Aerus mattress natural plush? natural ultra luxe?

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

I am glad I found this site…very useful information. I have narrowed my search to an Aerus mattress from sams club either the natural plush or natural ultra luxe. I am not quite sure what the difference would be except overall thickness 10inch vs 12inch…not sure of significance of this? I am wondering if you could provide some input.
I sleep on sides and stomach mainly…I weigh 115pounds. My husband sleep on sides and back…weighs about 160. We both have minor issues with lower back.

Thank you!

2

Hi tracyamor,

The most important part of knowing the quality and value of a mattress is to know the density of the foam layers that are in it. This is what determines its quality and value and could be a more important difference between the two mattresses than the extra 2’ of height. The guidelines I use for memory foam mattresses are listed in post #10 here.

Since the Sams Club listing doesn’t include the density of the base layer (criteria #3) I would normally not consider it unless you called them and they could tell you what it was on a phone call (and they are not very knowledgeable about these things).

The Aerus Natura Plush 10" supposedly uses 3" of 4 lb Aerus (medium density/quality) over 7" of polyfoam (this is the intelliform) but they don’t disclose the density of this layer.

If there is a 3" layer of 4 lb memory foam then in a queen size this should weigh 33.3 lbs.
The complete mattress including the cover weighs 44.6 lbs.
This means that the polyfoam base layer would weigh 44.6 - 33.3 = 11.3 lbs.

The 7" polyfoam (intelliform) base layer is 19.4 cubic feet in volume.
So 11.3 / 19.4 = .58 lbs which is not possible because there is no polyfoam that has this low density and this doesn’t even take the weight of the cover off.

If the weight is correct then there is no way that it uses 4 lb Aerus.

Even if the memory foam was only 3 lbs then the base polyfoam layer would only work out to about 1.0 lb which is still very unlikely.

Something is very wrong here and the specs just don’t add up. I would not buy this mattress unless I knew which of the numbers (either theweight or the foam densities) was incorrect.

The Aerus Natural Ultra-Luxe 12" supposedly uses the same 3" of 4 lb Aerus memory foam and then has 9" of polyfoam (Intelliform) for the base layer.

The 3" layer of 4 lb memory foam then in a queen size would also weigh 33.3 lbs.
The complete mattress including the cover weighs 70.0 lbs (queen)
This means that the polyfoam base layer would weigh 70.0 - 33.3 = 36.7 lbs.

The 7" polyfoam (intelliform) base layer is 25 cubic feet in volume.
So 36.7 / 25 = 1.47 which if you accounted for the cover would be a little lower yet (probably in the range of 1.3 - 1.4 lbs) which is possible but a very low quality/density base layer.

This “makes sense” but is certainly not a mattress that I would say uses good quality materials other than the Aerus itself. I would be very suspicious of any mattress that used less than 1.8 lb polyfoam in the base layer and even the lowest cost mattresses generally would use a minimum of 1.5 lbs.

I think you could do better … but no matter what you are looking at you need to make sure that the retailer you are buying from will tell you the density or quality specs of every layer in your mattress. This will save you from buying some very low quality mattresses.

Phoenix

3

Thank you for the information. I will call Sams club to see if I can find this out. So I am assuming I will not get an answer soon. Since I just had a baby, I didn’t want to drag her out mattress shopping. However I could go to one store. I looked at your list in boston area. I would like to go to one that has memory foam and latex selections. I really didnt want to spend alot so I was hoping to find a deal online. However it seems a lot of sites are misleading,etc so looks like I am going to have to spend more then planned to get a quality mattress…I didn’t realize how much work this was going to be and research!!lol!! Do you have a suggestion of one place that has low prices for at least mid quality products?Looking for medium for firmness because we sleep on sides and front/back. So figured I have to go in middle. However we both mainly sleep on our sides.
Otherwise I was looking some more and maybe sleep innovations because seems here that they are less misleading with advertising and quality for price?

  1. NovaForm® Deluxe Comfort $650
    2.5" of Premium NutraFresh™ Foam, 2.5" of Sculpted Air Channel Foam, 7" Durable, Premium Foam 77.6 pounds

  2. NovaForm® Pure Comfort™ $450 (100 off) …Top Layer of Mattres: 2.5" of NutraTemp® temperature-neutral, premium- quality memory foam ,Base layer of Mattress: 9.5" of superior support foam …95 pounds

  3. Novaform®14inch gel memory foam $600…•Mattress thickness: 14"
    •Top layer: 3 inches of 3.5 lb. density gel memory foam for cool, cradling comfort
    •Middle layer: 3 inches of 2 lb. density air channel foam for enhanced air flow
    •Bottom layer: 8 inches of 2 lb. density base foam for long lasting support
    81.9 pounds

  4. Novaform® Serafina 12" Queen Gel Memory Foam Mattress:549.99 After $350 OFF
    2.5" of Gel Infused Memory Foam, 2.5" of Luratex® CustomWave™ Foam, 7" Durable Base Foam …97 pounds

4

Hi tracyamor,

Unfortunately I don’t have the ability to keep track of all the changing models and prices at each manufacturer in every area of the country but I would suggest spending a day talking to the various manufacturers on the Boston list before you decide on which ones to visit. I would tell them the general type of mattress you are looking for, your budget range, the mattresses you are looking at, and any other information that would be helpful and ask them what they carry that they think would be worth testing and would meet your needs. You will find them to be very helpful and open in most cases. The work you do on the phone before you go out and test mattresses will not only save you a lot of time and aggravation but will also give you a very clear sense of who you would be dealing with and help you connect with the “experts” that can help you the most. I personally wouldn’t visit any manufacturer or retailer without calling them first to make sure they have the knowledge, experience, and transparency to help you make good decisions.

When you are dealing with Costco or other big box stores … you are really just rolling the dice. You will find they have little idea of which of the mattresses they sell may be suitable for your needs and preferences (regardless of quality or value) and if you do decide to go in this direction you would either need to test mattresses locally and then try your best to “match” a mattress at Costco (or another big box store) with a similar design (foam density and thickness in all the layers) or you will need to just go by trial and error and keep buying mattresses and returning them until you find the one that has the PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) that you need. I would personally not take the time to find the specs of a mattress where the specs you need are not easily available from the retailer with a phone call. In some cases you could search this forum or other sources online to try and find the information that they don’t provide or make easily available but this will sometimes take you hours per mattress only to find that either you can’t find it at all or that the value isn’t as good as you thought it was. a forum search on “Novaform” (you can just click this) may bring up some of the information you would need about the materials they use to consider them.

The value of a big box store is that they allow trial and error because of their refund policy but constantly returning mattresses and then trying another one can be frustrating as well. It can also affect the quality of your sleep in the time it takes to discover a mattress isn’t suitable for you and in the time it takes to return a mattress and buy a new one. I personally would rather deal with “mattress people” rather than buying anything from a source that doesn’t really know what they are selling … and in many if not most cases you will also find that the quality and value will be better anyway.

The guidelines I use for memory foam are in post #10 here and there are enough good quality and value mattresses that use 4 lb memory foam or higher that I wouldn’t consider anything that used lower density memory foam. I would also suggest that the base layer should be at least 1.8 lbs (perhaps 1.5 lb in the lower budget ranges).

So you would need to find the specs of all the mattresses you are mentioning from Costco and assess them against the minimum guidelines and against other similar mattresses. You would need to call them to find out any missing information that isn’t on their website (or search online for the specs you need). This is something that the retailer should be doing for you but if you have the time you may be able to find it out for yourself and then decide if a particular design many be suitable for your body type and sleeping position. In general you have a choice between either dealing with experts who already know what you would otherwise need to learn or you will need to become one yourself … and the first option is a lot simpler :slight_smile:

In other words … if you don’t already know exactly which mattress to buy at Costco and why you are choosing it and know the specifics of what is in them so you can make meaningful comparisons to other mattresses that you have tested locally … I would avoid them completely unless you are OK with rolling the dice and experimenting until your number comes up and you find the mattress that works for you. For me it wouldn’t be worth the aggravation of dealing with online merchants that don’t have the knowledge and experience to really help you and the overall value there isn’t as good as most people seem to think anyway when it comes to mattresses. Of course each person may also have a different “value equation” than I do or be more willing to track down specs or buy from a retailer that doesn’t know or disclose what they are selling.

If you do wish to go in that direction … I’d be happy to help you assess any mattress you find there but you would first need to include all the foam density information that they provide you with or that you find with internet searching so I would have easy access to the information I would need to help you make meaningful comparisons without looking them up myself. Unfortunately I don’t usually have the ability or time to be able to track down foam specs for mattresses when the retailer doesn’t provide it to their customers.

In my personal opinion … mattresses are one of the most important purchases you will make and will have a greater effect on your overall well being over the next decade or so than almost anything else you will buy. It’s not a purchase I would leave to the luck of the draw".

I should also mention as well that if your newborn will be sleeping on the mattress that I would tend to avoid memory foam completely. Post #2 here has some of the better forum threads and posts about mattresses and children which I believe may be worth reading if your newborn will be spending time on your mattress.

Phoenix

5

Thank you! I understand what you are saying. Unfortunately I am spending so much time on this that the thought of making phone calls is exhausting me already…now if only I had a comfortable mattress to sleep on…lol…Anyways, I will call a few stores tomorrow and over the weekend I can head to one of them. Hopefully I find something I like at a good deal! Thank you for all your help!

6

Hi tracyamor,

I think you will find that conversations with some of the better manufacturers on the Boston list will be more reassuring than stressing. They are usually very easy to talk with and if you let them know your circumstances it may surprise you just how helpful and personable they can be and it will also save you time and connect you with people that really can help you.

In the course of putting this site together I have spend thousands of hours talking with smaller manufacturers and retailers and it never ceases to amaze me how willing they are to spend time on the phone when people are interested in learning from their experience and knowledge.

I wouldn’t look so much for a “deal” because the better manufacturers and retailers don’t have deals or at least they are for legitimate reasons and not the “fake sales” that are so misleading. They sell better value mattresses every day of the year than most of the larger retailers and big box stores do in their best sales (which are mostly just marketing gimmicks anyway and still don’t represent great value).

It may be easier than you think if you connect with good people … even with all the challenges that are involved with a new baby :slight_smile:

Phoenix

7

Hi,
So I did more research and called for info. I am going with the ultimate dreams gel memory foam 13 inch. It seems like the best value!
Thank you so much for your help and wonderful site!

8

Hi tracamor,

You’re very welcome … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Now you can focus on looking after your baby … and if you’re lucky … sleeping!

Phoenix