Thanks for all of your info in your previous posts including the local mattress dealers in Atlanta. I’m a combination side\stomach sleeper and have narrowed my choices between the King size OMF Classic Luxury Firm and Room and Board Inner Spring Firm. I’ve searched all over Atlanta for a Green\Natural King Mattress that was under $1,000 yet comfortable. Really tough to tell from testing the mattresses but both of these seem decent and in my price range. Do you see any features between the two that you could point out in their construction that may deserve consideration in my decision making process or do you have any other alternatives that I need to add in to the mix? There is about $250 pricing difference between the two so they are pretty close in pricing. Thanks
Room and Board Inner Spring Mattress
Mattress Details:
1015 innerspring coils
The innersprings are different with one being more conforming (the Luraflex) and a higher coil count and the other (the Bonnell) being stronger but with a lower coil count and less conforming which means that it generally would need a better insulator (which it has) and more foam to even out the feel of the springs and isolate you from the firmness of the Bonnell. Neither one provides the weight of the innerspring or the amount of “working steel” (this isn’t a spec that is normally provided by innerspring manufacturers) and this is really the most meaningful way to compare different types innerspring. Having said that the innerspring or support layers of a mattress aren’t generally the weak link of a mattress anyway and the “feel” and performance of each mattress would be a bigger consideration.
The “weak link” of a mattress in terms of durability is generally in the comfort layers and I would need more specific information about the density and thickness of all the foam layers in each mattress to be able to make any meaningful comments. If you can find this out and list the specifics of each layer in the forum (from top to bottom) I’d be happy to make more comments about each of them. Room and Board may use 1.2 lb polyfoam which would be low quality and a potential weak link and I think the OMF uses 1.5 lbs or higher but I would make sure you confirm this because the most accurate source of information would be each manufacturer themselves and I wouldn’t make a purchase decision between these until you had accurate information.
Updated Information- Not complete as of yet. Waiting on Restwell Factory to return my call regarding foam density
Original Matress Factory: Classic Luxury Firm-$599 with box spring
1 inch convoluted soft foam
1.2lb density
Room and Board- Restwell Innerspring Firm-$699 and they say it doesn’t need a box spring dut to how its built.
1.5 inch Convoluted foam
High Density CertiPUR Foam-When I asked the sales folks what density is high density they looked up a printout but it didn’t give lb number so they suggested I contact the factory in MN. I did and waiting for a return phone call. All they could tell me is it is high density and is low VOC.
They also have an Inner Spring Plush which I’m considering also. It is $799 and it has the same 1.5" of convoluted soft foam and another 1.0" layer of Certipur-us Soft foam.
Tried both stores today and the three options seem fairly comfortable for being on my side and stomach. The Inner Spring Plush is probably as soft as would go. Could feel the lower back begin to arch while laying on the stomach. I’ll update this post as soon as I get the Restwell foam density numbers. Thanks
The Classic Luxury Firm should have more layers in it than just an inch of foam and an innerspring. I would make sure that you know all the layers … including the quilting layers (the foam that is quilted to the cover).
1.2 lb polyfoam is low quality and I would generally suggest that there isn’t more than about an inch or so of it in total in the upper layers of your mattress. Once you are in the range of 2" or so then foam softening could be a significant issue that reduces the useful life of your mattress.
As you mentioned different manufacturers use different numbers for high density because it’s just a generic term so knowing the actual numbers is always important.
Still no feedback from Restwell and i haven’t found anything online regarding foam densities on their website or via web searching so I will try calling the factory again. I’ll need to call back the OMF factory too to see if I can get more infor regarding the type of foam they use. From reading your posts the OMF coil system is a better quality than the Restwell quality. I’m just having a heck of a time getting the OMF folks to give me details about the materials used so i can do an apples to apples comparison but I’m starting to think that I may need to rethink my choices. Both beds were comfortable yesterday but reading a few posts on here today that once you get down to 1.2lbs then it might be comfortable for a while or just a few months before the foam starts to break down. Granted with my work I may be transferred and then I have to dispose of this mattress within a year or it could be several years and that is why I’m trying to not go overboard with the budget since it may be a short lived purchase but don’t want to under do it where I’m out shopping in the next 6 months again. We have an IKEA here which I did read your post on them where you do have a couple models listed that might be ok just not on your recommended list so I may need to keep them in mind too.
I think it was easier to buy a car than a mattress. If Restwell comes back with 1.2lb for foam density like OMF then I’ll probably reboot and continue to see if I can find a decent low voc or as natural as possible mattress out there. I was sold on several of your members on the recommended list that have great quality and comparable prices to what I’m finding locally here in Atlanta and called the Atlanta vendor list you had but my challenge is living in an apartment and having a chaotic work schedule I need a mattress delivered\setup, and the old one hauled away. Not an easy combination to find.
I’m surprised you are having difficulty finding out all the specifics of the foam densities and thickness in the OMF mattress because they have a book that they all have access to that includes them although they have multiple outlets and all the salespeople at every outlet may not be as helpful as others … especially in their lower end mattresses. Sometimes salespeople forget that even when they provide great service on a lower end mattress purchase it can result in many referrals and “work of mouth” advertising.
Restwell should also be able to provide you with their foam densities when they are open.
I would tend to use 1.5 lb polyfoam as a minimum for a lower end mattress (1.8 lbs with higher budgets or a two sided mattress) with the exception of a relatively thin layer in the range of an inch or so which won’t have a significant effect on the durability of the mattress and is mostly for “feel”. Depending to some degree on the body type and sleeping style of the person on the mattress, 1.2 lb polyfoam is low quality and can soften very quickly. Even if it’s not actually worn out, the loss of comfort and support (with or without actual visible impressions) can mean the mattress may need to be replaced quite quickly or you would need to “tolerate” a mattress that was no longer the best match for your needs and preferences.
There is more in this article and in post #10 here about the different types of innersprings but the only meaningful way to compare innersprings is based on “active steel” or the weight of the steel it uses and this isn’t information that any manufacturer I’m aware of provides. Other than that … the type of innerspring will have more to do with how a mattress feels and performs than with the durability of the mattress and in most cases the foams above the springs will be the “weak link” of a mattress although lower coil count innersprings with more “space” in between the coils also need a good quality insulator to even out the feel and response of the coils and prevent the foam and other materials from sinking into the gaps in the coils and making the mattress “lumpy”. OMF does use a good quality 13 gauge Bonnell coil and good quality insulators although it’s at the lowest range of a Bonnell coil count I would use (see here). The RoomandBoard uses an offset coil with a thinner 14.5 gauge wire but has more coils and they don’t mention the number of turns in each coil.
There are also a few other smaller manufacturers in the area that would be worth considering (or at least calling to see what they have available in your budget range) but of course that would depend on the time you have available and the travel distance to visit them.
I don’t know the delivery options they each provide but post #2 here has some options that may be useful if you need to dispose of an old mattress outside of the actual delivery process.