A solid support beneath a mattress makes the mattress feel firmer. A comfortable mattress is key to a good night's sleep, which is key to the quality of your day. A mattress that is too soft for your liking may cause aches and pains or result in a less-than-restful night. Firm up that sagging nightmare by placing a bed board beneath it. Bed boards come in all shapes and sizes, some designed for use between a mattress and box spring, some with just a mattress. You can also make the bed board yourself from plywood, firming up that saggy situation once and for all. The Plywood Sandwich Solution Plywood cut to the size of the mattress acts as a do-it-yourself mattress support that fits between mattress and box spring, making a mattress firmer. This comes in handy for a mattress that's too soft overall, or for a mattress or box spring that sags in some areas due to age. Measure the mattress and cut a sheet of 3/8-inch plywood to the same size; this may require two sheets of plywood if the bed is queen size or larger.
To achieve curved corners matching the mattress, set the mattress atop the cut plywood, trace the corners, then saw along the traced lines. Sand the board and edges smooth to prevent snagging or splinters, wipe the dust away and then set it on the box spring with the mattress on top. Mattress-Only Support System If your mattress has no box spring as support -- for instance, a foam or latex mattress designed for use without the box springs, or on a platform bed designed for just a mattress, plywood comes to the rescue once again. Remove the mattress from the bed frame and measure the inner frame area upon which the mattress rests. Cut the plywood to size, then place it in the frame bottom. Depending on the frame type, you may wish to bolt the plywood down by drilling holes through both the plywood and frame. If the bed has slats to support the mattress, set the plywood atop the slats or remove the slats entirely. Hinging on Comfort Some premade bed boards are hinged, designed to use with adjustable beds such as hospital beds or home-based versions with head- and foot-raising capabilities.
These are available in hospital supply stores in various sizes compatible with common mattress models. Some versions are thin and fold up, accordion style. Hinged or folding bed boards are designed for use between the mattress and box spring. Bunky Board Bolster A bunky board -- a foam-covered, thin support typically used for bunk beds and platform beds -- works much like plywood to make a mattress feel firmer. These are sold in shops that sell bunk beds and come in standard bunk bed and platform bed sizes, such as twin, full and queen. : How to Use a Bed BoardAdvanced Inc.: Is Your Bed Too Soft? Photo Credits Image Source/Stockbyte/Getty Images Suggest a Correction if you use the links below to buy a Casper. In April 2016, Casper sued me in federal court over my reviews and I am fighting that lawsuit. The review below, like all my reviews, reflects my honest opinion. 2017 Update – After over 2 years of mattress testing and sleeping on over 100 different mattresses, a lot has changed since I first tested the Casper mattress.
These changes include Casper re-designing its mattress twice. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to test all three Casper mattress design iterations. If you’re interested in the specific changes, click here to see Casper’s design timeline. Below is my updated review, including updated pictures, updated video (coming soon), and updated analysis. Casper launched in 2014 and has quickly become one of the most popular mattresses on the internet. It’s hard to browse the web, drive your car, watch TV, or listen to the radio without hearing or seeing Casper ads. But does Casper really live up to all the popularity and hype? Continue reading below to find out! Thinking about buying a Casper? Check out these four mattress companies that Sleepopolis loves.Click here to jump to the Casper review summary. The Casper is an all-foam mattress utilizing four different layers of foam. This mattress is designed to create a responsive, but contouring feel for sleepers by combining a response poly foam with memory foam.
The biggest detractor to memory foam is its tendency to “sleep hot.” The memory foam absorbs heat and creates a core of support and pressure relief for the mattress. By putting the memory foam below a top layer of poly foam, you get the better cooling and responsive benefits of poly foam while maintaining the great support and body contouring that you get from memory foam. One note about the foam densities listed above. These densities were previously published on Casper’s website. However, they have since been removed from where they originally were and I have not been able to find a new reference to them elsewhere. FAQ: How to choose a mattress? The cover of the Casper mattress is simple and has become somewhat of the standard design for many online mattress companies. There is a single piece of white fabric on top that runs from edge to edge. The top piece of the cover is stretchy and quite thin and has a soft texture. The materials used within the cover are from Belgium (border fabric) and the United States.
Most covers are assembled in the United States, with some covers being assembled in Mexico. The cover is fairly porous, which helps improve the cooling and breathability of the mattress at large. From a functionality standpoint, the cover meets its basic requirements. The thinness of the cover also allows sleepers to more directly feel the foam layers. The top portion of the cover (the white piece) is 100% polyester, side panels are 51% polyester and 49% polypropylene, and the bottom is 100% polyester. The Casper mattress has a medium feel. Casper is a “universal comfort” or one-size-fits-all mattress design. The foam layers and materials were selected because they create a feel that’s designed to be suited to the needs of most sleepers. I would rate the Casper at a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale. However, the Casper can feel unsupportive for heavier sleepers. Casper states there is no weight limit on its website; however, in August 2016 I chatted with Casper’s chat support, who told me the following:
“The Casper was designed to hold a combined 450 pounds [for couples]. For optimal performance, we recommend that individuals be 250 pounds and below. If you are over this weight, you may find that the Casper is not firm or supportive enough for you.” With only 3″ of true comfort layers (1.5″ response poly foam + 1.5″ memory foam), heavier sleepers can easily sink through these layers, forcing the transitional poly foam and base foam to engage more with sleepers. Based on my sleep test, Casper’s chat support, and feedback from my readers over the last 2 years, I feel that heavier sleepers should avoid the Casper. The top layers of the Casper are fairly soft, allowing for about 3″ of sinkage (see below for specific sinkage measurements), but beneath these soft layers is a noted “support wall” that sleepers quickly hit. The addition of the transition poly foam in May 2016 helps to ease the transition, but it’s still more sudden than I would like. Depending on your sleeping position and preference, that type of support may be well suited to you;
however, many heavier sleepers and side sleepers especially may find the support too abrupt, creating pressure points. The hug and contour of the Casper is fairly standard. Having response poly foam on top eliminates a certain degree of the sharpness in the contour that you would get with a 100% memory foam mattress. The contour reminds me a bit of a trampoline. There is a generalized compression around your entire body where pressure is applied, creating a type of bowl sinkage effect. During my sleep test, I never felt particularly hot or uncomfortable on the Casper. If you have average cooling needs, the Casper should do a fine job of keeping you cool. I experienced lots of smell with my Casper the first few days, with strong odors present especially while lying down on the mattress. However, by the end of a week most of the smell had dissipated. Overall, the Casper mattress has average support in all sleeping positions. The one exception to this would be edge support.
In comparing Casper to the universe of competing similar online foam mattresses, the Casper is among those with the worst edge support. You’ll experience ~5″ of sinkage when sitting directly on the edge. Additionally, sleeping close to the edge can be difficult. If you sleep on or use the edge of your mattress for your daily routine, watching TV, sex, etc., be prepared for lots of sinkage. The following section outlines the major Casper mattress design iterations. Over the past couple of years, Casper has had at least three major design iterations. I have been fortunate enough to have tested all three different design versions. The three different designs looked like this: For all Sleepopolis mattress reviews, I like to do five different sinkage tests. These tests are designed to show you how the mattress performs in varying positions and to give you an idea of the sinkage/hug you’ll experience with the mattress. Bear in mind that I weigh 140 pounds. Your sinkage results will vary based on your weight and body type.
When I first tested the Casper mattress in 2014, I was fairly impressed. I upgraded to the Casper after sleeping on a low-end spring mattress that was about 8 years old. The Casper was a massive upgrade over that mattress and by most standards is still a very good overall mattress. That said, over the course of the last 2 years I’ve tested virtually every online mattress (about 100 different mattresses), including all of Casper’s primary competitors. My conclusion at the end of these sleep tests is that, while the Casper is a pretty good mattress, there are many other mattresses that offer better quality and better performance for the same amount of money. COMPARISONS: See how Casper compares vs. others The biggest issue with Casper is it only has 3″ of true comfort foams (1.5″ responsive poly foam + 1.5″ memory foam). The 2016 addition of the 1.5″ of transition poly foam did help to improve support, but it’s not enough, in my opinion. This transition poly foam that was added in the 2nd Casper design iteration feels more like a base foam than a comfort foam.
All things considered, the mattress still has a similar feel and continues to suffer from the same basic support, comfort, and edge support issues. Final Summary – The Casper is an above average 9.5″ foam mattress, but it’s not above average enough. There are simply too many other mattresses available that I find offer better support, comfort, and feel for about the same price (some even less). For these reasons I recommend other mattresses ahead of the Casper, including Leesa, Loom & Leaf (which is a little pricier, but gives you some nice extras), Helix, and Brooklyn Bedding. All offer improved performance at a better value compared to the Casper. Page last updated March 3, 2017, by Derek Hales. Casper is an above average mattress that offers a medium firmness and good support for average weight sleepers. The response poly foam + memory foam combination creates a balance of contour, but could deliver better performance with a thicker comfort layer.