Motion isolation is a strength of the Leesa Original. Both foam layers, and especially the memory foam, have motion isolating properties. By cradling the body, the four combined inches of foam help keep people who share a bed from noticing the movement of their partner.
While you’ll still feel it if someone’s jumping or really moving vigorously, most light movements in the night shouldn’t cause sleep disruptions on the Leesa Original.
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Leesa Mattress Review – Test Lab Ratings
Senior Product Editor
Methodology
Up-to-Date
20% off mattresses + free pillows at Leesa
Price Range: $849 – $1,599
Mattress Type: Foam
Firmness Options: Medium (5)
Ratings Summary
8.5/10
6.5/10
5.5/10
5.5/10
6/10
8/10
Pros & Cons:
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Adapative all-foam design contours evenly without too much hug
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Excellent motion isolation and no noise
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Ample cushioning for side sleepers
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Perimeter may buckle and sink when bearing weight
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Strong off-gassing smells after unboxing
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Inadequate support for most back and stomach sleepers over 230 pounds
Leesa was one of the first movers in the world of online mattresses. The company earned acclaim for its first mattress, the Leesa Original, an all-foam offering that is the focus of this review.
Since the launch of the Leesa Original, the company has built upon their success by launching two other mattresses:
- The Leesa Hybrid, an 11-inch mattress that provides added bounce thanks to its innerspring comfort system.
- The Leesa Legend, a 12-inch luxury mattress with a coil-on-coil design that provides considerable responsiveness and edge support.
The Leesa Original remains the most affordable of the company’s mattresses, and its performance continues to win over a wide range of sleepers of different body weights and sleeping positions.
A driving force behind that performance is a 4-inch thick comfort system that is made up of two distinct foam layers. The top layer is a specialty polyfoam developed by Leesa, and the second is memory foam. Working in tandem, these layers strike a balance between contouring and responsiveness while providing a medium (5) firmness feel.
Leesa has a reputation for excellent customer service and is a certified B-corp, meaning that a social mission — achieved largely through donations of new mattresses to people in need — is formalized in the company’s charter.
To better understand how the Leesa Original stacks up, we’ve covered all the essential details ranging from construction to sizing, pricing, construction, shipping, returns, and more.
Leesa Video Review
Watch the video below to see how the Leesa Mattress performed when put to the test in our lab.
Sleeping Style and Body Weight
Leesa Original
Sleeper Type
Under 130 lbs
130-230 lbs
Above 230 lbs
Side Sleepers
Back Sleepers
Stomach Sleepers
If you’re evaluating the Leesa Original, considering your sleeping position and body weight can help determine if this is a good mattress choice for your needs.
Side Sleepers:
Side sleepers can sink out of alignment if a bed doesn’t properly accommodate their hips and shoulders. Those areas, where the body is widest, place more pressure on a mattress. The right mattress for a side sleeper needs to cushion the hips and shoulders without allowing them to sink too far into the bed and out of line with the lower back and neck. The Leesa Original, with a medium feel and above-average contouring, is well-suited to this task. Some side sleepers over 230 pounds may find that the mattress has too much sink, making it a somewhat better match for side sleepers under 230 pounds.
Back Sleepers:
Among back sleepers, the Leesa Original is the best fit for those who weigh under 130 pounds. Back sleepers don’t have pressure points that are as sharp as people who sleep on their side. Instead, they have more issues around the lower back. In this area, also known as the lumbar spine, there is a natural curve in the spine. A mattress has to support this curve, but it can’t permit too much sink or else the abdomen will sag too deeply to maintain spinal alignment. For this reason, the Leesa Original can be too soft for many back sleepers; however, for those under 130 pounds who don’t sink as much into the foam, this mattress can be a great match.
Stomach Sleepers:
The Leesa Original typically isn’t the top choice for stomach sleepers because of its softer feel. The main exception is stomach sleepers under 130 pounds who, because of their lower weight, can benefit from a softer mattress since they don’t put as much pressure on the comfort layer. For most stomach sleepers, though, the medium feel has too much give, risking their midsection sinking further into the mattress than the rest of the body and placing excess stress on the lumbar spine.
Leesa Mattress Coupon
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Mattress Performance
The comfort system of the Leesa Original provides high-quality pressure relief thanks in large part to the two-inch memory foam layer.
The comfort system has enough give and conforming to give proportional cushioning to the parts of the body that need it most. This type of tailored support helps with spinal alignment in all sleeping positions and especially for side sleepers who experience more impact at the hips and shoulders. Pressure-point relief and healthy spinal alignment may help prevent waking up with aches and pains.
The average person probably won’t find that the Leesa Original sleeps hot, but temperature control may be an issue for people who tend to run hot.
Memory foam retains more heat than other materials, but it’s not the top layer of the mattress that is in contact with the body. The polyfoam layer that is on top won’t collect quite as much heat but may still feel warm for some people. In addition, the amount of conforming may cut down on cooling airflow around the body, increasing the propensity for hot sleepers to experience notable heat retention.
Leesa Mattress Review Breakdown
Getting a deeper understanding of the Leesa Original mattress starts by taking a closer look at its interior construction, which includes three layers.
The top layer is two inches of a specialty polyfoam that has a mixture of the characteristics found in memory foam and latex. The second layer is two inches of memory foam. Both of these foam layers have a density of 3 pounds per cubic foot (PCF), which is around average for these types of materials. The combined four inches of foam serve as the Leesa Original’s comfort system.
The comfort system is thick enough to provide plenty of cushioning to sleepers with major pressure points. The two foams were carefully chosen to give the mattress the ability to blend features like contouring, bounce, temperature regulation, and motion isolation. By striking a balance among these features, the mattress has wide appeal and can deliver quality sleep for a broad range of sleepers.
The support core of the Leesa Original is six inches of polyfoam. This layer, which has an average to above-average density — compared to base foams — of 1.8 PCF, helps protect against sinking too deeply in the mattress and generates more overall stability. The cover of the mattress is made with a stretchy and soft polyester blend.
The Leesa Original is offered in only one firmness level, which is medium (5m). Its total height is 10 inches, which makes it an easy fit for virtually all standard fitted sheets.
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Firmness |
Medium - 5 |
|---|---|
|
Mattress Type |
Foam |
|
Construction |
The Leesa Original is an all-foam mattress consisting of a polyfoam comfort layer, memory foam transitional layer, and high-density foam support core. Cover Material:Polyester blend Comfort Layer:
2″ polyfoam - 3 PCF, 13 Indentation Load Deflection (ILD)
Support Core:6″ polyfoam - 1.8 PCF, 32 ILD |
Mattress Prices and Sizing
The Leesa Original offers shoppers a good overall value. It is priced similarly to the average for all-foam mattresses with this general design and profile. Customers can find options that are both less and more expensive on the market, but for a straightforward all-foam bed that employs memory foam, the Leesa Original has a reasonable price tag in the middle of the total range.
The Leesa is offered in all of the six standard mattress sizes. Retail prices (MSRP) for each size are listed in the table along with the important sizing metrics. Shoppers should keep in mind that discounts are offered with enough regularity such that few people pay the full retail price.
Sleep Foundation Special Offer
Save up to $700 + 2 free pillows ($120 value) + 10% off all bedding
Trial, Warranty, and Shipping Policies
Availability
The Leesa Original is sold online and in some brick-and-mortar stores.
Online, the mattress is available directly from the Leesa website as well as from third parties like Amazon. Purchasing from a third-party generally means any returns and service questions will be managed by that retailer rather than Leesa.
On the Leesa website, customers in all of the 50 U.S. states as well as in Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom can buy the mattress.
Leesa has partnered with retailers like Macy’s, West Elm, and Pottery Barn to make the Leesa Original available in stores across the United States. A Store Finder feature on the company’s website helps customers identify brick-and-mortar stores with Leesa products in their area.
Shipping
If the Leesa Original is purchased online and directly from Leesa, it is shipped for free with FedEx Ground to all of the 50 U.S. states. The mattress is sent in a box that is brought to your doorstep, usually within a week after placing an order. Once you carry the box into your bedroom and open the packaging, the mattress will decompress to reach its full size.
Shipping times and policies may be different if the Leesa Original is purchased from Amazon or in a brick-and-mortar store.
Shipping to customers in Canada, Germany, and the U.K. comes with an additional cost. Shoppers in these areas can check with Leesa for details about delivery time and cost.
Additional Services
In many locations, Leesa offers White Glove delivery for an extra fee of $150. This service includes mattress setup in your bedroom and old mattress removal.
Sleep Trial
The Leesa Original comes with a 100-night sleep trial. Leesa asks that customers keep the bed for 30 nights to adjust to it before requesting a return. If a return is requested, Leesa helps coordinate pickup and donation of the mattress. There is a $100 return fee for customers in Alaska and Hawaii.
Warranty
Leesa provides a 10-year limited warranty. This warranty covers defects in materials and manufacturing and includes repair or replacement of a mattress found to be defective. The customer must pay for any shipping costs related to the warranty claim.
Still have questions?
Our product experts have extensive experience testing just about every sleep product on the market. Send an email to [email protected] or call us at (877) 672-8966 with your questions and we'll help you find exactly what you're looking for.
Lauren is a Certified Sleep Science Coach with extensive experience researching and testing a wide variety of sleep products.