Hi mer8735,
Whoever’s advice is very good IMO and his comments are part of the nature of most memory foam mattresses (to different degrees depending on the type of memory foams that are used).
When you are buying a mattress … there are several elements that are important to consider.
The first two are related to the the suitability of the mattress for your comfort and support needs. This is all about how well the mattress relieves pressure and keeps your spine and joints in neutral alignment in all your sleeping positions.
Comfort/Pressure relief is what you tend to feel when you first lie on a mattress and has to do mostly with the softness and thickness of the upper layers of the mattress and how well they match your weight and sleeping positions. Softer and thicker comfort layers will “allow” you to sink in more re-distribute your weight away from the pressure points and generally provide more pressure relief.
Support/alignment is what you feel when you wake up in the morning either with or without the type of pain and discomfort that comes from sleeping out of alignment. This has to do more with the firmness of the deeper support layers of the mattress which “stop” your heavier parts from sinking down too far. Thinner, firmer comfort layers also keep you closer to the firmer support layers of the mattress so you don’t sink in so far before your heavier areas are “stopped” by the firmer support layers below.
Next is your preferences which are all about things like temperature regulation and humidity control, motion isolation, motion restriction, the “liveliness” of the mattress, and the “feel” of different types of materials that are part of individual choice. There is more about the many preferences involved in a mattress choice in post #46 here.
Each person may have very different needs and preferences depending on their body type, sleeping positions, and the individual preferences they have that may be very different from others (which is why other people’s experiences on a mattress may have little to no relationship to your own). “Best ever” for one person can be “worst ever” for another.
Next is the quality and value of the mattress itself. This is determined by the quality of the materials in the mattress, their durability and resistance to softening and changes, and on how they compare in price to other mattresses that use similar materials and layering. The quality of the materials will determine how the mattress feels and performs a year or more down the road compared to how it felt and performed when it was new. Lower quality materials will soften and degrade faster than higher quality materials no matter what type of materials are used (all materials have lower and higher quality versions) even though both of them may feel the same in a showroom or when they are new. You can’t “feel” the quality of the materials … you can only determine this by knowing the quality/durability of the materials in the mattress and how they change over time. In the same way that a piece of furniture that is made of particle board with a nice veneer may perform exactly the same functions as an all wood piece of furniture but won’t last as long … a poor quality mattress can perform the same functions and feel similar at first to a mattress that uses better quality materials … it just won’t last as long.
Even the highest quality and best value mattress may be completely unsuitable for your needs and preferences while the lowest quality mattress may feel good in the beginning (if it is a suitable design for you) until foam softening or other changes in lower quality or less durable mattress components takes its toll and the mattress loses its comfort and/or support (and this is not covered by any warranty) and needs to be replaced.
Finally … perhaps the most important part of buying a mattress (especially if you are buying online which is more risky because you can’t test the mattress first) is to deal with manufacturers or retailers that can help you determine the suitability of a mattress for your particular needs and preferences and are knowledgeable and transparent about the quality and relative durability of the materials they use. Knowing the type and quality of all the materials and components in a mattress is the only way to make meaningful quality, value, and durability comparisons with other mattresses. Having confidence that a mattress you are considering is both suitable for you and has the quality and value you want is important and dealing with a manufacturer or retailer like this in combination with the service and other options they offer (such as exchange or refund policies or other benefits that are connected with dealing with a particular merchant) can be one of the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase and your own personal value equation.
Knowing all of this will involve a more detailed conversation with any online manufacturers you are considering that can help you choose between the different models they offer. The results of any local testing you have done on similar mattress can also help them to help you more effectively. In many cases …they may have some idea to how their mattresses compare to other mattresses that may be available locally which you can test. This can give you a reference point to how their mattresses may feel to you. Without this … they would use “averages” based on their customer database and on their knowledge of how “average” people may respond to a particular mattress. You may or may not be in the “average” range or have “average” preferences compared to other people of your body type and sleeping positions.
If you end up with a mattress that is not suitable for you … then no matter how much or how little you paid for it … it is money wasted unless they have a good exchange or refund policy that can help make up for any mistakes you make in your choices.
It is also important to know which types of materials you prefer because materials like memory foam, polyfoam, latex, and different types of support cores and other components in the mattress are all important parts of how they will feel and perform and your personal testing on local mattresses is the only way to know how different materials feel for you.
When you are heavier than average … it becomes even more important to use higher quality materials no matter which types of material you prefer. In the case of memory foam … I would be hesitant to use thicker layers of lower density memory foam (under 5 lbs) for someone who was over 200 lbs because they can can soften and degrade faster under the stress of heavier weights. Of course lower durability can be a worthwhile tradeoff for a mattress that has a lower cost.
Brooklyn Bedding which makes the Ultimate Dreams is one of the members of this site which means that I believe they are among the best value in the country which is why they are a recommended manufacturer. This also means that they provide a bonus (in their case a shredded latex pillow) or a discount (with mattresses on their own site or in the case of some of the other members) to the members of this forum.
EDIT: To receive the forum discount on their Brooklyn Bedding line make sure you either call, email, or use their chat to get the discount information before your purchase.
Having great quality or value though doesn’t mean a mattress will be suitable for your needs and preferences so it’s important to talk to any retailer or manufacturer you are considering so that you can make suitable choices for your body type and sleeping positions. They are the “experts” when it comes to the mattresses they sell and if they are good at what they do will give you good guidance so you can make better choices. The better ones will have the knowledge and experience to be able to tell you which of their mattresses may be suitable for different weight/body type/ sleeping position combinations based on the averages of other people … and which would be more or less durable based on the materials that are in them.
I would make your choices based on the quality of materials in the mattress … price and value comparisons made with other similar mattresses … and on your confidence that a mattress you are considering will be suitable for your needs and preferences
Phoenix