Also, if we look outside Costco, is there any top 3 list of ultra firm mattresses out there? Our budget is about $1000 per mattress. The intro to this site says a lot of good mattresses come not from the large names but rather regional players that have honed mattress making over generations. I’d love to hear of this and go test these mattresses if someone can narrow down to top 2 or 3 for me in the ultra firm category
Just in case you haven’t read it yet … the best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
There are no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer.
Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
The “bottom line” is the only way to know how firm a mattress feels for you (regardless of how firm it may feel for anyone else) or whether it is “firm enough” for you will be based on your own personal experience.
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else in terms of firmness, “comfort”, or PPP because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the type and quality of all the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label so I would always make sure that you are able to find out the information listed here so you can compare the materials and components in a mattress to the quality/durability guidelines here and confirm that there are no lower quality materials or obvious weak links in a mattress that would compromise the durability and useful life of a mattress and would have a very high risk that you would need to buy a new mattress much too quickly relative to the price you paid.
In the case of the Spring Air Natalie … if you look at the Costco description you will see that there are more than “about an inch or so” of lower quality or unknown materials in the upper layers of the mattress that don’t include the quality/density of the foam layers (and are almost certainly lower quality and less durable materials) which I would consider to be a weak link in the mattress and would be reason enough to avoid it.
It also has a polyfoam base layer not an innerspring so there wouldn’t be a coil count (although even if it did have an innerspring support core “coil counting” is mostly meaningless anyway).
Unfortunately there really isn’t a reliable way to put together a top 3, a top 10, or even a top 100 because different people can have very different criteria, preferences, and budget ranges (see post #2 here).
The first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that 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 that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
While other people’s comments or reviews about the knowledge, service, and guidance of a particular business can certainly be helpful … I would also avoid using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) or “so called” mattress review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (see post #13 here).
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
You can see my thoughts about buying from Costco in post #4 here. As long as a mattress you purchase there uses good quality and durable materials (which the Natalie doesn’t) and you are comfortable with their lack of knowledge and guidance about the mattresses they sell then some of their mattresses would certainly make a reasonable choice … although they usually wouldn’t be the best quality/value choice for most of the members here that are aware of the many other options that are available to them including many that also have very good exchange/return policies as well.
If you are looking at online options then the tutorial includes several links to lists of the better online sources I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include a wide range of different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of firmness levels and budgets.
If you are also interested in researching local options that you can test before a purchase then if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.
Phoenix
PS: if you are looking for an “ultra firm” sleeping surface that has very little give relative to most mattresses then it may be worth considering a firm cotton futon which are also relatively inexpensive.
have you thought about just purchasing an ultra firm 6" dunlop core? it is probably all you need. as a mattress it will probably last you the rest of your life. and if your firmness needs ever change, you can just add a topper.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the NYC area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked in my last reply) are listed in post #2 here.
The cost of return or exchange policies are built into the cost of a mattress and may not be as important when you can test a mattress in person to make sure that it fits all your criteria but of course this is always a preference choice that can be a more or less important part of each person’s personal value equation.
Dixie seems appealing to me but on my search, a lot of people seem to use a mattress topper. I’m afraid that if I use a topper, the firmness will go away. Is a topper required? Actually never used one in the past
It would depend on which of their mattresses you were considering and on whether it would be a good match for you in terms of PPP without a topper but in general terms a topper would only be needed on a mattress was too firm by itself and you needed some additional softness and pressure relief.
As you probably know Dixie foam is one of the members of this site which means that I think highly of them and I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency and they would certainly be well worth a visit.
When you compare foam mattresses like the one Dixie foam has vs the multi-layer in the big box stores like Stearns, etc, how do they compare with jumping abuse? Lot of kids visiting home 2-3 times a year and hard to always prevent them from jumping on them
You would need to know the specifics of all the materials and components in any mattresses you are comparing to make any specific durability comparisons and Stearns & Foster won’t provide you with the information you would need to make these types of comparisons but like all the major brands Stearns & Foster tends to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses and the materials in the Dixie Foam mattresses in general would be much higher quality and more durable (and more resistant to the durability effects of “jumping”) than Stearns & Foster mattresses.
I’m not sure if you are clear about the difference between a box spring and a foundation and there are many less knowledgeable people in the industry (probably including the person you talked with at Costco) that incorrectly call foundations “box springs”. A box spring actually has springs inside it that flex and are generally used underneath two sided innerspring mattresses. Foundations don’t have any springs inside and have a support surface that is either a solid surface or uses slats and has very little to no flex and are generally used with one sided innerspring mattresses or foam mattresses. Foundations come in different heights that range from a bunkie board (usually about 2" thick) to taller foundations that are in the range of 8" to 10". The different heights are just a preference so that in combination with a bedframe and a mattress your sleeping surface ends up being the height that you prefer. There are also many platform beds that are also suitable for use directly under a mattress without a foundation as long as the slats are close enough together to prevent the mattress from sagging into any gaps in the support surface.
Some platform beds (or a piece of plywood) have a solid surface that doesn’t allow any airflow under the mattress which can increase the risk of moisture retention in a mattress which in combination with other risk factors can add to the risk of developing mold or mildew (see post #10 here).
There is more detailed information about the different types of support systems (bedframes, foundations, box springs, or platform beds) that are generally used under different types of mattresses in post #1 here and the posts it links to.
I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses or their specs that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor or have available online (it would be a bigger job than anyone could possibly keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking their websites and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the lists is always a good idea before you decide on which retailers or manufacturers you wish to deal with or visit anyway. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria, are transparent about the materials in their mattresses, and that carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in testing that are also in the budget range you are comfortable with. Once you have checked their websites and/or talked with the ones that interest you then you will be in a much better position to decide on the ones that you are most interested in visiting or considering based on the results of your preliminary research and conversations.
That being said … I would be very cautious about choosing a mattress based on its thickness alone because the thickness of a mattress or any individual layers inside it is really just a side effect of the design and the design goals of a mattress and is also only one of many variables that can affect the feel and performance of a mattress relative to any particular to any specific person and by itself isn’t particularly meaningful (see post #2 here). In some cases higher weight ranges will sometimes do better with a mattress that is a little thicker than lower weight ranges (see post #14 here for more about the effect of thickness) but even this depends more on the specific design and combination of materials in the mattress and on how well the mattress “as a whole” matches your specific needs and preferences than anything else.
In most cases it’s best to choose a good quality/value mattress that is a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) and then use a support system underneath it (a bedframe and a foundation or a platform bed and a foundation if you need it) that provides the height that you prefer rather than buying a mattress based primarily on its thickness.
I’ve had a queen size mattress from Dixie Foam in New York for 15 years and moved a ridiculous number of times with rough conditions (walk-ups, tight turns, etc.).
Based upon this, I can assure you that their foam mattresses can take the abuse. Children still won’t match the shenanigans of some moving companies…
We had their 6" Tri-Zone Latex and absolutely loved it. It held its shape all that time and looked/felt like we would have had it many, many more years. (The only reason we don’t have it today is because we moved across the border into Canada, and taking a mattress would have required an inspection certificate, for which we simply didn’t have time to address. I miss Dixie Foam!)
For Dixie Foam’s Tri-Zone Latex queen size mattress, my wife and I have used a removable thin wool tick and no other topper. We’ve been happy with that setup for 15 years (mattress purchased in late 1999).
In my opinion, the mattress doesn’t require any extra padding, and I’m 6’1", lean, and sleep mainly on my back and side; my wife is also tall and with hourglass figure.
Probably the main reason that we have a tick on the bed is so it can be removed and washed occasionally, such as if a cat has a fur-ball, etc.
Does anyone happen to know of an equivalent to New York City’s Dixie Foam mattress Tri-Zone Latex that would be available locally to Vancouver, BC?
(While I’ve used freight delivery when purchasing my previous mattress from them, I’d rather not have to deal with cross-boarder shipping and customs and GST/PST for getting it into Canada, especially with exchange rates currently at 1.32 in the wrong direction for this transaction.)
The Foam Shop has their Serenity Mattress with 5 zones; however, it also has multiple layers and is apparently foam-- not Latex.
I’d rather have Latex with just the zones-- without layers. I prefer extra firm.
If I may dream, it would be nice if local shops on opposite coasts would partner and offer one another’s formulas and configurations; i.e., DixieFoam, please meet The Foam Shop of Vancouver; FoamShop, meet DixieFoam.
I switched your last post to a new topic because it was beginning to drift outside the scope of the original topic you were posting in.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Vancouver area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meet your criteria and the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #2 here.
While some of them would probably carry a 6" latex mattress … I don’t know if any of them use zoned latex so you will probably need to check their websites or make a few phone calls to find out which if any of them make a mattress that would “approximate” the Dixie Foam mattress you used to own.
Folks - our dixie foam beds are in and very comfortable. Now, we are also expecting our first kid and wondering how does foam typically react to liquids? If this mattress were to get wet, could we use a dryer over a few days and not sleep on it to bring it back to normal? Or would you suggest a mattress protector from someone like protectabed
Just trying to evaluate if a protector is necessary or not
Thanks for the update and for letting us know what you ended up deciding … and congratulations on your new mattress
You certainly made a great quality/value choice and it’s good to hear that it’s working out well for you.
[quote]If this mattress were to get wet, could we use a dryer over a few days and not sleep on it to bring it back to normal? Or would you suggest a mattress protector from someone like protectabed
Just trying to evaluate if a protector is necessary or not[/quote]
Liquids can certainly damage the foam in a mattress (depending on the type of liquid and on the type of foam) and an accidental spill or stain can also void a warranty.
Outside of any potential damage to the mattress … I would also consider a mattress protector to be important to protect your mattress from stains and the body fluids, skin cells, and oils that we release each night, to protect against spills and accidents, and to keep your sleeping surface in a clean and hygienic condition. It will also protect your warranty because most mattress warranties are usually voided with any type of stain on a mattress. They can be easily removed for washing and are usually designed to have the least possible effect on the feel and performance of the mattress itself. This way you won’t need to clean your mattress cover except for spot cleaning when necessary and vacuuming the surface from time to time. There is more about the pros and cons of the different types of mattress protectors in post #89 here.
