So I wasn’t expecting this, but it turns out that mattress shopping is shockingly complicated, I’ve never thought about a purchase this much.
I’ve read through the guide, but there’s so much information there that I can’t contain it all at once and end up feeling like I’ve learned nothing. I’m currently a student and should be on a relatively low budget…
So where do I start? Given my budget, should I just buy an on-sale mattress from our local retailer (Sears) and be done with it? Or does all the research pay off well enough that I should go into my savings?
A mattress purchase is one of the most important purchases you can make and will have a greater effect on your overall wellbeing (waking and sleeping) than any other piece of furniture you can buy. This means that it’s well worth the time and effort to make the best possible choice but it doesn’t have to be too complicated if you stick to the simple basics.
From your comments it sounds like you have completed steps 1 and 2 in the tutorial. Step #2 is mostly about what to avoid and this would include Sears. The goal is not to “learn” the information (like you would a textbook) but to read it like you would a good book so you can recognize when the retailers or manufacturers you deal with have the knowledge and experience you need to help you make an informed choice. The next step is to find a few retailers or manufacturers that have mattresses in your budget range that are transparent about the materials they use in their mattresses so you can do some testing. If you let me know your city or zip I’d be happy to let you know of any of the better options or possibilities in your area I’m aware of.
This doesn’t necessarily mean increasing your budget (unless it’s unreasonably low because most good manufacturers or retailers have options available in almost any budget range) … only finding better quality and value and a more suitable mattress in any budget range.
The steps reall boils down to testing mattresses for PPP and to make sure that you can find out the specifics of the materials in your mattress so you can make sure it doesn’t have any weak links or use low quality materials that can lead to the loss of comfort and/or support much too quickly. It can also help you make better quality and value comparisons. Dealing with knowledgeable and experienced retailers or manufacturers or “finding the experts” who already know what you would otherwise need to learn is much simpler than trying to become the expert and learn all the information yourself. You just need to know “enough” to be able to recognize when the people you are dealing with “know their stuff” and can provide you with the information you need (especially the density of any memory foam or polyfoam in their mattresses). If there is one single piece of information that is the most important it’s foam density for polyfoam and memory foam. If they provide this to you but don’t have the knowledge to explain what it means then you can post the information here and I’d be happy to make some comments about it.
Once you have two or three “finalists” then you can also decide whether it’s worth including any online options that are available to you that are similar to the mattresses you liked best if they are a better match for your personal value equation.
Once you have things down to finalists that are choices between “good and good” (they fit all your criteria) then it’s just a matter of making the final choice that is the best match for you.
There is a great deal of information here but I would keep things to the simple basics.
When you buy a computer or other more technical product, the most effective approach is generally to find the people and stores (local or online) that already have the knowledge and experience to give you good guidance and help you “match” a good value computer to your circumstances and usage and not many people take the time or are willing to go through the steep learning curve that it would take to learn about every specification or component of a computer that may be important to them. They learn enough to be able to recognize that they are dealing with someone that has more knowledge than they do and generally stick to the basics. It’s very similar … but even more important … with mattresses.
The basics are PPP and making sure you know the quality of the materials in your mattress.
After looking into it a bit on Sleeplikethedead, it seems Bedinabox is the most generally highly reviewed one, but I don’t think I should order a mattress online without testing it - is there any easy way to test similar thickness beds so I can then order one of these? Heh
The tutorial post includes a link about reviews in general and they are among the worst ways to choose a mattress (see post #13 here.
You can also read more about BIAB in post #2 here. I would be very cautious about buying any memory foam mattress that didn’t meet the memory foam guidelines in post #10 here in terms of material density/quality.
The thickness of a mattress has little to nothing to do with how well it matches your needs and preferences in terms of PPP. The design of the mattress and the specific combination of materials and components inside it are what is important. Some online memory foam retailers and manufacturers in the memory foam list use some of the more commonly available memory foam mattresses (such as Tempurpedic, iComfort, or Optimum) as reference points so you can test a local mattress that is similar to the one you are considering before purchasing one of their mattresses.
Sorry … I should have included a link in my last reply.
There are many good options in the Montreal area which has more factory direct manufacturers than most other cities in North America. They are listed in post #276 here.
A forum search on Montreal (you can just click this) will also bring up more comments and feedback from others in the area.