Hi all…i’ve just stubmled upon this forum a week ago and while after doing extensive reading think that it’s saved me alots of $$ and headache, am sort of lost as towher to go next in my search for a good nights sleep!
as aquick background…my wife and i were in the market recently ofe a new queen sized mattress. i’m a side sleeper and she is a side/stomach sleeper. our first stop was a sleepy’s in the NYC area where we were quickly steered towards the myside series 4 blue mattress…which we purhcased…and which, after reading info here , we cancelled. My wife now wants to go for our second choice from sleepys, which was the Simmons beautyrest legend.
After much reading of the various posts here i must say that i’m kind of confused as to where to go, who to trust or how to proceed! We have tried latex beds in the past and really havent taken to them. I’d like to find something with innersprings/latex combos in our budget (max price of around $1500). is it possible to find something that going to fit the bill?
I certainly understand the confusion and frustration that can come from mattress shopping. In case you haven’t already … the first place I would start is this article on the main site. This will help you avoid most of the worst choices and better focus on the remaining better choices that are available to you.
Reading the overviews in the mattresses section of the site will also give you more general knowledge than most of the people in more mainstream outlets that are trying to sell you a mattress (even if you don’t remember it all).
For most people … buying a mattress is a completely blind purchase and it’s sad to me that because there are so few places where people can find out the actual quality and descriptions of the layers in a mattress that they end up buying something that has such a significant effect on the quality of their life and yet buy from an outlet which either can’t or won’t tell them what is in their mattress. Buying a mattress based on trusting a person who is selling it who has little knowledge of the most important parts of what makes a good mattress makes little sense to me and it becomes in most cases a matter of the blind leading the blind. If you ask some of the quesions that the overviews will help you to ask … you will see many eyes glaze over and answers that are based on generalities and stories more than real information.
Knowing where to shop is half the battle and I personally wouldn’t consider any of the options available from Sleepy’s or more typical chain stores across the country who focus on the major brands (who don’t disclose most of the most important information about their mattresses) and who are more focused on their profit margin than on the long term satisfaction of their customers.
Your budget is certainly enough to buy a much higher quality mattress than what you are considering including in many cases an innerspring/latex hybrid. I would suspect that any “latex mattresses” that you’ve tried weren’t even really latex at all because most of the major brands have only thin layers of latex mixed in with polyfoam. The ones that really are all latex are significantly overpriced compared to equivalent mattresses made by local manufacturers. A quick look at the law tag of what many outlets describe as “latex mattresses” will quickly tell you if they really are all latex (thee types of foam are listed by weight) but even this won’t tell you where the “other” layers are located and whether you are sleeping on latex or on the other layers of polyfoam in the comfort layers or the quilting of the mattress.
Post #2 here will give you a list of some of the factory direct outlets and better sleep shops in the NYC area who will be more willing to give you the correct information about the layers in their mattresses and where you can better trust the information you are given. Post #7 here will give you a little more idea about what you can expect to find at most of them. the second link includes some that are further away from you and I would tend to focus on the three options in the last group of five on the list that are closest to you.
THANK YOU for this…i’m going to try out a few of the linked folks from post #7…as the rep for berkely ergonomics is in NYC i can go there to test and i’m also intersted in the innerspring/hybrid models from magic sleeper. While i’m a bit apprehensive about buying without the benefit of trying, it seems as though i mighht be better off taking an (informed) leap of faith.
Keep up the great work with this forum! its really been of great help.
I’m not sure I would be taking a big “leap of faith” without some actual testing because sometimes small differences in construction can make a big difference in how well a mattress works for any individual. There are several good options on the list which are close enough to you and that carry innerspring/latex hybrids where you could actually lie on them (no leap of faith) and get a clear sense if this is the type of construction that fits your needs and preferences. I would call them first though to make sure that they carry this general type of construction (innerspring/latex hybrid). When you have a good idea of more of the specifics of the design that you are looking for … then it’s easier to talk to a manufacturer that you aren’t able to actually visit and see how closely they can come to what you know you like.
The goal is to make any “leaps of faith” small enough that you don’t end up falling off a cliff
I’ve actually checked out the restwell mattress at roomandboard and liked the encased coil “plush” version which has a 2-3.5" foam cushioning layer…given the discussions here about foams , do you have asense of the quality of foams used in these mattresses? the plush queen was running about $1000. The restwell latex over innerspring from restwell was about $1800, and i found it a bit firm for my liking. any guidance would be appreciated!
I know that the RoomandBoard mattresses are built to different specs than the Restwell mattresses but I’ve never asked them about the density of the polyfoam in their mattresses. Some of the staff at Room and Board aren’t as informed about mattress foams either in my experience although others may know the answer.
I know that Restwell is fairly open about the materials in their own mattresses so I would give the factory a call if the staff at Room and Board don’t know. My guess is that it would be 1.2 - 1.5 lb foam (possibly even 1.8 ) but that is a guess only.
As you likely know … Dunlop latex is firmer than Talalay even if the ILD is the same.
I should also mention that IMO there is nothing “wrong” with using lower density/durability foams in a mattress (and different types of construction and the layers above and below them can affect durability as well) as long as the price you are paying reflect the materials that are in the mattress.
I personally would put my focus on Berkeley Ergonomics, The Mattress Factory, and Dixie Foam (no innersprings but they do have some high quality polyfoam/latex hybrids which may work for you). All of these would help you narrow down the type of mattress that would work well for you and put you in a better position to know if you either wanted to or needed to look elsewhere and make a “even more informed” leap of faith
I find it disingenuous to slam everymattress besides latex. The latex pure bliss Phoenix recommends is $5,000. If you don’t think he sells these or is involved in some way i have a bridge to sell you.
Have you even read any of this site? It certainly seem seems not.
Of course it’s always possible that you are from some part of the industry that comes here from time to time and tries to misrepresent or discredit thousands of pages of posts on the forum and the site itself in a single sentence … because it somehow doesn’t put you or your business in a good light … but of course that would be rather … suspicious … of me
I know that people like yourself that come to the forum are rarely interested in talking about facts or even reading any of the information here but just to reply to your insinuations … just for the fun of it …
Anyone who bought a PLB for $5000 would have to be out of their mind. If you do a little searching you would find I usually characterize their value as “better than average but not in the best value range” and of course there are also members who have purchased one for much less than their “regular” or MAP pricing in which case they may even be very good value.
PLB itself is not even a member of this site (which are the manufacturers I “recommend”) which you would also see if you clicked on a few of the menu links (they’re on the top of the page) … but of course that would take some effort … and perhaps a little reading.
In any case … it’s always a good sign when the content of this site steps on a few toes in the industry that need to be stepped on. I wouldn’t be too happy if nobody noticed it was here!
Thanks for paying us a visit though … and feel free to post a few more nonsensical posts if it amuses you
