Casper, DreamFoam, Brooklyn Bedding, Tuft & Needle or Other

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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I’m making this post to seek information outside of the manufactures, as well as make my 1st post to qualify for the member’s discounts if I go through with a purchase from someone who is on the list. So let the post commence, warning it’s quite long.

My wife and I are trying to decide on a mattress but have some reservations. I’ve been reading way too much and it’s like going down the rabbit’s hole. Thankfully after reading many of the posts on this very forum, I’ve decided to not purchase a traditional mattress (like we currently have (Simmons BeautyRest World Class)) because of many of the same reasons other people are dissatisfied with them.

My wife is Asian, 30yrs old, a little over 100lbs (I think her last weigh in she was 116lbs). She was diagnosed with child-onset Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was 12 or 15 yrs old, and still deals with this disease to this day. This year, she also came down with kidney disease (had to have a biopsy) so her internal health isn’t the best. She mostly sleeps on her side and sometimes on her stomach. Typical Asian girl build, short’ish and slender.

Myself, I’m Caucasian, 32 yrs old, and thanks to poor eating habits over the past 2 years since our daughter was born I’ve ballooned in weight. I haven’t weighed myself because I really don’t want to know but I’d assume I’m probably somewhere between 230-280lbs. I’m around 5’9 - 5’10. I mostly sleep on my side and back, rarely on my stomach. Average American build, broad shoulders, overweight.

We both prefer a medium-firmness. My wife is always cold, but her body emits an immense amount of heat. She’s like a personal heater in the winter, but in the summer (living in Tx) it can be very….hot. She’s comfortable around 77-80°F. I’m always hot and am more comfortable around 75-76°F. Therefor, a cooler material on the top is desired.

My wife has no real problems falling asleep, but I have a horrible time falling asleep. It often takes me an hour if not more just to fall asleep, then I toss and turn all night, and wake up with dark bags under my eyes, lower back pain, and fatigued no matter how many hours I get. Due to this, I’d say I’m a light sleeper although if I get into a deep sleep then I’m very hard to wake up. My wife also complains about aches on our current mattress and has taken to sleeping on the sofa due to being more comfortable.

Our daughter, who just turned 2 years old, enjoys being on our bed and rolling, falling, and running around (while we’re there with her mind you!) on it. Our current mattress is an inner springs mattress with a barrier on the edges to prevent the edges from collapsing so she doesn’t slide off if she steps near the edge. Her last doctor’s appointment told us her weight is 27.4lbs.

So we need a mattress to accommodate all those things, while being affordable. We have a Queen sized bed-frame from Ashley Furniture which has a headboard, and footboard. Ideally, I’d like to keep it around the $1k mark (a little more is okay, less is always appreciated)

Currently I’ve sent this very post as an email to Casper, DreamFoam, Brooklyn Bedding, and Tuft & Needle with modifications fitting each company to hear from the manufacture and their recommendations. Also wanted to hear your thoughts before jumping the gun.

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vpr, you didn’t include any information if you have a preference for one type of mattress or another, ie memory foam, latex etc. That might help you narrow down some options right up front if you haven’t laid on some various mattresses of those type yet. In that list of vendors, there’s both latex, memory foam and also a mixture (Casper) and all poly foam (Tuft and Needle).

Medium firm is kind of a broad term for how something feels, it’s hard to generalize to compare. Several mattresses may be classed “med-firm”, a pillow top innerspring, memory foam and latex - and all 3 will feel much different because of being different materials. Sort of like a ‘smooth’ fabric could be silk, brushed cotton or velvet. As far as sleeping ‘cool’, in general memory foam is associated with heat issues more than latex because of the sinking in deeper (body recessed into the mattress deeper traps more heat) and it’s less ‘breathable’. I’ve tried it myself blowing air through memory foam and almost couldn’t at all, while latex I was able to blow through so memory foam is more restrictive to air flow. Being too hot won’t help getting a good night’s sleep, but neither will being uncomfortable. If it were myself, I’d focus on comfort/support first. Things can be done to help alter heat issues, whether it’s a mattress pad, different types of sheets, using the a/c etc. Just suggesting to give everything a chance in hopes of finding what works best for you, rather than have you immediately reject a type of mattress based on generalizations when it might be exactly what you’re looking for and bypass it. (ie, if I’m too hot, I can turn on the air - if I’m too cold, I can add a blanket. It won’t matter that the room’s the perfect temperature if the mattress isn’t comfortable.)

Sorting out what type of material feels best will help cut down the choices for you (or give you options) depending how they feel to you and your wife. You might try one type and think no way, so that could help easily narrow it down. Not sure what you mean by edge barrier on your current mattress but being innerspring I’m guessing a firmer/thicker edge wire around the springs for greater support. None of the vendors you mentioned have that as far as I know, most foam or latex mattresses don’t have additional edge support.

If you try laying on a latex mattress and it’s something you find comfortable, you may also want to check out Arizona Premium Mattress or SleepEZ on the vendor page. I’m not certain if Brooklyn Bedding/Dreamfoam offer a split firmness mattress, but that’s something the other two offer I mentioned. It might be beneficial to you and your wife since your body builds are quite different and you both prefer a similar feel. Not always, but a lot of times larger body types who find a firmness that’s ‘med-firm’ to them, someone much smaller like your wife may find it too firm. Or the other way around, she finds the right firmness and it may feel way too soft for you. Split layers would allow a more individually tailored feel to accommodate both within the same mattress. I still think some time spent trying different types of mattresses will allow you and your wife to determine what better suits you for support and the comfort you’re looking for, making it easier to narrow the choices. Best of luck to you both.

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Hi vpr,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! … I’m glad you found us :slight_smile:

Just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices.

The questions you have really boil down to two categories.

The first one is the suitability of a mattress and for this you will need to do some testing on some local mattresses to decide which materials and types of mattresses you tend to prefer and which ones are the best match for both of you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). This would be very helpful regardless of whether you decide to purchase locally or online since only you can decide on the types of mattresses and materials you tend to prefer and it will also help the online manufacturers/retailers you are considering to find the mattress that would have the best chance of success. I would also have a more detailed conversation on the phone with any online retailer you are considering because emails aren’t a great way to find out what you (and they) will need to know to help you make the best choices (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

The next category of questions boils down to durability issues. When you are in a higher weight range then regardless of the types of mattresses or materials you tend to prefer it is more important to make sure that your mattress uses high quality and durable materials … especially in the comfort layers. There is more information about this in the links in the tutorial post and post #3 here and the other posts it links to also has more information that would be helpful for those that are in higher weight ranges. I would also keep in mind that firmer materials will feel softer to you than they will for your wife who is much lighter and will compress the mattress much less.

The two of you may also have very different needs and preferences so the first part of post #2 here has more information about how some mattresses can accommodate two people that are in very different weight ranges.

Once you have decided on the materials you prefer in your comfort and support layers (polyfoam, memory foam, latex, innersprings etc) then you will in a much better position to narrow down your choices.

In the case of both Tuft & Needle and Casper they both only have one mattress with one firmness level (although Tuft & Needle has two different thicknesses of basically the same mattress) so with both of these they would either work for you or they won’t. If they work everyone is happy. If they don’t they both have a good return and refund policy. The Tuft & Needle is a polyfoam mattress that uses 1.8 - 2 lb polyfoam which is a good quality material although it’s not as durable as more premium materials such as latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam. The Casper mattress uses a combination of synthetic latex and 4 lb memory foam in the comfort layers over a 1.8 lb polyfoam support core. The synthetic latex would be a very durable material but I would normally minimize the use of 4 lb memory foam for higher weight ranges. In this case however the memory foam is only 1.5" thick so this wouldn’t be a major durability issue.

Post #4 here has more about Dreamfoam and Brooklyn Bedding who are sister companies. Again … regardless of which type of mattresses you prefer I would make sure that you use higher quality materials in both the comfort and support layers (I would lean towards 2 lb or higher polyfoam in the support layers at your weight) because more durable materials in all the layers are more important in higher weight ranges. They both offer a wide range of mattresses and many of their latex mattresses have layers that can be exchanged after a purchase if you need softer or firmer comfort layers. Many of their latex mattresses can can also be ordered with split comfort layers with a different firmness on each side if you order a king size. They also have a customizable 12 in 1 polyfoam mattress that uses 2 lb polyfoam which can be customized in many different ways after a purchase and can also be ordered in a split configuration in a king size.

After the suitability of a mattress and the durability of a mattress then the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you would also be part of the “value” of a mattress purchase.

There is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress in post #2 here and the posts it links to.

If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know of the better options of possibilities I’m aware of in your area where you can do some testing on different materials and types of mattresses.

There’s a lot of information here but if you follow the steps in the tutorial post one at a time (with the addition of the optional online step) then you will have the best chance of finding your “ideal” mattress.

Phoenix