What can you tell me about the Bergand Isoform memory foam mattress? It all seems very confusing to me because some reviews are great while others are not so great. Epinions.com is the website I viewed for reviews. Overall it sounds like a good choice, but can only be ordered online. This will be a problem if the mattress has to be returned.
Hello Tree … and welcome.
I hope you don’t mind that I switched your posts to a new topic.
The good news about Bergad Isoform is that is an American made memory foam. It is not included in the the list of tested memory foams on the CertiPUR site however. CertiPUR is a manufacturer run voluntary testing group which tests polyfoam and memory foam for various chemicals and outgassing as well as durability. I also don’t see any information on the website about any other testing agency they may have submitted their foam to.
They also do not mention the density of their foam (measured in lbs/cu ft) so I would certainly make sure that it was at least 5 lbs for a higher quality mattress or 4 lbs for a lower budget mattress before I considered buying it. The higher the density the higher quality the memory foam and in general the longer it will last. I would also make sure they tell you the density and ILD of the support core as well (although I believe it is 2 lb density which for polyfoam is a good quality base layer). Since the specifications of the materials used in a mattress are so important … I personally have a great deal of difficulty recommending any manufacturer who is not completely open about the materials they use in their mattresses so I would make certain that they are willing to tell you all of this information first.
The Bergad reviews I have read are somewhat mixed and while I know to take online reviews with a big grain of salt (since the overwhelming majority of them are written soon after a mattress is purchased which means little), there does seem to be a bit of a pattern of the foam changing and losing its initial qualities. This is often a problem with lower density or quality memory foam.
In general terms … I am not a real fan of memory foam for those with back issues since it is the least supportive of all foams and it can also lead to sleeping out of alignment over the course of the night as your heavier parts sink in further over the course of the night. It is also the least supportive of all foams and while the comfort layers where it is used are not the main support layer of a mattress … they do help with support for the more recessed areas of the body such as the lumbar area. If you have not slept on a memory foam mattress before I would read this page on the site to make sure you are comfortable with the idea Memory foam - pros and cons - The Mattress Underground
The final negative I would mention is that purchasing a mattress online that is expensive to return can be very risky. In the case of Bergad … should you decide to return it you would be paying for the cost of original shipping (deducted from your refund) as well as the cost of shipping the entire mattress back. This can be very costly … especially for an inexpensive mattress.
If I was to purchase a mattress sight unseen … I would either be very certain that it was exactly the mattress I wanted so there was no chance I would want to return it … or I would buy from an outlet like Costco, Walmart, Sams Club which doesn’t charge you for returns in either direction … or perhaps best of all I would purchase from a DIY mattress manufacturer which specialized in putting together a mattress that was designed for your own personal needs based on testing similar mattreses in local stores. Most of these … including those that are members of The Mattress Underground … allow for exchanging a single layer should you need to adjust your mattress at a very low cost.
Overall … I would consider the purchase of a Bergad mattress sight unseen as a high risk proposition and probably not a great choice in spite of the relatively low cost. IMO … there are better options in the same price range without the same drawbacks.
Phoenix