A good value for a non-discerning customer

It was refreshing to stumble onto this forum after browsing lots of generally useless mattress information elsewhere on the internet.

I’m looking for a new mattress, but here’s the thing: I’m not a discerning sleeper, but I want my money to be well-spent.

I’ve been sleeping on the same old twin mattress for probably the past 10(?) years, and I’ve never had any problems with it, despite its size, and the fact that I know nothing about it. My parents bought it for me when I was a kid, and I just took it with me when I graduated college. I didn’t even really mind the dorm mattresses I slept on for two years in college. I don’t have back pain, no regular sleeping positions, and basically no particular preferences at all. I just know that I don’t like to feel as if I’m being swallowed up by my mattress, but I still want it to have some give. And I definitely don’t want something hot.

I’m still looking to stay on the cheaper side (<$500ish), but I want that money to be well spent, so I’m not particularly interested in heading to IKEA and calling it a day. I want to spend my money on a quality product that will last. Despite the fact that I could even sleep on the floor if I had to, I understand the value of a good bed (why start having back problems now?), and I know that as I get older, I’ll only get pickier.

I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to something from DixieFoam, or the DreamFoam Ultimate Dreams. Are the lower-end DixieFoam mattresses good options (EasyRest, DreamBed)? The Ultimate Dreams is pushing it price-wise, but I can’t help but be enchanted by all the wonderful things I’ve read on this forum and on Amazon.

What recommendations would everyone give for someone who doesn’t really mind what mattress he/she gets, but wants to spend his/her money wisely?

Another silly question is what size I should get. I’ve really never been bothered by the fact that all my limbs hang off the edges of my twin mattress, but now that I’m an adult, I figure I should treat myself well and get myself an adult-sized bed. I’m 5’8" so I wonder if getting a full still might be too short, but a Queen just kind of sounds decadent for a single guy. Is the extra few inches of length really worth it?

Thanks in advance, and I’m looking forward to hearing what you all have to say!

Hi alloftheabove,

Just in case you haven’t read it … the first place I would start is post #1 here which has the basic information, steps and guidelines you will need to make good choices.

The size of a mattress is really a matter of preference and comfort but a good guideline is that it should be about 8" or more longer than your height to allow room for a pillow and to keep your feet from hanging off the end and about 16" or more wider than your shoulder width to give you the room you need to sleep without sleeping too close to the edge and to keep limbs from hanging off the mattress. If you are 5’ 8" then this would indicate a mattress that was 76" long or longer and since a twin size is 75" long you are right in the range where it may just be OK. The width of a twin size (38" to 39") provides you with the same room as a couple would have on each half of a king size. If you want some extra length then twins also come in XL sizes which are 80" long (the same length as a king or queen). If you need more width than a twin, then a full size is 15" - 16" wider (53" - 54" wide) and they also come in a 75" length or you may also sometimes find them in a full XL size which is also 80" long. I would also keep in mind though that the cost of a full XL is usually very close to the cost of a queen size (which is another 6" wider at 60") so if you bedroom has the room then it would make sense in terms of “value” to get a queen instead of a full XL.

The size you choose will have a significant effect on the price of the mattress but in the larger sizes then $500 is on the low end of the budget range … especially when you add a foundation as well … and most premium comfort materials won’t be available in this budget range. To move into the range where at least the top layer is a premium foam (such as latex or high density memory foam) you would probably need to raise your budget a little.

Some of the Ikea mattresses use good quality materials and can be good quality and value options (see post #3 here).

Yes … all the Dixie Foam mattresses use high quality materials. Both the Easy Rest and the Dream Bed use high quality polyfoam but of course the Dream bed is higher quality/density than the Easy Rest and I would lean in this direction (I believe it uses 2.8 lb HR polyfoam which is a very high quality material).

Both Dixie Foam and Brooklyn Bedding are very good options and if you end up choosing between these two you would have eliminated any “bad” choices and be making final choices between “good and good” (see post #2 here) which is the most important goal of this site :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Thanks for the insight. After thinking about it some more, I decided that the most important factors to me are size and price. If my feet aren’t supposed to be hanging off the bed, then I’ll definitely need to go longer, since my feet are always hanging off of my current twin! So, I’ll probably end up going with DixieFoam, since the Queen Ultimate Dreams is a bit out of my budget. My $500 target is for the mattress only, not including a foundation, bed frame, etc. And, I figure I can always spend on a nice topper down the road.

Also, the fact that I can go try out the DixieFoam mattresses is a big plus. The thought of having to decide between so many different firmness levels for the Ultimate Dreams without any kind of reference is frankly terrifying.

Hi alloftheabove,

That makes sense to me :slight_smile:

Phoenix