Dreamfoam vs. Local Factory

[phoenix]

Hi nkri,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

I’ve been doing lots of research on this site, and recently went to a local mattress factory to see what I find most comfortable. For materials, they have visco and visco gel memory foam, latex and innerspring. I tried everything out and found the memory foam options the most comfortable. I like the way it sinks in, and is cushy yet firm, while latex was way too springy for my taste.

I’m glad you found the information on this site to be helpful. And your own personal testing is the best guidance you can have, provided you find out information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.

The demo mattress I found the most comfortable has an 8" high-density base (4lb/cu. ft.) with 3" of gel visco memory foam and 1" of visco memory foam (both 2lb/cu. ft.).

I would double check on your density information, as I think you may have it backwards. It would be more likely that your polyfoam base was 2 lb. density, and that the memory foam layers were 4 lb. density. Using a polyfoam core at 4 lb. density is very rare in a mattress application, and more appropriate for automotive seat cushions or carpet underlay. And 2 lb. memory foam in the comfort layers would be a very low quality material and I would advise you to avoid it.

The salesman said that, considering my height and weight, I could remove an inch of the base foam and an inch of the memory foam (making it a 7" base with 3" of gel visco) and the mattress would offer essentially the same level of support and comfort for a lower price.

Changes made to the upper layers of a product will have the most noticeable impact upon comfort. Without know the specifics of the ILD and types of memory foam being used, you’re taking away 25% of the upper comfort layers, so this would probably be a noticeable difference. Taking away 1" of the polyfoam base would be less noticeable, although it would have a slight impact on the overall comfort, but shouldn’t impact your support/alignment too much.

He also said the mattresses are priced by the thickness, so the price for a 7" base w/ 3" of gel visco would be the same as a 6" base w/ 4" of gel visco, etc.

That may be how they price their products to the public, but foams are priced by the quality of the material and the expense of the process to create them. I of course don’t have access to their price lists, but a thicker mattress isn’t necessarily better or more expensive than a thinner one. It comes down to componentry quality.

I’m currently a student, so my ideal budget is around $500 for a queen. I was looking into other options, and these seem to be similar builds in my price range:
Dreamfoam 13" Copper Gel mattress on Amazon (10" base with 3" of gel memory foam) – I couldn’t find info about the densities of this one, and it’s not listed on DB’s website. Anyone have more info?
Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 10" (7" 1.8lb base with 3" of 4lb gel memory foam)

I don’t have the current specifications of their copper gel mattress, so I’d tell you to contact Dreamfoam directly about that. They’re usually very happy to share their specifications with you.

These are both attractive deals price-wise, but I’m not sure how the 4lb foam would feel compared to the 2lb at the local factory. I talked to a DB rep on the phone and she said these two would be comparable in terms of firmness and that they might be too firm for a side sleeper.

Again, I would double-check your density information from your local factory. It doesn’t sound correct. Regarding applicability to your sleeping style, I would trust the opinions and guidance of an experienced retailer or manufacturer, as they are best able to help you find a product in their line-up that they feel will best suit your particular needs based upon their experience with customers with situations similar to yours and their extensive knowledge of their own products. You would also want to inquire at that time about any potential return/exchange options, just in case your purchase didn’t turn out as well as you had expected. Dreamfoam is a site member here, which means that I think highly of them, their products and their knowledge.

Anything else I should be considering?

As you are on a more restricted budget, you may also want to look at post #4 here and the posts it links to, as it includes many of the better lower budget online options I’m aware of.

I’ll look forward to any other questions you might have, or decisions you may make.

Phoenix