I have spent all week getting a crash course in mattresses, and while I’m leaning in a certain direction, I’m still feeling unsure.
My situation. My fiance and I live together but often sleep apart, even if we start the night together. We share a king but one of us often ends up on a full we have in another room. There seem to be two reasons. One is snoring and the other is motion on the bed. The mattresses we have are both spring mattresses. We were just on a vacation for two weeks where we had to sleep together. Amazingly, we had little trouble doing so. A major reason is that the beds we slept on had no motion transfer. The bed we found most comfortable and on which we slept for 6 nights was a Sealy PP queen-size 68 lb with 64% polyurethane and 26% polyethelene. From that experience, we knew we had to get new beds. “Beds” because the snoring means we’ll probably always need two beds, though the 2nd should be used more sparingly.
I’ve been to two stores. One had just name brands. I tried some Sealys and Tempurpedics. The first thing that surprised me was that few if any of the mattresses felt as good as the Sealy we had on the vacation. The only ones I could even imagine buying were a Tempurpedic cloud supreme or cloud luxe, but these are both far more in price than we wanted to pay. I also learned that they were among the softest of the Tempurpedic line. I clearly found most mattresses too firm.
I’ve been reading everything I could on this website, and it has given me insight but not yet closure on what to do. I think if I describe where I’m at maybe I can get some good advice on what to do. So here goes.
At first I was looking on Amazon, and came upon Dreamfoam products. I was especially taken by the fact that both the 13 inch Gel Memory Foam and the Eurotop mattresses had no 1 or 2-star reviews, indeed few that are not 5-stars. I further liked the fact that the Gel has been described as like a cross between the cloud supreme and the cloud luxe. After further study, however, I’ve been leaning more towards buying a mattress on Brooklyn Bedding’s website. I like the fact that there is a 120 day guarantee that allows me to replace the upper layers for free during that period (or even return the bed for a fee if necessary). I can also get a comfort layer replacement at any time in the future for the cost of it, possibly allowing one to increase the life of the mattress. And the materials used, I’ve learned, are better quality than their Dreamfoam line, again allowing the bed to potentially last longer.
There is also the question of memory foam versus latex. From experience I’ve had at the 2nd store, I’m kind of leaning towards mostly memory foam, but I’m unsure. More on that below.
I’ve come to realize that I don’t need the best mattress for the full, just something adequate. So I think I can settle on the Ultimate Dreams Gel one for that. It’s the least expensive of all mattresses I’ve considered seriously and will probably be great. Also, as it will be used less frequently, the mattress should last quite a bit longer than one would usually expect it to last.
But the king bed needs to be the highest quality we can afford. We are willing to pay significantly more for it. At first I was thinking of the 12 inch Bamboo Bella, but now I’m leaning more towards the 14 inch Aloe Adele, even though it is more than we wish to spend, $300 is not a deal breaker. (Yes, I’d love the Cool Luxe, but I think price really is a deal breaker with that one.)
There is one further thing that has made things a bit more complex. I went to the Boston Bed Company, a local factory outlet of the Massachusetts manufacturer of Therapedic mattresses. I was the only one there so I had lots of time to speak with the person running the store, who has 44 years experience in the business. They sell high-quality mattresses. He explained to me about all the layers of their mattresses and I had time to try them. All the materials used in their mattresses are made in the US. The foam, other than latex layers, are soy-based, some with gel to keep them cooler. (I have problems with heat, often feeling quite warm in bed.) Out of about 8 mattresses he had, I found two that I kind of liked at a price of, I think, $1300 for the king mattresses. At the time, I was thinking that that was too much (and add on sales tax), but now that I’m going up in price, that is not an issue. I’m not sure that I can say that I was in love with any of his mattresses. I’d need to check again. He did impress me with the high quality of the materials they used. He seemed to know about all the stuff I’ve been reading about on this website. He seemed completely honest and knowledgeable. But I have concerns, besides just that I’m not sure I found any to fall in love with. If I end up deciding after I have the mattress that I am not happy with it, my only recourse is, at a small cost, to trade it in for credit on another model they sell. I intend to go back and check more carefully about what they have, the density of the foam as well, and if they will customize it for me, and let me trade a comfort level (like BB will do) if needed. This option feels more complicated than just ordering from BB, but maybe it is better.
At this store, they had some mattresses (or maybe just one) with a comfort layer of latex. It felt springy, not at all like the Sealy with the 64% polyurethane that I had found so comfortable. Now maybe this mattress was just too firm for me, but it made me think that maybe latex is not for me. I realize that the Aloe Adele has a latex layer, but it is an intermediate one. That experience has led me away from a mainly latex mattress, even though I realize that latex has some qualities that are unmatched by anything else, and many people swear by it.
Just a few more notes about me and my partner, to round out the picture. She can sleep on any mattress. I have aches and pains. I sometimes sleep on my side, but it often results in pain in my shoulder and/or hip. I’ve been told I have bursitis in my hip, so I usually end up on my stomach, leaning to one side. I have lower back problems. Sometimes when I wake in either of our current beds, I can barely walk at first. Finally, we are both in our early 60s.
Right now my inclination is to go ahead and get the Ultimate Dreams Gel foam mattress for the full size. I can try that, and it might give me some experience to help me decide on the king. I’d really like some feedback on whether that plan makes sense, and if leaning towards the Aloe Adele makes sense given what I’ve learned about my likes and dislikes. I think the fact that I did not find myself falling in love with almost any memory or latex foam mattress I tried (contrary to what I expected), has made me rather concerned.