I live in Rochester NY and am looking for advice on mattresses to try out in the area. I have been extensively researching mattresses online, but most of what I have learned is useless because I can not find any stores that sell mattresses besides the big chain stores.
I have been to Jamestown a couple of times, but their options seemed very limited and all of the mattresses that they had were very cheap and extremely uncomfortable. The one that I have found so far that actually feels comfortable was a Therapedic. I don’t remember if it was latex or memory foam, but it had individual inner springs, which made it one of the only beds that seemed to conform correctly to my body without swallowing me up. However, I have seen nothing but terrible reviews from that company in terms of durability.
Some more specific info about me: I weigh 140 pounds and am a side sleeper. I am pretty sure I want latex (or possibly memory foam). The straight up pillow top w/ spring mattresses I have tried just don’t feel comfortable any more. I’m starting to have some back pain, and I believe a factor in that is my ~15 year old mattress. I also tend to move around quite a bit throughout the night and can’t stay in a single position.
I don’t mind cost so much, as long as whatever I get is actually a good value. Sleep’s been pretty bad lately.
I am considering buying a mattress online because of the lack of transparency from local retailers, but I am hesitant to buy one that I have not tried. If I could try something local that would be similar feel, I would not mind trying to purchase a better value one online.
I am also considering a Charles P Rogers Powercore or Nano. However I am worried at the relatively low amount of actual reviews from real customers that I can find. Old Bed Guy seems to be quite biased when it comes to his reviews… Do you know of any other mattresses that would be similar to this? Anything in Rochester that would have micro coils?
In case you haven’t found this already, the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Rochester area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here ) are listed in post #11 here .
I think highly of Jamestown Mattress and the quality and value of their mattresses, and would not concur with your opinion of their products being “cheap”. I’m not sure which models were displayed at the location you visited (they have seven locations), but they manufacture everything from promotional mattresses (maybe you only looked at these models) to very high-quality latex and innerspring mattresses, and they even can create custom items to your specifications. Of course, if you tried many of these products and found them to not be to your comfort preference, then this would be an important part of your research and own personal preferences.
When shopping for a mattress, I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase. This is the first step, and one of the most important, in making an educated choice, as you can’t feel quality or durability, only initial comfort.
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
Regarding mattress “reviews” that are available online…While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful, I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range).
In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (please see post #13 here), and I would put much more emphasis on your own research and personal testing (if applicable).
You are probably correct in your assumption that your 15-year old mattress is due for replacement, and some of your frequent repositioning could certainly be due to the loss of comfort of that mattress throughout the years.
Getting good sleep certainly is very valuable – something that’s difficult to put a price on. To help you through the process of determining value for yourself, there is more about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
I’m sorry you’ve been having a difficult time finding objective information about mattresses. The information you need to know about any mattress you’re considering was linked to earlier in my reply. If you can’t find that information upon visiting a local store, as the retailer to find it out for you, and if they can’t produce that information for you, I would then caution you against purchasing that product if the information is incomplete of the componentry. There are many knowledgeable local retailers, some which are mentioned on this site, and it is quite often at these retailers where you’ll find mattresses using better quality materials as opposed to many of the larger department stores / sleep chains. If you’re interested in latex, Jamestown would probably be your best local option, and I would phone ahead to the store you’re visiting to make sure that they have a good selection of their latex component systems on the floor with consultants who are familiar with assisting with configuring their systems on hand.
If you’re shopping online, I would consider using the experience and expertise of the members listed in post #21 here who are all very experienced and knowledgeable and specialize in providing the type of help and guidance on the phone that can help you make good choices. There are a wide range of latex and memory foam and other options included in the choices there and I believe that all of them compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency. Their detailed knowledge of their mattresses and how they fit with different body types and sleeping positions along with your feedback from local testing, a customer base of many people that they can use as reference points, and any exchange, return, or any options they have available to customize a mattress after a purchase can help lower the risk of an online purchase. These online retailers or manufacturers can also be a good “value reference” for local purchases to make sure that if you are paying a “premium” for a local purchase (in exchange for the kind of “in person” guidance, service, and value that comes with dealing with a local retailer that can help you make more “accurate” choices that you have tested in person) is not too high.
You can see my comments about the Old Bed Guy and his website (and some of the very strange comments he makes) in this topic , which may also give you some insight into why he “recommends” what he does. I wouldn’t use that site (or the myriad of other mattress “review” sites) as a reliable source of guidance.
I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses or their specs that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor or have available online (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking their websites and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the local or online lists is always a good idea before you decide on which retailers or manufacturers you wish to deal with anyway. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria (if you desire microcoils), are transparent about the materials in their mattresses, and that carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in that are also in the budget range you are comfortable with. Once you have checked their websites and/or talked with the ones that interest you then you will be in a much better position to decide on the ones that you are most interested in considering or visiting based on the results of your preliminary research and conversations.
While I’ve given you quite a bit of information to read, it should be assistive in helping you find a quality mattress using durable materials that suits your particular needs.
What is the one brand that you would recommend that Metro carries? I can’t quite tell from your post. I tried a couple Therapeutic gel memory foam mattresses that I kind of liked there.
HRHowards is now out of business. And Jamestown has closed all but one of their Rochester locations. They only had a few mattresses in that location. Maybe they are no longer what they used to be, but now they were very dissapointing.
Thank you for the updates – I’ve made changes (and a few others) on the Rochester list based upon your information.
Brand recommendation, or picking a mattress for someone, isn’t something I do here on the site, but I instead give you the tools and guidance to pick out a mattress for yourself by finding the information within any mattress you are considering and then comparing that to the durability guidelines I linked to in my earlier reply.
I would be very cautious about store/brand shopping in general because you are buying a specific mattress not the brand and most manufacturers have access to the same or similar components and materials. Many manufacturers make a wide range of mattresses that can vary from lower quality and less durable materials to higher quality and more durable materials in a wide range of prices. The name of the manufacturer or store on the label of the mattress won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for you in terms of whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design that would affect the durability and useful life of the mattress. There is more about the risks of brand shopping in post #5 here and post #12 here.
The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
It seems that they now carry Pure Talalay Bliss products, which would use good, durable materials, but their listing of all of mattresses they have on the floor doesn’t seem to be completely represented online, so anything else you consider you’ll have to ask for the specifics of the layers inside of the product in order to objectively analyze the product.
I did update the Rochester listing to reflect the HRHowards being closed, and I also updated the closest towns for Jamestown Mattress locations. I’m sorry that the closest location you visited didn’t have a selection that you liked, but they still do produce some very high quality products. Unfortunately, their factory is over two hours from Rochester for you to visit.
