I have been reading the site for a few days, trying to gain as much info as possible before we purchase 4 mattresses (my wife and I and our 3 children). We’ve been travelling around for a few years in our RV and we’re moving into a house and need some new mattresses.
So after reading a bunch of articles on this site I went out to the mattress store. I loved the sound of the latex mattress but when I tried it I really didn’t like it very much. It felt very firm. I don’t know what the ILD was but even if it was softer I really seemed to prefer the memory foam.
So we both really liked the same mattress type the best, a gel infused memory foam mattress. I liked the one with 4" top layer and she liked the one with the 2" top layer but said they were both very comfortable. Weight distribution was really nice and spines looked pretty straight, as well as I could tell. We definitely agreed that it was our favorite after trying coil mattresses, latex, other memory foams.
They were both Amerigel mattresses. The specs were…
4" (Me) or 2" (Wife) of 3lb Gel Infused Open Cell Memory Foam
1.5" of “Luxury Foam” (I’m not sure what that meant and the sales woman just said it was better than the foam beneath it
7" High Density performance foam
They were $1800 and $1400 (way too much) for a King
Our plan was to find the TYPE of mattress we liked and the right configuration. I think the main thing we learned is that we loved gel memory foam. We would probably go for 3-4" top layer (3lb or more?), followed by 1-2" layer that I’m not sure what it was, and then 7-8" of HD foam. Now I am seeing if anyone can suggest a similar type of mattress I can look at that isn’t as overpriced as the ones we saw in the store and that may have higher quality and at least defined materials. Or maybe a few reputable companies our area or online that sell something like this.
We would be looking at ordering online or in our local area (Hendersonville/Asheville area of NC).
Oh, the kids really had no preference. They liked almost every mattress they layed on, they weren’t much help. They just liked beds that had music and vibrated :). They are so light that they really didn’t seem to get very misaligned unless they were on something super plush. I’m probably just going to try to find them each a quality TwinXL as inexpensive as I can. Something in a medium range that will last a while. Thanks!
The first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
[quote]They were both Amerigel mattresses. The specs were…
4" (Me) or 2" (Wife) of 3lb Gel Infused Open Cell Memory Foam
1.5" of “Luxury Foam” (I’m not sure what that meant and the sales woman just said it was better than the foam beneath it
7" High Density performance foam
They were $1800 and $1400 (way too much) for a King[/quote]
Outside of how well a mattress matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) the most important part of a mattress purchase is making sure you know the quality/durability of the materials in a mattress (see post #13 here).
The information you will need to make an informed choice about any mattress to identify any weak links and make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses is in this article so that you can compare them to the guidelines here.
I would tend to avoid any mattress that uses more than “about an inch or so” of 3 lb memory foam or any other lower quality/density material which means that I wouldn’t consider either of these mattresses unless you are in the very lowest budget range and there are no other alternatives available (and you are only considering a memory foam mattress).
There is more about “matching” one mattress to another one in post #9 here but as soon as you change even one layer or component of a mattress with a different material (or a different density or thickness or different type of memory foam made by a different foam manufacturer) then you would have a different mattress so it really isn’t possible to “match” one mattress to another in terms of how it feels and performs using specs unless they are virtually identical or unless the retailer or manufacturer has personal experience with both mattresses you are considering and is confident in how they compare.
The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Hendersonville/Asheville area are listed in post #4 here.
The tutorial post also includes several links to many of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step).
Post #2 here includes links to the better forum posts about mattresses and children but I would tend to avoid memory foam with younger children especially.
Hi was wondering if you decided to go with the amerigel . We are also looking at them as they are the only ones in our budget that we can actually test . They have only been around one year so it’s kind of scary when spending so much money .
There are many memory foam mattresses that use higher quality/density memory foam in the same or lower budget ranges. The tutorial post (which is the first place I would start your research) includes links to many online sources that use higher quality materials and sell for lower prices that would have a much lower risk and if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.
I live in Panama City florida . I have looked at Mattress now , the sleep center , badcock , mattress firm and sears so far . The fiancé doesn’t want to spend more than 1500 hundred dollars . We are looking because I toss and turn all night and he can’t sleep . Any help we be greatly appreciated.