DreamfoamBedding UD Aria / Tuft & Needle

[phoenix]

Hi Khaos,

Although the advertised thickness is 10 inches, mines is a bit below that around 9.75 or so, I’m not sure if this is normal.

Very small variations in thickness such as 1/4" would be normal and would also depend on where and how you measured the mattress. For example it may be thicker in the center where you can’t measure it as easily than on the sides where the cover may be slightly compressing the foam.

Couple of points that you hit on, I’m aware a topper such as Aerus or Sensus will increase the cost of my sleep system but I guess my way of looking at it is I don’t want to pay $800 - 900 for a memory foam mattress and run the risk of it giving me aches and then being stuck with it / return it. I know I could be wrong as a good quality mattress probably doesn’t need a topper, but considering that majority of the options I’m looking at are online based and I probably won’t be able to try it before I buy it, So I’m just thinking in terms of damage control, as I was originally considering the Christeli line but their return policy is something that I’m not comfortable with incase things don’t work out.

There is more about the different ways to choose a mattress and “manage” the risk involved in the previous post I linked in my last reply but when you are buying online then you can’t make side by side comparisons with other mattresses so the only way to know for certain whether they will be a “good enough” match for you to keep it (even if they aren’t the “best match” out of all the mattresses that you “could have tried” instead") will be based on your own personal experience. It’s really a matter of risk management and “tilting” the odds in your favor as much as possible even though nothing will have a 100% chance of success…

I would also keep in mind that the quality of a mattress has little to nothing to do with whether it needs a topper because you can’t feel the quality and durability of the materials in a mattress and durability is a completely separate issue from whether a mattress will be suitable for you to sleep on. Suitability, durability, and your personal preferences and all the other parts of your personal value equation that may be important to you are all different issues even though they are all related to the “value” of a mattress purchase.

There are no noticeable indentations in the Tuft & Needle mattress, but it’s only been 2 months and knowing that the mattress isn’t comfortable for me, it doesn’t make sense to keep it as is.

The Tuft & Needle uses good quality and durable materials that are certainly durable enough for your weight range so it would be very unusual for any mattress that uses good quality and durable materials to show significant signs of the foam breaking down before you have slept on the mattress for a number of years but in terms of finding a mattress that is a suitable design and firmness level I would agree that your odds of success are probably higher by returning it and trying a different mattress that may be a better “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP than they would be by adding a topper unless you can return the mattress and the topper if the combination doesn’t work out as well for you as you hoped for and that the mattress/topper combination would also be better “value” than purchasing a different mattress that doesn’t need a topper.

Prior to this I had a cheap innerspring eurotop plush mattress that wasn’t really soft, it was just in the middle providing good support for 5 years before it started to sag. I know comparing an innerspring to foam may not be fair but in terms of comfort and price it was much better. Sleeping on an Intex Air Mattress before the Tuft & Needle came in was better as well. Like I mentioned earlier, I really don’t know what was so different the first 4 days I slept on the mattress. I know I said sleeping on the side w/ minimal edge support caused lower back aches but I slept on the same spot the previous days as well.

Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article). The most reliable way to know which types of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer in more general terms would be based on your own local testing or your own personal experience. when you sleep on it.

While it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because they can be very complex and there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of “comfort” and PPP or any “symptoms” they experience … there is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely (although not the only) reasons for them in post #2 here.

“Support” is often misunderstood because the goal of a “supportive” mattress is to keep the spine and joints in good alignment and this requires the type of contouring support that allows some parts of the body to sink in more (softer) and some parts of the body to sink in less (firmer) and this will vary on an individual basis and the overall firmness of a mattress isn’t necessarily an indication of how well it will keep your spine and joints in good alignment because it depends on which layers are softer and which layers are firmer. A mattress that is too firm won’t support the more recessed parts of your body (such as the waist or small of the back/lumbar) and a mattress that is too soft won’t support the heavier parts of your body (such as the hips/pelvis).

There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”.

Anyways, I think the first thing to do as you suggested, would be to speak with Dreamfoam bedding, which should also help w/ my decision of Aria / Supreme, any reason why their Softest model is more expensive ?

Talking with them would certainly be a good idea. Their softest mattress is more costly because the materials and components in the mattress are more costly. It uses thicker layers of memory foam and also includes 5 lb memory foam as well.

The only reason I’m not considering this is due to I’m unsure how the support would be.

Again the only way to know for certain whether any mattress will be a good match for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP will be based on your own careful testing or your personal experience but their guidance would shift the odds of success to be more in your favor.

I have to narrow down a thickness on the topper as well before I make the purchase, but I hope I can get this figured out soon and make a purchase as sleeping on the Tuft & Needle hasn’t been a lot of fun. I’m just waiting to figure something out in terms of an alternative, before I initiate the return.

The topper guidelines include some very generic suggestions for topper thicknesses using your experience on your mattress and “how much” too firm it is as a reference point but again it’s not possible to know for certain without testing the combination in person.

Phoenix