Casper has been in the bed-in-a-box business since 2014. In their lab in San Francisco, they engage in hours of research to offer their customers unique sleep solutions to cater to different sleeping preferences. While their flagship mattress was designed to cater to the average mattress shopper, they recently set out to focus on the needs of those who carry more weight and/or suffer with painful pressure points. The result: the birth of the Wave mattress.
This product is a total of 11 ½ inches thick, and it’s comprised of five layers that are scientifically designed to offer a unique combination of support and comfort. It even takes into consideration the fact that we typically carry more weight in the shoulder and hip area. This is somewhat common in innerspring products, but this innovation is largely overlooked in all-foam mattresses.
If you’ve been considering the purchase of the Casper Wave, it’s important to get a good understanding of how you can expect it to work out for you. I recently had to the chance to try it out for myself, and I performed various tests to help offer you an inside look at this innovative product. Keep reading our buyer’s guide below to discover if this could be the right mattress for you and your sleep partner.
The Good
The Bad
Our Score
With every product we test, we look at various criteria to ensure a well-rounded overview. For our Casper Wave review, our final score is as follows:
What It’s Made Of
Before we get into any testing, it’s important to provide you an understanding of what this product is comprised of. As a hybrid mattress, the Wave works to use materials that complement one another to arrive at a combined unit that accentuates the best aspects while diluting the not-so-good features. The 11 ½ inches of the Casper Wave is split up into five layers, so let’s explore.
The Comfort Zone
The comfort zone of the Casper Wave is found in layers one through three, and this begins with 1 inch of weightless flo foam. Using an elastic polymer, this material was created by Casper to provide softness without compromising on resilience.
I really like the next 3 inches as the two materials contained in this area work very well together.
The first is 1 ½ inches of latex. This all-natural material is well-known for its bounce. It sits atop another 1 ½ inches of memory foam. This adds contouring comfort and is aided by the latex to prevent the sinking feeling memory foam is notorious for. This layer combination has become popular in the industry, and it was first done by Casper.
The Support Zone
The final two layers of the Casper Wave are geared toward offering support, especially for sleepers who carry more weight. It starts with 1 ½ inches of high resiliency foam. It’s here where the polymer channel inserts are located. This addition allows the mattress to properly cater to the hips and shoulder where we often carry more weight. This is known as Hyper Targeted Support™, and it did an excellent job at reducing pressure points. The final layer of the Wave is 5 ½ inches of contour-cut support foam.
The Cover
It’s usually a good idea to use a mattress protector and fitted sheet. This prevents staining on your mattress and can go a long way in preservation. However, the knit mattress cover itself is very smooth and almost silky. It’s very thin and stretchy, and the thinness allows you to very easily engage in the comfort layers.
On the side you’ll see the company name stitched, and the color is white. The cover is unzippable, but you shouldn’t take this as a cue to machine wash as this can cause damage. Instead, spot clean and hang it up to dry.
Hands-On Casper Wave Review
The online mattress buying business model allows you to save hundreds of dollars. You aren’t responsible for covering the overhead for retailers. Instead, the product comes straight to your home from the manufacturer. This even allows you to skip the tedious process of driving from one place to the next to find the right mattress.
While these aspects are awesome and allow for convenience and savings, you don’t get the chance to try products out before you buy. That’s where we come into play. It’s our goal to provide you with a “virtual feel” of the Casper Wave using top criterion to thoroughly assess comfort, support, and overall quality. These include:
Firmness
The Casper Wave comes in one firmness setting. Keeping in mind that this product is geared toward those who carry a lot of weight, it makes sense that it would be firmer than average. In my experience, the Wave is a little bit firmer than a medium mattress. Aside from catering to those who carry more weight, this firmness option can also be attractive for:
On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being very plush and 10 being very firm, I’d rate the Casper Wave as a 6 ½.
Comfort
I love the latex/memory foam combination, and it allowed for excellence in contour without compromising on the bounce necessary to move with ease. If you don’t carry much weight, you may have trouble fully engaging with the deeper comfort layers. If you weigh over 130 pounds, however, you shouldn’t have any trouble taking advantage of the contouring comfort in the visco layer.
Pain Relief and Support
What was most notable in the Casper Wave in terms of comfort was the Hyper Targeted Support™. You could really feel it in the hip and shoulder areas. If you’ve ever noticed your shoulder pushes into your mattress uncomfortably when you lie on your side, the Wave did a great job at allowing a little more give in this area. The hip area is very well supported. If you suffer with pressure points, the Casper Wave could prove to be an excellent purchase.
Heat Retention
The ability to sleep cool makes a huge difference in your overall sleep quality. Aside from the discomfort caused when you’re lying in a pool of sweat, it’s necessary for the body temperature to drop before you can enter REM sleep. In terms of heat retention, the Wave mattress was able to sleep cool despite the fact that there is visco foam found in this product.
Offgassing
When you open a mattress that has been compressed shortly after production, it’s inevitable that volatile organic compounds will become trapped in the packaging. You’re bound to experience a chemical smell following unboxing, and this can be particularly bothersome for some people.
In the case of the Wave mattress, offgassing only lasted a couple of days, and it wasn’t very strong. Considering the use of natural latex, this wasn’t very surprising as this material type is less prone to offgassing. If you’re really bothered by offgassing, you may want to allow a day or two for the mattress to air out before use.
Intimacy
All-foam products often present a hindrance for intimate activity in that you may find yourself sinking into the product. However, the placement of the latex layer so close to the surface does add extra bounce. You should have no trouble in this regard on your Casper Wave mattress.
Sleeping Position Ratings
There are many sleep positions you may find yourself in, but the primary ones are side, back, and stomach. Whether you have a preference or switch from one to another through the night, it’s important to understand how they relate to your mattress in terms of support and comfort.
Following is our assessment of what you can expect in terms of overall support and comfort in the three primary sleep positions with the Casper Wave mattress:
Bed Frame Compatibility
It’s important to be prepared when you receive your Casper Wave with the appropriate base. It’s Casper’s rule of thumb that the firmer and flatter, the better. Just a few suitable options include:
Warranty, Guarantee and Trial Period
Conclusion
The Wave mattress is Casper’s most luxurious product of the three offered, and hours of research went into the design. The Hyper Targeted Support™ is great for anyone who carries a lot of weight, and it works very well with the memory foam in helping reduce painful pressure points. The firmness is excellent for back and stomach sleepers, and the product sleeps cool, especially considering the fact that it uses visco elastic foam.
Is the Casper Wave Right for You?
Let’s cut to the chase. Is the Casper Wave mattress the right pick for you? It very well could be the link between you and restful sleep if:
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