Any experience with Technogel Mattress Estasi+ or Armonia or Piacere

I am looking into buying the Technogel Estasi+ or Piacere mattress.

If any one has any experience with the Technogel mattress, please let me know.

I first bought Tempurpedic Rhapsody Breeze few months back and it did not work out.
Tempurpedic Rhapsody Breeze is great for about 5 hrs.
After around 5hrs of very good sleep I invariably wake up every night because the mattress sinks around my waist area ( I am 180lbs, 6feet, so not too heavy).
I suspect that the memory foam softens up and sinks. I am a back sleeper and I just sleep in one position until woken up.
The sinking is soo much that I feel that it is causing a “drag” on my upper portion of the body.
The other main problem is the Rhapsody Breeze heats up after 5hrs or so.

Technogel has 1" or 1/2" thick gel layer on top and so it should not heat up like other memory foam mattress.
Since the gel layer is on the top, it would not transfer the body heat to the foam to make it sink or soften after 5hrs.
Technogel seems to offer the body conforming comfort without heating up while providing a luxury firm support to the body.

If anyone has any experience with the Technogel mattress, please let me know.
Thanks very much!

Hi PrimeNo35,

[quote]If anyone has any experience with the Technogel mattress, please let me know.
Thanks very much! [/quote]

You can see some of my thoughts about the Technogel mattresses in post #2 here and some of the specs in the attachments in post #5 here and in post #2 here and in post #32 here. A forum search on Technogel or on Estasi or on Piacere or on Armonia (you can just click the links) will bring up more comments and feedback about them as well.

This is not uncommon for gel memory foam because the cooling effect of gel tends to only last until temperature equalize after which the foam itself becomes an insulator so depending on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range there are some people that will sleep warmer on any type of memory foam including gel. There is more about gel memory foams and other gel materials in post #2 here. There is also more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress in post #2 here that may also be helpful if you tend to sleep too warm on some types of mattresses.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,
Thanks very much for the detailed reply. This website has lot of valuable/useful information that you might want to consider publishing a book or something – or an annual/semi-annual/quarterly mattress buying guide publication, as I am sure any of these would top the best seller list :-).

An update to my mattress story:
First I bought Tempurpedic Rhapsody Breeze as mentioned before: it sinks after around 5hrs and loses lower back support and it also heats up, so I couldn’t sleep for more than 5 to 6hours.

Afterwards I exchanged the mattress with a floor sample of Technogel Vive luxury king mattress (since it was floor sample for few months the price was cut down by 50%).
Surprisingly Technogel Vive does not heat up even after sleeping on the bed for 8 hours. But Technogel Vive provided good back support only for about 6hours after which the mattress sinks just like Tempurpedic Rhapsody Breeze although not as bad.
Since I am back sleeper I only get 5 to 6 hours of sleep and then wake up and move to the unused portion of the bed to get may be another hour of sleep. This has created some problems and pain in the upper portion of my body that I had to see the doctor. Sometimes I get tired of this 5+1 sleeping that I end up sleeping on the couch instead :-(.

Please note that sometime ago I had also tried Simmons Beautyrest Black Ava Luxury firm for few months. Initially it was ok, but later on the mattress began to sag and offered very little or no back support at all. This was the worst sleeping experience of all.

So now I am at a loss on which mattress to get for a good night’s sleep with proper back support for back sleeping. I had gone to Sleep Number store and experienced their sleep number bed that plots the stress vs length of the mattress and it was the most comfortable of all mattress I tried. Since the sleep number does not use memory foam or gel, apparently it would not sink after 5 hours of back sleeping in the same position.
The consumer report has rated the Sleep number bed as the best for back sleeping.
But I am very nervous about getting another high valued purchase and only to lose sleep and money in the end. (I learnt the hard way that Tempurpedic Rhapsody, with all the hype and advertisement, is actually not a good mattress at all). I only wish I had googled and found out about this website before I purchased my first mattress.

Could you please let me know if you have any recommendations for a mattress that offers continuous good support for back sleeping (without getting hot)?
I initially went with Tempurpedic Rhapsody and Technogel Vive because I thought that these memory foam or gel mattress would conform to the shape/contours of the body and offer good support. But it turns out that that is only true for 5 to 6 hours and also has the added drawback of Tempurpedic Rhapsody breeze getting hot.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for a good mattress for back sleeping ( I am about 6ft, 185lbs).
Thanks very much for your help.
Prime No 3, 5.

Hi Phoenix,
Further more, since I bought the first mattress (Tempurpedic Rhapsody) at Sleep Experts store in Dallas, I can only exchange the existing mattress for another mattress available at this store. So no refund. I have been trying to sell my mattress for any interested parties, but no offer yet. It looks like I might get a store credit upon returning the existing mattress, may be I could sell the store credit at a lower price.
I only wish I read about mattress buying guidelines in this website before I made my first purchase…
Prime No 3,5,

Hi PrimeNo35,

One of the characteristics of memory foam is that it tends to soften with heat, humidity, and with continuous compression so it’s not unusual that you can start the night off in good alignment and then be out of alignment hours later or when you wake up in the morning.

The Technogel material is a “pure gel” rather than a gel added to a foam material and it will tend to maintain it’s thermal conductive and cooling properties for longer than gel memory foam. The Technogel also doesn’t have any memory foam that will soften over the course of the night so it’s quite possible that the mattress was already on the edge of being too soft for you to provide good alignment and the back pain and discomfort that can come from sleeping out of alignment is usually much more noticeable after several hours of sleeping or when you wake up in the morning than when you go to sleep at night.

There is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress in post #2 here.

There is some information about the many different symptoms that people may experience on a mattress and some of the most common causes behind them in post #2 here that may be helpful but if you experience upper body pain or discomfort on a mattress then it could also be a pillow issue which is causing causing your head to be “pushed” forward or it could be that the mattress comfort layers are too soft and may be causing you to sleep in a “hunched” position where your shoulders are pushed forward which can cause pain in the shoulder blade area as well. Sleeping better on the couch could also be “pointing to” a mattress where the comfort layers are too thick or soft.

There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel” although this may be more than you really need to know to choose a mattress that is a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences).

While the Beautyrest Black series has a range of firmness levels and some of them may be more suitable for you than others in terms of PPP … like most of the major brand mattresses they use some lower quality and less durable materials that are a “weak link” in their design that would be subject to premature foam softening and the loss of comfort or support much to quickly after a purchase relative to their price. It may be a good thing that you exchanged it since foam softening and the loss of comfort/support isn’t covered by a warranty. In general I would avoid all the major brands or any mattress that uses lower quality/density materials in the upper layers or where you can’t find out the quality/density of the materials in the mattress (see the guidelines here).

You can see my thoughts about airbeds in this article and while any mattress can be a good match for any particular person … in general terms I would tend to avoid them.

You can see some comments about the Consumer Reports mattress ratings and recommendations in post #2 here and in this topic. While they may be a good source of information about more “objective” purchases … as you can see I would consider them to be an unreliable source of information or guidance about purchasing a mattress. Many of the more knowledgeable people in the industry feel the same way (see post #5 here for an example).

The most important part of buying a new mattress is that it’s a good “match” for your body type and sleeping positions so that you are maintaining good spinal and joint alignment in all your sleeping positions and that your joints and muscles can relax and the discs can rehydrate and recover from the stresses we place on them over the course of the day. While this is the most important priority for almost all people … when you have back issues then it becomes an even more important part of your choice because sleeping out of alignment can aggravate existing back issues and can prevent the normal recovery and healing process that occurs during sleep.

Each person is different in terms of their physiology, weight distribution, and body shape as well as the positions they sleep in, their individual preferences, and the specifics of any back issues they may experience so there is no such thing as a mattress that is “better for backs” in general because a mattress that is good for one person’s back (or back issues) may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on … even if their body type, sleeping positions, or back issues appear to be fairly similar. There is only a mattress that keeps you in good alignment which would be best for YOUR back.

In general … what you would be looking for is a mattress with firm enough deep support and then comfort layers that are “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness to “fill in” and support the more recessed parts of your sleeping profile and relieve pressure in your most pressure prone sleeping position (usually side sleeping for those who sleep in this position) so that there is less risk to alignment in your other sleeping positions.

You are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are always too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to predict which mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

Like many of the members that have come here you are in a somewhat difficult position when you need to exchange a mattress and are “locked in” to a store that sells many mattresses that I would normally suggest avoiding and where there may not be any particularly good quality/value options available to you.

There are some suggestions and ideas in post #2 here about the two main strategies that you can use that can help you make the best of a difficult situation.

It would be great if you could sell your mattress for a reasonable price and have the chance to start all over again with the information you have available now. If you do then it sounds like you’ve already read the mattress shopping tutorial which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choice … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

If you do end up starting all over again then the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Dallas / Ft Worth areas (subject to the quality/value guidelines I linked earlier) are listed in post #4 here.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,
After many struggles I was able to give away the Technogel Vive mattress for a loss, but it is better than being stuck with it, since I do not use it anymore due to pain in the chest bones (as the lower part of my body sinks down too much discomforting my spine and causing pain on the chest).

Looking at the bright side I can start all over again. After reading through the tutorial and many other threads,
I am thinking of getting an inner spring + latex or just pure latex mattress.
Memory foam is too hot for me (+ it sinks down) and also not keen on gel mattress after my experience with Technogel Vive.
I am not sure about 100% spring mattress after my experience with Beautyrest Black, but I am open to new alternatives that have good quality material. The Vi Spring mattress is an interesting one in that it does not seem to have any type of foam and so I will check this out when I visit the store:
http://www.urbanmattress.com/mattresses/vi-spring/coronet

Following are the main features I am looking for:

  1. Just right comfort for back sleeping (I am 6ft 185lbs) – not too soft that it sinks down and not too firm that it fails to conform to the contours of the body. Continuous support for 8 hours of sleep is needed and should not lose support after 5 or 6hours of back sleeping in the same position.

  2. No warming up/heating up after 5 or 6 hours of sleeping (hence no memory foam).
    I am little concerned about 100% latex mattress. Since it looks like a firmer mattress (than a softer one) would suit well for my body, I am worried that if I choose 100% latex mattress that is firmer (like Spruce VIII from sovn as an example), the latex would be too thick and would be very insulating, there by warming up after 5 or 6 hours of sleeping. It would be very useful if the manufacturers could report the surface temperature change on a mattress after sleeping for 6 hours or more on it.

Could you please let me know if the 100% latex mattress that has a firmer feel would have warming up/heating up issues after sleeping for 6hours or more?

  1. Reasonable return policy so that if I run into any issues that cannot be solved and is reported within the first 60 or 90 days, at least I can get some of the money back (and not store exchanges with no refunds).

In the next few days, I will start visiting the list of stores that you provided for the DFW area and try to find the ones that meets the above criteria.

Could you also please let me know if you have a list of good mattress manufacturers from which I can buy online (that do not have stores in DFW area)?
After reading one of the threads, I found out about Tuft & Needle mattress that can be purchased online.
Generally I like visiting the store and getting a feel of the mattress before I make a significant purchase. But since my earlier three choices (Tempurpedic, Beautyrest Black and Technogel Vive) have failed me, I am also open to purchasing the mattress online that has a good return policy.
Or please let me know if you think ordering the mattress online is too risky for my case.

Sorry one more question:
Tuft & Needle claims to use an Adaptive Foam that does not heat up. I prefer to sleep cool or at least on a mattress that does not heat up after 5 or 6 hours of sleeping on it. Please let me know if you know about temperature changes on this Adaptive Foam.

Thanks very much,
PrimeNo3,5.

Hi PrimeNo35,

As you mentioned your experience is a good news/bad news scenario but at least you will be able to focus on the part of it that is the good news and start over again and hopefully with the help of the information here make a more suitable choice this time.

There is more about Vi Spring and other “ultra premium” mattresses in post #2 here and post #2 here.

In some cases a mattress in this budget range may be “worth it” for a particular person that isn’t price sensitive and that has specific criteria that aren’t available in lower budget ranges but this would be unusual and in general I would need a very compelling reason that clearly indicated there was “enough” of a difference in “real life” compared to many other mattresses that may be just as suitable in terms of PPP (including temperature regulation), just as durable, and that are in much lower budget ranges to justify the higher cost based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

You are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own personal testing or sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

I can certainly help you to narrow down your options by identifying any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress or act as a fact check or answer any specific questions you may have along the way that I can help with and help you with “how” to choose but only you can decide which specific mattress, company, or manufacturer is the best match for you in terms of PPP and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Latex in general is the most breathable and temperature regulating of the different types of foam materials (polyfoam, memory foam, latex foam) but there are also many other variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress besides just the type of foam that is used inside it including the type of cover and quilting in a mattress, the mattress protector or mattress pad you use, your sheets and bedding, and where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range that can all interact together and have a significant effect on sleeping temperature. There is more about the many variables that can affect sleeping temperature in post #2 here that can help you choose the type of materials that will have the best chance of keeping you in a temperature range that you are comfortable with.

While I can only speak in terms of “probabilities” because not everyone fits inside the “averages” that would apply for most people … in very general terms it would be unusual for someone to have temperature regulation issues with a mattress that includes latex comfort layers and that has a wool quilted cover like the Berkeley Ergonomic mattresses.

Since surface temperature would depend on so many variables it wouldn’t really be possible for a manufacturer to provide the kind of information you are suggesting about changes in the surface temperature of a mattress over the course of the night because there would be so many differences between different people and circumstances and a mattress that stays inside a comfortable temperature range for “most” people may not provide a comfortable temperature range for “all” people.

If you aren’t certain that a mattress would be a suitable choice for you then I agree that it would be important to make sure that you are comfortable with the options you have after a purchase to make changes to a mattress or exchange individual layers or the mattress itself or even in the worst case to return the mattress for a refund although this is a less common option with local purchases that you can test in person. I would also keep in mind that exchange and return policies are built in to the cost of a mattress and the people that don’t return or exchange a mattress are the ones that pay for the ones that do so exchange/return policies that involve exchanging or returning a whole mattress rather than individual layers can add a significant amount to the cost of a mattress.

I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback after your visits … and of course any questions you may have along the way as well.

The tutorial includes a link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) that compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency that would be well worth including in your research if you are considering online options. Tuft & Needle is one of the members that are listed there.

Many online retailers and manufacturers have a very good return policy which can significantly reduce the risk of an online purchase.

Post #2 here also has more about the different ways to choose a mattress (either locally or online) that is the most suitable “match” for each person’s specific needs and preferences and how to identify and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for that are involved in each of them.

There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses.

The foam they use is very breathable and isn’t temperature sensitive like memory foam so “in theory” and based on the feedback I’ve seen on the forum most people wouldn’t be likely to have temperature regulation issues on their mattress.

Phoenix