Foam mattress search in Ottawa, Canada

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi,

I have been reading probably 100’s of discussions on your mattress forum as well as all your overviews about support cores and comfort layers,etc.

I have a 13 year old Sealy Posturpedic. I am 160 pouds, 6’1" tall and experience lower back pain and occasional shoulder pain though ONLY WHILE I SLEEP. I must get up about 7-10 times a night. I don’t really notice a sag or bumbs in the mattress and my partner sleeps fine. But no pain during the day. I get up in the morning, feel pain. Stretch, move around 95% of pain is gone with 1 hour. 5% lingers all day. I see a chiropractor who has helped me a lot, but the bed still causes pain every night. (2 months ago 50% of pain lasted all day)

I have pretty much decided on foam. Core and comfort layers. In Ottawa some of the independent manufactures are:

http://www.hardymattressfeatherottawa.ca/

http://www.matelasdauphin.com

Even Essentia is here, but after reading about them on here I think I might stay away, if nothing more than just their price structure is crazy high.

Obasan also seems very high$ but has already been recommended to me by a friend. Though a friend with deep pockets.

The Matelas Lapensee location I went to pushed their spring cores and then 4 pound foam on top, then a 2 pound quilt. The medium mattress was really comfortable but I then visited Hardy Mattress and like what I found there. Lapensee even said they believe in coils more and are probably heading in an all coil direction. Mini wrapped coils as a comfort layer. Though they do not have anything like that yet.

Hardy recommended a 5" 2.7lb foam base (They said velva foam otherwise known as neocore). I could not find any info on these names. Have you heard of them?
They then use 3" memory foam, HD polyurethane, 5.7lbs.
He then covers it with coolmax and that is it. No other topper.

At Hardy, he uses the same core and then changes around the comfort layers to come up with different firmness. 5 firmness versions (Extra firm, firm, medium, soft, extra soft). I tried various variations and settled with medium. The middle out of 5 versions.

Hardy’s showed me only 2 different kinds of latex both seemed too spongy. It was the first latex I have felt though so not sure what it is supposed to feel like. Though the owner said that based on my size, and how I explained my back pain to him, he would recommend memory foam and medium to medium firm.

I still haven’t visited Obasan or Dauphin but kind of am looking for direction.

Before I continue on to other stores . . Does what Hardy’s recommend make sense? A 5" 2.7lb foam base under a 3" memory foam 5.7lb top, then just wrapped in coolmax. No quilt on top. Should there be a quilt? Does the foam sound high quality or do I really need to get the brand names or sources he buys from?

Some of the things I am worried about are heat from memory foam. The owner at Hardy’s said not to worry. He slept on latex for over 10 years and then switched to memory foam and never went back to latex. And does not feel any more heat on memory foam then latex.

Can I worry less with the 5.7lb memory foam version that Hardy’s sells? Maybe it deals better with heat. Also the smell of memory foam. None of the mattresses at the store smelled. But new in my bedroom. Does the better stuff smell? Is there something I can ask him to get a better idea of this?

1 thing he did tell me is that he does NOT compress the foam to pack it up and deliver it to me. He makes it seem like it is not compressed at all before it get’s to me. So when he delivers it I could use it immediately.

He also said that I could use my box spring IF it was not sagging.

Thanks for any info and as I continue my journey in Ottawa I will be sure to update this thread. Thanks for the website.

Allan.

2

Hi allanweinman,

The specific names of the foam don’t really matter and it’s the density that is the most important spec and this sounds like a very high quality HR polyfoam.

5.7 lb memory foam (it’s not actually what is normally referred to as polyurethane foam although memory foam is a type of polyurethane) is also a very high quality material (5 lbs and up is “good quality” memory foam).

It sounds to me like you are already heading in a very good direction. You have identified most of the better options in the Ottawa list and you are making sure you find out the specifics in each mattress you test and testing to find out your preferences of material. You are currently at step 3 in the tutorial post here and I would narrow down your finalist at each one (step 4) and then make your final choice (step 5) based on your personal value equation. In other words … I would continue doing exactly what you are doing. I added Obasan to the Ottawa list in this thread because for some reason I had neglected to list them even though I have talked with them on several occasions and they are knowledgeable and transparent and are certainly a high quality option (although as you mention they are also in a more premium price range). Your post was a good reminder to update the list.

No you don’t need the brand names or his sources (which they would be unlikely so disclose anyway for competitive reasons) just the density (for polyfoam and memory foam) or the type and blend of any latex if there is latex in your mattress. Memory foam typically doesn’t use a quilting layer in most (but not all) cases because a thinner cover allows your body heat to reach the memory foam more effectively and memory foam is a heat sensitive slow response material. These are all high quality materials with no “weak links” but your own personal testing following the testing guidelines in the tutorial post is the best way to know which mattress is the best match for you in terms of PPP.

While memory foam as a category tends to sleep warmer than latex (depending also on the other factors that can affect sleeping temperature that are discussed in post #2 here) and more people would have temperature issues with memory foam than with latex … most people don’t generally have an issue with either. One person’s experience doesn’t necessarily mean that others will have the same experience so his personal experiences or preferences may not be the same as any of his customers.

If the memory foam or polyfoam is manufactured in North America and is CertiPur certified then it would be “safe enough” for most people in terms of harmful substances or VOC’s but most new mattresses will have some smell for a few days or sometimes up to a few weeks depending on the specifics of the foam. The smell is a side effect of the formulation of the foam but density is the most important factor in the quality of the foam.

Most new mattresses can be used the same night you receive them although compressing a mattress for storage or shipping over a longer period of time can often lead to the smells accumulating inside the wrapping in which case it can be a good idea to air them out for a day or two.

Most memory foam mattresses do best on a rigid non flexing foundation so the flexing and compression comes from the mattress itself not the box spring (uwhich is the design of most memory foam mattresses). A flexible box spring can affect the feel and performance of the mattress in terms of PPP compared to a rigid foundation but it shouldn’t be harmful to the mattress itself (as long as the foundation or box spring you use doesn’t have any sagging or soft spots as he mentioned).

Again … It sounds to me like you are following the steps in the one by one which is exactly what I would suggest.

I’m looking forward to hearing more of your feedback and finding out what you end up deciding.

Phoenix