Don't want to sleep on my couch forever!

[LalaCA]

Hi all,

I’m going on Month 4 of research, and only yesterday discovered this website and am so grateful for all the organized and in-depth information. However, I’m also really tired of not pulling the trigger, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to just ask for some straightforward (ha!) recommendations, and from there I can narrow things down.

Background:
I’m 43 years old, 5’0, weigh 115 lbs, athletic, with hips slightly wider than shoulders. In 2019 while out on a casual walk, I pulled a hip flexor, which catapulted me into the depths of chronic pain. Without going into unnecessary detail, I have been battling what morphed into glute med tendonitis/TFL strain. I have sought out doctors, massages, acupuncture, personal trainers, physical therapists. All of which helped, but in the last year I couldn’t seem to close the gap on that last bit of pain.

Then came Christmas, and I put my Christmas tree up in my living room with its cozy lights, and I decided to sleep on my couch so I could fall asleep to the coziness. And whaddya know, after 2 or 3 nights, my hip pain was GONE. Unbelievable (my personal trainer was hilariously mad at himself he hadn’t asked me that when I first started going to him a year ago).

I’m a scientist, so I had my hypothesis and now I had to test it. Went back and forth for days at a time between my bed and couch and the pain would come back after sleeping on the bed and go away after sleeping on the couch. I have since slept on the couch for months while I tried to figure out what I now need in a mattress that I didn’t need when I last purchased my mattress.

Goal:
Find a solution that lines up with the miraculous result of my couch. If it’s a new system (ie new mattress, etc), make sure it’ll see me through what I expect will only be more bodily aches and pains as I age. If it’s a simple fix (e.g., a mattress topper), even better.

Current Mattress:
Casper Wave on a platform foundation purchased in June 2018

Foam Layers:

• Top:1.25" poly foam with phase change material for cooling and breathability.
• Second:1.25" natural latex for comfort and support.
• Third: 1.5" zoned memory foam for pressure relief and body contouring.
• Fourth: 0.75" - 1.5" poly foam with gel pods for additional support and airflow.
• Fifth: 6.0" pocketed coils for bounce and support.
• Sixth: 1.0" support foam.

-no dips or obvious sagging or major wear and tear; to me it feels like it always has (too firm if anything)
-rotate it 1-2x a year, but I can’t flip it
-it is zoned, but fwiw i’m only 5’0 tall so i don’t know how well zones will line up, and I’d prefer to have a flippable and/or rotatable mattress than stuck with zones.
-while I’m at it, it sleeps WAY too hot for me. I’m in the Bay Area so we have no air conditioning and most of the year I’m dying of heat in the bed, but freezing if I take the covers off.
-it is so ridiculously heavy to move/rotate

Current Couch:
A straight couch, but similar to this image, where the base is very thin and hard, and then the cushions are 3" foam. That’s wildly different than the Casper in both support and comfort layers.

What I’ve tried (in order of least to most enjoyable; some of these I knew I wasn’t going to buy, I just wanted to try to see if I was surprised):

Purple - (basically all foam) absolutely not, felt like an immoveable rock

Helix Elite Twilight Firm Euro-Top

• 7lbs Ultra High Density Memory Foam, 4lbs High Density Memory Foam, Individually Wrapped Microcoils, Helix Dynamic Foam, ErgoAlign Zoned Responsive Foam
• 3078 Coils, Pressure Relieving Microcoils, Perimeter Edge Support, Zoned Lumbar

Liked the feel of it as I lay down on it, but after just a couple minutes, felt like it was just like my current Casper and hip started hurting immediately

Beautyrest PressureSmart™ 2.0 Plush Pillow Top 13.75" Mattress -

• 1 ½" AirFeel™ Foam
• 2" HD Plush Comfort Foam
• ½" GelTouch™ Foam
• Gel Memory Foam Lumbar Support
• 1000 Series Plush Pocketed Coil™
• 1" Energy Foam

I really enjoyed this one, felt like I could sleep in it forever. I was really tempted to buy it on the spot but a) I was at a big box mattress store and knew I should take my time with the decision and not just get suckered into it and b) the sales guy kept telling me not to read reviews on the product lol.

Switched to a different (big box) store and tried out other mattresses with similar thoughts, again, landing on the Beauty Rest, and then I went into the back and tried an Aireloom. Unfortunately, the one I loved was a floor model for sale, so I decided to go online and look at buying it online, and I couldn’t find it through the Aireloom website so I think what I liked was:

Aireloom Bay Preferred Amargosa Luxury Firm Mattress 14"

• Luxury Firm Graphite infused CelsionPLUS, TerraPur Latex, Luxury Firm Aireluxe foam, 8 lbs Cotton, Slow recovery visco
• 3078 Coils, Pressure Relieving Microcoils, Perimeter Edge Support, Zoned Lumbar

and if anything I could have gone a smidge softer in the comfort layer.

While waiting for a chance to go try out other Aireloom mattresses at a different store, I decided to look into local mattress makers, and found McCroskey. I tried several of their beds, as well as some other brands:

McRoskey Modern Collection Cole Valley

• 2 Inches of Ventilated & Buoyant All-Natural Talalay Latex
• Resilient & Breathable Horsehair Cushioning
• Two Cooling Tiers of Dynamically Responsive Softech® MicroCoils
• Proprietary & Hand-Built Pocketed Innerspring Design
• 2,864 Queen Size Coil Count

THIS WAS MY FAVORITE. Scarily soft (she said it had been on the floor for 4 years at this point) and I didn’t like how unsupported the edge was, but I was on my hip for at least 20’ and felt nothing but muscles letting go and relaxing.

(I tried some Chattam and Wells but didn’t like any enough to ask what I was trying out, I did NOT like the King Koil Re-Spun Union Collection but couldn’t’t really put a finger on why, and I tried some AirFlex’s, but again, just liked McCroskey better).

Now I need help
I absolutely cannot stomach the price of $11K+ for a mattress alone (a lot more than that if I have to move to a boxspring), particularly since they don’t allow returns and only 1 exchange for $350, the exchange has to be within 90 days, when the sales rep told me it took her a good 6 months to break in her mattress, and if you decide to exchange for a cheaper mattress, they don’t reimburse the difference. That’s a whole heck of a lot of money for not a sure bet.

What I’ve learned

• I’m open to the idea of a topper for a couple months to give me a chance to explore more things (eg DIY mattress builds, more discussions here, etc). I would lean towards 2 Inches Talalay Latex based on the McCroskey bed.

• Maybe I like pocketed coils but Casper just has way too many layers of foam for me, and fewer/thinner layers would be more responsive?

• ??? It’s really hard to say bc I don’t have a lot of detail into the Aireloom and McCroskey mattresses, which are really the ones I liked.

I’m open to the idea of all latex and will try to check out European Sleep Works this weekend or next, but if any of the experts skim through my novel and have any guidance, I would be SUPER appreciative of the help.

Thank you for reading

[Maverick]

Hi LalaCA,

I did a quick skim. I’m surprised you didn’t like the Helix, although the Twilight is one of their firmest options, just below the Plus, the Midnight Elite may have been a better choice.

As for the BR, I’ve slept on it many times at my brother’s house during vacations, and I always come home with back pain. The perimeter edge foam causes the mattress to sink in the middle while the cover stays tight around the edges. I call it the “swimming pool cover effect.” After sleeping on it for a while, you and your partner will likely roll toward the center, especially in warm weather when the memory foam softens and the cover stretches.

The Aireloom, @BillyIdol may have some thoughts on this one since he fond of the Airelooms, even though they also use foam perimeter edge support, which I’m not a fan of. That said, he did buy and loves his @BackScience 2 mattress. He’s very particular about mattresses, and the BS2 seems to be working well for him. He went into it with and open mind and was very happy he did, but I digress and will let him tell his story if he chooses to.

One issue with Aireloom and BR is that they don’t provide enough detail about what’s inside their mattresses, which makes it hard to judge long-term durability. It feels like they’re still leaning on the strong reputations they had in the past. Between the two, Aireloom might have the edge here, especially since they offer different versions for independent and retail stores. I’d focus on the independent versions. Shifman is another favorite of mine, but they do modify their mattresses for Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. The independent dealers carry the original designs and construction, which are excellent. They’re in the same league as McCroskey, ViSpring, Savoir, and other top-tier mattress brands.

The Cole Valley is a solid choice. Not much to break down, it’s well built, high quality, and made to last. It’s in a completely different category than Casper, Helix, and others.

I also tried nearly every mattress @EuropeanSleep had in their showroom while on vacation a few months ago. The Nordic II and Heritage models really blew me away. I wasn’t a big latex fan before, but these completely changed my mind. I tried the firmest versions, and the firmness and contouring were spot on. Plus, the people there really know their stuff. I guess I’d just been trying the wrong latex mattresses in the past!

I know some of these options can be a tough price pill to swallow, and I understand concerns about return or modification policies. But if you’re working with folks who truly listen and understand your needs, those policies may not end up mattering much.

I would be remiss without saying, with any of these mattresses, or any mattress for that matter, you need to focus on the foundation your mattress will be resting on. Most mattress issues are due to poorly designed and constructed foundations. Don’t skimp there. A mismatched foundation can undermine and sabatage the best mattress.

Hope this helps.

Maverick

[LalaCA]

Hi Maverick,

Thanks for the detailed reply; I know my post was a novel but I wanted to catch as much info about the mattresses that I could, so thanks for taking the time.

Helix - unfortunately the store didn’t have any softer comfort layer options on the floor, so I didn’t get to try anything else in that line.

BR - absolutely. reviews kind of scared me off.

For the foundation, I have the platform foundation from Casper - all flat wood slats that are wrapped and spread … 4 inches apart. Hmm. I read on this site the recommendation is 3" or less. And then the whole platform rests on my bed frame which has a center beam attached at the foot and head of the bed, with two legs in the middle, and then four or five perpendicular beams.

And, thanks for cluing me in on tags, I’d like to add @Arizona_Premium bc I’d be open to doing a DIY build as well.

Anyway, my morning plans cancelled so I’m off to ESW, thank you again for your thoughtful reply!

[Maverick]

Great, let me know how you do there. It should be a great experience.