Looking for advice on memory foam or memory foam hybrid mattress for the odd combo of two people who sleep either on their side or stomach. I know this is a difficult combo to work with, which is why I have come here for advice. We have weeded our choices down to a handful of mattresses: Lull, Leesa, Live and Sleep, and the Brentwood Home 13" Bamboo Gel mattress. Among those, which would be the best fit for my wife and I? Also, would a step up in price to Loom & leaf be worth it over these other mattresses which all are lower priced? Thanks for any and all info and opinions in advance.
Hi gusbuf,
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress. There are just too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
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 (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) 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.
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone 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 properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) 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 on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
While again nobody can speak to how any specific mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress … outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) which is the most important part of “value”, the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new) so I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/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.
You can see some comments about the Lull, Leesa, and Live and Sleep mattresses (and many of the other simplified choice mattresses) in post #2 here in the simplified choice mattress topic. It would also be well worth reading post #1 in the same topic as well.
As you can see I would avoid the Lull and the Live and Sleep mattress unless you are able to find out the quality/density of all the foam layers and confirm that there are no lower quality and less durable materials that could be a weak link in the mattress and compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress relative to your weight range.
The Leesa uses a 2" layer of 3 lb memory foam in the second layer and even though it’s deeper in the mattress (which generally improves durability) … a 2" layer of 3 lb memory foam in the upper layers or a mattress could be a potential weak link in terms of durability as well.
The description of the Brentwood Home 13" Bamboo Gel mattress also doesn’t include all the information here about the quality/density of their foam layers so I would make sure that you can find out all the information you need to make an informed choice and confirm that there are no lower quality/density materials or weak links in their mattresses either.
I would also be cautious about Brentwood mattresses and the specs they provide since they seem to change their mind about what they are when they answer different questions for different customers. The specs I’ve seen that add up to the shipping weight of the mattress (which means that they are more likely to be correct) seems to indicate that they use some lower quality/density materials in their mattresses that would be a weak link in terms of durability and the useful life of their mattresses as well.
That would depend entirely on whether it would be a better “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP and/or used more durable materials and/or was a better “value” based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you compared to the other mattresses you are considering. I certainly wouldn’t assume that more costly mattresses would somehow be a more suitable choice, a more durable choice, or a better “value” choice based on price alone.
You can also see some comments about the Loom & Leaf in the simplified choice mattress topic and there are also some more detailed comments in post #5 here. A forum search on Loom Leaf (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback about them as well.
IMO … there are certainly better quality/value choices available to you than any of the mattresses you mentioned.
Phoenix