Greetings forum. This is my first post.
I’m a back sleeper in need of a mattress firmness level that has so far been elusive.
For several years, I’ve slept on air mattresses and have had to replace the air chambers every few months, since they tend to start losing their ability to maintain pressure after a couple of months. During a sleep test last Fall, that provided a Sleep Number bed, I needed a setting of about 93 or do to be comfortable.
I’m looking for a mattress company with a range of mattress firmnesses that will work with me until my needs are met. This could involve my trying a sequence of mattresses of varying firmnesses until the right unit is identified. Due to the current pandemic, it would preferable if this could be arranged using shipping and online/telephone interactions.
I don’t know if such an arrangement exists, but thought I’d ask. In the past, I’ve purchased mattresses at high prices only to have to discard them due their being too soft.
Welcome to The Mattress Underground ! Apologies for the delayed response and thanks for your question.
So voyager39, congrats on your mattress shopping journey! Before going down the path of making possible manufacturer recommendations, could you give a few more details about your needs aside from in-home testing? Do you plan to stick with air mattress technology as that limits you to fewer choices and most likely you are familiar with what those options would be.
For anyone beginning their mattress research, I strongly recommend using the forum’s search function for finding information on specific components, features, brands, etc. of interest to you. You will find years of information available via Phoenix’s many research articles; of particular interest for your review, “How to Find Your Perfect Mattress”, “The Basic Functions of a Mattress”, and “Five Steps to Your Perfect Mattress”. In an air mattress construction, air is used in the support system, as opposed to foam, coils, or a combination of both in other types of mattresses. It would be helpful for you to have a basic understanding of the different types of mattresses and constructions while getting your questions ready for remotely working with a manufacturer/ retailer. This article “Finding a Great Mattress Outlet” will guide you through the manufacturer comparison process and help you create a checklist of questions to ask. You should also review “Your Sleeping Style, Preferences and Statistics” to have a better understanding of what your more personal/ subjective preferences for a mattress would be.
After you’ve had a chance to digest this homework assignment, feel free to ask questions of our TMU Trusted members, they are here to help consumers navigate these murky waters with their deep knowledge and expertise from their many years in the mattress industry. Looking forward to any future updates you may have…
Thank you for your reply. I don’t intend to limit myself to air bed technology. I use air mattresses because a long time ago, I found that I’d pick a mattress in a store and then later that it didn’t work at home. It was the adjustability of air mattresses, not a preference for air over coil springs or foam that led to air beds being my default selection.
For many years, I purchased from Select Comfort, and later ended up switching to Innomax air chambers. These days, new air chambers last me an average of three months before becoming too soft for me to use.
I plan to read my homeword assignment and to post more once I’m ready to explore further.
! Apologies for the delayed response and thanks for your question.