Review: Wolf Memory Foam Hybrid Premium Firm Mattress

Not too unlike wolves moving in a pack, the WIRED Reviews team often bands together to help one another out with product reviews. I’ve tested hundreds of beds and brands over the years, so I get pretty jazzed when something I haven't tried is on the prowl, but I'm a singular tester with only so many nighttime hours a week. Thankfully, my teammate Molly Higgins stepped in to test Wolf's 12-Inch Memory Foam Hybrid Essential Medium-Firm Mattress. Not to spoil anything, but it made our list of the best mattresses of 2025 for a reason—and we test a lot of beds, so that’s saying something. I had to know for myself and see this mattress in the wild (my guest room) to determine how well it performed. Here’s what I can tell you: Watch out, other mattress brands. This one’s the “Big Bad Wolf,” and I was blown away.

Wolves’ Den

Photograph: Julia Forbes

I thought long and hard about which mattress would be a good introduction to all things Wolf, a brand that's been around since 1873, and landed on a slightly different model than the one Molly tested: the 13-inch Memory Foam Hybrid Premium Firm. I wish the name were just “Wolf Hybrid” to keep things succinct, but the construction let me know what I was getting into. I wanted something that would serve as a baseline, so to speak. This would include key performance indicators like temperature control, responsiveness, edge support, and motion isolation—all key terms for mattress testing.

What’s cool is that each mattress is made to order at Wolf’s Texas-based factory. Also cool? The cooling cover, which felt cool to the touch right away and did a pretty stellar job of maintaining that feel all night long. It’s the first mechanism within the bed’s quilted topper meant for temperature control. Under the quilted surface is a rayon fire barrier (safety first, after all), plus a gel memory foam to supply both cushioning and cooling. To round everything out, a firm-feeling quilted foam layer is stacked at the bottom.

Within the bed is a firm comfort layer that’s one inch thick, plus an additional inch and a half of gel memory foam, which serves the dual purpose of providing pressure relief and temperature control. Another inch of support foam is nestled atop the 8-inch pocketed coils. This coil type is intrinsic for targeted support, as individual coils will adapt to support the specific weight of the sleeper on the top of the bed. This is all placed atop a foam base layer, which is meant to help the coils support the sleeper, as opposed to overt pressure from the base underneath. If you're keeping score, that's nine layers in all.

Now, that’s a lot of technical information. What does it mean for you? First, I’m always an advocate for a hybrid mattress like this one, as you can partake in all the cushioning and pressure relief the top layers of memory foam have to offer. Wolf’s memory foam is also CertiPur-US certified, so it’s passed safety tests to verify there are no hazardous chemicals. The coil unit underneath helps to keep air circulating so that you don’t experience the heat retention that foam can usually garner by itself.

Howl Does It Work?

Photograph: Julia Forbes

The mattress itself arrived in a tidy box that contained a red envelope of directions and a matching plastic-wrap-removing blade. This is pretty standard for mattresses in a box, but something about Wolf’s felt extra buttoned-up. Once the mattress was set up on the frame and 24 hours had elapsed to give the mattress some breathing room (which you should always do with mattresses in a box), it was go time.

For context, I usually sleep on the Nolah Evolution Hybrid (9/10, WIRED Recommends), which happens to be one of the best mattresses I’ve tested to date. The first thing I noticed with this bed was that the pressure relief was eerily similar to the Nolah's. Even with a more medium-firm surface, which I’d put right around a 6.5 out of 10, it wasn’t uncomfortable against my hips or shoulders.

This is really helpful for side sleepers in particular. The feel and firmness of the mattress are also right on target for achieving pressure relief and weight distribution for lumbar support. Too soft a mattress and your lower back bends into weird-feeling angles. As sleepers with back pain will tell you, even the slightest pressure applied to your lower back can be a means for a rough night of sleep. That being said, I think average and plus-size sleepers who are in that 150-pound-and-up range are best suited for this bed. If you have really serious hip pain or have a smaller build, this bed's firmness and pressure-relieving layers are most likely not going to agree with your joints.

Not all mattresses can achieve the right support level, but here is a rare instance where I felt confident sleeping on my stomach, back, and side. That’s no small feat, and I can’t understate that. I picked up on that right away on the first night of testing.

Throughout the duration of my time with the bed (which was a week, to be exact), I also came to appreciate the edge support, cooling, and motion isolation the construction offered. Edge support is just how it sounds—where a mattress makes sure you’re not rolling off the sides in the middle of the night. Given that I love to sleep on the edge, as my two small dogs hog the rest of the bed, this is a feature I’m always acutely aware of while testing. I felt secure the entire time, and I had no issues sitting on the sides or bottom while getting in and out of bed, either.

The Alpha Mattress

Photograph: Julia Forbes

I live in a humid climate that sticks around long after the sun has set. I had thinner, eucalyptus-based cooling sheets on the bed, which helped play to the performance of the Wolf's cooling cover. I could feel the coolness of the cover permeating through the sheets, and I didn’t note one instance of overheating during testing. Motion transfer I also pay special attention to, because even with small dogs jumping in and out of bed or even with my husband who sleeps like a log, even slight movement wakes me up. One night the dogs were just trying to burn the midnight oil, but their incessant antics of trying to turn the bed into a trampoline park were unsuccessful. Slight vibrations were felt, but nothing that broke me out of my sleep trance—until someone barked at me to go outside.

I don’t take it easy on my critical analysis of mattresses, which is why I don’t land on the high score lightly. Wolf Mattress didn’t just manage to hold its own, but it made its debut on my personal all-stars list. I love the value it delivers straight out of the box. The materials feel high-quality, the performance was top-tier, and the price was on target to match. Based on this experience, I’m excited to see all the things the company has planned.