Leesa Sapira Hybrid Mattress Review

Michael Magnuson

Founder of GoodBed, Leading Mattress Expert

Summary: Is the Leesa Sapira Hybrid a Good Mattress?

The Leesa Sapira Hybrid is an 11" hybrid mattress using foam over pocket spring construction. This is a fairly common type of mattress these days, so we were interested to see how it stands out.

The Leesa Sapira Hybrid bed has five total layers, including Leesa's latex-like proprietary Avena foam; we did find that it had properties similar to latex, including good pressure-relieving characteristics. The main support portion of the mattress is a pocket spring unit with firmer, slimmer coils around the edges of the bed. Edge support was a highlight in our testing, and we felt the bed would be a good choice for those who sleep right on the edge of their bed.

We judged the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress a Medium Firm bed on our softness scale. In our tests, it proved supportive and promoted very good spinal alignment for our 200-lb. tester particularly in back sleeping and stomach sleeping positions. We felt it would be similarly supportive for those around our tester's weight and heavier. We did have some questions about those much lighter than our tester, who might not be heavy enough to sink into the mattress to create the good spinal alignment our tester experienced.

For side sleeping, our tester felt his shoulders could have sunk a little more into the mattress; again, we felt the Leesa Sapira Hybrid might be too firm for lighter sleepers, but find for heavier speakers. Overall, we felt this mattress would suit a wide range of individuals.

While the bed does have a small amount of memory foam, we would not call it a memory foam mattress, as it has very little of that slow-melting-into-the-bed feel that we associate with memory foam. Rather, the Leesa Sapira Hybrid was quick-responding, and recovers its shape very quickly after being compressed. Cushioning depth is little shallower than average, and we felt it would be a good match for those who prefer a feeling of floating on top of the mattress as opposed to sinking in deeply.

Value-wise, the mattress has a lot of competition among other online brands, but Leesa has a bonus: you can try its beds in select Pottery Barn and West Elm stores (find locations), making it possible to try one before buying.  

Free shipping is included, but just as with any other package, it’s left at the door. A ‘white glove’ service is available as an upgrade for $100; that means the bed would be delivered and set up in the room where you want it. If you want your old bedding removed, that’s another $50. A Leesa 100-day trial is included, with free shipping both ways if you return the mattress.

Note that the mattress does not come with a box spring (nor does it need one). You can place the bed atop the support of your choice, including a separately purchased box support, a bed frame, platform bed, or adjustable bed frame. Leesa sells its own bed frame and adjustable frame, but neither are required purchases.  

Read on for our detailed report, and be sure to check out the video to see this mattress in action as we put it through our tests.

Note: Among companies selling mattresses directly online, Leesa has one of the longer track records, going back to 2014. See our Leesa mattress review, where we cover the company's signature mattress, an all-foam bed. In this report, we examine the company's Leesa Sapira Hybrid, a hybrid mattress with foam and memory foam over pocket spring construction.

Bottom Line: Who is the Best Match for a Leesa Sapira Hybrid Mattress?

BEST if you:

• Are primarily a back or stomach sleeper
• Are heavier (250+ lbs.)
• Prefer a firmer mattress
• Are sensitive to movements of a partner
• Like to sleep on the edge of your bed
  

NOT IDEAL if you:

• Prefer to sink deeply into a mattress
• Are a lighter or curvier side sleeper
• Enjoy sinking deeply into your mattress

Comfort and Feel

The “feel” characteristics of a mattress cannot be universally better or worse. They can only be more or less desirable to you, based on your personal preferences. For this reason, we call these “preference-based” attributes. Our ratings here are based on objective measurements that we apply to a consistent scale for products from all brands.

Softness ( what’s this )

Keep in mind that what mattress companies call “firm” or “soft” is a purely a preference. All mattresses should be supportive and promote healthy spinal alignment. Whether a mattress is fluffy and squishy (what mattress companies call soft or plush), or less so (what companies call firm), is purely down to your personal needs and preferences.

We classify the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress as a Medium Firm bed on our scale. Compared to the company's other mattress, the original Leesa, this is a firmer bed.

Not sure what softness is best for you? Take our Mattress Match Quiz and find out.

Cushioning Depth ( what’s this )

This refers to how deeply you sink into the mattress or feel cradled or hugged by your mattress; how far you sink into it. The Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress has a shallower than average cushioning depth, so the feeling on this mattress is more floating-on-top than sinking in deeply.

Responsiveness ( what’s this )

Responsiveness refers to how quickly a mattress recovers its shape after being compressed. When you press your hand into the mattress, for instance, then remove it, does it take several seconds for the mattress to return to flat, or does it recover immediately?

The Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress does have a layer of memory foam, but it isn't the top layer. When we pressed down on the mattress, we did notice some delay in returning back to shape, but when laying on the mattress, we really did not notice much of that memory feel. Overall, we would call this a fast-responding bed.

Responsiveness also translates to bounce. Many mattresses with a coil unit have quite a bit of bounce, but in the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress, the memory foam layer tends to absorb any bounce that might be generated by the pocket springs. The net effect is a mattress with less bounce than we expected.

Back Support

The key to good back support is for the mattress to support your spine in a “neutral” position while you sleep, meaning that the shape of your spine is roughly the same as when you're standing. The ability of any given mattress to do this will vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight, body shape, and preferred sleep position(s).

In our evaluations, the Leesa Sapira Hybrid afforded very good back support and spinal alignment, particularly for back and stomach sleepers. We also felt it would be a good choice for heavier individuals, even heavier stomach sleepers, which can have a harder time finding a mattress that's supportive enough. We did have some questions about its suitability for very light persons, who might not sink into the mattress enough.

Spinal Alignment

The key to good back support is maintaining proper spinal alignment while you sleep. This means that the mattress should hold your spine in roughly the same position it's in when you're standing. The ability of a given mattress to do this will generally depend on your weight, sleep position, and body shape.

Here is how we break down the spinal alignment of the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress:

Back Sleepers:

In our evaluation, we felt the Leesa Sapira Hybrid bed would be an excellent choice for most back sleepers. Our 200-lb. tester felt his hips sinking into the mattress just the right amount, even while he felt the mattress reaching up to support his lumbar area. We felt the mattress would be a good choice for most back sleepers of average weight, including those who might be heavier than our tester. We did question whether the  mattress might be too firm for those much lighter than our tester, because persons weighing less than 100 or 150 lbs. might not be heavy enough to compress the mattress enough to create appropriate spinal alignment.

Side Sleepers:

The Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress is a firm bed, and that can make side sleeping tricky; a bed must be soft enough in order for shoulders and hips to sink into the mattress enough to create a neutral spinal position. For our 200 lb. tester, he felt his shoulder not quite able to sink enough into the mattress, resulting in an upward tilt to his spine. We felt that persons heavier than our tester would likely be fine in a side-sleeping position, as they would be able to sink a bit more into the mattress.

We would be concerned about significantly lighter side sleepers, who might not be heavy enough to compress the foam with their shoulders or hips.

Stomach Sleepers:

Achieving good spinal alignment for stomach sleepers can often be trickier as the hips can tend to sink down too far with some mattresses, but our tester felt well supported in this position on the mattress, and felt that stomach sleepers of any weight would also be well supported.

Pressure Relief

Inadequate pressure relief from your mattress results in “pressure points,” which can be a source of pain, soreness, loss of circulation, restlessness, and other problems. Pressure relief requirements will vary be sleeper, with side sleepers needing the most. Likewise, the amount of pressure relief that a given mattress provides will also vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight and body shape.

Even though our 200-lb. tester felt his shoulders were not sinking quite enough into the mattress, he didn't feel any issues with pressure points or joints. We felt that those around our tester's weight, and heavier, would also experience very good pressure relief on the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress. We questioned pressure relief for lighter persons, and for those who are curvier (e.g. those with broad shoulders or hips), who may find the bed too firm.

Performance Features

With the “features” of a mattress, performance will tend to be consistent across all sleepers – without regards to your body type or preferences. However, these attributes have differing levels of importance to each sleeper, which is why we consider them “priority-based” characteristics.

Motion Isolation ( what’s this )

With a bowling pin standing upright on the Leesa Sapira Hybrid bed, we tested motion isolation first by dropping our 16-lb. bowling ball on the bed, then with our tester dropping his body weight on the bed.

Either way, there was almost no movement from our bowling pin, which leads us to conclude that the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress would be a very good choice for those sensitive to a partner’s movements in bed.

Innerspring and pocket spring mattresses often are not the best at motion isolation, but this mattress is doing a very good job at that; the memory foam on top of the pocket spring layer seems to help dampen any movement transferred by the coil unit.

Temperature ( what’s this )

For most people, we do not think the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress will feel hot. Memory foam has a reputation for heat retention, but in the case of this bed, the memory foam layer is not on top. Furthermore, the bed’s top Avena foam layer has pin-core holes piercing the top layer to help promote airflow.

The largest portion of the bed is comprised of the pocket spring unit, which is made of steel, thin fabric pockets, and air, so naturally air should flow well. Some innerspring mattresses have a foam edge support, but this mattress features two rows of firmer coils around the edge, so air can move in and out of the sides of the mattress.

Lastly, the shallower cushioning depth of the Leesa Sapira Hybrid means that less of your body is exposed to air.

Edge Support ( what’s this )

The pocket spring unit of the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress has two rows of narrower, firmer coils around the edge specifically for edge report. In our testing, this edge support worked very well. While sitting on the edge of the bed, our tester felt very stable.

When laying on the very edge of the mattress, our tester also felt stable, and didn’t feel he was slipping or leaning at all. If you tend to sleep on the edge of your bed, or find yourself pushed there by kids and pets, we think the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress would be an excellent choice.

Ease of Repositioning ( what’s this )

One of the highlights of the Leesa Sapira Hybrid, for our tester, was ease of movement. Mattresses with memory foam don’t have the best reputation when it comes to how easy it is to roll into different positions. However, the memory foam in the bed is two inches down, and the top Avena layer is a very responsive foam we felt had many behavioral qualities of latex. Our tester felt that changing positions was very easy.

Green Features ( what’s this )

For mattress shoppers concerned with the use of natural materials, sustainable manufacturing practices or the like, we offer our subjective evaluation of any efforts taken by the company to make the mattress more green, healthy, or safe. 

In the case of the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress, the company makes no claims about the use of natural materials, however all of the foams used are certified to the CertiPUR-US standard, which verifies that a material has low VOC off-gassing as well as a lack of chemicals and other substances regulated by the CPSC. This certification is now commonplace among mainstream mattress brands.

The coils are made of steel, which does not off-gas. And at least in theory, steel is recyclable, which could reduce landfill waste when you eventually dispose of the mattress.

The company does have some social initiatives. For every 10 mattresses sold, Leesa donates one mattress to charity. The company says that it has donated more than 30,000 mattresses so far to disaster recovery, homeless and women’s shelters, and Habitat for Humanity. Read more about Leesa's social initiatives on its website.

The company also says it plants a tree for each mattress sold. While the company's mattress isn't particularly environmentally friendly, it does have some policies that are.

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

We did not specifically test the Leesa Sapira Hybrid bed with an adjustable base. However, the company sells its own adjustable base that can be used with its beds, and using an adjustable base (either Leesa’s adjustable base or another brand’s) will not void the warranty. Since the company endorses use of adjustable bases, we assume that compatibility is likely good.

Materials & Construction

What's in a Leesa Sapira Hybrid Mattress?

Overall, we classify the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress as a "Comfort Foam and Memory Foam over Pocket Springs" construction type. It is an 11″ thick mattress comprised of 5 layers (listed below from top to bottom):

• 1.5” ‘Avena’ polyurethane foam, 3.75 lb. density
• 1.5” visco-elastic memory foam, 4 lb. density
• 1"    polyurethane foam, 2 lb. density
• 6”    pocket spring unit
• 1"    polyurethane foam, 2 lb. density

This is a hybrid mattress: part traditional coils, and part modern foams. The top layer is Leesa's proprietary "Avena" foam, a polyurethane foam that has latex-like properties. This is a quick-responding foam that's pierced with pin-core holes, much like traditional latex. Next is a 1.5" layer of memory foam in a 4 lb. density (memory foams typically used in mattresses range from 2 to 5 lbs. higher is better). After that is an inch of regular polyurethane foam; this foam doesn't serve a major comfort purpose, it's more of a transition between the foam and coil layers. The main pocket spring unit is 6" tall. Two sets of narrower coils surround the edge. Lastly, there's another inch of polyurethane foam.

Cover

Durability, Warranty & Value

The “value” of any mattress is both subjective and personal – reflecting how well it meets that person’s unique sleep needs and preferences, relative to their budget. As a result, our ratings in this area are focused on more objective factors like quality and longevity.

How Much Does a Leesa Sapira Hybrid Mattress Cost?

Prices shown are list prices. Remember that GoodBed keeps our site current with the best available discounts on online mattresses, many of which are exclusive discounts for our readers.

What You’re Getting

The Leesa Sapira Hybrid is an 11-inch hybrid mattress made of foam over pocketed steel springs, with three inches of premium comfort materials, including Leesa's proprietary latex-like Avena foam, along with visco-elastic memory foam. The pocket spring unit features a firmer two row of slimmer coils as edge support. The bed is covered in a sturdy, stretchy, nice-feeling cover.

How Long We Think It Will Last

When it comes to estimating the comfort lifespan of a mattress, we tend to use foam density as our best, albeit imperfect, predictor of how long a foam will retain its shape and resiliency. In the case of the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress, the top Avena foam is of 3.75 lb. density, with the memory foam a 4 lb. density. Both are high densities that indicate high-quality materials. Steel coils have a long track record for durability. Overall, we did not notice any red flags in terms of durability.

Overall Value

Pricing for the Leesa mattress is higher than many of its online-mattress competitors. The advantage, in our view, is Leesa's transparency with respect to the densities of the foams and gauge of the steel. That's information that likely won't be available when shopping in a mattress store. So compared to what you might find in a local store, we think the Leesa Sapira Hybrid mattress is a good, but perhaps not an exceptional value.

If you prefer to try a mattress in a store, you can find Leesa beds in select Pottery Barn and West Elm stores (check the Leesa store locator), which could be very reassuring for those hesitant about ordering online before trying the bed.

Warranty

• Warranty Length: 10 years
• Indentation Coverage: 1” and above

One of the biggest, if not THE biggest complaints about any mattress from consumers regards body impressions—the inability of a mattress to spring back, eventually creating a low spot/sinkhole in the mattress. As such, mattress warranties all contain a term defining how big a sag or ‘body impression’ (measured when no one is on the mattress) is considered a defect, and thus covered under the warranty. The industry standard for mattresses is generally between ¾” and 1.5”. Leesa has chosen to cover indentations that meet or exceed 1”. Practically speaking, that means any softening or sagging would need to be at least that deep before the warranty would offer you protection. Full details on Leesa's warranty and returns policy.

Should you require warranty service, however, you are responsible for shipping both ways.

Other Factors to Consider

Delivery

• Free delivery

Leesa includes free delivery via common carrier (typically UPS) for this mattress, which is not particularly unusual among its competitors. For an extra $150, you can opt for their VIP or ‘white glove’ service, where the mattress is delivered and set up in the room where you want it, and the packaging is removed. Removal of your old bedding is included if you wish.

Returns

• 100-day trial period
• Full refund, including free pickup within trial period

Leesa offers buyers a 100-day trial period. Returns of the mattress within the trial period are free, with pickup of the mattress included. Returned mattresses will be donated to charity, according to the company.