I am in the process of replacing my 15 year old mattress. I am 200 pounds, 5’6" tall, and I usually sleep on my side or stomach.
I tested out a lot of mattresses in many price ranges, and most of them caused discomfort in my hips after a while.
I have tried some memory foam and latex mattresses, but found that the heat they produced for me was uncomfortable.
I tested out the Evosleep Bio-Gel Mattress, and it actually felt cool which was a unique experience. And it was comfortable. I was just leery as I have not heard of this technology.
The salesperson at Sit n Sleep was willing to come down from $2600 to $2000 on a queen and include a protector.
Elastomeric polyurethane gels are a very strong, elastic, and durable material with some unique properties including being viscoelastic and thermally conductive (which is one of the technologies used for temperature regulation in a mattress). There is more about them in post #2 here.
The type that is used in the Evosleep is a solid gel (not mixed into another type of foam) which is the most expensive but most durable and effective type of gel. It is generally used in a thin layer on top and then other types of materials are used underneath it (such as memory foam or polyfoam).
While the gel itself is very strong and durable … the layers that are underneath it are an important part of the feel, quality, and durability of the mattress. These layers under the gel will likely be the weakest link of the mattress and it would be important to know the specifics of these layers in terms of thickness, the type of foam used, and in the case of any polyfoam or memory foam, the density of these layers as well. This will give you a way to make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses in terms of the relative “value” of the mattress as a whole and and the quality/durability of the materials used. The closer to the top the materials are … the more subject they will be to repeated mechanical stress and compression and the more important it is to use higher quality/density and more durable materials.
A good retailer will have this available (if their manufacturer provides the information to them) and will either have the layering including the density of all the layers in the mattress or will phone the factory to find out on behalf of the consumer. In some cases the factory will be open and transparent about this information and in some cases they won’t provide it to the retailer either so they can only provide the information the factory is willing to give them.
Sherwood bedding is making some better quality and value mattresses in comparison to most major brands but as in any mattress purchase … regardless of the brand label … knowing the details of what is in a mattress you are seriously considering is really the only way to predict how the mattress will feel in a year and longer down the road (compared to the showroom feel) and the relative quality/durability and value of the mattress compared to others you may be considering.
If I was looking at a mattress in this price range … I would definitely want to know the details of all the layers before making a decision.
Phoenix
PS: as a side note … latex is a very open celled foam and is generally the coolest of the foams. It may be possible that what you were lying on either wasn’t good quality latex at all or had other materials on top of the latex on the sleeping surface. If it was a major brand then this is almost certainly the case and what you were told was a “latex mattress” probably wasn’t and may have only had some thin layers of latex mixed in with other materials or at best was a latex hybrid. Knowing the layers of the mattress from a spec sheet (and again good retailers will understand the importance of providing this) is often the only way to know what you are really sleeping on.
I found out a bit more about the evosleep gel models.
The top layer on all the models has a 1" layer of solid gel which is poured onto a convoluted polyfoam. This in turn is on top of various different thicknesses of 5 lb gel infused memory foam which is on top of a 1.8 lb base support layer. The difference between the models is the thickness of the gel memory foam underneath the top layer of solid gel.
As I mentioned … the solid gel is very elastic and durable (and more costly than gel infused foams) and the other material in the comfort layer (the gel memory foam) is also better than average quality.
Thank you so much for your prompt and thorough response. It is greatly appreciated!
I talked to the salesperson at the store, and he was able to print me out an internal email with all the specs from the company. The mattress I was looking at the was the most expensive one with the thickest foam layer.
I took the information you supplied, along with the information about the interior support, and I went ahead a bought the mattress. I wound up paying $2000 for it. They included an organic cotton protector, 2 pillows and a bed frame, plus mattress haul away. It came with a 20 year non-pro-rated warranty, with the mattress having to sag 3/4 of an inch.
So, I am very pleased with my purchase.
Thank you again for your help. You truly were instrumental in helping me make my decision. I wish you continued success with this wonderful site!!
I’d be interested in hearing about your experience with it when you’ve had the chance to sleep on it for a while because you are one of the few that would be sleeping on a layer of solid gel along with gel infused memory foam instead of the much more common gel infused foams that are in most “gel” mattresses.
One of the only other mattresses that uses a similar solid layer of gel on top is here (also 1" of gel but with some surface modifications and different layering and materials underneath so its not a direct “apples to apples” comparison) and as you can see it is significantly more.
Thanks for sharing your mattress shopping experiences.
Organic mattresses are an alternative to the standard mattresses. Natural materials reduce allergies and other allergens present in man-made materials.
The first two weeks took some getting used to. The “new mattress” smell lingered a while. And my back was sore for a while. But once I got used to it, I love it. It feels so good getting into it. I can’t feel any movement if someone else is there. The mattress stays very cool…unlike other memory foam mattresses I’ve slept on.
I suppose the real test will be years from now once I see how it ages…but for now I’m extremely pleased.
Hi spiralingshape,
I wanted to ask you how this mattress is working out for you. I dont have a sherwood dealer near me (closest is Austin), so I don’t know how the mattress feels, and I’d be interested to know how it’s performing after a few months of use.
When you mentioned you back being sore for a few days, was that due to the fact that mattress is too plush?
any feedback would help greatly!
Also, how was your experience with sit n sleep? they dont seem to have the bio-gel on their website anymore.
thanks,
Calvin
I am also interested in hearing updates. I have tried the Bio-Gel RX500 and the wife likes also. I also was able to get the law tag info, which does not specifically mentioned the Gel make up.
The pricing tag at Sit N Sleep also had some info on a piece of paper behind.
The new EVC’s are all springless, with 2lb denisty furniture-grade soy-based support foam. Over that you have soy-based memory foam and soy-based gel infused memory foam. At the very top there is a 1 1/4" piece of medical grade soy based gel topper. The gel topper has 2000% more gel than gel infused memory foam and the 1 1/4" piece we use is more expensive that 3" of tallalay
I am absolutely loving the mattress. I think the back pain I experienced was just me getting used to the new mattress. While it is plush, I do not feel that it is too soft. I sleep really well, and I do not wake up in any pain. I have the 700 version.
I also find that the mattress stays very cool, and I do not wake up warm like I do when I have stayed on friends mattresses who have a memory foam one.
My experience with Sit n Sleep was great. I think I tried every mattress in the store before deciding on the one I got. The salesperson was great, and the delivery experience was great too.
The only thing I am not sure of, is if I should be turning the mattress or not. I’ve been meaning to write the company and ask.
If you have any other specific questions I can answer, please let me know.
Just as a point of interest … the law tag indicates the percentage content based on weight not thickness so because the density of an elastomeric gel is higher than polyfoam … listed by layer thickness it would be a lower percentage of the mattress.
It’s also true that the pure gel formulations are more costly materials … even than latex.
The soft solid gels are very different from the gel infused foams (mostly memory foam) that are quite common (and much less costly). You can see some of the different types of gel materials in post #2 here and more details and links to more information about thermoplastic or elastomeric polyurethane gels (including some technical details) in post #4 here along with a few thoughts about the category itself in post #8 here.
