Lucid Mattress Review: An Affordable Amazon Choice Mattress

While many of the well-known brands of mattresses are expensive, getting a quality, comfortable mattress that'll help you sleep more soundly doesn't have to cost much. The Lucid Gel Memory Foam mattress is well-reviewed by buyers, with a 4.4-star rating and 20,000 reviews. On top of that, it's one of the most affordable mattresses I've ever tested. If you're looking for a great pick for a new memory foam mattress, I suggest you keep reading. 

Editor’s note: The Lucid Gel Memory Foam mattress has been updated with a new construction and renamed the Bamboo Charcoal Hybrid mattress. This review focuses on the Lucid Gel Memory Foam model. If you’re looking for a close comparison to the original construction, we recommend the all-foam version of the Nectar Premier mattress or SweetNight Dreamy memory foam mattress.

The 10-inch Lucid Gel Memory Foam mattress.

My Slumber Yard

First impressions

I honestly had low expectations for this mattress because it was so much cheaper compared to other foam beds I've tested (sorry, Lucid), but actually I was pleasantly surprised. I remember one foam mattress I purchased from Amazon years ago was just a slab of flimsy, exposed foam. This one is fit with a cover and you can pick how thick you want your Lucid Gel Memory Foam mattress to be for more or less support.

The feel will differ slightly depending on the firmness you get, but either way, it feels like classic, sink-in memory foam. The question will be how far you sink into that memory foam. The softer the Lucid mattress was, the more I became nestled into the bed's foam layers. 

Amazon customer sentiment

With a rating of 4.4/5, the Lucid 10-inch mattress has overall positive customer reviews. Reviews mention that the mattress is more affordable than similar mattresses, easy to unbox, supportive and more comfortable than expected. Others mention that the mattress didn't provide proper support, and some say that the mattress was delivered in damaged boxes when they bought it through Amazon.

Firmness

Thankfully, you have three firmness options when it comes to choosing your Lucid mattress. I really appreciate when a brand makes a bed so versatile, because it gives you the chance to cater to your primary sleeping position. Here's how I'd rate the three firmness levels:

Medium Plush: This is the softest mattress of them all and rated around a medium-soft or 3 out of 10 with 10 being the firmest. It's best for people who want maximum pressure relief.

Medium: This sits around a medium or 5 out of 10 on the firmness scale. It's ideal for combination sleepers or people who want both pressure relief and support. 

Firm: This falls around medium-firm to firm or an 8 out of 10 on the firmness scale. It's the most supportive, and good for back or stomach sleepers.

Comfort

You have the pick of the crop when it comes to how tall you want your Lucid Gel Memory Foam mattress to be. You can go with 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14 inches.   

Here's is a breakdown of its happy-medium 10-inch model:

• A thick 7.5-inch layer of firm, dense foam, which is the bed's primary source of support.
• A 2.5-inch layer of memory foam with tiny little gel beads, meant to help regulate temperature, scattered throughout.

The two layers inside the Lucid Gel Memory foam mattress

My Slumber Yard

The cover is thin and stretchy, and it doesn't fit tightly around the foam, but at least it's still on there. Unless you're a neat freak who needs flat and wrinkle-free sheets/bedding, this shouldn't be a problem for you. 

Feel

This mattress has dense, slow-responding, pressure-relieving memory foam that will feel comfy to memory-foam lovers. I switch positions often when I sleep, so it makes it harder for me to pull myself out of the position I'm in into a new one. But, if you like that hugging, nestling feeling, I don't think you'll mind -- especially if you stay in one position for most of the night. Also, the firmer mattress model does help you stay more on top of the mattress than inside the foam layers. 

Motion isolation 

If there's one thing this bed excels at besides price, it's motion isolation. If you have a partner who gets up often in the middle of the night or moves around the mattress, the Lucid Gel Memory Foam bed is great at deadening the movement. 

Edge support

The thicker your mattress the better edge support it will have, so I'd opt for the 12- or 14-inch model if it's something you're really serious about. The 10-inch model didn't perform great in this department, which is to be expected with a two-layer bed and the thinner models would feel even less supportive. Though, if it's not something you care about (i.e. you don't share a bed with anyone or you share a large, king size bed), the 10-inch model would be just fine. 

Temperature 

Lucid tries to help prevent its mattress from retaining heat as much as traditional memory foam used to do with the gel beads, but I wouldn't say it's a cold sleeping mattress by any means. It won't actively cool you down with technology in the bed's layers, nor does it have a cooling cover. So, in general, it won't make you sleep warmer if you're a cold sleeper, but it won't keep you cool if you're a hot sleeper. 

Who is this mattress best for?

There are hundreds of different mattresses on the market and you can't expect them all to be perfect for you. Here's who I think will be most accommodated by this Lucid mattress. 

Position

There are three different firmness levels available from Lucid, each one offering a little something different. Its Medium option will accommodate all sleeping positions because of its balanced firmness profile. Side sleepers who want a soft feel can opt for the Medium Plush and back or stomach sleepers who want a firmer mattress should go for the Firm bed for more support. 

In other words, this mattress does accommodate all sleeping positions.

Zooey Liao/CNET

Body type

I don't think the Gel Memory Foam mattress is supportive enough for someone who weighs over 230 pounds, if it's meant to be used as an everyday, long-term use mattress. If you want it in your guest bedroom, then that's OK. However, if you're plus-sized and want the most from your bed, I'd suggest a Lucid Hybrid mattress for its more supportive coils. 

Folks under 230 pounds, on the other hand, should be just fine on the Lucid Gel Memory Foam bed. 

One of my favorite things about this mattress is its low price and how it competes with big budget-bed names like Tuft and Needle and Allswell. Prices vary depending on the firmness, height and size you choose (and prices fluctuate on Amazon often in general), but a queen-size, 10-inch-thick Lucid mattress will cost you around the $300 to $360 range through Amazon, which is hundreds of dollars cheaper than your average 10-inch bed-in-a-box mattress. Although, Lucid and many other mattress brands are lowering their prices for Cyber Monday. Check out our best mattress deals page to see what kind of promotions are happening. 

Shipping, trial, warranty 

Whether you have Amazon Prime or not, you'll receive free shipping on the Lucid mattress and it's backed by a 10-year warranty. Lucid doesn't offer a generous trial period like some other mattresses in a box, but it is eligible for return within Amazon's standard 30-day window. Returning the mattress to Amazon isn't the easiest, so I'd make sure you're positive on your purchase before you pull the trigger. 

Final verdict 

The Lucid Gel Memory Foam bed's prime audience is memory-foam fanatics on a tight budget who love the slow-responding, syrupy feeling it provides. This bed is offered in multiple firmness levels so side, back, stomach and combination sleepers under 230 pounds can all find a firmness level that's accommodating and comfy. 

I personally liked the Medium option because it was a nice balance between firm and soft, but it's nice that you can go on either side of the spectrum to best accommodate your own preferences. You can even choose a different height if you're looking for more (or less) support and durability. For the surprisingly low price point it offers, it's a quality choice for the right kind of sleepers.

You might like this mattress if:

• You weigh under 230 pounds
• You like the feel of pressure-relieving, slow-responding memory foam
• You're on a budget of under $500
• You're a big Amazon shopper and fan

You might not like this mattress if:

• You weigh over 230 pounds
• You're turned off by the "stuck" feel of memory foam 
• You want a hybrid mattress with more support