Based on the pictures i’ve seen it appears to have 12 slats and if they are 1x3 (which are actually 2.5" wide) then the gaps between the slats would be a little under 4". Having said that … this may not be correct so they would be a more reliable source of information.
I would keep in mind that there are no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings (or firmness numbers) 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 also 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.
Having said that … based on most of the feedback that I’ve seen the Tuft & Needle feels firmer to most people than most of the other “simplified choice” mattresses (or the medium firmness option for the ones that have multiple firmness choices).
Assuming that you decide to pull the trigger on the Tuft & Needle … congratulations on your new mattress
I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback when you receive it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
After some more experimentation I think it was actually not providing enough support; i.e. too soft. I should have paid a bit more attention to my bed frame - it’s the flexible slat type, which is clearly not intended for these types of mattresses. With the mattress on the frame it actually felt way too hard (I guess the give of the slats was robbing a lot of the cushioning from the support layers). Directly on the floor the mattress is noticeably more comfortable but it still doesn’t work that well for me. Sleeping on my back is “OK” but side or stomach sleeping is uncomfortable. However it’s still better than my old atrociously worn out mattress so I’ll be sleeping on it until they come pick it up Friday
I would have been interested to try a BME firm but not interested enough to do so without being able to return it.
I’m looking at the KISS and Love mattresses now. I tried contacting both companies. So far I haven’t heard anything back from SleepEZ. Nest got back to me promptly me but the support person is sending clipped emails directly from his phone, which I’m not sure what to make of. He suggested the Alexander mattress instead (without any reasoning behind it; both emails were two sentences) but I’m not sure about memory foam. I think I would greatly prefer the “on top of” as opposed to “sinking into” feeling.
Thanks for the update … and I’m sorry to hear that your mattress didn’t work out for you as well as you hoped for but the good news is that you had the foresight to purchase a mattress that has a great return policy so there was little risk in trying it (outside of the time you spent sleeping on it and returning it).
I would also agree that part of the problem could have been the support system under your mattress because most foam mattresses will generally do best with a firm, flat, and non yielding support system underneath it (that provides support that is similar to the floor) and it’s possible that you may have similar issues with other mattresses on the same bedframe as well.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding next.
I would also encourage you to talk with any online manufacturer or retailer you are considering on the phone instead of through emails (see post #4 here).
I would also agree that part of the problem could have been the support system under your mattress because most foam mattresses will generally do best with a firm, flat, and non yielding support system underneath it (that provides support that is similar to the floor) and it’s possible that you may have similar issues with other mattresses on the same bedframe as well.
Phoenix[/quote]
That’s interesting. Dreamfoam recommended slats as a support for my Ultimate Dreams memory foam mattress. They suggested that several slats spaced a few inches apart are the best support system. I was also thinking that a flat support would work better.
Thanks for the update … and I’m sorry to hear that your mattress didn’t work out for you as well as you hoped for but the good news is that you had the foresight to purchase a mattress that has a great return policy so there was little risk in trying it (outside of the time you spent sleeping on it and returning it).
I would also agree that part of the problem could have been the support system under your mattress because most foam mattresses will generally do best with a firm, flat, and non yielding support system underneath it (that provides support that is similar to the floor) and it’s possible that you may have similar issues with other mattresses on the same bedframe as well.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding next.
I would also encourage you to talk with any online manufacturer or retailer you are considering on the phone instead of through emails (see post #4 here).
Phoenix[/quote]
That’s interesting. Dreamfoam recommended slats as a support for my Ultimate Dreams memory foam mattress. They suggested that several slats spaced a few inches apart are the best support system. I was also thinking that a flat support would work better.
Not surprisingly I would agree with their suggestion.
There is more information about support systems (bedframes and foundations or platform beds) that are generally suitable for different types of mattresses and some examples of each of them in post #1 here and some of the information and comments in this topic (which would apply to any foam mattress) may be helpful as well.
Any mattress with a polyfoam support core will generally do best with a firm, flat, and evenly supportive support surface underneath it that has minimal to no flex under the mattress and for larger sizes with at least one center support beam that has good support to the floor to prevent any sagging in the middle of the mattress. The components need to be strong and durable enough to support the weight of the mattress and the people sleeping on it without some of the parts bending, sagging, shifting, or breaking with extended use. The support surface under the mattress should have enough surface area to prevent the mattress from sagging through any gaps or spaces in the support surface over time but still allow some airflow under the mattress. I would suggest that the gaps between any slats are no more than about 5" (with 1 x 3 slats) although less than 4" would be better yet.
The key is what kind of slats they are. Some beds like mine intentionally have flexible slats. With my old traditional mattress this was a good combination (they act like a support layer when you use a thinner mattress). With something like the BME, flexible slats are clearly not a good fit because the mattress already has all the layers it needs built into it and the flexing of the slats totally throws everything off.
I switched your last two posts to a different topic that is more appropriate because our conversation was starting to drift outside of the scope of the original topic you posted in and was more about support systems than the mattress.
You can see some thoughts about flexible slat systems in post #2 here and the posts it links to. A flexible slat system would be an “active” part of a sleeping system (just like any other layer or component either in, under, or over a mattress that flexes or compresses when you sleep on it) so the only reliable way to know whether a flexible slat system would be an improvement for you in terms of PPP compared to a non flexing support system would be based on your own actual experience when you test it or sleep on it in person and compare both types of support systems under the same mattress. For some people it could be neutral, for some people it would be an improvement, and for some it could be detrimental.
A flexible slat system can be beneficial with some thinner foam mattresses (generally two sided) that by themselves may not have enough “give” and/or can benefit from some additional flexibility or “depth” and contouring support under the mattress and in some cases they can be beneficial under some types of innerspring mattresses as well but “most” one sided foam mattresses (and one sided mattresses in general) are designed to do best on a support system that has little to no give (similar to having the mattress on the floor).
As a long time Brooklyn Bedding customer and fan, I couldn’t resist buying another mattress from them. So far, everything I’ve ever bought from them has been first rate and the customer service is second to none (Thanks Mario). I don’t see how you can go wrong ordering a mattress from BB – If you don’t like it they will take it back…try that at a local store!
I chose the “soft” firmness as a side sleeper and I will provide a review after receiving the BME.
Jeff
You have certainly purchased your share of Dreamfoam and Brooklyn Bedding mattresses (if I’m not mistaken this is #6?) and you would probably quality as an “expert” based on your personal experiences on their mattresses alone!
Congratulations on making another great quality/value choice …
I’m also looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Sorry for the delay in my response, The total falls back to only 5 as the second 12 n 1 had to be cancelled for lack of foam (No estimated timeframe to resupply), Since it happened this way, I decided to buy the one I really wanted in the first place – The BME.
I have a lot of faith in Brooklyn Bedding and DreamFoam and I intend to stick with them. #HappyCustomer
First of all, a huge thanks to TMU and Phoenix for the elaborate mattress selection/value write up. And thanks to the members for their honest reviews.
I just ordered my King size #BestMattressEver from Brooklyn Bedding and had a wonderful time doing so. I think this is the way mattress shopping was supposed to be!
Before I ordered this mattress, my wife and I visited a few different retail chains to find whats out there and the cost. We quickly came to a realization that the mattress we loved retailed for $3500 - $4000…waaaaay over our budget. We spoke to the retailers to see if there are any promotions, expecting to get at-least a couple of hundred dollars off the mattress. At this one retail store, after speaking to the “manager”, the price dropped to $2900. I was happy since the discount was more than I expected to get, but still above our budget. My wife and I decided to wait for a month before we can purchase the $2900 mattress, we told the sales associate that we would come back in a month and started to walk towards the door when he stopped us. He went back to his “manager” a second time and got the price down to $2300. This was still more than the $2000 max budget we had which we mentioned to the sales associate. He went back to the “manager” a third time and came back with $2099 with tax for the mattress. The mattress went from 3500 to 2099 in a matter of few mins and i was very uncomfortable with this. First, i felt lied to with a high sticker price when the actual price they were willing to give away was 2099 - why not put that on the sticker and sell it for what its worth! Secondly, it makes me wonder the quality if they were willing to drop $1500 the sticker price! Thirdly, the numerous “manager” visit just got to me. We walked out of there and started researching on the actual value/cost of mattresses. That is when we stumbled upon Brooklyn Bedding on this forum and its reviews and its reasonable pricing. We did some more research (youtube reviews and amazon reviews) and were ready to purchase this mattress! Placed the order just yesterday and already we had to contact the customer service due to a billing/shipping address mishap on our part while placing the order. They rectified it promptly this morning in a few mins. This was much much better than the retail store experiences we have had, We are extremely satisfied with our purchase decision just based on the shopping experience! I hope the mattress lives up to the same level of expectation. I will definitely post a review of the mattress after we receive it and hope to help out others who are in the situation we were!
Unfortunately your experiences with “negotiating” is fairly typical in the mainstream industry. The worst part is you were probably negotiating for a mattress that wasn’t “worth” buying for $2099 either and that you would most likely be best avoiding in the first place (at any price) because it would likely have lower quality materials that would be a weak link and would compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress anyway.
Better manufacturers and retailers don’t generally “negotiate” (see post #6 here) or have “fake sales” with large discounts based on the time of year or holidays (see the guidelines here and post #5 here). While they may have sales with smaller discounts … I would treat retailers or manufacturers that negotiate their prices or have “major holiday sales” with “huge” discounts as a red flag because manufacturers or retailers that sell good quality/value mattresses don’t need to negotiate or have “fake sales” with misleading discounts to create a false sense of urgency and they sell good quality/value mattresses every day of the year at prices that are already very reasonable.
The good news is that you ended up making a great quality/value choice … and congratulations on your new mattress
I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
I’ll give a better review after a few weeks but night one on the soft BME was a wonderful experience (as expected). Maybe since I’m already a latex mattress fan is why I didn’t think there would be any adjustment period in my case and there was not. I slept like a baby on the very first night. It is super comfortable and I feel supported from head to toe. Being super easy to order and with a 120 day return policy, I cannot understand why people choose to wake up in pain – maybe they are truly broke but other than that I do not get it. I must mention the pillows from BB…Some may not agree but I love the Latex pillows they sell. Memory foam makes me sweat and poly-fill pillows are not comfortable to me. These pillows have shredded latex and a zipper (you can take some of it out if you need a lower pillow). I like them so much I hate that I hit 40 before discovering Latex. I could have saved myself much pain and discomfort.
I am super excited about ordering my #BestMattressEver Soft today!
I will update here to let you know how I feel once it arrives.
Before I found these forums, I was mainly considering a Chinese manufacturer – Phoenix’s posts here convinced me of the quality of Brooklyn Bedding.
Additionally, I read that out of all the various companies that offer trial sleeping periods… people often complain about their one-firmness-fits-all mattresses being too firm. I’m a side-sleeper and I really want soft.
Plus Brooklyn Bedding doesn’t spray the mattress with flame retardant and instead uses a flame retardant sock – makes me feel better about not having to breathe in chemicals from some mattress made in China.
I just talked to Mario at BB and with his help I placed an order for my BME. Thanks Phoenix for this forum, your resources, and the people who take the time to post. I’m a research freak and after going to a local big box store and learning a mattress would cost me 2-3k I knew there had to be a better and cheaper option and thanks to this site I feel really confident in my purchasing decision that will provide me years of value.
For those deciding on buying a mattress online sight unseen, the kicker for me was the BME 120 day return policy so if I don’t like the bed I can return it. Hopefully I won’t though and hopefully it lasts for several years!
Congratulations to both of you on your new mattresses
As you know you both made great quality/value choices and I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback once you received them and have had the chance to sleep on them for a bit.
The BBE uses very high quality and durable materials (2 lb polyfoam and two layers of latex) so durability certainly won’t be an issue.
We have been using our king medium mattress for a little over a month now and I am very pleased. My husband is concerned it is too soft for him, but on the other hand, said he doesn’t wake up hurting. My only (minor) complaint is the motion transfer, there was none with the Tuft and Needle mattress but this one is more like our inner spring, which was not a surprise, I just had no idea mattresses without motion transfer existed and I think I was spoiled for the month we used the T&N mattress.
Due to a shipping mix up, the #bestpillowever arrived after the mattress, and I love the pillow. I have fewer backaches when using it, and will purchase another in the next month or so for my husband. I can’t recommend the pillow enough.
We’ve been sleeping on our BME medium queen for about a month, and I can honestly say that I’ve been very impressed by the service, easy setup, absolute lack of any kind of chemical smell, and quality of the mattress. Overall very happy in that regard.
On the other hand, I’m beginning to think that the medium may be a tad too soft for us. I tend to have small amounts of back pain after waking up a couple of nights a week, and in general feel like my neck angle is very steep as I sink into the mattress. I sleep with a buckwheat hull pillow and have to flatten it out quite a bit to get comfortable.
Has anyone tried both the medium and firm of this mattress that can comment just how much more firm the latter is? I’m hesitant to try an exchange if we’re then stuck with a firm mattress that we don’t like. Decisions decisions!
