Budget mattress or mattress surgery?

[phoenix]

Hi sdmark,

I’d be especially interested in feedback on the “build your own” option. At 160 lbs, I don’t think I need 8" of core. I guess I could add a soft “quilting” layer, though I already have a fairly thick mattress pad.

You can read my thoughts about a local purchase vs a component mattress vs a complete DIY construction in post #15 here and the posts it links to. Which one is best for you really depends on which one you believe would be the best match for you in terms of PPP and the options you have available both before and after a purchase in case the choice you make don’t turn out the way you hoped for.

The Brooklyn Bedding Cotton Camilla would be the most closely comparable to the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams. There are fewer comfort options but you would have the ability to exchange the comfort layer after a purchase which can lower the risk of an online purchase with the tradeoff of an increased cost vs the Ultimate Dreams.

The Bamboo Bliss is the “next step up” and has more comfort options both before and after a purchase and uses higher quality base foam and a wool quilted cover so the higher cost also gives you less risk and better quality components.

The Sultan Favang is more of an unknown because you can’t test the combination mattress/topper in person and the combination isn’t a proven design because the Favang is designed to be soft enough to provide both comfort and support in the same mattress and may be softer than the support layer in either the Bamboo Bliss or the Ultimate Dreams. This could affect the choice of which topper works best for you in combination with the mattress and you would need to sleep on the combination to assess how well it works for you in terms of PPP. If you buy your topper from Brooklyn Bedding then they have an exchange option that would allow you to exchange the topper for a different firmness for a nominal cost so you would still have some options available after a purchase if your first choice doesn’t work as well as you hoped and isn’t a good match for you in terms of PPP.

Can I achieve something that will serve me as well as a Bamboo Bliss (in terms of comfort and durability) but cost $500 less?

I don’t think so no in terms of having the same options or using the same quality of components (base layer, latex top layer, quality of cover, options available before and after a purchase) but your DIY plan might fill the bill if the firmness of the Favang is a suitable base layer for you and you make the “perfect” firmness choice of a topper the first time and don’t need to exchange any layers .

Phoenix

[sdmark]

Phonix,

Thank you for another helpful reply. It has occurred to me that mattresses are like colors. There are only 16 basic questions, but 16 million variations! Your patience with the nuances is appreciated.

I will review the DIY post. Briefly, in response to a couple other points:

• Yes maybe I should have included the Camilla, or omitted the Ultimate Dreams. I was mostly trying to compare the Bliss to the Favang since both claim the same foam density. Whether the Favang is softer than the Bliss base, I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like it’s layered (cutaway photo here).

• In the Favang + topper idea: if Dreamfoam doesn’t allow topper exchanges, I’d have to buy somewhere that does. As you say, BB is an option.

Mark

[phoenix]

Hi sdmark,

Thank you for another helpful reply. It has occurred to me that mattresses are like colors. There are only 16 basic questions, but 16 million variations! Your patience with the nuances is appreciated.

What a great analogy … and you’re very right :).

To carry it one step further … the key is to find the best combination of colors and design that paints your “perfect” picture and then to make sure that the paints and pigments are high quality so they don’t fade or crack or peel off the canvas in only a few months or years (and just like mattresses the quality of the materials is the part that you can’t see or feel).

• Yes maybe I should have included the Camilla, or omitted the Ultimate Dreams. I was mostly trying to compare the Bliss to the Favang since both claim the same foam density. Whether the Favang is softer than the Bliss base, I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like it’s layered (cutaway photo here).

Yes … it’s a single layer and they use the surface cuts to create a softer top section for the “comfort layer” which would become a transition or support layer (or “section” because it’s all part of the same layer) if you add a topper.

Phoenix

[sdmark]

Ah I see what you mean about the surface cuts in the Favang, whereas their hybrid Fjordgard has cuts in the middle but not the surface of the base layer.