Caspar vs Tuft & Needle
The search for the perfect mattress.
When my wife and I moved in together several years ago we had a traditional pillow top king size mattress. A move, a new bedroom, and upgraded bed later, we were in the market for a new mattress.
After stumbling across this Forbes article about Tuft and Needle several months prior, I was intrigued by a potentially new mattress to buy other than Sealy, Serta or Simmons or the intriguing but pricey (and supposedly too warm) Tempurpedic.
So let the search begin. With it's great return policy and easy trial I had convinced my wife we had to try it before going the $3,000 mattress route.
What I found along the way though was that there were not one, but two companies breaking into the mattress space, with very similar claims and easy, no hassle buy and return policies. Not only was Tuft and Needle around, but Casper Sleep had broken into the game too.
I figured if one wasn't good (or even great), let's try the other.
First up was the original Tuft & Needle ($550 for the 10" King after discount)
Ordering was a breeze, delivery happened in a few days, and the unboxing was painless (other than shoving the 60 lb box up our stairs!). We swapped out our old mattress and I laid down and instantly liked it better. It was quite a bit firmer than our pillow top, but I loved that you couldn't feel the other person rolling around and still had a bit of softness to it. With that said, after the first week or so of sleep, my wife, a side sleeper, just couldn't quite get comfortable. The prognosis...it was too firm. I can sleep on most anything, but she has a bad back, so in the case of mattresses, her opinion is definitely paramount.
So...onto the next mattress: The Casper ($900 for the King after discount)
Again, ordering was a breeze, though delivery took quite a bit longer (about 7 days) likely due to the fact that I live on the west coast and they ship from the NY area, compared with the Arizona based Tuft & Needle. This wasn't a huge issue as it's a long term purchase, though we were eager to try it. Set up and unpacking was very very similar, though a few nifty additions to the Casper packaging including an opener for the plastic which was a nice touch. Upon laying down on the mattress I figured this one would be perfect for us. It was softer than the Tuft and Needle, but still had a stable feel to it. After a few nights of sleep, we knew we had a winner.
My overall impression of both companies was fantastic. They each had amazing customer service with a lot of personal touch points along the way via email. The return (donation) process of the Tuft and Needle was also painless and it's nice to know that the mattress will go to someone in need. I would recommend either company for people to try, just keep in mind that if you want a firmer bed go for the Tuft and Needle, and for something a bit softer, the Casper is likely the mattress for you.
Casper Mattress
Reviewed by Max Frause
Rating: 5 of 5