I basically have to echo everyone’s comments on here about how great this website is. I can’t imagine Tempur Pedic sticking around too long if this mattress information were to seep up from underground. But then I guess this process of thoroughly researching a product before buying it would not be so rewarding
I am someone who branched off at a young age to build computers from parts purchased on Newegg rather than buy big company models. No matter what you are researching, a quality source of information is the most crucial part of the process. Your website is as helpful in that regards as any I have ever run into.
Currently my wife and I are sleeping on a 30 year old Sealy Posturepedic spring mattress. I have to say, it is a surprisingly sturdy mattress. I think they made springs for durability rather than comfort back then though. My wife and I went to about 5 different stores and laid on many mattresses today. We both decided that we really liked the Lux from TP but obviously did not enjoy the price. We liked the Sealy Inspiration and the Serta Savant for their “price points” but still liked the Lux feel the best.
During the searching today, I was able to stumble upon a local retailer that is very close to the quality retailers that your website covets. I am in Rochester, MN and the store is called Land-O-Dreams. The sales rep was very knowledgeable that I was talking to (too knowledgeable for me to realize his wealth of information in my early process of research ). They were selling Englander, FXI, and Restonic products there, but I was not interested because they were not the brand products we were used to (excuse my previous ignorance). The prices were overpriced but when I said my budget was $1500 and under he was plenty happy to meet my requests for the FXI Rejuva Gel 3. My one regret with going online is to not help support a good local dealer like him.
However, after reviewing your website, I have decided that the Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam Mattress is the right mattress for us…price and comfort. We did not test the Latex beds at any point but I am worried that it may be too firm for my wife and I (we are 5’9" 160 and 5’1" 110).
Considering this is the first bed I will ever buy (Remember I am using my parents 30 year old hand me down mattress), I wanted to make sure I am getting all the right equipment (like I am building a computer again, lol):
Mattress Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam- $799
No need for box springs Bedframe - Ultimate Dreams Genius Hi Rise Frame - $162 (there is another brand that is $82 but has a little bit wider spacing) - debating this Mattress Protector - Sleep Tite by Malouf $34.95
And some pillows (One Latex for me and one minimalist memory foam for the wife).
Anything I am missing or any things I should consider before purchase?
It’s interesting that you mention this because I have been in the process of researching computers in the last week or two to replace my current one which is sadly out of date and have found many similarities to researching mattresses. I started off researching components and various computer types on some of the better online sites (including some very helpful forums) so I could match them to my specific needs and preferences. I’m not a gamer so I don’t need the latest GPU but I do a lot of multi tasking and often have over 100 tabs open on my browser and various other applications as well as part of my research so I do need good memory to prevent lagging and a decent CPU. A good quality matte screen is important for my eyes because of the long hours I spend on the computer and a good keyboard is also very important because of the amount of typing I do. I also often play music in the background so a good quality sound system is important to me along with a reasonable good build quality and good cooling that doesn’t have noisy fans.
After some good initial research I found that I knew a fair bit about the specs but this and other people’s assessments didn’t tell me how a computer would “feel” and perform for me and it wasn’t until I spent a couple of hours in several local stores where I could actually see the screen, touch the keyboard, and hear the sound that the specs I had researched became more meaningful to me. Now I have a much better sense of what the specs actually mean in my own experience. I also discovered that the most valuable help I received was talking with people who had the knowledge and experience (ad integrity) to be able to answer my questions specifically with accurate information not just the type of information they thought I wanted to hear for the sake of a sale (and there were plenty of these I talked with as well).
So once I had both the basic knowledge of specs and also my own personal experience as a reference point I could make much more meaningful choices and everything came together. I also discovered that there was much better “value” in some of the smaller lesser known brands … particularly in the ones that sell barebones laptops where you can customize them to your preferences. A side benefit is that the new 4th generation Intel chips and nVidia GPU’s have also just come out so my timing is very good as well. I will buy my new computer tomorrow which has every feature that is important to me and ironically the only thing I don’t like about it is the overall look (which isn’t bad but is a little “flashy” and “eclectic” for my tastes) which is probably the least important and something that I can “get used to” given all the features it has that are important to me.
It was a great experience to relate to what others experience when they are looking for a mattress and I learned a lot about what it was like to be on the “other side” of making an important purchase decision where I was reliant on the knowledge, help, guidance, and integrity of other people in combination with my own research and knowing what I really needed and preferred and what was less important to me.
30 years ago the industry was much different and even the major manufacturers built much better quality mattresses (using higher quality foam) … usually two sided. It’s certainly not the same today and now its usually the smaller independent manufacturers who maintain the tradition of making good quality and value mattresses and continue to make the long term satisfaction of their customers their most important priorities.
[quote]Considering this is the first bed I will ever buy (Remember I am using my parents 30 year old hand me down mattress), I wanted to make sure I am getting all the right equipment (like I am building a computer again, lol):
Mattress Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam- $799
No need for box springs
Bedframe - Ultimate Dreams Genius Hi Rise Frame - $162 (there is another brand that is $82 but has a little bit wider spacing) - debating this
Mattress Protector - Sleep Tite by Malouf $34.95
And some pillows (One Latex for me and one minimalist memory foam for the wife).
Anything I am missing or any things I should consider before purchase?[/quote]
If you have compared the materials that are available to you and you are comfortable with and prefer memory foam (and you have tested the Tempurpedic Cloud luxe which for most people would be similar in feel to the mattress you are purchasing except the Dreamfoam would be slightly firmer) then is looks to me like you have all the bases covered (mattress, bedframe, mattress protector, and pillows) and your choices all have good value. All you need is sheets and blankets which I assume you already have.
All of your choices appear to me to be good ones although I would tend to choose the slightly higher cost bedframe not because it is absolutely necessary for a polyfoam base layer but only because I personally place value on choices that are a little less risky.
So I think you have probably done as well with your mattress as I think I did with my computer.
Assuming you end up pulling the trigger and don’t change your mind (I know I was doing some vacillating on my computer till something just “clicked” and I knew the “best” choice for me) … congratulations on your new mattress
