First, thank you for all the info that is on this wonderful web site. It has taught me so much about mattresses!
So, I’m in Nashville and took your advice and looked at the DutchCraft local mattresses. I liked one called the Adrian Plush. This seems to be a quality mattress but do you see any other questions I should ask before purchasing…
1/2" plus 1" poly foam in the quilt (1.5 lb, CertiPur- US)
Knit Fabic
1" of Cool Gel (4 lb)
1.75" Comfort Foam (1.5 lb. Preserve-HR)
8" of 638 encased pocketed coil
1.5" base foam (1.5 lb, Preserve-HR)
15 year warranty
13.5" mattress height
Thanks for the kind comments and welcome to the forum :).
It’s great to see that you have been doing such good research and that you knew to find out the foam densities of the mattress.
You can see some comments about the Dutch Craft Adrian Plush in post #3 and onwards in this topic and as you can see I would be cautious here because the foam densities are lower than I would be comfortable with in a one sided mattress in this budget range and would be a potential “weak link” in the mattress.
Thank you for this! I felt good about the CertiPur/Preserve quality but was indeed worried about the lower density. Thank you for the input. I contacted Darryl with the Mattress Warehouse and he said that his upper end mattresses use this:
All upper end products use a minimum of 180.34 for upholstery grade foams, and all cores are at least 5.3 to 5.8 lb density. The average mattress uses a 105.30 grade foam, so ours are nearly double the industry average. Most of our beds are two sided also, which means you can flip them to keep body impressions out.
Here is what his web site says for one of his higher end mattresses:
Mattress Specifications
Model (PN 8454)
880 foam encased pocketed coil unit
Foam encased for additional edge supports
2″ ultra soft tack and jump quilt foam with fr fiber
1″ visco memory foam
2″ Supersoft Comfort Foam
2″ comfort foam
2″ support foam
Deluxe continental foundation
Starlight cover
10 year warranty
It looks like they meet the density requirements. Are there any other questions that I should ask him? I don’t think any of his foams are CertiPur though.
Just for clarification … CertiPUR is mainly a certification for the safety of polyfoam and memory foam and doesn’t indicate the quality of a material.
[quote]I contacted Darryl with the Mattress Warehouse and he said that his upper end mattresses use this:
All upper end products use a minimum of 180.34 for upholstery grade foams, and all cores are at least 5.3 to 5.8 lb density. The average mattress uses a 105.30 grade foam, so ours are nearly double the industry average. Most of our beds are two sided also, which means you can flip them to keep body impressions out.[/quote]
180.34 means that the foam is 1.8 lb density which would be a good quality material. The 34 is the ILD of the foam which isn’t important to know because it’s a “comfort spec” not a “quality spec” and your own personal testing on a mattress will tell you more about whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP than the firmness specs of the materials in a mattress. You can see the foam quality guidelines I would suggest in post #4 here.
[quote]Here is what his web site says for one of his higher end mattresses:
Mattress Specifications
Model (PN 8454)
880 foam encased pocketed coil unit
Foam encased for additional edge supports
2″ ultra soft tack and jump quilt foam with fr fiber
1″ visco memory foam
2″ Supersoft Comfort Foam
2″ comfort foam
2″ support foam
Deluxe continental foundation
Starlight cover
10 year warranty
It looks like they meet the density requirements. Are there any other questions that I should ask him? I don’t think any of his foams are CertiPur though.[/quote]
You would need to find out the specifics of each layer in the mattress (see this article) rather than using the more “general” information he gave you. If the foams he is using are made in the US then they are most likely CertiPUR certified and would be “safe” since most of the US foam pourers/manufacturers have CertiPUR certification (see here). Without knowing the specifics of a particular mattress you are considering there isn’t any way to confirm that there isn’t more than “about an inch or so” of lower quality materials in the mattress and make sure that there aren’t any weak links in the design in terms of the quality and durability of the mattress.
Thanks again, Phoenix! I appreciate how much you’ve taught me about mattresses. You have been a big service to us.
Here is a recap of my story: So, I’ve been in many mattress stores and have found them very nice but a little frustrating (not to mention all of the bad reviews for the main brands). Then I discovered you (thank goodness you came up in a mattress search!). I veered off course and went to the local shops, armed with my new knowledge from you! What a delightfully different experience! Most of the local shops had the name brands but steered me to the locally produced lines because of quality plus they knew the owners and had good relationships with them (One even said that he sees the name brand reps once a year but the locally made reps are usually the owners and he sees them several times a year and talks on the phone with them several times a month).
So, yesterday I went to the Mattress Warehouse and met Darrell. Wow…I’ve never met a salesperson like him because he’s not a sales person. He truly wanted to find the mattress that best fit us. Most of the sales people I’ve encountered have asked basic questions like “how much money do you want to spend” and “do you want springs or foam.” He asked several questions beyond that and quickly figured out we needed a bed to support my large husband (6’5" 250 lbs) who is a side sleeper, not get him hot, and yet I sleep on the edge so I needed a strong edge. Because our needs were a bit unique, he had to really narrow down the selections for us but yet, he showed me what the alternatives were so I could really compare why he suggested the particular ones - believe it or not, that was very helpful to feel the difference. In the 45 minutes I was there, I witnessed him do the same for three other people with varying price points. Once we narrowed it down to a couple of mattresses, I asked him specific questions about the manufacturing and quality. He explained everything…from where the foams were made (all US), how they were made (very interesting process), the density and how the density is tested, how the springs aren’t just tempered once but tempered twice, how the top is sewn, how the top foam is open cell which reduces the heat trap, and many other questions (as well as some I didn’t think to ask but he volunteered the info). I was very impressed and that’s saying something considering how many stores I’ve been to in the middle TN area. We are buying a mattress from him and I want to thank you for all you have done to get us to this point. You have made a difference in this whole experience and I would have never gone down this road if it hadn’t been for you listing some local places. Thank you so much.
It’s always a breath of fresh air and it makes the process so much simpler when you are dealing with a knowledgeable retailer or manufacturer that can provide you with the type of guidance and information you need to make an informed choice.
Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and feedback and it sounds like you did some good research and ended up making a good quality/value choice.
Most importantly … congratulations on your new mattress
I know this is an old post, but I’m in somewhat of the same situation and in Middle TN.
I’m curious what you ended up going with and if you are still pleased with it? I’m also needing something for a larger framed side sleeper that will actually hold up more than 1-2 years that our “Name brand” beds have been doing.
I agree that it is a good idea to steer away from “name brands” where you can’t find the specifics of the materials within a mattress. While typically, someone’s experience can’t be used as a reliable indicator of suitability for your own needs and preferences I hope that Melisa sees your post and can add a few comments about what she ended up purchasing and her experience so far. I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly, as you already stated… how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
The key will be when sleeping upon your side to make sure that you are not sinking in too deeply with an excessive lateral curvature. This article speaks to this in a bit more detail. I am not very sure if “larger framed” also means higher BMI but here are a number of forum posts and threads about mattresses and higher weights and a forum search on heavy (you can just click this) will bring up many of them. Some examples include post #2 here and post #2 here and this thread and Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about heavier weights.
You can always do a forum search just click here and put a key term in to see if what stores have been discussed in Tennessee see the ones listed in post #7 here) that you may be interested to visit.
I hope this gives you a good start with your research for a new mattress.
