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Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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Hi Phoenix — Want to start by saying YOU DA BOMB! You’re incredibly helpful and your website is amazing! Thanks for all the work you put into it! I’ve been reading your site over the last week and headed out to check out some mattresses in person. Before I hit you with my question, wanted to give you update as of 9/10/15:

Regarding Stores around Grand Rapids Michigan and Kalamazoo, MI … Steward & Company Furniture store in Kazoo does not sell Ameri-sleep anymore according to the sales person I spoke to last week when I popped in their store. Only the “S” named mattresses according to her.

Chirobed in Holland: Weird, funky place. They sell Sealy (I think - it was one of the big S names) Had NO mattresses in the showroom that they make. Strange vibes so we headed out.

Buis Mattress: They rock. Friendly and informative. Professional showroom and you can see their mfg in the back of the building.

Jonathon Stevens: Went to Kazoo store. Clerk was Lindsay. She was quite rude and did NOT like me asking questions like “please tell me exactly what foams, etc are in the mattress, including density of the foam”. 3 times she said “you obviously have a specific thing you are wanting to know - why don’t you just ask it”. lol I was like “huh?”. I specifically want to know that materials in your mattress! I was really caught unawares by her attitude - they seem to have a very decent quality mattress line. I am NOT speaking against the COMPANY … just their one little salesperson in Kazoo!

So, I am considering a mattress from Denver Mattress. Went to South Bend and played Goldilocks on several of their beds and I really like the Doctor’s Choice Plush mattress.
Specs are 11.5 inches high:
Quilt layers:
Micro Denier Jacquard Ticking
1 1/2" of 1.8lb Density Convoluted EF Foam
1" EF Foam
Natural Rayon Fire Barrier
Comfort Layers:
1 1/4" of 1.8lb Density Convoluted EF Foam
1 1/4" of 1.8lb Density Convoluted EF Foam
1 Flex Net Insulator
Support System:
Coil Density: 750* Foam Encased
Pressure Response Zoned Coils
14.5 Gauge Twice Tempered Steel

This mattress felt good to me - spine aligned comfortably, etc Price is outstanding at $750 with boxsprings for a king. My question to you is regarding the durability of the mattress. I completely understand durability depends on many variables, just wondering if you feel the construction of this mattress would be appropriate (King size with 2 adults 180 & 200 lbs). I believe the 1" of EF foam would be the “weak link” part of the mattress and believe I’d read where you are not usually concerned if the is around 1" of EF foam, correct? Any red flags with this mattress? Durability is very important to us.

The other mattresses I am considering is from Buis. Looking at 2-sided King TWO different springs with same padding/layers and I rec’d the following info in an email from them:
Materials are listed below and are for one side only, the other side would be a duplicate of what the list indicates.
Innerspring- 360- Eight different types of springs, dual gauge 12.5 in the center third and edges, 13 g in the shoulder/knee area. Six turn unit, with alternating left/right coil. Coil count would be 360 in a full size

Innerspring- 616- A uniform base with one type of spring through the complete unit. 5 turn, 14.5 gauge spring system that also offers alternating left/right coil. Coil count is 660 in a full size
*alternating left/right hand coils help a mattress from swaying to the open side of the coil. Any coil will have a soft side, and 180 degrees opposite of the soft side is the firm side. By alternating which direction the soft side is on you have a more stable platform.

Insulator- Keeps padding from getting caught in the spring system. This is the only layer that will be different between the 360 and the 616.
360-wire insulator/nylon mesh. 616 nylon mesh only
Compressed cotton pad, acts in conjunction with the insulator to keep you from feeling innerspring and also as a firm base layer for cushioning.

Base foam-1" 1.8 density, 26 ILD foam. Straight cut not convoluted.
Quilted cover-1" 1.5 density, 17 ILD foam, Straight cut not convoluted. .9oz Paladin Fire Retardant (may be eliminated with Doctors prescription. Circle Knit ticking.

Any thoughts on durability of one of the mattresses from Buis compared to the Denver Mattress? Appreciate your help! Blessings to you … Amy

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Hi AllAmericanAmy,

Thanks for the updates … and I’ll make a few calls in the next few days so that I can update the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo/Portage lists. Your experiences at Chirobed and at Jonathan Stevens sound rather strange go me and hopefully they are an anomaly.

The 1.8 lb density foam normally wouldn’t be a weak link in a mattress and having only an inch of lower quality or “unknown” foam also wouldn’t normally be an issue but convoluted foam is less durable than solid non convoluted layers in the same density (see post #2 here) so this would be the equivalent of a lower density foam which means that this mattress would be “on the edge” (and probably on the wrong side of the edge) in terms of durability … particularly for those that are in a little bit higher weight ranges.

All of the Buis mattresses use good quality materials and there aren’t any lower quality materials or weak links in any of them that would be any cause for concern in terms of durability. They would all make more durable choices than the Denver Mattress Doctor’s Choice Plush IMO. As you know they are also one of the members here which means that I think very highly of them (and Marc the owner) and I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.

Phoenix

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Hi AllAmericanAmy,

I called Chirobed and Tom the owner confirmed with me that they do carry their own mattresses on the floor so there must have been some miscommunication here. They also said they are remodeling so it’s possible that their own mattresses weren’t as visible as they normally are.

I also called Steward & Company and they told me that they still have a few Lady Americana mattresses on their floor but they are phasing these out and they are now focusing on Restonic and Simmons. They are also in the process of changing some of the Restonic mattresses they carry on their floor. These may be worth considering since many of the Restonic licensee factories are more transparent about the materials and components in their mattresses than the major brands but I would certainly avoid the Simmons mattresses that they carry.

I’m hoping that your experience at Johnathan Stevens was just an anomaly connected to the salesperson you were dealing with since they would normally be worth including in your research.

I also changed the URL for Aacaway Bedding and Acme Bedding which had changed.

Thanks again for the heads up :slight_smile:

Phoenix