118 lbs w/ health issues and back pain, looking for inexpensive full mattress

Found out about this forum from R/Mattress and am asking what I asked there. I apologize if this is the incorrect format - I couldn’t figure out where to ask this. I did search “lucid” and “allswell” before creating this post, but could only see 5 posts about allswell!

I’m really struggling to pick a mattress around the $500 range. I’m currently on a 17 year old cheap box spring mattress and it’s MISERABLE. I added a 4" memory foam topper a few years ago and LOVE the feel of memory foam, but I’m not getting enough support since my mattress is so caved in. I have a shoulder injury, chronic pain and health issues, and lower back pain/a broken tailbone that healed weird after a fall. I’m somewhat scrawny at 5’8" and 118 pounds - I’m nearing 30, but would say I have the body of a 60+ year old health and joint wise. Oh, and I’m a stomach sleeper, but lately I’m on my side because laying flat on my bed is so painful. I know it’s best to look in person but I have severe health issues and a family member with a brain tumor that puts us at risk for Covid complications, so we don’t leave the house at all right now. I also lost my job due to Covid, hence the low budget.

I actually purchased a Lucid Latex Hybrid from Walmart tonight but I’m rethinking that after reading here. Have opinions on them changed at all? I kind of just gave up after being completely overwhelmed by all the information online and went with it.

The other main mattress I was considering was the Allswell Luxe. I am assuming being made by Brooklyn Bedding is a good sign.
These are the 2 least expensive and I honestly can’t really afford more than that nearing $400 mark, but here are the others I was looking at:

Recommended by a redditor: comfortoption Alpha, Brooklyn Bedding Copper Dreams (I thought this was considered pretty soft for stomach sleepers?)

Tuft & Needle original, $445

Brooklyn Bowery $487

More expensive options, maybe worth figuring out if the quality/durability is that much better (I WANT to be able to get one of these but honestly it’s not in the budget).:

Brooklyn signature hybrid $636 https://brooklynbedding.com/products/brooklyn-signature-hybrid?variant=32591736504365

SleepEZ Roma: on sale for $700

Hi CEMDaughter.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum :slight_smile: all the way over from Reddit! We’re glad you found us.

Thanks for sharing a bit about your sleeping positions, health history, and budgetary restrictions. Sorry to hear you lost your job due to Covid. I understand that you’re also unable to test in person, so I will do my very best to help guide you.

As you’ve already figured out, adding a topper as a sort of “band-aid” to fix a sagging mattress, unfortunately, never helps remedy the issue and it is a sure recipe for spinal misalignment and backpains. To add “insult to the injury,” being a stomach sleeper, you are very likely exacerbating any lower back pain as this is the worst position to sleep in as it causes sinking down too far in the pelvic area into a “swayback” position. For your stomach sleeping position, you may wish to review the guidelines in this [url=Your sleeping style, preferences, and statistics - Your sleep positions - The Mattress Underground] Sleep Positions Article [url] so that you avoid hyperextension in a swayback position that can cause back issues.

Have you had a chance to test it before? If so, what did you base your decision on? Did you get the 10" or the 12"?

We do generally recommend that people stay away from big name brands and mattresses from big box stores, due to the fact that they very rarely meet our Mattress Durability Guidelines as it pertains to most people. That said, sometimes these mattresses work just fine for some people that look at lower budget options! Given your rather low BMI, I don’t see this being a major factor or issue however your severe health concerns and chronic pains might present some challenges in terms of ensuring that you have optimal comfort and support over a long period of time.

Allswell Luxe has 2" of copper infused memory foam in the comfort layer, followed by a 1" transitional layer of high-density foam of unknown densities, For your BMI, I’d generally recommend a minimum guideline of 4 lb per cubic foot density for memory foam or 1.5 lb per cubic foot density for polyfoam as a reasonable “cost/durability compromise” If you manage to find the densities please list them here and I’d be happy to comment upon it. In general, we recommend NOT basing your decisions on reviews because each individual has specific needs, and preferences and a different Mattress buying personal value equation that is most important to them. however …it looks like this Redditor offered a few lower budget recommendations that may work for your lower budget.

The Sleep EZ Roma is a quality mattress and at $700 you won’t be able to beat the price too easily. It’s 100% latex and, as a vetted Trusted Member of this site, meets our rigorous quality/value, customer service criteria and in this case, our durability guidelines as well. While this product is $200 over your budget this may be well spent on your health having restful nights by getting good alignment and support.
Latex is similar to memory foam in its ability to respond to pressure in a very local area, for a cradle and offer good pressure point relief. While memory foam has real strengths in the area of pressure relief and movement isolation, it also has some drawbacks because of its very different qualities and structure. It tends to sleep hot for those who are sensitive to this and even the newer generation more breathable memory foams are not as breathable or open-celled as other types of foam. It has little resilience, is a poorly supportive material, and it is difficult to control how far you sink into a memory foam layer as it may soften over the course of the night and what started out as correct spinal alignment could turn into a “hammock” position and a backache by morning. So, I’d make sure before purchasing a memory foam product that you are OK with these memory foam “traits”.

At a quick glance, some mattresses worth considering from our Trusted Members near/within your budget would be…

[indent]The Ghostbed
The Noelle or Emily from Quality Sleep Shop
As well as quite a number of mattresses from Mattress To Go[/indent]
You can also browse the sales/discounts available to TMU subscribers like yourself at the Trusted Member Directory linked here.

If you can find and share the layer specifications on the other mattresses you mentioned I’d be happy to offer commentary on how those may match up based on your BMI and sleeping position, but it’s possible with the resources now at your disposal that you’re able to do this evaluation on your own! I’d make sure to look at the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones which would include the major brands such as Serta or any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the quality of the materials inside it.

But, more importantly, any one of our Trusted Members will be able to expertly guide you towards your best fit from their selection. Because of the current circumstances with Covid, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having a detailed phone conversation or chat with the retailer/manufacturer you are considering purchasing from. I’d make sure you share your sleeping statistics, health concerns, budget, and history with them.

I hope I have given you some useful information to help you decide how to move forward. Please do continue to check in with updates.

Phoenix

A lot of great information here, thank you! After reading info about stomach sleepers I am wondering if the 4" memory foam topper was just making things worse. I’m planning on buying a topper for my new mattress and would love recommendations - I’m looking at DreamFoam’s 2" topper and hoping it will be a better fit. I purchased a The Big One 1.5" topper from Kohl’s, which I’m pretty sure will not be good quality (no spec anywhere on the website), and a 3" topper from Walmart from Best Priced Mattress, which I think will be too thick.

I didn’t have a chance to test the Lucid - I went with it because, honestly, I was sick of mattress shopping. I placed a walmart order for the 13" Lucid latex hybrid (one review said it is just the 12" model with a different name), along with the 3" topper since it was supposed to be firm, and a mainstays box spring set that was the cheapest I could find. I think it’s all going back as r/mattress also informed me the foundation has slats that are too far apart. The Lucid had positive reviews on youtube and mattress review sites - didn’t realize most of the reviewers online were likely paid. I canceled the order because I was put off by all the fiberglass. Specs are hard to find online, and redditors received completely different answers from the company (density - top layer is 4.4 # and the support form is 1.6#, or “The latex used in our Hybrid models is natural Dunlop latex. It is mixed into the polyurethane memory foam and has a 2.8 lb. density (although the Latex helps this layer feel mush more supportive than regular memory foam). The Gel Foam layer beneath that has a density of 1.9 lbs and the support foam has a density of 3.9 lbs.”).

I purchased a Brentwood Home Cypress Hybrid today - I would have loved to go with the luxe but I went with the 11" as it is closer to my price range at $520 with discounts. I was thinking I could get a sleeponlatex topper down the line. I’m wondering if this was a poor choice as the price of a topper and the bed is only about a $50 difference from the Roma and I could have just started with that one, or put a topper on one of the cheaper mattress to go options you mentioned. Basically, not being able to feel a bed in person is making things really difficult for me. I bought it quickly because I wasn’t sure when 15% off ebates would happen, but I have gotten nothing but canned responses to the questions I’ve tried to ask the company over the past 2 days.

I think the impulsiveness and rushing to find a good option is hurting me and leading to poor choices - I really thought a week was sufficient to research, and was very mistaken. I feel like I’m trying to stay on top of black Friday and cyber Monday deals - I’m very concerned about buying the DreamFoam topper on cyber monday, and trying to find an afforable quality 4 or 5 inch foundation. Advice is appreciated, and I will be continuing to search through this forum for answers as well. Thank you!

Forgot to add, the DreamFoam topper has a 3lb density.

Hi CEMDaughter,

Not trying to rub salt in the wound since you’ve already purchased a mattress, but I’ve been looking at mattresses for months and have discovered that they are always on sale, and usually the discount from any one manufacturer is pretty constant over time (ie, always $200 off). The mattress companies just seem to re-label the reason for the sale to match the current holiday. Google “why are mattresses always on sale” and you can find other accounts confirming this “phenomenon”.

It’s entirely possible that some of the the current Black Friday sales are discounting mattresses more than the normal discount, but only way to determine that would be to follow the price of the mattress(es) you are considering over several months.

I do concur that making an informed choice on a mattress purchase takes much more research than one would think, but lucky for us that TMU has consolidated so much useful information in one place! And I can also commiserate on how difficult it is to pull the trigger on an online mattress purchase, especially when you have limited options for trying out various mattress types locally and aren’t clear on what types of mattresses work best for you.

On a good note, you’ve chosen a mattress with what appears to be a good return policy, so if it doesn’t end up meeting your needs, you’ve got options. If you do end up ordering from a Trusted Member, make sure to check out TMU discounts listed in the Trusted Members Directory (Our Manufacturer Memberships :: The Mattress Underground).

Take care,
Emily

Hi CEMdaughter.

As we are striving to keep the forum organized and remove any duplications, we have deleted one of your duplicate threads, but we have kept the other one that is relevant to the box spring.

I analyzed your duplicate thread to see if you’d asked or added anything new, and as you have already decided on one of the line ups you were considering, I have removed the post in its entirety. Usually, it is better to keep everything organized under one thread, as it is very difficult to skip between posts while also keeping track of your sleep statistics, etc. This allows our experts to best address any of your future concerns and questions.

Thank you for understanding. I know that Phoenix is taking care of your reply right now, as well, so keep your eye out for that!

NikkiTMU

Hi CEMDaughter.

Your inference is correct …adding a 4" topper would be typically too thick especially for a stomach sleeper of such low BMI as yours. Of course, there are other variables that come into play such as density, firmness of the topper you purchased, and your specific preferences. (This would bring it to 4" + 2" total comfort layers on top of 8" coils bringing your sleep system to a 14" thickness. )

I’d pause with this for a while so that you have the chance to test your new mattress and determine what are your next needs. It’s good to have options after you slept on it for a while! It will allow you, at the very least, to do some “topper testing” with your mattress and see which ultimately offers you adequate comfort and support without exacerbating any back issues. Some more questions to keep in the back of your mind when the time comes. What’s your plan for the toppers that don’t work out? Do they come with a return policy? Make sure to find out the density of any of the toppers you are considering.

A forum search on Lucid (you can just click the link) will bring up comments and feedback about them. Lucid is from China, and post #6 here is about mattresses imported from Asia or China which may have been compressed for long periods of time in either shipping or storage before being purchased, which IMO makes this a more risky purchase. Canceling your order was a good call as many subscribers reported issues about and the company variance in answering other consumers and fiberglass as well.
About the other beds, you considered… downside to big mattress brands or some of the new breed of retailers that sell on line but are self-invented and have little knowledge of mattress construction and design. They rely on pushed advertising, fake sales, and employ salespeople who are given scripted information who are unable to answer any meaningful questions. This is why we recommend finding local retailers/manufacturers with many years of mattress experience that have been in business for long enough and have a track record of improving their mattresses rather than cutting corners solely with profit in mind and little to no regard to how this will affect the long term wellbeing of their customers. If you care about the quality of your sleep it becomes more important than ever to look for, discover, and talk with what I call “good mattress people”. They take pride in their work and are putting your well-being, comfort, and support needs above their bottom line.

Congratulations on your new mattress. It is nice to see that Brentwood is transparent about what they have in their mattress. This construction has a good chance of working for you. Spec of the 11" Brentwood Home Cypress Hybrid are as follows…
• 1-inch charcoal-infused memory foam with BioFoam (no foam density listed, but this is in the 1 inch or so foam range from the mattress durability guidelines)
• 1-inch 1.5/33 foam (which is OK for lower budget beds for petite individuals)
• 8 inches Leggett & Platt pocket coils
• 1-inch 1.5/52 foam.
For someone of your BMI (as you’ll note in our Mattress Durability Guidelines), we would consider 1.5 lb per cubic foot density for polyfoam a reasonable “cost/durability compromise”.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on sales. (@ebs thanks as well) With your budget constraints, the seasonal sales are definitely something that looks attractive but I’m glad you are standing your ground and realize what is happening on a larger scale. It is really encouraging to see that even though your mattress search started not so long ago you’ve already discovered some of the “best-kept secrets” in the mattress industry. Generally giving in to a sense of urgency because of a sale may do more harm than good when it comes to the suitability or even price. Sales come and go and some of them seem to last forever, In my opinion, they are mostly fake and are about the illusion of saving money than they are about reality. While it’s not possible to make a blanket statement about sales because each retailer or manufacturer can be different, I would keep in mind that the better manufacturers and retailers don’t generally “negotiate” (see post #6 here ) or have “fake sales” based on the time of year or holidays.
A good retailer or manufacturer won’t need to rely on “fake sales” or other tricks to create a false sense of urgency but would create the space for their customers to do some informed comparison shopping and make a good decision based on facts rather than stories or sales.
In general, Black Friday or other seasonal sales tend to be, on average, only about 5% higher.

If you do decide to go ahead with the additional uncertainty of buying a mattress and a topper separately then I would suggest buying the mattress first and then adding a topper that you think would work well for you after you’ve tried it and based on the information in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to that can help you use your actual sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline for choosing the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that would have the least possible risk and the best chance of success.
So I would not make any other purchase (topper or foundation) until you have a chance to receive your bed and sleep on it for a while so that you determine how much more “comfort” (if any) you’d need or prefer.

You may still wish to peruse through the toppers offered by our Trusted Members - many of whom are also running sales - and who will be more responsive to your questions and in a timelier manner than these larger brands. If you reach out and let them know your BMI, sleeping position, other needs and concerns, and your budget, they’ll be more than willing to help you find something…if you’re interested in looking beyond the DreamFoam.

Quick options that come to mind for toppers are…
Sleep On Latex
SleepEZ
Arizona Premium
Latex Mattress Factory
My Green Mattress

Thanks to ebs who also weighed in with some great advice, so hopefully, you’ll have a large enough perspective for a good next step.
I look forward to your future updates once you’ve had a chance to receive the mattress and to sleep upon it for a while.

Phoenix

NIKKITMU, I didn’t realize I made a duplicate thread - I apologize, thank you for taking care of it!

Ebs, thank you for confirming that mattress sales come and go - this helped me hold off on impulsively buying the DreamFoam topper on sale.

Phoenix, thank you for further confirmation that “pausing” is the right move! I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of my mattress and trying to be patient. Thank you for providing the specs, as well! Again, I rushed the purchase knowing full well it was best to have this information up front. I was regretting not going with the Luxe version of the Cypress Hybrid, but now that I see the specs and the low foam density I’m thinking maybe I made the right move in terms of durability (I would think replacing a low density topper when it runs out is better than having the layers embedded in the mattress). Thank you for the topper recommendations! I have been eyeing them for a few days after searching here and will probably start with a sleeponlatex if I want a quality topper. I think talaylay would be the best option for me but it just isn’t in the budget.

Thanks again - hearing from everyone has really decreased my anxiety about this whole experience! Very excited to get my mattress and go from there!