back sleeper, meaning she could test whether the mattress is supportive enough for combinations sleepers.
After four weeks of sleeping on the Legend Hybrid, our lead tester found the mattress to provide a good balance of support and comfort for side sleeping. Even though she prefers an ultra-plush mattress, she found the subtle hug of the top foam layers to provide enough pressure relief for the shoulders when side sleeping, but enough responsiveness and support for back sleeping or when changing sleep position.
However, it's important to reiterate that out lead tester weighs under 130lbs, which puts her in the lightweight category. That means back sleepers of average or heavier body weight may not find it supportive enough. This was the case when other test panel members gave it a try. Average-weight testers didn't think it was firm enough when sleeping on their back. Meanwhile an average-weight side-and-stomach sleeper loved the mattress for side sleeping but felt uncomfortable on her front. Meanwhile, a strictly stomach-sleeping tester felt the foam layers didn't support her hips enough.
When placing a 56lb weight at the head of the bed, it sank 3", indicating a good amount of pressure relief for the shoulders. (In our hands-on testing of a queen Legend Hybrid in Leesa's factory showroom, it measured 3.5" deep.) While Leesa rate the bed a medium-plush (4-5 out if 10 on the mattress firmness scale), we didn't find it to be that plush and rate it a medium-firm (6 out of 10) instead.
Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress Review: Delivery & set-up
- Expanded immediately, but Leesa says to allow 24 hours for full potential
- Set-up is a two-person job as its hybrid design means it's relatively heavy
- Slight off-gassing, but not long-lasting or overwhelming
As the Leesa Legend Hybrid is a mattress in a box, it arrives on your doorstep, compressed, rolled up, and placed inside a shipping box. While this sounds convenient (and in many ways, it is) mattress boxes are hefty and you will need help carrying them up into your bedroom, especially if your room or apartment is upstairs.
We unboxed the Leesa Legend Hybrid after unboxing the Helix Twilight, and it really helped us appreciate just how heavy the Leesa Hybrid is in comparison. Unboxing the Twilight was a breeze as it only weighed 70lbs (for reference, both mattresses were full-sized.) Unboxing the 103lbs Legend Hybrid, on the other hand, was heavy work and a two-person job. (In fact, a third party had to step in at one point.)
When we unfurled the mattress, a vacuum-packed bag of two free pillows were revealed to be tucked away inside, which is a regular freebie from Leesa.
Once we freed the hybrid from its plastic wrapping, it expanded almost immediately to its full potential. However, Leesa advised that we allow it 24 hours before sleeping on it, so we started testing a day later. Off-gassing was detected, but not enough to be bothersome and it quickly dissipated.
As it's so heavy, we would have appreciated some side handles when we had to adjust and shift the mattress on the bed frame.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress Review: Performance
- Edge support weak at the foot of the bed, but sturdy elsewhere
- Enough motion isolation for most couples
- Temperature regulation is decent, but traps heat on warmer nights
After one month of sleeping on a full-size Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress at home, we recorded our thoughts and experiences. We also carried out tests in line with our mattress methodology to gather data on motion isolation, temperature regulation, and edge support. Here's what we thought...
Motion isolation
While memory foam is known for it's slow-moving structure and good ability to limit motion transfer, the addition of springs can infringe on this capability. However, the good news is that the springs are individually-wrapped for motion isolation, while the micro-spring layer is stabilized by foam to steady motion transfer.
During our motion isolation tests (which consists of balancing a wine glass on one side of the bed and dropping a 10lb weight from different distances), the wine glass only fell over when simulating someone jumping into bed. This indicates great motion isolation, which is excellent news if you or your partner is a restless sleeper. (If motion isolation is important to you and you're not sold on the Leesa Legend, check out out our guide to the best mattress for couples.)
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Temperature regulation
While memory foam is notorious for trapping body heat, the addition of airflow-boosting springs and breathable materials can counteract any residual heat. To regulate temperature, the Legend Hybrid includes a cover made from breathable and moisture-wicking materials, perforated the memory foam for increased airflow, and has two tier of ventilating springs.
When we felt the cover for the first time, the mattress felt temperature neutral (not warm, but not cool either.) Our lead tester doesn't usually sleep hot and slept comfortably on the Legend Hybrid for the most part, but on some warmer nights she found the mattress to be quite stuffy. So, if you live in a warm climate or are an especially hot sleeper, we suggest checking out our best cooling mattresses guide.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Edge support
To test how sturdy the perimeters of the mattress are, we placed a 56lb weight on the the sides and foot of the mattress and measured how far the weight sank. While the weight sank around 2.5" on the sides (which is perfectly adequate for a memory foam hybrid), the foot of the bed showed a discrepancy. First of all, when we placed the weight on the edge, it fell off as the surface was too precarious. When we were finally able to steady the weight, it sank almost 3" deep. But this would only be an issue if (like our lead tester) you need to sit at the foot of the bed to put your shoes on.
However, if you like to sleep close to the edge of the bed without feeling you're going to fall out, or have mobility issues and need some support getting in and out of bed, there is adequate edge support on the bed's edge.
Score: 4 out of 5
Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress Review: Customer Reviews
- Has a 4.3 star rating out of 239 reviews on Leesa's website
- Reviews at third-party retailers praise support and comfort
- Some complaints about design, set-up, and edge support
While there's no option to view customer reviews on the Leesa website, you can see that the bed's overall user score is 4.3 stars out of 239 reviews. Over at third party retailers, however, you can read customer reviews and gauge public opinion.
Home Depot and Wayfair customers praise the "semi-firm" balance of comfort and support, with some even claiming it soothed their back and hip pain issues. Meanwhile, bed-sharing customers shared that they didn't feel their partner's movements, and to my surprise, customers also mentioned that the mattress regulated temperature well.
However, negative reviews show just how subjective firmness can be. Some complain the Legend Hybrid is too firm, while others say it's far too soft. Some criticisms reflect our own opinions, such as the need for side handles and has inconsistent edge support.
Should you buy the Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress?
The Leesa Legend Hybrid does what any luxury hybrid mattress should set out to do: provide a balance of pressure-reliving comfort with supportive firmness. Our testing panel unanimously agreed that this mattress provides the most comfort when side sleeping, but back sleepers of lighter bodyweight should feel supported, too. While this isn't for average or heavy back sleepers or most stomach sleepers, this is heavily implied in Leesa's website description.
Motion isolation will be strong enough for most couples (even restless ones) and the edge support is sturdy enough for sleeping or getting in and out - just don't sit on the foot of the bed. Meanwhile, we found temperature regulation to be fairly average and won't keep hot sleepers cool.
This is a premium mattress, so it's not for those looking for a bed on a tight or even upper-mid budget. While we think the design reflects the price tag, even shoppers in the market for a luxury bed will likely find better mattresses for better value for money (most notably the Saatva Classic and Helix Midnight Luxe.)
Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress Review: Also consider
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