Tom's Guide Verdict
The Casper Original is a medium to medium-plush boxed mattress that will nicely contour your body. It’s ideal for side sleepers or couples who need a mattress with good motion isolation, but it's plagued by poor edge support and a lack of breathability, as well as little hip and back support for front and back sleepers. If you can overlook those points and praise motion isolation and side sleeper comfort over everything else, the Casper Original could work for you.
Pros
- +
Phenomenal motion isolation
- +
Great for side sleepers
- +
Has a removable/washable cover
Cons
- -
Retains heat
- -
Poor edge support
- -
Easy to find better value elsewhere
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Casper Original mattress review in brief
The Casper Original mattress has now been replaced by the Casper One, which is now the most affordable memory foam bed in the new Casper range. Casper's new best cheap mattress for side sleepers recently dropped to just $1,395 for a king, placing it in the mid-range market.
The Casper Original mattress is one of the brand's entry-level memory foam models, but does it deserve a spot in our best mattresses guide? To answer that question, we slept on a queen Casper Original for three weeks, testing it in all key areas of performance. Our full account is below but if you only care about the highlights, here's our two-minute review...
The three-layer Casper Original mattress provides a soft sleep surface that contours the body. In our opinion, it's more plush than advertised. Casper calls it a medium-firm mattress, but we find it's medium, or even medium-plush, rating it a 5 out of 10 on the firmness scale. There's a hybrid version available if you want a little more firmness and bounce.
We found that there isn’t enough support in the hip or back area to make this a solid choice for back sleepers or those seeking a good stomach sleeper mattress. We do rate the Casper Original as a great mattress for side sleepers, especially for smaller bodies. That said, we wish it did better in terms of pressure point and joint pain relief; our lead reviewer had trouble getting comfortable because of that.
The edge support is quite poor, which means buyers will need to be careful getting in and out of bed. (Take note that our reviewer didn’t have any issues sleeping near the edge.) If you run hot, you may want to bypass the Casper Original – sure, all-foam mattresses tend to retain more heat than hybrids, but this one seemed worse than other all-foam mattresses on the market. Our reviewer consistently woke up hot during the testing period.
Type: All-foam
Materials: Memory foam and other foams
Firmness: Medium-firm (official); medium-plush (our rating)
Depth: 11"
Trial period: 100 nights
Warranty: 10 years
MSRP: From $895
One positive to note here is the motion isolation. If you have a partner who fidgets a lot or gets up at night to use the bathroom constantly, you'll hardly feel them move. Our objective tests and real-world experience confirm this.
Price-wise, the Casper Original is in the upper mid-range bracket in the general market, and Casper doesn't discount its beds as frequently as its competitors. However, Casper does participate in Cyber Monday mattress sales so you'll be able to find deals on the Casper Original – either at Casper Direct or any of Casper's authorized resellers.
Casper Original mattress review: price
- One of Casper's entry-level memory foam beds
- An upper mid-range mattress – queen MSRP is $1,295
- Occasional sales cut at least 10% off
Despite being the brand’s second cheapest mattress behind The Casper, the Casper Original is an upper mid-range mattress in the wider market. A queen Casper Original retails for $1,295, though you may be able to score at least 10% off during a Casper mattress sale. You can also opt for the Original Hybrid for about $200 more,
Here's the official retail pricing for the Casper Original mattress:
- Twin MSRP: $895
- Twin XL MSRP: $995
- Full MSRP: $1,195
- Queen MSRP: $1,295
- King MSRP: $1,695
- Cal King MSRP: $1,695
Shipping is free but you can opt to pay an extra $199 for in-home setup and optional mattress removal. Meanwhile, a 100-night trial and a 10-year warranty are included, which are both along the industry average for their respective categories.
Casper isn't as generous with its mattress sales, but now is a good time to buy as the brand rolls out a selection of Black Friday mattress deals every year. Meanwhile, Casper is available at Amazon, Raymour & Flanigan, and several other third-party retailers. While these stores usually follow Casper's pricing structure at any given time, it'll still help to shop around for a lower price – usually from Amazon's Casper store.
Casper Original mattress review: design
- An 11" thick, all-foam mattress with three tiers
- Cover is removable and machine-washable
- Perforated top foam layer aids in breathability
The Casper Original is an 11" all-foam mattress with three tiers. On top is a layer of Casper's Signature Airscape Foam, which is perforated for airflow. The middle foam layer sports an ergonomic design that's firmer in the middle (for hip and lower back support) but softer at the top and bottom (to cushion the shoulders and knees). On the bottom is a thick, durable base foam that prevents the mattress from sagging or sinking over time.
All of that is capped by a knit cover you can remove and wash for easy cleaning. Still, you'll want to wrap it in one of the best mattress protectors to safeguard it from spills and stains.
Casper uses CertPUR-US certified foams, indicating that they're low in VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions and free from chemicals that are harmful to humans and the environment.
Casper Original mattress review: support and comfort
- Softer than Casper's medium-firm rating – we think it's medium-plush
- Great for side sleepers and those who are on the smaller side
- Not enough support for back or stomach sleepers
Casper labels its Casper Original as a medium-firm mattress but we have to disagree. From the get-go, our reviewer found the mattress to be more medium to medium-plush and that didn’t change throughout the testing period. In fact, when she placed a 15lb. dumbbell in the center of the mattress, it sunk about 1.5", which is quite a bit in comparison to many other mattresses she’s tested. In our opinion, the mattress is a 5 out of 10 on the firmness scale.
So what does that mean for the average sleeper? The mattress is responsive in some sense. You won’t sag into it, but if you’re at least 5’5” and over 170 lbs. (as our reviewer is), you’re going to sink a bit. The mattress is soft but not supportive enough along the back and hips to make sleeping on your back or stomach comfortable. Side sleepers are better suited to this mattress.
It took our reviewer at least a week to get used to this mattress, but even then, she didn't find it that comfortable of a sleep experience. When sleeping on her side, she still woke up with some pressure and joint pain.
Of course, everyone's needs are different so we had a secondary tester (who is petite) sleep on the mattress, too. They said it was soft and cozy, especially on their side and back. Keep in mind that they weigh less than our tester, which may have contributed to this feedback. Thus, if you're a smaller-framed individual, you may find the Casper Orignal feels just right.
Casper Original mattress review: performance
We tested a queen-sized Casper Original mattress for three weeks across October and November. In addition to our reviewer sleeping on it every night, we ran a number of tests so that we could rate its motion isolation, edge support, and temperature regulation. Read on to see what we found.
Motion isolation
When bedmates buy a mattress together, they may disagree on a firmness level but tend to be on the same page when it comes to motion isolation. No one wants to be woken up in the middle of the night because their partner gets out of bed to run to the restroom. A mattress with good motion isolation can keep the other person from being disturbed in their sleep.
The Casper Original mattress scored incredibly high in our motion isolation tests. After placing an empty wine glass in the center of the mattress and dropping a 15lb. dumbbell 4", 10", and 25" away, we are happy to report that the wine glass may have shaken, but it never fell over.
Our reviewer also had someone else get in and out of bed and change sleep positions. At no point did our tester feel the other person move. With these two tests in mind, we can say that the Casper Original is the perfect choice for those with fidgety partners.
Score: 5 out of 5
Temperature regulation
Hybrid mattresses tend to be more breathable than all-foam mattresses like the Casper Original, but that doesn’t mean an all-foam mattress will automatically do poorly in terms of temperature regulation. We’ve tested many memory foam mattresses that keep a sleeper neutral or cool throughout the night – you'll find one such example in our GhostBed Luxe mattress review. How does the Casper Original compare?
The Casper Original has a perforated top foam layer meant to help with breathability, but unfortunately, it doesn’t do enough to disperse body heat. Our reviewer consistently woke up hot in the middle of the night. They tested the mattress in October and November when night temperatures ranged from high 30s to about 65 degrees F. The bed was covered in a light comforter and microfiber sheets. Even with the fan on, our tester consistently woke up sweating or hot, and once with a heat rash that didn’t go away until she went to sleep in another room.
So if you're prone to overheating, the Casper Original may not give you the comfort you need here. Casper does have its own line of cooling mattresses, though – the Casper Snow mattress and the Casper Wave Hybrid Snow mattress. They're both significantly more money than the Casper Original but they're also among the most refreshing beds we've ever slept on.
Score: 3 out of 5
Edge support
Edge support may not seem important, but it increases the sleep surface of a mattress, allows you to get in and out of bed without hurting your back, and prevents the mattress from sagging around the perimeter. Like temperature regulation, the Casper Original did not score well when it came to edge support.
When we placed a 15lb. dumbbell on the sides of the mattress, it sunk 1", and then sunk about 1.5" at the foot of the bed. Objectively, those are good numbers relative to what we measured at the center of the bed for pressure relief (1.5"). However, while our tester didn’t feel like she would slip off the bed when sleeping near the edge, there was little support from the mattress when sitting anywhere on the perimeter.
Score: 3 out of 5
Casper Original mattress review: Delivery and setup
- Ships free and arrives at your doorstep vacuum-sealed in a box
- For an extra $199 you can opt for in-home setup
- We didn't detect any noticeable off-gassing
The Casper Original mattress ships for free and arrives vacuum-sealed in a box. For an additional $199, you can choose in-home delivery plus optional removal of your existing mattress. While standard ground shipping will ensure your mattress arrives quickly, opting for in-home setup will come with a 2-4 week wait time.
Our reviewer had no issue moving the queen-size mattress to her room on her own. It felt lighter than other mattresses she’s tested, likely because it’s an all-foam mattress that is only 11" thick. Upon removing the packaging, there wasn’t any noticeable off-gassing smell, though your mileage may vary here based on the size of your room and how soon you unbox your mattress. It took a few hours for the mattress to fully expand, and our reviewer was able to sleep on the mattress that night.
Casper offers a 100-night trial with free returns. You’ll just have to sleep on the mattress for 30 days before starting the return process, which makes sense because most bodies take that long to fully adjust to a new mattress. A courier will come to package the mattress and take it away.
Casper Original mattress review: customer reviews
- 4.4/5-star rating from 20,000+ reviews at Casper (November 2023)
- However, other mattress reviews are included in the mix
- Points for comfort but some shoppers say it's too warm
On the Casper website, the Casper Original has a 4.4-star out of 5 rating from over 20,000 reviews as of November 2023. Although we appreciate that you can search by keywords and star rating, we realized that not all the reviews are for the Original. Some were tagged as reviews for either the Original Hybrid, the Wave Hybrid Snow, or the Nova Hybrid. This does skew the star rating results and makes us a bit unsure as to which reviews are in relation to the Casper Original.
However, Amazon's review page offers a more uniform look at what customers think of the Casper Original. As of November 2023, it has a 4.3-star rating out of 5 from over 400 reviews.
Those who gave the Casper Original positive ratings raved about the comfort, describing it as having a 'marshmallow feel' that’s not too soft nor too firm. When we looked through the lower star ratings, we found that there were quite a few complaints about the mattress running hot and not providing enough support, leading to back pain. Some pointed out edge support issues like dips along the sides, and a few customers even noted that the mattress never fully expanded.
Should you buy the Casper Original mattress?
As an all-foam mattress, the Casper Original is soft and contours around the body. For most average to heavier sleepers, you should sink in slightly and enjoy a medium to medium-soft feel. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough support for back or stomach sleepers in the hip and lower back region, but we would suggest it for side sleepers and those who are more petite in stature.
Breathability is a real issue with this mattress. It retains heat so if you sleep hot at night, you might want to upgrade to a more breathable Casper mattress. Sleeping near the edge may not be an issue, but getting in and out of bed needs to be done with care and you’ll have to keep an eye on the edges for possible sagging. Like other foam mattresses, the Casper Original shines in terms of motion transfer capabilities. Those with fidgety bedmates won’t have their sleep interrupted at night.
Considering all of this, we believe there are plenty of memory foam mattresses that have the same qualities as the Casper Original but cost less and/or provide better extras – read our Nectar mattress review, for one example. Plus, as our Cocoon Chill mattress review shows, there are memory foam beds capable of sleeping comfortably cool without breaking the bank. That said, if you're loyal to the brand, you may as well give the Casper Original a try. You get 100 nights to trial it and returns are free.
Casper Original mattress review: Alternatives to consider
The Nectar has a keen balance of softness and support. (It'll likely have a firmer feel than the Casper Original.) It sleeps cool and has outstanding motion isolation. If you're on the fence don't worry, as Nectar offers a 1-year trial and a forever warranty, all at a mid-range price. Read more in our Nectar mattress review.
The Cocoon Chill by Sealy is an all-foam cooling mattress that doesn't cost a fortune. It does well on its own at keeping the sweats away but you can pay a nominal fee for cooling upgrades if you chronically overheat. Expect weaker edge support here, though if you don't mind a lack of contouring you'll find it comfy. Read more in our Cocoon Chill mattress review.
With excellent cooling technology and motion isolation capabilities, the GhostBed Luxe Mattress is a superb choice for side sleepers, especially if they grapple with night sweats. It has a premium MSRP, but an evergreen 50% off discount puts it on a more even playing field with the Casper Original. Read more in our GhostBed Luxe mattress review.
