Classic Brands Advanced Comfort 14" Memory Foam Mattress

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi, I just subscribed so that I could post after reading and gathering info here over the last many days (!!!). What a wealth of information! Waaaay more than I can even sort through, but I think I’ve read and absorbed most of the important stuff. On behalf of all of the potential and actual mattress buyers you’ve helped, THANK YOU Phoenix!

So, I’m looking to buy a king bed and mattress for my wife and myself (finally!). I’ve researched and lain on a number of mattresses and definitely want memory foam. We have a 10-year-old tempurpedic queen mattress right now (8" or 9") that ain’t cuttin it. I live in Burlington, VT with little opportunity to try out mattresses beyond the big brands. I went to four locally owned, and skipped Sleepys and the big box stores. After spending much time driving from store to store and trying Tempurpedics, King Koil iMattresses, Comfopedics, Sertas, Sealys, Simmons, and some cheap brands that did nothing for me, blahbbady blah blah, I found at one store (the most helpful, informative one I went to–a good sign! Can I post the name here?) a Classic Brands 14" mattress. They said that the manufacturer tried with this mattress to mimic the Tempur-Pedic Grandbed. Quite a claim, I have come to realize. And the thing was by far the most comfortable in the store and in the top two that I have lain on in my search. (I actually really liked the Tempur-Pedic Rhapsody… but the price!) Since I’m looking at beds as well, and they sell quality, Vermont-made solid cherry frames, they said they’d do a good package deal on both mattress and frame if I want both.

I went home and spent time researching. I found very little. Very odd. So I called the store. What I found was interesting. Classic Brands makes mattresses for a whole lot of different companies (not sure if it’s cool to name what they told me here, so I won’t) and that this particular mattress was custom made for this Vermont company based on what they asked for, a mock-up of the Tempurpedic Grandbed.

Here’s why I’m posting, to ask if this info, along with knowledge of the company you may have, along with the mattress specs, and the fact that it was very comfortable to me (I would go back with wifey to try…) points to a mattress I should continue to consider. Here are the specs:

Five layers, 14" profile.

  1. Gel foam in quilt: 1" of 4 lb ventilated gel foam in the quilting
  2. 3" of 4 lb ventilated gel foam
  3. 2" of 4 lb memory foam
  4. 2" of soft comfort foam (no weight provided for this layer in spec sheet)
  5. 6" of 2 lb convoluted high density base foam

They’re asking $1500 for the king mattress. Btw, fwiw, I am 260 lbs, side sleeper. My wife is 145 back and side sleeper.

Any feedback or advice is much appreciated!

Perry

2

Hi PRN,

Absolutely :). You’ve probably already seen this as well but the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Burlington, VT area are listed in post #4 here. If they aren’t on the list already I can add them as a local “possibility” although some of the information they are providing you is a little misleading.

Again you are always free (and encouraged) to post whatever information you believe would help others. As you mentioned … Classic Brands is a CertiPur certified Chinese manufacturer that makes a wide range of mattresses under their own brand names as well as many private label partnerships as well. A forum search on Classic Brands (you can just click the link) will also bring up more information about them and many of their brands as well but of course more information yet is always welcome.

[quote]Here’s why I’m posting, to ask if this info, along with knowledge of the company you may have, along with the mattress specs, and the fact that it was very comfortable to me (I would go back with wifey to try…) points to a mattress I should continue to consider. Here are the specs:

Five layers, 14" profile.

  1. Gel foam in quilt: 1" of 4 lb ventilated gel foam in the quilting
  2. 3" of 4 lb ventilated gel foam
  3. 2" of 4 lb memory foam
  4. 2" of soft comfort foam (no weight provided for this layer in spec sheet)
  5. 6" of 2 lb convoluted high density base foam[/quote]

As you may know from your reading here I would need to know the density of the 2" “soft comfort foam” in the mattress (see this article) to make more meaningful comments about the mattress but outside of that there would be no other obvious weak links in the mattress in terms of durability as long as you were in more “average” weight ranges (see the guidelines here). You are in a higher weight range however where I would be much more cautious with thicker layers of 4 lb memory foam in a mattress. Post #3 here also has more information that would also be useful for those that are in higher weight ranges.

There is also more about the many ways that one mattress can “match” another one in post #9 here. While this mattress may be very similar to the Tempurpedic GrandBed in terms of how it feels initially or in a showroom … how a mattress feels has little to nothing to do with the quality or durability of the materials inside it and it certainly doesn’t use the same quality/density materials as the GrandBed (you can see the specs for the GrandBed here). This means that it will soften or break down more quickly than the GrandBed (especially with your higher weight).

[quote]They’re asking $1500 for the king mattress. Btw, fwiw, I am 260 lbs, side sleeper. My wife is 145 back and side sleeper.

Any feedback or advice is much appreciated![/quote]

Post #13 here has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase that can help you compare mattresses but the value of a mattress is always relative to what else is available to you and any other mattresses you are comparing it to.

If the Rhapsody was a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and you are open to considering an online mattress purchase then the tutorial post includes this link to a list of the better online manufacturers and retailers that sell memory foam mattresses and many of them make mattresses that are good approximations of the Tempurpedic lineup in one or more ways that may also be well worth considering. Many of them also have great return policies and if nothing else they would provide you with some reference points for the “value” of your mattress purchase.

Overall I would be very cautious with a mattress that used this much 4 lb memory foam in your weight range both because of the risk of alignment issues from comfort layers that may turn out to be too thick and soft for you and because of the risk of durability issues with that much 4 lb memory foam.

Phoenix

3

Hi Perry, I just joined last night so I could post also. I saw the Classic Brands just today, on Wayfair.com. They don’t show the bed you are referring to and they do not include any detailed specs like those you posted. The one I just looked at was “Classic Brands Eloquence 11” Memory Foam Mattress" and it sounds like a bargain so I came here to see if anyone else has any experience or info on this brand. I just noticed that this particular listing on Wayfair says it “requires” a box spring and it is made in China. Those two things bother me because I was trying to stay with American Made and I wanted to put my mattress on my new bed without “box springs”.
I agree that the mattress you describe sounds like a good deal also and am very interested in what responses from Phoenix and others have to say. If it feels good to you and the price is right, I wonder if it is also made in China and what kind of quality the foams are. I wish you luck on your search! We are pretty much in the same boat as you
As a side note - one of the mattresses on my short list the “Brooklyn Bedding PureCool Luxe Memory Foam” is also on WAyfair.com for $150 less that BB’s website. By the time we make a final decision though it will not be there any more.
This is soo stressful. I am really glad I found this website. Phoenix has done a really good thing here that is helpful to many many good people.

4

Excellent excellent feedback, thank you Phoenix. I will read all of the links you offered and reconsider methinks.

The company is the first one in your list of Burlington stores, Vermont Mattress Depot. I had looked at that list you gave and visited all five in the Burlington area. Sean from VTmattressdepot has indeed been helpful, and he’s the one who told me about Classic Brands making mattresses for a whole bunch of retailers, including the Bobopedics.

I’m not sure what was misleading?

Made in China? Their website is misleading then, as they lead one to believe they make them in Maryland.

Anyway, this is all great. I’m ready to buy when I’m ready, nothing is time sensitive here. I’ll read and consider, and lie on more mattresses! Thanks again!

Perry

5

Hi PRN,

I meant the claim that the mattress was a “match” for the Tempurpedic GrandBed although from the perspective of how it feels this may be accurate … for a while anyway. A customer may translate this into meaning that it’s the same quality as the Grandbed when it’s not. If I was a retailer I would also have cautioned you about a mattress that uses very thick layers of softer 4 lb memory foam (just like many retailers may caution their heavier customers even with some of the softer Tempurpedic Cloud mattresses which use 4 lb memory foam in combination with 5 lb, or 7 lb memory foam).

Their factory is in China (see this article and this article). I would also be a little cautious with mattresses that are compressed for long periods of time because this can have an effect on durability as well (see post #6 here).

@ Centaurita,

I would be very cautious about buying any mattress where you can’t find out the specifics of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here) so you can make sure there are no weak links in the mattress and make more meaningful comparisons to other mattresses. Outside of how well a mattress matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP … a mattress is only as good as the quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer. If you are able to find out the type and quality of the materials in the Eloquence (see this article) then you can either compare them to the guidelines here or if you list them on the forum I’d be happy to make some comments about the quality of the materials.

The box spring part is probably incorrect because most foam mattresses (whether they are memory foam, polyfoam, or memory foam) need a firm non flexing support surface such as a platform bed or a foundation. Typically a box spring means a support system that has springs inside it which normally wouldn’t be the best choice for a mattress that has a foam support core and a platform bed or a foundation would be fine.

This part of the description …

… is also wrong. The bottom layer of the mattress is high density polyfoam.

Phoenix

6

Thank you so much Phoenix for your excellent feedback to my post. We are going after work tonight to test some more beds, so I am sure I will be back here for more research this weekend.
Right now, I have my eyes set on something like the Tri-Pedic Diamond or maybe that Cool Luxe I mentioned before, but don’t know if the budget will allow for that.
One thing is for certain - I need to convince Hubby that the Night Therapy bed at Sam’s is not the great deal he thinks it is!!
I have printed out a bunch of information (including the guidelines), from your site to help with this; so thanks again :slight_smile:

7

Hi Centaurita,

Good luck in your search … and I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding and of course any comments or questions you may have along the way.

Phoenix

8

*** MODERATOR NOTE: This is a new topic that was “split” from this topic***

We went and tried out the Tempurpedics and Natura latex beds last night. I was really comfortable on the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe, but for some reason- not as much so, on the Cloud Luxe Breeze. I sleep really hot and was trying to like the breeze better- lol.
At another store my husband fell for the Natura Latex. He likes a firmer bed than I do and I think he appreciated the wool and the fact it had a long warranty. Of course he liked the most expensive one they had.
So I was ready to just make a decision today, one way or another because as everyone knows - buying a mattress is the hardest thing to do. I would rather shop for a used car, or start over building my house, than shop for another mattress, so hopefully I made the right decision today. Before I finally did decide, I came across a couple I had not heard of before today - the Casper and Tuft and Needle (I think that’s what it was). At any rate they soon fell into the closed tab file, along with the 20 or so other contenders.

I searched and looked at comparable mattresses all morning and finally narrowed it down to Brooklyn Bedding and these three models.

  1. PureCool Luxe (still trying to like the Tempurcloud luxe breeze better than the tempurcloud luxe)
  2. Cool Luxe
  3. Aloe Alexis

After a long online chat with Mario and dozens of questions later I talked to my husband and narrowed it down to Cool Luxe and Alexis. Still more questions later, Mario helped me see why it made sense to go with the latex choice. (I pray I’m not one of those people who gets hot on latex.)

So in 7-10 business days we will be the proud owners of a King Size Aloe Alexis. I opted for the mattress protector and also received a nice Mario Special discount :wink: along with two free shredded latex pillows. All out the door (with Back to school special) for $1545.

So I will be back after I get a chance to try it out to give an honest opinion, to maybe help out the poor souls who are still where I was yesterday.
Hopefully I won’t regret giving in and agreeing with my husband :lol:

And thank for all your work here, Phoenix. Have a great weekend!

9

Hi Centaurita,

I can see that your “finalists” reflected the “battle of preferences” between you and memory foam and your husband and latex :). Just to ease your mind about sleeping temperature though … latex tends to sleep cooler than any type of memory foam (including gel memory foams) so from that perspective you are making a good choice although some people will sleep warmer on any mattress because of some of the other variables involved in sleeping temperature. There is more about all the variables that can affect sleeping temperature in post #2 here and the posts it links to.

I think you did some good research and asked some good questions and most importantly of all ended up making a great choice. Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I’m looking forward to your feedback once you receive it.

Phoenix

10

A quick update: I just ordered this morning a Regalis-HD King mattress from Selectfoam. I am thrilled. I went back alone and with my wife to further test mattresses at local stores, and the Rhapsody tempurpedic really is the top pick. Researching more, prompted by your feedback, Phoenix, Selectfoam soon was on our shortlist (along with Christeli and Brooklyn Bedding). After talking with Pedro (Peter) at Selectfoam and getting a good deal I couldn’t refuse, I happily anticipate the delivery of our new Regalis! Thank you Phoenix! I appreciate GREATLY what you do here. Considering that I will be sleeping perhaps thousands of nights on this (Fate willing…) a good mattress, the right mattress, is hugely important. I think it highly likely that we will love the mattress, but the return policy of Selectfoam tipped the scale to their company.

I hope to write a review of the Regalis when I recieve it.

Thanks Phoenix!

11

Hi PRN,

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

You certainly made a good quality/value choice and I’m looking forward to your feedback when you receive it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Phoenix

12

I’m back to give a quick update on our new Aloe Alexis mattress from Brooklyn Bedding. It arrived as expected. We got a King size and put it directly on the slats of our new bed. The slats are spaced about 3 - 3.5" apart.
I unpacked and assembled the bed by myself. It came with 5 pieces packed in 2 boxes. Box 1 was the base foam layer inside the cover. Box 2 had the two bottom layers of latex + the two top layers of latex. It was more difficult than I anticipated and I would not recommend doing it by yourself if you are not used to physical labor.
I noticed as I was assembling it that one of the bottom layers of latex seemed thicker than the other, but assumed it was due to packing and shipping. When it was complete it definitely had one side thicker than the other.I assumed it would all work out and that first night I slept better than I had in a very long time. It has been about 2 weeks I think and I haven’t slept that good again, but my husband seems to be doing very well. I have sleep issues, so I did not expect any miracles. I can say without a doubt that it is cooler than my old memory foam which is a giant plus.
The bed still was lopsided after 10 days so I took it apart and swapped the top layers around. Both tops are the same number as well as the bottoms so this was not a huge deal. It is actually much better, and I can’t really tell from across the room any more if it is still lower on one side.
All in all I’m happy I chose this bed. My husband is completely satisfied and he tells everyone it is the best bed he’s ever slept on. He also adores the shredded latex pillow. I’m still debating whether to exchange the layers on my side for more softness and I’m really concerned if I do, that I will have that awful lopsided look again when the bed is made.
The only other negative I have is that I sent an email to BB about the thickness differences 4 days ago and have not received a response. ( I measured them and they are indeed different by 1/4" top layers and 1/8" bottom layers).
I do feel like there are more positives. First, I don’t wake with numbness in my hands as often. Second, the movement from the other person is felt even less than on the memory foam. Third, I think my tossing and turning to get comfortable has dramatically decreased.

13

Hi Centaurita,

Thanks for the update … I appreciate it :slight_smile:

The layers are cut to standard thicknesses so it’s unlikely that there would be enough of an actual difference between them to notice (although I suppose anything is possible) but latex is also very “jello like” and can be easily stretched or bunched when you put it inside the cover which can cause one side to look thicker than another which may be what you were noticing. This isn’t unusual with latex but if you lift up one end and “wave” it into position while carefully either “pushing” or “pulling” you can even out any parts that are stretched or bunched and how evenly it lies in the mattress so there are no uneven parts of the layer. It’s certainly not something I would be concerned with if you need a layer exchange.

They normally reply much more quickly than this so if you haven’t received a reply after 4 days then the email has probably gone astray somehow (either yours or their reply may have gone to a junk folder) and I would either call them or use the chat on their website.

Phoenix

14

Thanks Phoenix! I will take your advice.

15

I’ve spent days poring over your site. Ordering an Aloe Alexis King right now. Thanks for all your great ideas.

16

Hi K-Lo,

Welcome … and I’m glad the site could help you.

As you know … I think highly of Brooklyn Bedding and you’ve certainly made a great quality/value choice.

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I’m looking forward to your feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Phoenix

17

Another happy Brooklyn Bedding customer here, I bought the 10" Total latex from them and could not be happier. Well so far anyway, I have only slept on it for two days but the wife and I love it.

Mario is very helpful and I would definitely recommend them to anyone.

18

Hi Raistlin,

I switched your post to a new topic of its own with the name of your mattress in the title so it will be easier for others to find.

As you know … I think you made a great quality/value choice … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix

19

No problem, I was actually going to create a new thread and put up a lengthy post/review of all the items I purchased with the help of this site. Including the Charisma sheets from Costco that I read you liked. :wink:

I will edit the OP if I have that ability and add stuff or just respond to this thread with more thoughts.

20

Hi Raistlin,

[quote]No problem, I was actually going to create a new thread and put up a lengthy post/review of all the items I purchased with the help of this site. Including the Charisma sheets from Costco that I read you liked. :wink:

I will edit the OP if I have that ability and add stuff or just respond to this thread with more thoughts. [/quote]

Either way is fine and you can edit your original post by clicking the “edit” button under your original post or you can add new feedback or information as a new reply (or a combination of both). I think that adding a new post when you have something new or additional to report that you wouldn’t have said in the original post provides a better context but the choice is up to you :).

Phoenix