Ok so ive read the tutorial and i feel like ive done so much research but im so confused as to what to buy. My wife and i did go to sleepys to try a few beds and kinda liked the feel of the Simmons Beautyrest Phenom Crossover Plush Mattress. Of course I couldnt find any specs on the foams used and the fact that its 2k turned me off. We then went to Original Mattress Factory and tried the serenity series. We liked the serenity and the serenity latex but again the prices are pretty high. I know im not gonna get a recommendation, but maybe a nudge in a general direction would be nice. Thanks
Hi G8rh8r,
I think that the best suggestion I could make would be to first confirm the knowledge, experience, and especially the transparency of the retailers or manufacturers you are visiting and make sure that they can provide you with the information you need (see this article) BEFORE you go to visit them and test their mattresses in person (see this article).
One of the most frustrating parts of mattress shopping can be spending time testing a mattress and finding out that you like it and it’s a good match for you in terms of firmness, “feel” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) only to find out that the information you need to identify any lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress or make meaningful comparisons to other mattresses isn’t available and you’ve wasted the time you spent testing the mattress.
Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so unless a manufacturer specifically says in their description of a mattress that one of their mattresses in the same general category is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” another one in terms of firmness or “feel” and PPP and/or they are very familiar with both mattresses and can provide reliable guidance about how they compare based on the “averages” of a larger group of people that have compared them (different people may have very different opinions about how two mattresses compare) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.
In other words … the time you spend testing mattresses where you can’t find out what is inside them or that other manufacturers don’t specifically advertise as being similar to a mattress that they make won’t generally help you find another mattress that is similar because you would need to test the second mattress in person anyway.
While I certainly wouldn’t consider the Simmons Phenom (or most of the mattresses at Sleepy’s) and I wouldn’t even spend any time testing them (for the reasons I mentioned) … if any of the Serenity mattresses at OMF are a good “match” for you in terms of PPP they would certainly be worth considering because they don’t have any lower quality materials or weak links and could make a good quality/value choice.
In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to first finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
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Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
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Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
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Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Phoenix