Ok. I’ve read through a bunch of the forum posts. Very informitive stuff. Many thanks for all the info. However, i would still like some help. My wife and i have been shopping for a mattress and have narrowed down our preferences to a Kingsdown Holiday or a Tempurpedic supreme. Both in King. Reading on here, it seems we could certainly do better with less cost through a custom mfg’r. However, i am still somewhat confused as to what to actually ask and look for. I am 6’ 190 lbs side sleeper, wife is 5’4" 125 lbs side and back sleeper. We both enjoy a softer top with the ability to sink a “little” to fill in the gaps with great underlying support. So given that info, what materials and amounts should we be requesting in a custom build? My budget would be between $1500-$2200 depending on quality. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Hi chrischaos,
I think the first place I would start is post #1 here and the information it leads to. This is perhaps the most important post on the forum. This will give you the basic information that you need and the steps that can help you exclude some of the worst choices (such as Kingsdown or Tempurpedic) and focus on the better ones.
When you are starting out … researching who to buy from can be even more important than deciding what to buy. When you find the “experts” that not only sell better quality and value mattresses but can also give you the help and guidance to make the best possible choices … then you won’t need to learn what they already know. They will “educate” you more than “sell” you. The information i linked to will help you recognize who they are.
Because of all the variables and personal preferences involved in choosing a mattress … there is no “formula” that can turn height/weight and sleeping position information into an ideal mattress design out of the many thousands of possibilities that are available. While the mattresses section of the site has lots of information that can help you understand the ideas behind why different mattresses fit different people … these are only generic and may not apply to any particular individual. They can help you work with the “experts” that are available to you more effectively.
The best way to know what is best for you is either through local testing (preferably with the help of someone with the knowledge and experience to educate and guide you) or if you are working with an online manufacturer then with a more detailed conversation where they can take your local testing on mattresses into account (if you know the specific layers and details of the mattresses you tested) along with their more detailed knowledge of the mattresses they make or sell and which of them may be the most suitable for you based on the “averages” of their customers that have similar body types and sleeping styles.
Once you have read some of the basic information … then if you let me know your city or zip I’d be happy to let you know about some of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.
Phoenix
Thank you very much for the reply. I am in winnipeg. I was hoping to visit the “heart mattress” shop this weekend. They make their own (so they say) and mentioned they can do custom building. We hope to try a few to see how we like them and further find out what materials are in the beds we have liked. Through your forums, i also looked at the laytex mattress from brooklyn mattress. Looks pretty decent. Have you done a review phoenix? Or has a member had one for a year or longer? Id like to find out more about it. My main goal is to ave a quality mattress that i get 8-12 years out of without sacrificing comfort in that time. Our last bed (restonic queen pillow top) was noticeably worn after 3 years and i just don’t want the hassle of mattress shopping again soon.
Hi chrischaos,
The better options I’m aware of in the Winnipeg area are included in post #2 here and includes one of the manufacturing members of this site (which means that I believe they are among the best quality/value in the country).
I talked with Randy at Heart Bedding over a year ago but for some reason didn’t include them in the Winnipeg list (now corrected). They seemed to me to be clearly what I call mattress people and he told me they could build anything you wanted and they would be well worth including in your research there.
Brooklyn Bedding (Dreamfoam on Amazon is their brand name) is also one of the members of this site which means that I also consider them to be in the “best value in the country” range. A forum search on “Ultimate Dreams” will bring up a lot of comments and feedback about them including many of my own.
The mattresses they are now making have only been out for a little over a year and it would be rare that someone comes back a year or more after any mattress purchase to talk about it (although it does happen occasionally. If you know the materials in a mattress though … no matter who puts the materials in a cover and adds their label to it … you will have a good idea of the quality and durability of the mattress. Dreamfoam is transparent about all the materials in their mattress (as all better quality manufacturers are) and use high quality and durable materials in all their mattresses. This is especially true of the comfort layers which are the weak link of most mattresses.
Just in case you haven’t read it … post #1 here and the information it links to is perhaps the most important post in the forum and has a lot more information about the different types of materials that are used in mattresses and how to know which are good quality. It may also help you understand why your pillowtop may be failing (lower quality materials in the comfort layers) and how to make sure that your next mattresses doesn’t have the same “weak link”.
Phoenix