affordable alternative to the Berkeley Ergonomic queen mattress

Recently i spoke with my chiropractor. His advice for my size (6’2 180lbs) and my lower back issues was to purchase a firm mattress and maybe purchase a mattress topper/pillow in case the mattress was uncomfortable. He told me to look at the Simmons beauty-rest recharge series.

I ventured off to Sleepy’s but wasn’t convinced it was the best for me. Plus I felt like the salesperson wasn’t very knowledgeable about the bed and what works for my body type.

After doing some research on this website I started to look at other alternatives. One of which was Casper. I visited their showroom and I liked the bed but wasn’t sure about its longevity and the edge support for the bed.

I then went to Scott Jordan Furniture and the salesperson their was very knowledgeable and led me to the Stockholm luxury mattress. This bed consist of the 2 layers of German micro coils and a latex foam layer. I laid down for 30 minutes while he gave me a background on the bed. I was ready to purchase the bed until i saw the 2k price. Needless to say this is outside of my budget.

I came back to mattress underground and saw that the mattress used in the Scott Jordan store is the Berkeley Ergonomic. I went to website and the mattress is still out of my price range.

Is their a more cost effective solution that I’m not aware of? I found this website : Queen Ultimate Hybrid Pocket Coil Latex Mattress, Ultimate Hybrid- Pocket Coil/Latex but I am not sure what this vendors reputation is. Is Saatva a better option or should I buy a beautyrest and get a latex topper instead?

Thanks in advanced.

Thanks in advanced

Hi lenyc,

Unfortunately … you are getting some bad or at least some very risky advice here. I would avoid Simmons and any other major manufacturer that uses low quality materials in their mattresses (see the guidelines here) and I would also be very cautious about buying a mattress / topper combination where you can’t test the specific combination in person (see post #2 here). While your chiropractor may know a lot about backs … he doesn’t seem to be particularly knowledgeable about mattresses :dry:

The first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

You can test for edge support in person to see whether it is OK for you but the Casper uses good quality materials that would be a durable choice for most people as long as you aren’t in much higher weight ranges (see the foam quality guidelines here).

The Berkeley Ergonomics mattresses use very high quality materials and they are a better quality/value choice than most other mainstream mattresses that are in a similar budget range or many other similar types of mattresses that are in a higher price range although I certainly understand that they are in a higher budget range than some people would be comfortable with regardless of their quality or “value”. There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.

As may already know … Arizona Premium is one of the members of this site which means that I think very highly of them and they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency. They would certainly be well worth including in your research. The tutorial post also includes a link to a list of the members here that sell online (in the optional online step) that would be well worth including in your research and if you are looking at innerspring/latex mattresses then post #2 here also has some options that may be well worth considering as well.

You can see my thoughts and an analysis about Saatva in post #1 here and while they compare well to most mainstream mattresses … for most people they would not be in the same “value” range as many of the other options that are available to you. A forum search on Saatva (you can just click this) will bring up much more information and feedback about them.

I’m guessing you’ve seen this as well but just in case you haven’t then the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the New York City area are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

Thanks for the tip Pheonix.

I am leaning towards the Berkeley Ergonomic. My fear with Arizona Premium is that I wouldn’t have the opportunity to test it out prior to purchasing it. I guess I could give them a call before I make a final decision.

I also have another question for you. A friend of mine says that he uses a fiber mattress similar to this: http://www.fibrestar.com.my/index.php?option=com_igallery&view=igcategory&id=1&Itemid=189

I’m curious as to what your thoughts are. Are these good for lower back pain? Do you have any recommendations for locations that might sell these in NYC? I have been doing a lot of research and I never came across this as an option before.

I did a quick search on your website but didn’t find any post regarding fiber mattresses.

Thanks again,

Lenox

Hi lenyc,

The “fiber” I think you are referring to is called rubberized coir. You can see some comments about it here and here and a forum search on coir (you can just click the link) will bring up more posts that mention it as well. There is also a good article about it here.

You can see some examples of mattresses that use it in post #9 here and a few US manufacturers that use it to a larger or smaller degree include …

http://www.palmpringusa.com/products/

http://www.naturalmatusa.com/prodtype.asp?strParents=104&CAT_ID=162 (for babies and children)

http://www.greenbudsbaby.com/category/cotton-mattresses.html (also crib mattresses)

http://www.savvyrest.com/products/simple-fit-mattresses/simplicity

https://www.flobeds.com/products/organic-mattresses/organic-latex-luxury-performance-mattress.htm

http://www.naturaworld.com/products/organic-crib-mattress/

There is no such thing as a material that is “better for backs”. A mattress that is good for one person’s back may be completely unsuitable for someone else’s back depending on the specific design of the mattress. A mattress that is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and keeps you in neutral alignment in all your sleeping positions would be the mattress that is best for YOUR back regardless of the materials that are inside it or whether it would be a suitable choice for anyone else.

Some stores that carry mattresses that use Rubberized Coir in New York that I’m aware of (although there may be others as well) include …

Redirect – Cisco Home (PalmPring)

Organic Mattresses (Coco-Mat and their Greensleep Niu uses coir as well) (NOTE ADDED June, 2016 … they have now closed their business)

Some of the Savvy Rest dealers in your area (they have a retail store finder on their site) may also carry their Simplicity mattress but you would need to call them to find out if it’s one of their models that they carry.

Phoenix