Confused

Hello
We are looking into buying a bed. I have been reading reviews and recommendations on the internet but find it confusing. The other day we were trying out beds at Sears and were trying to decide between the Sealy Posturepedic Angus Glen tight top and the Whole Home refinement. The sales person at Sears said that the Whole Home was a Sealy mattress. After reading a bit on your site, I realize that perhaps they are not good choices. Now I am not really sure what direction to take. We are looking for a firm or medium firm bed with pocket coils. My boyfriend gets hot at night and is hoping for one that will not make him hot.
We live in Smithers, BC and are willing to to go to Prince George or Terrace to look at beds. Do you have any recommendations on places we can look to find a good quality bed?
Thank you

Hi himawari8,

The first place to start is post #1 here and the posts it links to which will give you all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices … and avoid most of the worst ones (including the ones you mentioned). I would just read it like a good book and not “study” it like a textbook and that will give you more meaningful knowledge than 90% of the mattress salespeople in the industry.

There isn’t a forum list for Smithers so over the course of the next day or two I’ll take a look in the area and see if there are any better options or possibilities in the area (Prince George to Terrace) to help you narrow down your search a bit.

I used to live in Prince Rupert for a few years many years ago … I miss the salmonberries (especially the yellow ones) … but not the rain :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Hello
We read over post #1 and found lots of useful information. Thank you. Some dealers in the area carry Springwall. Do you know whether they are a worthwhile brand to look into?

Sears has the Springwall Chiropractic
We tried it but it felt a little to hard but we wondered if it would feel more comfortable after a night on it.

Totem Furniture in Terrace had a couple of Springwall beds with continuous coils
We were hoping for pocket coils

The Brick in Terrace carries Springwall with pocket coils.
They have the Springwall Paris Euro Pillow Top Firm and Springwall Seaside Plush Euro Pillow-Top.

Do you know if the Springwall with pocket coils are worth the trip to Terrace to try out?

When did you live in Prince Rupert? That is where I grew up!

Hi himawari8,

Yes … I would certainly include them as an option. I have talked with Springwall (in Canada) and confirmed that they will disclose the specifics of all the materials and components of their mattresses (even to consumers not just retailers) which means that you can make meaningful quality and value comparisons with other mattresses. The retailer should provide this information to you but if for some reason they aren’t willing or able to then it’s nice to know that a mid size manufacturer like Springwall will provide it to consumers.

I would tend to avoid thinking of different types of innersprings in terms of “better or worse” and think in terms of "more or less suitable. They are different but one is not better than another. They each have different strengths and weaknesses that may be more suitable for one person and not another. For example… a pocket coil may be a good choice for someone where motion isolation was a primary consideration while a low gauge Bonnell coil or Offset coil may be a more suitable choice for someone who was very heavy and durability and strength was the primary consideration. An innerspring is generally not the weak link of a mattress regardless of type and in a design that is suitable for a specific person … any good quality innerspring can work well. There is more about innersprings in this article and in post #10 here. Your careful and objective testing will identify which innerspring in which mattress is most suitable for you.

That would depend on how you felt about your local choices and their quality, value, and suitability vs the time you would spend taking the trip. I would certainly talk to the retailers you were considering in Terrace to see if they appeared to be knowledgeable and transparent had a selection of mattresses on their floor that would make the trip worthwhile compared to what was available locally. I probably wouldn’t go there just to test a single mattress or two but if there were several stores or mattresses I was particularly interested in testing I would certainly consider it if my phone call with the retailer(s) indicated they were knowledgeable and open and were likely to put your interests above your own.

That was “another lifetime” ago in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I worked as a bank accountant and then at the grain elevator (before the new one) as a house inspector.

Phoenix

PS: I’m still scanning websites in the area and when I have the chance to make a few calls as time permits I will post what I find in this thread.

Hi himawari8,

I’ve been looking in Smithers, Terrace, and Prince George as time permits and making a number of phone calls to see who knows anything about mattresses and who is just selling them.

There is pretty slim pickings in the area to say the least.

You asked earlier about the Springwall pocket coil mattresses in Terrace but The Brick only carries two of them (at least according to their site) and http://totemfurniture.ca/bedrooms/ only carries their lower end and focuses mostly on Simmons (I talked with them). In both cases you would likely need to call Springwall to find out the specifics of the materials in the mattress because neither of them are particularly knowledgeable about mattresses. If I did want to test any of the Springwall pocket coils I would probably combine it with a trip to Prince George.

The two places that did impress me are …

http://www.gelbeds.ca/ Smithers, BC. They carry the Intellibed which is a buckling column gel material. They are quite unusual and costly but they also do a very good job with pressure relief. The main Intellibed site unfortunately has a lot of misinformation on it but they are the licensee for BC and they are independent and much more open and accurate about their mattresses. He knows about this site and actually agreed with my assessments of Intellibed here. He loves the mattress … but not Intellibed’s methods of marketing. They would certainly be worth a visit for anyone that was interested in trying the buckling column gel they use and comparing it to other types of mattresses.

http://www.everythingfoam.com/ Prince George, BC. They sell high quality polyfoam, memory foam, and latex mattresses in many designs and will also custom build. They are very knowledgeable and provide excellent service to their customers in helping them choose the most suitable mattress. They also specialize in more difficult circumstances such as injury or health conditions. In terms of foam mattresses (they don’t carry any innersprings) they are certainly the most knowledgeable in the general area and have better value than the other local options and if they were close enough to visit they would be well worth the trip IMO.

In some areas where there is little in the way of good quality and value available locally … then it may also be worth considering an online purchase depending on your level of comfort with purchasing a mattress online and the return or exchange policies they have which can lower the risk and provide you with options if you make a less than suitable choice. Some of the online retailer or manufacturers that ship to Canada are listed in post #21 here.

Phoenix

Hello

Thank you for looking into that for us. We will definitely visit Everything Foam on our next trip to Prince George. I never knew it was so tricky to find a good bed. I really appreciate your help.

Thank you