Thanks to all the info on this site I am about to order a bed in a box. I am thinking the KISS in firm would be comparable to the Brooklyn in medium. Just have to decide which is of more quality for the long term. Do the foundations sit directly on a metal bed frame? I think I like the KISS foundation better by the description. I am a bit concerned about the metal Brooklyn foundation. I weigh 240 pounds and the wife is 180 pounds so I am looking for a firm king bed. Anyone else try to decide between the KISS and Brooklyn bed in a box? What did you go with?
Thanks
Hi Rubicon,
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 won’t just sell you anything they can convince you to buy) 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.
I would also keep in mind that 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.
There is more about the Kiss mattress and the Brooklyn Bedding BestMattressEver along with many of the other simplified choice mattresses in post #2 here in the simplified choice mattress topic. Both of them use high quality materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of either one of them and I would treat them as being closely comparable in terms of durability.
Foundations are normally used on a steel or wooden bedframe or in some cases they can be used with legs directly under the foundation itself.
A mattress with a polyfoam support core (regardless of the material in the comfort layers) 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 (either a bedframe and foundation or a platform bed) 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 (which may be slats or a solid surface or a steel or wire grid) 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. If a foundation or a platform bed has a slatted surface then 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.
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.
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or 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. 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 in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
You are certainly looking at two great quality/value choices and once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” (which they are) and you have confirmed that none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design relative to your weight range (which they don’t) and if at this point there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your local testing or mattresses you have slept well on, your more detailed conversations with each of them, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, your preferences for different types of materials (or different types and blends of latex), the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
The Brooklyn Bedding Simple Life foundation would certainly be strong enough and would be a suitable choice for their mattress.
Phoenix
I am still confused by the metal Brooklyn Bedding Foundation. By the pics it looks like thin wire on the top of the foundation that supports the mattress with large gaps between the wires. Seems to be contrary to what I have read about good foundations. It may be strong but those thin wires and huge gaps between them causes me concern.
Hi Rubicon,
You can read more about “wire grid” foundations in post #10 here.
While I would be cautious using them with an all latex mattress … they would generally be a suitable choice for a mattress with a firm polyfoam support core.
If you have any concerns you could also use some of the modifications that are suggested in the post I linked as well.
Phoenix