Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel early thoughts

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
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With the help of this forum and Phoenix, I decided on a Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 13" gel memory foam mattress from Amazon. I just got the mattress and new Sleep Master metal platform bed set up on Saturday morning and wanted to give some early thoughts.

(Just FYI in case my body type is helpful to anyone reading this… I’m a 44 yr old woman, 5’7" and about 135 lbs.)

First, Dreamfoam Bedding and Chuck were wonderful to work with. He answered all my questions and they shipped the mattress out very quickly along with my free shredded latex pillow. I live in Virginia, so it took a week to arrive via FedEx ground. The box was in fine condition and thanks to the vacuum sealing, it was very easy to get the mattress maneuvered onto the bed. It was quite fun watching it “inflate” as I cut away the plastic!

I did notice an odor, nothing at all offensive to me. It was kind of a sweet smell. I left it alone for about five hours before putting on the mattress protector. I would’ve waited longer, but I really didn’t want my cats walking around on it without the protector and they were getting quite curious. In another couple hours I added the sheets. By the time I was ready for bed that night, the smell had just about disappeared. Now, a couple days later, it is totally gone.

Of course, before adding the mattress protector, I had to lie on the bed. I was surprised by how soft it was! Softer than I expected, really. My thermostat is set to 63 in the winter, and I figured the bed would be firmer due to the cool temperature. I like a soft mattress so I was elated. Now, once the mattress protector and sheets went on, it was not quite as plush, but still plenty soft for my tastes. Honestly, I feel it’s every bit as soft as the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe I tried in a store.

I’m primarily a side sleeper, with a little back sleeping thrown in. This bed is wonderful for side sleeping, in my opinion. I normally have trouble figuring out what to do with my arms and shoulder when I lie on my side. This is much less of an issue now. I don’t feel any painful points when I wake up in the morning, which is wonderful!

I did notice some minor back stiffness after lying on my back for a couple hours the first night. At this point, I am unsure if this is me needing to adjust to the mattress or perhaps the fact that it’s literally been months since I’ve slept flat on my back as I had been using a bed wedge for acid reflux for a long time prior to getting my new bed. Regardless, once I got up and started moving around, my back was good as new. I’ll try to update on this after some time as passed.

Since I’d read that memory foam mattresses can sleep hot, I was expecting that to the be the case. So far, it’s not an issue. Frankly, it would be welcome this time of year! I suppose it’s a tiny bit warmer than my previous mattress, but nothing that bothers me. We’ll see how things go in the summer.

I have no problem moving around or changing positions. I don’t feel like I’m in quicksand or anything like that, which are some complaints I’ve read about memory foam. Of course, this is all subjective, so I’m not suggesting those who say that are wrong - those are just my impressions.

Another minor complaint I’ve read is the lack of edge support. Granted, I’ve only had the bed for a couple days, but this has been a non-issue for me. I do not sleep on the edge of the bed and I never sit on the edge to dress or anything, so I suppose I’m not someone who would be affected by this.

While sleeping, I feel very supported and aligned. It’s a bit like I’m sleeping suspended on a very soft cotton ball that gives you a “hug”. :slight_smile: Something that’s very nice is when the cats jump on the bed in the middle of the night, they don’t wake me up any more! The mattress doesn’t transfer movement like my old one and that’s something I’m really going to appreciate.

A few words about the shredded latex pillow… I’m used to a much firmer pillow, so there is some adjustment taking place, but I think I’m really going to like it. It’s very soft and puffy, but I can adjust the pillow just how I like it so there’s still plenty of support for my neck. It reminds me of those poofy feather soft pillows in the hotels, except this one has support where with those, my head just falls right down to the bed.

All in all, I’m very happy so far, and I feel like this mattress is an incredible value that compares well to the much more expensive brands. Thank you to Dreamfoam Bedding for making a nice alternative for those of us who can’t afford to spend over $3000 on a mattress! I will try to remember to come back and update things after some time has passed. Many thanks to Phoenix and all the members here whose helpful posts and reviews I read over and over while trying to make a decision! Your assistance was invaluable! And it’s really nice to know I supported a small family owned business.

Happy sleeping, everyone!

UPDATE: After sleeping on this mattress for a few more days, the issue I had with minor back stiffness when lying on my back has disappeared. I’m getting great sleep and waking up more refreshed than I have in a very long time!

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I wonder if there’s a quality control issue with these mattresses. Based on your review (and others that i read) there seems to be quite a disparity between what some people experience. I had this mattress back in the summer (5’10, 180 male) and my initial reaction to it was it was very firm even after several weeks it didn’t seem to soften up. Also, edge support was a MAJOR problem with that mattress for me to the point that if i were to lay within 8-12" from the edge of the mattress, the side would begin collapsing and I’d slowly roll towards the edge. I experienced worse back pain on that mattress than my old innerspring mattress (which thankfully i kept because i ended up returning this) and to me, it felt nothing like the tempurpedic cloud luxe, even a little. I don’t really know what can really go wrong with the construction of a memory foam mattress but like I said, it really makes me wonder if mine was somehow defective.

I also noticed that the dreamfoam website now lists the ultimate dreams as a 12" mattress. I wonder if something changed or prompted them to switch things up.

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That’s interesting, runnerb0y. If I’d known about your experience, I might’ve had second thoughts about choosing this mattress. I suppose it’s a possibility you got a defective one. I’m sorry yours did not work out!

Firmness is so subjective, but with regard to the edge support problem you had, I probably sleep about a foot from the edge and I have never had an issue with feeling like I might roll towards the edge. I have sat on the edge just to see and the support is certainly weak right at the edge.

By the way, I still see the 13" Ultimate Dreams gel mattress on the Dreamfoam site.
http://www.dreamfoambedding.com/mattresses/memory-foam/13-inch-ultimate-dreams-gel/

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Hi loco,

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback and experience in such detail … I appreciate it :slight_smile:

@runnerb0y,

This is completely normal for any mattress and is one of the reasons I suggest that each person takes other people’s experiences on a mattress with a grain of salt. Each person can have a completely different experience than other people on the same mattress depending on their body type, sleeping positions, and their individual subjective perceptions and sensitivity (which like all things that are subjective can vary widely between people). Each person has a different definition of softness and firmness and with memory foam in particular this can also be affected by room conditions and temperature as well as the type of mattress protector or bedding they use on their mattress.

While it’s always possible that a particular mattress may be somehow “defective” this would be quite unusual and differences between how people feel on the same mattress are more the “norm” than the exception in the industry regardless of the mattress.

They have sold their 12" Supreme Gel Memory Foam Mattress since about June of last year and as loco mentioned they are still selling the 13" gel memory foam mattress that you purchased.

Phoenix

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I was one of the first people to purchase the 13" Dreamfoam back in Sept 12 (my pics are some of the original pics on amazon). We are in the process of replacing it. Overall it is a decent value for the price I paid (little over $100 less than today), but lack of edge support make this bed seem more like a full than a queen and has been an issue for us. Overall I think it is a little less support then we would like, wife often complains that she feels like she is being dragging over to my side. These would probably be less of an issue if we had gone with a king or if you were a solo sleeper (wife never complains about the mattress when I travel).

Ultimately with the price of the king, we are going to upgrade and looks like we are going to chose between the king size Christeli Charleston or Lux-Estate, trying to to determine if the upgrade to latex is worth the extra cost (though I think with the modular nature of the the christeli this may be a good investment).

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Hi supermanx,

Thanks for the comments and the update.

Latex is certainly “worth it” based on the cost of materials and for many people it would be worth it based on its performance as well. It’s a more adaptable, more durable, and more resilient material compared to polyfoam and would have a different “feel” than polyfoam that many people prefer. It’s also a more flexible material than polyfoam and would work better on an adjustable bed if that’s something that you would ever consider. The Christeli mattresses also have some edge support under the comfort layers which you also seem to prefer although the “roll together” you experienced will have more to do with the firmness of the support layers in combination with your body types and any weight differences between you.

Ultimately though whether it’s “worth it” for any specific person would really depend on individual preferences and the budget range you were most comfortable with but as you mentioned with the modular design of the mattress and the ability to change the topper in the future it’s certainly an upgrade that would be well worth it for anyone that wanted either the greater durability or the performance benefits of latex vs polyfoam.

Phoenix

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, supermanx.

I’m sorry you felt the need to replace your mattress so soon. I can certainly understand how important it is to be completely satisfied and comfortable with your bed, though!

I have to admit I’m a bit mystified by the edge support comments from so many. However, I do sleep alone, and I’m sure that makes a big difference. I have five cats in the house, though, and sometimes when two or three of them decide to sleep with me, they “force” me off to one side or the other and I have yet to have an issue with support at the edges of the bed.

I will say that I did have to go through an adjustment period with this mattress. After the first few nights, the back stiffness I referred to in my first post returned. I got pretty nervous about it, but I kept reading that your body needs to adjust to the feel of memory foam. Sure enough, after about a week and a half, the stiffness went away and has not come back. What I love about this mattress is when I wake up during the night, I don’t toss and turn and lie there for 45 minutes waiting to go back to sleep like I used to. I just turn over and I’m out. :slight_smile: I’m getting much better sleep now!