With Casper’s new summer-friendly sheets, I’ve never slept cooler
If you can stomach the high price tag, the Hyperlites are tough to beat.
Credit:
Casper
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Choosing bed sheets is no simple task, with options from sateen to percale to microfiber and more. And when it comes to bedding, there’s no time of year that’s harder than summer, when you need something that’s just the right weight and keeps you cool and comfy all night long.
Recently Casper launched its Hyperlite sheets, which it claims are its “coolest sheets yet. Made with 100% Tencel and a unique grid weave for maximum breathability.” As a fabric nerd, and having worked in the apparel and textile industry for years, I was both fascinated by this description and skeptical that it was just marketing hype. Luckily, I got a chance to try these sheets for myself and see if they lived up to Casper’s glowing description—and whether they’re worth the up to $170 price.
What is Casper and what are Hyperlite sheets?
The Casper Hyperlite sheets have just a couple downsides—including the lack of a wider hem on the top sheet, which allows you to orient the sheet.
Casper is best known for its mattresses, specifically the Casper Original memory foam mattress that comes straight to your door, compressed in the company’s signature blue-and-white striped box. In fact, Casper was one of the first companies to launch a mattress in a box. Since then, the brand expanded its sleep-oriented offerings to include pillows and, yes, bed sheets, like its percale sheet set and the new Hyperlites.
Straight out of the package, I could tell these Casper sheets were different. The fabric weave, designed to be ultra-breathable, gives them a distinctive-yet-subtle grid pattern. They're composed of 100% lyocell (Tencel is a brand of lyocell), a type of rayon fabric that's made with plant cellulose pulp, which lends them a smooth, flowy feel and an appearance that’s somewhat sheer.
What I like about Casper’s Hyperlite sheets
Without a doubt, Casper’s Hyperlite sheets live up to their “maximum breathability” claim. The fabric’s grid pattern is a type of open construction that creates vent-like spaces in the material itself to allow air and heat to escape. It reminds me of a better-looking, more-structured gauze bandage where the spacing between the yarn strands allows maximum airflow. All that is to say, these are the lightest and most airy sheets I’ve ever slept on.
While Casper says these are its “coolest sheets yet,” you should know that they won’t actively reduce your temperature, like other cooling products infused with things like “Outlast Technology," which employs tiny capsule-like “thermocules” that are incorporated into a fabric and are supposed to draw heat away from the body and release it. Bedding that incorporates cooling technology, like Outlast, can feel cool to the touch, though I’ve found the efficacy varies from brand to brand. The Hyperlite sheets, in contrast, make you feel cooler by allowing heat and moisture to escape from your skin through the fabric, not unlike performance fabrics used in workout clothes.
The lyocell fibers make the sheets feel smooth and appear drapey as opposed to cotton sheets that may feel crisp and look stiffer. Although I love the also-cool feel of a percale cotton, these Casper sheets lend an unexpected enveloping sensation that I found especially nice in hot summer weather because I’m one of those people who needs the weight of something, even if it’s just a sheet, on me in order to sleep. I can wrap myself up in these without overheating!
Finally, one of the biggest initial draws to these sheets for me was the stylish design. Thin sheets can sometimes look cheap, but the grid pattern gives this set an elevated appearance. I’m very picky when it comes to my interior furnishings, and the dusty rose color with the subtle lattice pattern matched my decor perfectly. If a subdued pink isn’t your favorite, the sheets also come in indigo, white, gray, and fog blue.
What I don’t like about Casper’s Hyperlite sheets
The Casper Hyperlite sheets have just a couple downsides—including the lack of a wider hem on the top sheet, which allows you to orient the sheet.
While I adored the Hyperlite sheets, especially on very hot days, I identified a few drawbacks. As with other lightweight and breathable options, there’s a tradeoff: The Hyperlite sheets are see-through. Again, while great for breathability, it also means you can see the mattress and pillow underneath the sheets—more of an aesthetic concern than anything else, and not a deal-breaker for me.
However, the translucency may be a bigger problem for people who are heavy sweaters. Unlike sheets that are thicker and can absorb sweat, the Casper Hyperlite sheet’s thin fabric won’t absorb enough moisture to protect the bed and pillows—which is where a good mattress protector and pillow protectors come in handy.
Aesthetically, they look nice fresh out of the dryer, but after sleeping on them a few days, I noticed that they’re more prone to wrinkling than other sheets I own. And one style detail that misses the mark is the hem around the perimeter of the top sheet. Most top sheets have a wider hem at the top, which looks more put together on a freshly made bed. The hem on these Casper sheets is the same width all the way around. Perhaps more irksome than the appearance is that it makes it tricky to figure out which way the sheet goes. I had to turn the top sheet multiple times to make sure it was laying the correct way to fit the bed. (That said, I have a queen-size bed, which is close enough to square that it’s tough to differentiate. If you have, say, a twin, this would be less of a headache.)
A final quibble: The label recommends to machine-wash cold and tumble-dry low, which means I can’t wash them with my other linens, which I always launder on hot. While this isn’t a big deal as I just put them in with my delicates, it's something to note if you’re accustomed to tossing all your sheets together in the wash on warm or hot. This isn’t necessarily specific to just the Hyperlite sheets, as most lyocell fabric doesn’t fare well when laundered in hot temperatures because it tends to shrink or distort and could expedite pilling. That said, I’m not concerned with the sheets’ durability—I have yet to see a sign of pesky pills on the Casper Hyperlite sheets, and I also was impressed by the fabric’s apparent strength.
Are the Casper Hyperlite Sheets worth buying?
Though they're expensive, you'll be hard pressed to find sheets that are more breathable and lightweight.
I’ll be honest: I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that these cost between $109 (twin) and $169 (king) a set. For around that price, you can buy a set of really nice set of high thread count sheets, like the 400 thread count supima cotton sheets from Lands' End, which I have and adore and I know will last a long time. Those are made of high-quality cotton and check all the boxes: They’re durable, not overly prone to wrinkling, and easy to wash. But as with other all-cotton sheets, they aren't as breathable as the Casper Hyperlite sheets and also don't have the same feather-light drape I came to crave on hot summer nights. All that said, products made with lyocell tend to be more expensive than everyday cotton and the construction is unique, so in that sense, I can see why the pricing is what it is.
While trying to wrap my head around the price, the thrifty shopper in me was curious if I could find other sheets that could be a substitute and wouldn’t cost such a pretty penny. I wasn’t able to find any other sheets with this grid-like weave. I wasn’t even able to find lyocell sheets that touted cooling benefits. To account for the sheets’ lightweight sensation, I also looked at other 200 thread count cotton options. None shared the same airy construction. I also browsed some linen sheet sets, which are common for summer months, thanks to their sheerness and breathability. The problem with linen is that for some, like myself, it can feel scratchy, whereas lyocell is smooth against the skin.
Finally, I looked at cooling sheets that promise to help wick away moisture and are infused with “cooling technology,” like Outlast, in the fabric. But then I put myself in check: I've tested such products in the past, and while I find this type of cooling bedding feels chilly initially, I have yet to find a set that maintains the sensation all night. In addition, sheets with infused technology tend to have higher thread counts, which means they will likely feel heavier than the Hyperlite sheets, and some can cost even more than the Hyperlites.
The bottom line: These Casper sheets are truly one-of-a-kind and don’t have a direct substitute. Therefore, I have no qualms in recommending them for someone who is a hot sleeper, hasn’t found linens that work for them, prefers a very light feel to their sheets, and is willing and able to spend the cash for quality.