Molecule Hybrid Mattress Review 2024: One of the Best Beds for Athletes, Tested by Experts

8.3

Like

• Hybrid design is supportive for all body types
• Great for those who prefer a neutral foam feel
• Softer profile is great for side and combination sleepers
• Zoned-support and antimicrobial cover works for athletes

Don't like

• Not the firmest option for primary back and stomach sleepers
• Not for those who prefer memory foam beds
• Not the most budget-friendly option

There are lots of online beds that offer a competitive edge for athletes, who need the best sleep. Beds like the Bear mattresses and Spartan by Brooklyn Bedding come with specialized covers to help with the recovery process. Others have targeted zoned support features to help keep your back more aligned on a nightly basis. Some of these beds perform better for athletes than others, but the Molecule Hybrid reigns supreme in this category.

It's one of the best beds for athletes available online, bar none. It combines zoned support elements in its coils with specialized foams and an antimicrobial cover to produce an all-in-one sleeping experience for athletes. And it's just a super comfortable bed in general. In this review, I'll discuss what you should know about this mattress and who, based on our testing, will benefit the most from sleeping on it.

First impressions of the Molecule Hybrid

This bed arrives at your home in the same condition as many others ordered online: compressed and roll-packed inside a large cardboard box. Once the delivery man plops it on your doorstep, you just drag it inside, dump out the contents and rip off all the packaging. And just like that, you've got a brand-new mattress. Since it's a hybrid bed, the coils will help it inflate a bit faster than an all-foam mattress, but you may still want to give it a proper night to expand on your foundation -- we found this to be the case with our Molecule Hybrid.

In the morning, we found that our bed looked proper and took it as a sign that it was finally ready for testing. Upon testing its feel, it definitely had a neutral quality in terms of its response time. But once I hopped on, it felt softer than I'd anticipated. Overall, I came away pleasantly surprised by my first experience with the Molecule Hybrid -- I'd say the average athlete would enjoy it.

Molecule Hybrid mattress firmness and feel

What does the Molecule Hybrid feel like?

So as mentioned, this bed exhibited more of a soft, neutral hybrid feel. You get plenty of support and responsiveness from the pocketed coils on the bottom, with lots of pressure relief from the neutral comfort foams on top. In short, it just feels like a generally comfy coil mattress that'll appeal to most sleepers right off the bat.

If you're into more of a nuanced mattress feel, like memory foam or latex foam bed, I wouldn't necessarily steer you directly toward this option. Molecule as a brand has a memory foam collection known as the Copperwell beds, which all have more of a body-conforming feel. With Molecule Hybrid, you get some pressure relief without feeling like you're stuck in the bed when you go to move around on it.

How firm is the Molecule Hybrid mattress?

Even though the bed's feel could work for just about anyone, its firmness level might not bode well for certain sleeper types. Our team of experts perceived this bed to be slightly softer than a true medium, between that and a medium-soft on our firmness scale. This makes it ideal for strict side and combination sleepers looking for a bit more cushion on top for their shoulders and hips.  

If you're more of a primary back or stomach sleeper, you may prefer a firmer option that offers your back more support rather than pressure relief. I think all sleepers could get by on the bed, but it skews toward the softer side of medium. However, this firmness is great for combination sleepers, like me, who rotate around at night and gravitate towards sleeping on softer beds.

Molecule Hybrid mattress construction

This is a premium hybrid bed that's specifically designed with athletes in mind. It's 13 inches thick and comprised of the following layers:

1. On the bottom, you've got a dense support foam to serve as the bed's foundation.

2. Then, you've got the bed's main support system of pocketed coils. These are individually siloed springs that feature reinforced support on the sides to enhance the bed's edge support -- more on that later.

3. Sitting directly on top of those coils, you've got a transition layer of foam that adds zoned support.

4. Above that, you've got another transition foam that's designed to be more breathable and enhance the bed's overall airflow

5. On top of that, you've got the bed's main comfort layer, which in this case is a softer comfort foam that's also super breathable.

6. Rounding everything out is a quilted top with an antimicrobial cover. This should help keep bacteria away from your bed and cause it to stay a bit cleaner than it otherwise would.

Molecule Hybrid mattress performance

Motion isolation

Since this is a hybrid mattress that's got a softer firmness profile, we'd say it performs well in terms of isolating cross-mattress movement. Based on our tests, we found that it deadened a decent amount of motion. If you're an especially light sleeper and this is one of your main concerns when it comes to your next bed, I'd steer you towards a dense memory foam mattress like Tempur-Pedic instead. Otherwise, I'd say this bed will work fine for the average light sleeper.

Edge-to-edge support

Considering that the Molecule Hybrid has reinforced coils that run along its edges, I'd say the bed has great edge support. This notion was definitely confirmed after extensive testing. When I place my full body weight along the edges, they hardly sag at all. If you're the type of athlete who likes to sleep on the edge, literally and figuratively, we doubt you'll be falling off this bed anytime soon. 

Temperature

The cover on the Molecule Hybrid is cool to the touch, and its comfort foams are designed to be more open-cell and breathable. These elements do help to make the bed sleep cooler than others, but we'd still classify it to sleep temperature-neutral. It is one of those beds that rides that active-cooling line, but once you put sheets on it, you might not feel as much of the bed's cooling qualities.

Durability

I'd say the Molecule Hybrid is a very durable mattress. Since the bed has pocketed coils for its main support base, it should last most people for the next several years. Compared to the longevity of the average all-foam mattress, you should be getting more long-term durability from the Molecule Hybrid.  

Who is the Molecule Hybrid mattress best for?

Most athletes will think this bed is plenty comfortable, but some may find it to be more accommodating than others. Here's who we think will benefit the most from sleeping on this particular mattress.

Sleeping position

Since the bed is between a medium and a medium-soft in terms of firmness, I think primary side or combination sleepers will enjoy sleeping on it the most. The bed's sleeping surface provides lots of cushion for sleeping on your sides at night, and it's responsive enough to keep up with the sleeping rotations of the average combo sleeper.

That said, since this is a softer bed, it might not be the most suitable choice for back and stomach sleepers who want a firmer option. These sleepers usually prefer beds with firm profiles that have lots of push-back and resistance. If you're looking for that style of mattress, you'd have better luck considering one of the other all-foam Molecule beds -- they're both quite a bit firmer than this one.

Body type

This is a durable hybrid bed that should support all body types, including athletes who are on the much heavier side. We usually say that bigger people should go the route of a hybrid mattress as opposed to an all-foam one, simply because they provide much more durability, and degrade underneath you much less over time. 

Since the Molecule Hybrid has those coils on the bottom, which even feature reinforced support on the edges, it'll work for any body type by default. It might cost a bit more than a basic all-foam bed online, but take it from me, a bigger dude -- it's well worth it if you're a bit heavier.  

Molecule Hybrid mattress pricing

Hybrid mattresses with targeted designs for athletes are often quite expensive. With that in mind, The Molecule Hybrid isn't the most affordable option out there, but for the quality of the bed you're getting, I think it's priced reasonably. Beds like this one often go for well above $2,000 for a queen size, so it's nice to see the Molecule Hybrid priced just under this range. 

Trial, shipping and warranty

Molecule backs this bed with a nice policy set. Its beds ship to you in a box for free, and once it's in your possession, you get a 100-night trial period to try it at home risk-free. If you happen not to like it within that time frame, you can return it for free. On the other hand, if you decide to keep it, you're backed by a 15-year limited warranty. Just be sure to use the right foundation for the bed. Otherwise, you could void your bed's warranty.

How does Molecule Hybrid compare to other mattresses? 

Molecule Hybrid vs. Spartan by Brooklyn Bedding

These are two comparable beds for athletes you can find online. They each have different elements in their designs to help with the recovery process. The Spartan mattress has a cover that uses far infrared technology to help increase blood flow circulation and promote faster recovery times. 

As for the Molecule Hybrid, its coils, breathable comfort foams, zoned-support layer and antimicrobial cover all combine to help with the recovery process for athletes. The Spartan is available in a few firmness choices, whereas the Molecule Hybrid is available in one by default. The Spartan is also the more affordable option after a discount is applied.  

Molecule Hybrid vs. Molecule 2

If you're looking at the Molecule mattress lineup specifically, what makes the Molecule Hybrid different from the brand's more premium, all-foam offering? Well, it mainly just comes down to construction and firmness. Both beds use very similar transition and comfort layers; they even have the same zoned support feature. However, since the Molecule 2 is an all-foam bed, it doesn't have coils on the bottom and is a more supportive bed for medium to petite-sized builds. If you're heavier, the Molecule Hybrid is likely the more supportive choice of the two, since it has support coils rather than dense foam on the bottom.

There's also a major difference in firmness. The Molecule 2 is around a proper medium-firm on our scale, making it a better option for back and stomach sleepers searching for a firmer mattress. The Molecule Hybrid is a bit softer than a true medium, so I'd say it's more appropriate for side and combination sleepers. If saving money is your main concern when it comes to getting your next bed for athletes, Molecule 2 is the more affordable option to consider.

The final verdict

As a more athletic person, I could totally see myself sleeping on this mattress. I'm a combination sleeper who tends to favor sleeping on my sides at night, and this bed's firmness is plenty accommodating for my preferences. If that also sounds like you, and you want a supportive hybrid bed with a soft, neutral feel that has some zoned support and other potentially restorative benefits for athletes, this bed could help you achieve your nightly gains.

You might like the Molecule Hybrid mattress if:

• You want a hybrid mattress
• You want a soft, neutral feel
• You like a bed that's slightly softer
• You want a bed with zoned support 

You might not like the Molecule Hybrid bed if:

• You're looking for an all-foam mattress
• You prefer the feel of a neutral or latex foam mattress
• You don't have much money to spend on a bed
• You're not looking for a bed designed for athletes

Other mattresses from Molecule

There are many other options to choose from within the Molecule lineup. You can check out the brand's more affordable, all-foam beds, Molecule 1, or 2. These are entirely made up of various foam layers and are better for supportive average-sized builds. Molecule 1 has more of a responsive memory foam feel, and is around a medium in terms of firmness. 

The Molecule 2 is on the firmer side. It's around a proper medium-firm on our scale, making it most suitable for back and stomach sleepers. Like the Molecule Hybrid, it also has more of a neutral feel overall.

Nowadays, Molecule as a brand has even more beds to consider. It has the Reflex collection, which all have highly targeted zoned support systems and enhanced cooling technology. If you're into memory foam beds, you can also consider the brand's CopperWell collection. These beds feature copper-infused memory foam to provide sleepers with a responsive memory foam sensation at night.

Molecule Hybrid mattress FAQs