A new mattress

:woohoo: We have been sleeping on a basic queen Tempur-pedic mattress for 14 years. We love it but it has gotten a little soft. So, thinking I had done all of my research (I am fairly intelligent) but had not read your instructions…I ordered a Astrabed, it came two days ago and we need to donate it because it just did not work for us. Now I am concerned because it is many miles and ferries to get to a mattress store. I was impressed with Tempflow and spoke to the rep, nice guy who answered all of my questions. I looked at the comparison chart for Tempflow and Tempur-pedic and thought maybe I would start there.
I read on-line that folks take their Tempur-pedic layers apart and flip or replace them to renew the mattress, don’t know if this works. So if we follow the chart and try a Tempur-contour elite and like it, are we likely to like the Tempflow Selene?
Thanks for help…DM

Hi dmichelsen,

14 years is longer than most people will sleep well on a mattress so you’ve done well and it’s not surprising that your Tempurpedic is past it’s “due date” (at least relative to your own needs and preferences).

There is more about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one in post #9 here. Any mattress that uses the same or better quality/density materials would be very similar in terms of durability but the durability of the materials will have little to do with how the mattress feels.

I would also keep in mind that there are no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that is firm for one can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type and weight, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here).

The tutorial post includes a link to a list of some of the better online memory foam manufacturers/retailers that I’m aware of (in the optional online step) and many of them (including Tempflow) make memory foam mattresses that are designed to approximate many of the Tempurpedic mattresses either in terms of firmness and feel and/or in terms of the quality/durability of the materials that are in much lower budget ranges than the equivalent Tempurpedic mattresses. This lets you test the equivalent mattress locally as a “proxy” to help you decide whether the online mattress you are considering is likely to be a suitable choice for you.

I would keep in mind though that while they may be “close approximations” … they won’t be an “exact match” in terms of how they feel because if two mattresses don’t use the exactly same materials and the same design (which is unlikely) then they can have some differences between them that some people may notice more than others. Most online memory foam manufacturers or retailers will be familiar with the Tempurpedic lineup and would be able to tell you which of their memory foam mattresses would be the closest approximation to any of the Tempurpedic models and some of them also include a specific Tempurpedic mattress in their description that would be the closest approximation to their mattress.

When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept well on and liked that they are familiar with, any special considerations you may have, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about helping you to “match” their specific mattress designs or firmness options to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences or even to other mattresses that they are familiar with than anyone else so that in combination with your own personal testing you can make the “best possible” choice with the highest chance of success.

For those people that are uncertain about whether an online choice would be suitable for them then the options you have after a purchase to “fine tune” the mattress or exchange or return it after you sleep on it (and the costs involved) would become a more important part of the “value” of a purchase so that you can use your actual sleeping experience to decide whether you will sleep well on the mattress or how closely it approximates another mattress although any differences that you feel could be an improvement from your “reference” mattress or they could be detrimental.

There are some suggestions in post #4 here that can be helpful if a mattress has become too soft or has developed virtual or visible impressions (including the two options you mentioned) but this type of trial and error and experimentation can be somewhat uncertain especially with a 14 year old mattress where the base layer may have also softened or started to sag to some degree as well so there may not be any layers or components in your mattress that can be reused. You could end up buying replacement layers or a topper that don’t work out as well as you hoped for because the only way to know whether any combination of components and materials will work well for you in terms of PPP will be based on your actual sleeping experience after you purchase your replacement layer or topper. If you do decide to go in this direction then at the very least I would make sure that any replacement layers or toppers you purchase have a good exchange or return policy.

Phoenix