Leesa Legend Mattress Review | Reasons to Buy/NOT Buy

The Leesa Legend Hybrid is one of the brand’s most luxurious beds and has a unique design that I haven’t seen on any other mattress before or since. This mattress has a soft, plush firmness profile that will be ideal for side sleepers looking for a lot of pressure relief for their hips and shoulders, and its unique design provides zoned support to help with back pain. 

First impressions of the Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress

I was immediately impressed after the Leesa Legend Hybrid arrived at our mattress testing office. The bed is pretty heavy, so it definitely took two of us to get it out of the box. Nonetheless, it snapped into shape very quickly and I think it will be at its intended firmness level by night one, which is not always the case with freshly unboxed mattresses. 

I noticed the cover first, which looks very luxurious with an all-white color scheme and an inviting pattern with the signature four-stripe design that’s present on all Leesa mattresses. I think the cover is really nice, but one issue we noticed right off the bat is that, since it is all white, it is very easy to get dirty. The cover really isn’t all that important to your sleeping experience because you will be putting a fitted sheet and other bedding on it, but it is often the first thing we notice, and brands do put a lot of thought into their cover designs.

I also noticed the comfort of the Leesa Hybrid, with a feel similar to other Leesa mattresses we’ve tested in the past, like the Sapira Hybrid and the Leesa Original. The neutral, soft hybrid feel is nearly universally comfortable, and everyone on our team agrees that it has exceptional comfort. 

I was even more impressed with the Legend Hybrid after examining its construction — but my first impression of it was very positive, and it is on my personal favorite mattress list. 

Video: Leesa Legend Mattress Review

Watch CNET video producer Owen Poole review the Leesa Legend mattress.

Is the Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress right for you?

Anyone looking for a luxurious, plush mattress designed for side sleepers should give the Leesa Legend Hybrid a look. It is pretty expensive, which might take it off the table for lots of people — but if you have a larger budget for your next mattress and you prefer sleeping on your side, this is one of the best options we’ve tested. 

Plus, its unique zoned support design makes it a nice option for anyone who has lower back pain and wants a mattress with extra lumbar support. 

Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress firmness and feel

Leesa Legend Hybrid feel

The Legend Hybrid has a super accommodating “neutral” feel that provides a nice balance between gentle bounce and sink-in pressure relief. Mattress feel can be thought of as a spectrum with two poles: One end is a super responsive, buoyant and bouncy sensation, and the other end is a dense, slow-to-respond, sink-in type of sensation, with lots of room in between. The Leesa Legend Hybrid is in the middle. 

Pretty much everyone finds the balanced, neutral feel provided by the Legend Hybrid comfortable. Some sleepers prefer a more specific type of feel like a dense memory foam, but I have a hard time imagining someone trying the Leesa Legend and flat out finding it uncomfortable. I find the Leesa Hybrid to be incredibly comfortable and everyone on our team really enjoys the feel to varying degrees. 

Leesa Legend Hybrid firmness and sleeper types

The Leesa Legend Hybrid only comes in one firmness profile and in our testing we found it to be quite soft, in the medium-soft range (2 to 4 out of 10). This means the Legend Hybrid is most ideal for side sleepers and certain combination sleepers who spend most of the night on their side. 

Since this mattress does feature zoned support (which I’ll get into later) it might provide enough targeted support for combo sleepers who sleep on their back more, but this bed is definitely designed for side sleepers and if that isn’t you I would recommend a different mattress. 

We haven’t been able to test the Legend Hybrid on our new Mattress Smasher 9000, but the upgraded Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid came in at a 4.1 out of 10, which is firmer than the base model Legend Hybrid, both in our testing and according to the brand, so we are very confident in our medium-soft firmness rating. 

Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress construction

The construction of the Leesa Legend is fairly unique, for a couple of reasons. The bottommost tier is a thin layer of dense support foam, which is there to provide a base for the main support level, a six-inch-thick layer of encased coils. 

Individually encased coils are a bit different from traditional innersprings and have almost completely replaced them in mattress design. They provide the same level of bounce and support as innersprings but behave independently and do a much better job at absorbing cross-mattress motion.

Above the coil layer is a one-inch-thick layer of transition foam, which acts as a buffer between the comfort foam above and the coil layer below. 

The next layer is one of the most unique designs I’ve seen in a mattress — there is a one-and-a-half-inch thick layer of a foam and micro coil combination. The foam section is in the center third of the bed and the micro coils are on the outer thirds, which provides zoned support to the mattress because the foam is firmer and more supportive than the micro coils. 

Above this zoned support combo layer is a one-inch layer of memory foam, and then the final stratum is a one-inch-thick layer of responsive, polyurethane foam that’s perforated for improved airflow. 

The mattress is wrapped in that soft and breathable cover that is made of a mixture of merino wool, recycled polyester and organic cotton. 

Leesa Legend Hybrid performance

Edge support

Edge support refers to how well the edge of the mattress holds up under pressure. Beds with poor edge support make you feel like you’re going to roll off the mattress near the outer edge, and it is easy to sleep fairly close to the edge if you are sharing a bed with a partner or pets.

Like many of the Leesa Hybrid mattresses, the coils along the perimeter of the mattress are made with thick gauge steel to make the edges of the bed more supportive, and this works very effectively. Even putting my entire body weight on the edge of the bed, I didn’t notice any roll-off sensation, which is not always the case with softer mattresses like the Legend Hybrid. This excellent performance in edge support is great news for couples sharing a mattress.

Motion isolation

The motion isolation on the Legend Hybrid is better than most hybrid beds and we believe this has to do with the micro coil layer in this bed’s construction. Micro coils do an excellent job at absorbing impacts from sleepers tossing and turning, almost like memory foam. The Legend Hybrid would perform better if the micro coil layer didn’t also have foam, because we found that the Legend Chill Hybrid has slightly better motion isolation and it has a layer of micro coils that runs through the entire mattress. 

The bottom line is that if you’re a light sleeper I don’t think you’ll have issues sleeping on the Legend Hybrid, but there are beds that are made of entirely foam layers that will perform better if you have had issues with motion isolation in the past.

Temperature regulation

The Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress should sleep temperature neutral which means you shouldn’t be sleeping warm at night because of the mattress. If you do sleep hot, it is likely due to other environmental factors.

If you are a hot sleeper who wants temperature regulation advantages, then I think the Legend Chill Hybrid is a better choice because it has a strong cooling factor that will help you sleep cooler.

The Leesa Legend Hybrid is priced in the luxury tier and priced similarly to the Tempur-Pedic Adapt, Sedona Elite Hybrid and Casper Dream Max. Leesa will offer discounts pretty much year round, and once discounts are taken into account the Leesa Legend Hybrid can usually be purchased for about $2,000 in a queen-size, which is still pretty pricey. 

Sometimes, Leesa will include free extras like pillows and sheets with a mattress purchase to sweeten the deal around major holidays, so be sure to check out our mattress deals page for the latest on the Leesa Legend Hybrid.

Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress policies

Free shipping

The Leesa Legend mattress ships right to your door at no extra cost in the contiguous United States inside of a box. Unboxing a mattress is a quick and easy process; we’ve done it literally hundreds of times, and it’s actually fun. 

This bed is pretty light, so you might be able to unbox it solo, but I’d still recommend getting someone to help you, especially for larger sizes. 

100-night trial 

Leesa offers the usual standard in-home sleep trial of 100 nights. So you get roughly three months to really test out the bed to see if it’s supportive and comfortable enough for you. 

Keep in mind that it can take a month or longer for your body to adjust to a new mattress, no matter how well-suited it is to you. So, if you struggle to get a good night’s sleep in the first week or two, don’t panic.

Return policy

Leesa, despite more brands introducing return fees, still offers completely free returns on all of its mattresses if you choose to return it within the provided trial period. 

Returning a mattress is usually pretty easy; you just contact the company, and usually, a group will come by your house to pick up the bed, and then it will often get donated or sometimes resold by a third party.

Warranty

All Leesa mattresses are backed by a standard 10-year warranty. If you buy a mattress online, a 10-year warranty is the minimum you should expect.

How does the Leesa Legend Hybrid compare to similar mattresses?

Leesa Legend Hybrid vs. Casper Dream Max

The Casper Dream Max is quite similar to the Leesa Legend Hybrid, with a similar accommodating feel, medium-soft firmness profile and an advanced zoned support design. The Dream Max uses foams with portions cut out in strategic places to provide targeted zoned support instead of foam combined with micro coils. 

The Dream Max is more expensive than the Leesa Legend though, with a retail price of $3,125 for a queen-size, but it is regularly on discount.

Leesa Legend Hybrid vs. Layla Hybrid

The Layla Hybrid is an excellent choice for side sleepers thanks to its flippable design. The soft side of the Layla Hybrid is medium-soft, and it’s pressure-relieving. The firm side is just a bit firmer than a true medium. You will get two chances to get the firmness right in the same mattress, which reduces the chance of having to return it. It also has a more light, airy and responsive memory foam feel that still provides a sink-in, body-conforming sensation but without feeling as dense as a bed like Tempur-Pedic. It is also quite a bit more affordable than the Leesa Legend Hybrid, but it doesn’t feature a zoned support design.

Final thoughts on the Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress

The Leesa Legend Hybrid is a very impressive looking mattress with its beautifully designed cover, and it is equally impressive underneath the cover with a unique design I haven’t seen anywhere else. Plenty of mattresses offer a zoned support design, but not many are this plush, nor do they go beyond the main coil layer like the Legend Hybrid does with its micro-coil-and-foam combination. 

I think for any side sleeper seeking out a luxurious mattress I think the Legend Hybrid is a fantastic choice, and if you have back pain you can benefit from its zoned support design. It is fairly expensive, but I think the quality is reflected in the price. For me, as someone who sleeps on his side almost exclusively, the Legend Hybrid is a personal favorite mattress. 

You might like the Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress if:

• You want a neutral feel
• You are a primary side sleeper
• You want a coil mattress
• You have aches and pains

You might not like the Leesa Legend Hybrid mattress if:

• You prefer a foam mattress
• You strongly prefer a memory foam feel
• You are shopping on a budget
• You want a firm mattress

Other mattresses from Leesa

Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid: The Legend Chill Hybrid is technically the “upgraded” version of the Legend Hybrid, but the two beds aren’t all that similar. The Legend Chill is a bit firmer, at a proper medium on our scale (4.1 out to 10) and it has a slightly different feel, thanks to its pillow-top design. It is still neutral and accommodating but because it has a tufted sleeping surface you will sink into the Legend Chill a bit more than the Legend. 

The Legend Chill also features micro coils, but the micro coils aren’t combined with a section of foam. The zoned support provided by the Legend Chill comes from the main support layer of coils rather than the unique transition layer in the Legend. Also, the Legend Chill, as you would expect given its name, has a strong cooling factor that is a nice feature for hot sleepers. 

Leesa Sapira Hybrid: The Leesa Sapira Hybrid uses similar types of foams as the Legend Hybrid and it has a very similar mattress feel, but with a few key differences. The Sapira Hybrid is a firmer mattress overall, between a medium and a medium-firm which makes it a great choice for all sleeper types, except maybe side sleepers (who the Legend Hybrid is for).

The Sapira Hybrid doesn’t have the unique zoned support layer, but it is also more affordable and is a great choice for anyone looking for an accommodating hybrid.