ComforPedic by Simmons Park View 13" Ultra Plush for $1600 without a box spring and OTHERS -Alabama

I live in Birmingham, AL and am looking at buying the ComforPedic by Simmons Park View 13" Ultra Plush for $1600 without a box spring (platform bed frame).

What are you opinions on this mattress or on something similar near me?

http://www.mattressfirm.com/ComforPedic-by-Simmons-Park-View-13-Ultra-Plush-P287.aspx

I’m also considering:

http://www.costco.com/11"-Black-Diamond-Queen-Mattress-with-Adjustable-Base.product.100007765.html

http://www.costco.com/Spring-Air-Helena-Latex-Queen-Mattress-Set.product.11674635.html

http://www.costco.com/Ara-13"-Queen-Memory-Foam-Mattress-100%25-Visco-Foam.product.100003911.html

http://www.costco.com/Sleep-Science-Latex-Comfort-10"-Queen-Mattress.product.100004338.html

Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially if there is something comparable or better for less.

Thanks

Hi MRTRIPOD,

I think my thoughts about the major brands in general (including Simmons) are summarized in the first of the mattress shopping guidelines in this article which is …

1. Avoid buying a mattress made by any of the major national brands such as Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Tempurpedic. While they are not all “bad” mattresses and some may even be good quality, … none of them have good value when compared to similar mattresses made by smaller independent manufacturers. NONE

I would also completely avoid the chain stores and other mass market outlets.

The most effective method of buying a great quality and value mattress that also has the best odds of meeting your specific needs and preferences is by following the steps in the first post of this thread.

The specs at Mattress Firm for the Comforpedic you linked (I repaired your link which was broken) doesn’t include the quality of the foams in the mattress (and this would be reason enough for me to avoid it) but NXG foam is only 3.5 lbs (very low quality) and having 3" of this in the most important comfort layers of a mattress (which are almost always the weak link of a mattress) would also be enough by itself for me to avoid the mattress completely.

Plushbeds is a “better than average” internet retailer that uses high quality materials in their mattresses but there are some better choices listed in post #21 here which includes manufacturers that are members of this site which specialize in working with their customers online and “on the phone” and which provide some of the best quality/value in the country. A forum search on plushbeds (you can just click this) will bring up more information about them.

You can read more about the Spring Air Helena in this thread … and I would avoid it. There is certainly better value available.

The Sleep Science memory foam mattresses list the density of their memory foam (which is 5 lbs and would normally be good quality) but the memory foam is made in China which means that I would want to know that it was CertiPur certified and they don’t provide this information (which probably means it’s not). I would also want to know the type of latex they use in both the Black Diamond and the Latex Comfort because there is better and worse quality latex and they also don’t provide this information. I would also want to know the density of the polyfoam used in the base layers (again there is better and worse quality polyfoam). While sleep Science may have some of the better value out of the Costco mattresses … there is no way to really know for certain the quality/value (or the safety) of what you are buying without this information. I would also be skeptical of memory foam that used a filler like charcoal which can create a false density for the memory foam (making it look like higher quality than it is) and like any filler may contribute to the memory foam breaking down faster than normal.

The biggest challenge of dealing with Costco though (besides finding out the information you need about the materials in their mattresses) is that they know next to nothing about mattresses and without testing a mattress in person or in the case of an online purchase … working with someone with the knowledge, experience, and choices to fit a mattress to your needs and preferences … you are really rolling the dice and relying on their refund policy more than anything else. Even the best quality mattress that doesn’t"fit" your needs and preferences (based on your body type, sleeping positions, and preferences) would end up costing you lots of time, effort, and frustration in returning mattresses that you haven’t tested and really have no way to know how well it may work for you.

So if you are a gambler and don’t mind buying a mattress that uses either unknown or uncertified materials from a retailer that knows little about mattresses … and you don’t mind the possibility of buying and returning several mattresses as a way to find the one that suits you best … then the sleep Science may be a worthwhile bet compared to other Costco choices but they or Costco certainly wouldn’t be my first choice for buying a high quality mattress.

The better options I know of in the Birmingham area are listed in Post #57 here and the first place I would visit is Tom with Royal Bedding.

Phoenix

Thanks so much!

What do you think about the Ultimate dreams 13" gel by Dreamfoam?.

Do I need to worry about glue or off gassing?

What is their warranty?

What about the life expectancy?
Thanks in advance.

Also, do you know what the covers made out of? Bamboo? WOOL?

Also, how legit is this company?

The reviews on Amazon are unreal. Only 4 and 5 stars for blindly buying a mattress they’ve never tried.

Is this a scam or too good to be true? How familiar are you with them to recommend them?

Thanks again. Not implying there is no chance they are legit, but there is some question in my mind with the overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Hi MRTRIPOD,

I have known John (the owner) at Brooklyn mattress for several years (since well before they started making these mattresses) and think very highly of both him and Chuck (who usually answers the phones). Like all the invited manufacturing and retailer members of this site I believe they are among the best quality/value in the country.

If you do a forum search on “Ultimate Dreams” (you can just click this) … you will also find many posts with comments and feedback about them (including some with pictures) from members here who have purchased their mattresses.

The type of cover material and quilting they use is in the Amazon description of each of their latex mattresses. They are all bamboo covers and use 1.5" of polyfoam for the quilting except for the natural Latex mattress which also uses wool in the quilting. I’m not sure about the gel memory foam mattress but they are very quick to answer questions about their mattresses.

Like all their mattresses … I think they are great value. The foams are American made so I wouldn’t have any worries about offgassing.

The gel foam they use is a 4 lb particulate type of gel memory foam (this is the same as the gel memory foam in the much more expensive Serta iComfort line and you can read more about the different types of gel foams in post #2 here) which would not be as durable as a non particulate gel foam in the same density or as latex but in thinner layers and over higher quality materials like the 5 lb memory foam they use in the middle layer and the 2.35 lb high quality polyfoam base layer it would make for a relatively durable mattress and certainly better than many mattresses in a higher price range that use lower quality and less durable foams.

While it’s not possible to predict an expected lifespan for any mattress because of the many variables involved (not the least of which is the person on the mattress, their body type and sleeping habits, how well a mattress matches their needs and preferences, where in the “range” of their needs and preferences they are, and how much foam softening it would take to put them outside of that range). There is more about mattress durability and the many factors involved though in post #2 here. With weights over 200 lbs … I would be a little cautious with the use of 4 lb memory foams although the top 4 lb layer is thin enough that foam softening won’t have as big an effect as a thicker layer of 4 lb memory foam would have.

I don’t know the length of their warranty (you could email or call them to find out) but I tend to pay little attention to mattress warranties anyway because the quality of the materials will have much more to do with the lifespan of a mattress than a warranty because warranties don’t cover the loss of comfort or support that comes from foam softening and which is the main reason that people need to replace a mattress. Defects in a mattress that are covered by a warranty will tend to show up early in the life of a mattress and beyond this … warranties are more of a marketing tool and protects manufacturers more than it protects consumers.

The value of a warranty also has more to do with how closely the warranty terms and especially the warranty exclusions are followed by the manufacturer and with smaller manufacturers warranties are much more valuable (they tend to lean towards the consumer in the grey areas or warranty coverage) than the warranties provided by larger more mainstream manufacturers who are more focused on the warranty exclusions and avoiding warranty claims than they are on customer satisfaction.

Hope this helps … and for the questions that you want to ask them (the cover material in the gel foam mattress and the warranty) they are generally quick to respond and you can either email them or call them at 877-955-5503.

Phoenix

About a year and a half ago, I purchased a Respiro Plush Comforpedic from an online retailer. Compared to the prices I was quoted in stores (and what I’ve seen people post in message boards), I got off lighter on price than I might have. Initially it killed my back and legs, but after adding 2 inches of latex on top, it’s been pretty comfortable.

If I had it to do over again, I’d either go pure latex, or else a combination of coil mattress (that flips) and latex topper. For now, we’ll try to get as long of use out of our mattress as we can.

Hi Orion18,

Thanks or sharing your experience with us.

The advanced Comforpedic Respiro (AKA Mystic and many other names) lineup uses some good quality materials with one exception. It uses a 2.0 lb base polyfoam, an inch of Talalay latex, 2" of 5.5 lb memory foam, and 2.5" of 3.5 lb memory foam. The weak link is the 3.5 lb memory foam.

The beauty of your topper/mattress system though is that besides improving the comfort of your mattress and using a more durable top layer … it will also improve the durability of the layers below it which otherwise would soften much more quickly so it may be a little longer than normal before you are looking at your all latex mattress or flippable innerspring / latex topper version (which can also be a great combination with the right “base” mattress).

Phoenix

Thanks for the response - glad to know your opinion of the materials. It’s funny how interesting I find mattresses and the mattress industry since going through my most recent mattress buying experience (a year and a half ago!).

When I asked them on their Facebook page, Simmons said that they don’t recommend rotating the mattress at all. In the interest of extending the life of our Comforpedic as long as possible, though, we’ve been rotating it every 6 months or so, and flipping the topper every quarter. 1.5 years isn’t that long in the scheme of themes, but has been holding up OK so far.

[quote=“Phoenix” post=10616]Hi Orion18,

Thanks or sharing your experience with us.

The advanced Comforpedic Respiro (AKA Mystic and many other names) lineup uses some good quality materials with one exception. It uses a 2.0 lb base polyfoam, an inch of Talalay latex, 2" of 5.5 lb memory foam, and 2.5" of 3.5 lb memory foam. The weak link is the 3.5 lb memory foam.

The beauty of your topper/mattress system though is that besides improving the comfort of your mattress and using a more durable top layer … it will also improve the durability of the layers below it which otherwise would soften much more quickly so it may be a little longer than normal before you are looking at your all latex mattress or flippable innerspring / latex topper version (which can also be a great combination with the right “base” mattress).

Phoenix[/quote]