Hello,
After a bad car accident (hit by a drunk), I found that my firm mattress wasn’t cutting it for me any longer. My spine was just too stiff.
So, approximately 1 year ago my doctor advised a more suitable bed, and I found the Octaspring. I referred to this very thread, I believe, and noticed a general lack of reviews for this product, so I’ll share my non-expert opinion here so perhaps others in my position will have an easier time deciding.
I ended up purchasing an Octaspring 8500 from Sleep Country Canada, who at the time had a Canada-wide exclusive on the model (believe they might have renewed it, though it was due to expire at the time). The price they were asking, including the bed platform was approximately $4000 + tax CDN, which again at the time was roughly equivalent to the US dollar (if not a little stronger).
I tried the 6500 and found it too hard, but that’s only over 30 minutes of lying on it in the showroom. The 8500 was too expensive for my budget though. In the end, through hard negotiation with multiple locations (pitting salesman against salesman) I was able to purchase the mattress itself without the bed platform (retail ~$3300), for $2200, and I made them throw in two of the Octaspring Evolution Plus pillows as well (retail $159 each). This was a tough price to obtain… the salesman was adamant that he could to no better than $3000 on the mattress by itself… but I don’t give up easily.
As for the bed, I can tell you that the springs are NOT arranged exactly as shown in the literature. In fact, if you remove the mattress cover that it comes with, you can see only one colour of spring all the way around (the densest one). I called to ask about this and found out that the reason is that they want someone sitting on the edge of the bed not to crush the springs down, so the single row of dense springs at the edge allow for edge support (I suppose it keeps you from rolling off the side too). So, don’t be shocked if you cannot see all the different colours… they’re present, just not visible.
Be sure not to use a bed platform that varies from their solid-base design. It needs to be on something solid with not too many perforations or you’ll both void your warranty and damage the mattress. However, I don’t find the stock platform very worthwhile as a purchase and so I recommend the “Structures by Malouf Highrise” bed platform at about $100. It is durable, but you must find a way to make the base solid as it is heavy metal wire. I ziptied 5/8" plywood to the frame and it resulted in a super-strong base to place the mattress on. I’d put this setup against any Octaspring platform and come out the winner, and at 1/10th the price too.
The bed is definitely cooler than a solid foam mattress. I don’t have hard data to back that up, but you can tell the airflow is excellent.
On the 8500 you do seem to sink in a bit as the top layer seems fairly soft. I’d say the 8500 is just a 6500 with an additional softer layer on top. However, since I’m 6’6" and 210lbs, I found the 6500 a little bit too hard, especially given my sore back from the car accident. My wife, who is 5’7" and 105lbs found little difference between the 6500 and 8500 - she sinks in quite a bit less than I do on either bed.
Durability is hard to predict, but so far it’s been quite good after about one year of use. I don’t know if it will last 20+ years, but so far I haven’t noticed much of a change in the original feel/comfort of the foam. I think there is a very sleight imprint in the foam since I sleep in the same position each night, and while you cannot see this imprint, I think I can feel it a bit. No matter, it just makes it feel like the mattress is holding you a bit more snugly, so it’s not too bad of a feeling. Note that an Octaspring Mattress is not made to be flipped or rotated at all. Doing so voids the warranty and the manufacturer claims it’s not necessary and in fact harmful to the mattress to do so.
I have noticed that when I come to bed late, I no longer disturb my wife from her sleep. Movement is greatly reduced because the springs are independent from each other (largely, at least).
The pillows are a good match with the bed. My wife finds them too hard, but since I have a head like an Easter Island statue, I find it holds my head well though definitely on the firm side. It does allow for a good spine alignment though… everything ends up being pretty straight and comfortable. These pillows are really hard on stomach sleepers though - don’t buy them if you sleep that way. My wife sleeps on her stomach and finds the bed very comfortable, just not with one of those pillows.
I should also note that my mattress was manufactured in the U.S. (Texas, I believe) and showed up with some grime on one side underneath the zip-cover. I would not have noticed it except unzipping to see the colour of the springs, but when I called Octaspring they offered to have Sleep Country replace it if I wanted. Ultimately I didn’t feel the discolouration was enough to ask for a replacement. I don’t know if I was passed a “used” bed or not, but I think the odds are it was just stained at the factory and nobody noticed it before packing it up.
So, my verdict on the bed is that it’s a good choice provided you have the money to spend on it. Dollar-for-dollar against a more traditional coil spring bed, I don’t think it stands up so well. For example, my Sealy Posturpedic at $800 was better “bang for the buck” than the Octaspring 8500 at $2200, but the Octaspring is hands-down more comfortable if we forget about how much was spent. To summarize, if you have the money to spend on a high-end comfy bed, this is a good choice, especially if you’re worried about how hot a traditional memory foam mattress can be. Put up against all the other memory foam mattresses I tried out briefly, I would say it’s your only choice if excessive heat bothers you.
I think that’s all I have to say about the Octaspring for now, but I can probably answer general questions if there are any. I don’t frequent this website very often, but I’ll try to check over the next few days.
