foamex memory foam mattress

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E972MK/ref=twister_B001GAOYBY

This is the mattress I am about to pull the trigger on. I currently have a sealy that is breaking my back. After 6 weeks of working with them, they finally agreed to replace the mattress for free. But its going to take 6 more weeks to arrive. I decided that I didn’t want a mattress just like this one, but a memory foam. My wife and I found the Sealy optimum radiance in our local store and really liked it. Sealy said I could upgrade from my current queen, to the king size of that optimum radiance GOLD, the latest model, for $560, plus $140 shipping. I could do this, and wait 6 more weeks, or save my back and order the above mattress. Do you guys think I should wait for the sealy, or buy the above mattress, or something else? Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

The other 2 mattresses I am very intrigued by, are these:

  1. http://www.sleepwarehouse.com/memory-foam-mattress.aspx - the 5lb memory foam sounds very good. But having never felt it, could it be too firm when you compare with sealy optimum radiance?

  2. Amazon.com This dreamfoam mattress seems ideal for what I want, but to get the king size I would need to order two twin XLs.

The prices on these are about $300- $400 higher than the foamex, which is why I am heavily leaning towards the foamex. Look forward to your opinions!

Hi conceptcar3,

Just in case you haven’t read it yet … I would make sure you’ve read the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you with “how” to make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Post #13 here also has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase.

As you can see …the most important factor in the value of a mattress purchase is how well a mattress will match your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and how well you are likely to sleep on it. The most reliable way to predict this is your own careful and objective testing (using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post). If you are looking at an online purchase and you can’t test a mattress before you buy it then a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that is more interested in selling you the “right” mattress out of the options they have available than they are selling you “any mattress they can” will be one of the most important parts of a successful purchase.

After the suitability of a mattress then the next most important part of the “value” of a purchase is knowing the quality and durability of the materials so you can identify any weak links in the mattress and make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses. The quality of the materials is the most important factor in the useful life of a mattress and how long you will sleep well on it. Post #4 here includes the foam quality guidelines I would suggest using to assess the quality and durability of a mattress and whether it has any weak links in the design.

Finally the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you will also be a big part of the value of a mattress purchase and deciding on which of your finalists is the best choice for you. This would include the price of course and also the return and/or exchange options you have after a purchase and any costs involved which can offset the risk of an online purchase if you aren’t confident that a mattress will be a good match for you so you are comfortable with the options you have if a mattress you purchase doesn’t work out as well as you hoped and you don’t sleep well on it.

The tutorial post also links to a list of some of the better online memory foam options I’m aware of and if you are looking at a lower budget memory foam mattress then post #4 here also includes some of the better lower budget memory foam options I’m aware of.

The Foamex 12-Inch Ultra-Luxe Memory Foam Mattress uses 4 lb memory foam which is a suitable quality/density for those that aren’t in a higher weight range but they don’t list the density of the base layer of polyfoam which I would want to know. If your conversation with them gives you good confidence in their knowledge and experience and that this mattress would be a good match for you and assuming that the base layer meets the guidelines for a lower budget mattress then it would be well worth considering.

They are in the online memory foam list and would be well worth talking with to about whether this mattress would be suitable for you in terms of PPP. If they are familiar with the Optimum Radiance then they may be able to give you some idea of how they may compare but they use good quality materials in their mattresses and there are no weak links in the materials.

Dreamfoam is also on the list and they are also a member of this site which means that I think highly of them and that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, and service. They would also be well worth talking to on the phone about whether this mattress would likely be a suitable choice for you in terms of PPP. They also have a 10" gel memory foam mattress here which uses 3" of 4 lb gel memory foam over a 7" 1.5 lb polyfoam base layer.

As you will read in the tutorial post I would tend to avoid the major brands as much as possible and I certainly wouldn’t spend any more on them than I had to. As you can see here … the Sealy Optimum Radiance Gold uses almost the same or lower quality/density materials as most of the other mattresses you are considering (about 4 lb memory foam and 1.5 lb polyfoam base layers) but is considerably more costly so I certainly wouldn’t spend any more “good money after bad” than I had to on any major brand mattress or on an “upgrade” unless there were no other suitable options available when the other mattresses you are considering use the same or better quality materials .

Phoenix

Thank you Phoenix! So you would recommend I spend the 300 to 400 more, after speaking with dream foam or the sleep warehouse?
Examine the foamex mattress, the description appears to be identical to this mattress from SAMs club

Based on the weight of that mattress , I was able to calculate the density of the 9" base layer to be 1.56.
91.6lbs/42.2222 cubic feet total volume = 2.17 lb/ft total mattress density.
2.17 x12 inches (mattress height) = 26.033
3inches x 4lb/ft= 12 ; 26.033-12= 14.033
14.033/9 (remaining mattress height) = 1.56
Do these appear to be the exact same to you, or is ordering from SAMs club the way go go?
Finally, given my options with my approved sealy warranty, what would you advise regarding that?

Wow, I actually just noticed the amazon mattress has a higher total weight of 104.6lb
Crunching the same numbers, that gives the base 9 inch poly foam layer a density of 1.97! Wow, seems like a great mattress?

Hi conceptcar3,

No not at all … I hope that’s not what you read into my last reply. There are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for me to know which mattress would be “best for you” (or anyone) so I don’t recommend specific mattresses … only “how” to find a mattress that is the best match for you and all the parts of your personal equation that are most important to you.

The most important step is to talk with each of the companies you are considering so you can answer the most important question in any mattress purchase which is “how suitable is this mattress for me in terms of PPP and how well am I likely to sleep on it?” with reasonable confidence. Your answer to this question is by far the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase because if you don’t sleep well on a mattress (especially with back issues) it would have little value to you regardless of the quality of the materials or the cost of the mattress (as you discovered with your Sealy).

Your next most important step would be “are there any obvious weak links in this mattress relative to my body type?”. Regardless of how well you sleep on a mattress it would have little value to you if a mattress is likely to soften or break down too quickly relative to the price you paid. The loss of comfort and support that goes hand in hand with the softening or breakdown of the materials isn’t considered to be a defect and won’t qualify for warranty coverage unless there are visible impressions that are deeper than the warranty exclusions (which is only a minority of cases … see post #174 here).

Once you have answered the first two questions with reasonable confidence then you are in a position to make meaningful comparisons and make a final choice between mattresses based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are important to you. Part of this would be the cost of course and part would also include the options you have available if in spite of the best efforts of both you and the manufacturer/retailer you are dealing with the mattress turns out to be a less than ideal choice for you and you don’t sleep well on it.

I would talk to both of them to confirm that their shipping weights are correct and to confirm the density of the base layers. If they are knowledgeable and experienced enough to give you accurate answers and you are confident in the answers they provide then you will know whether they are the same with reasonable certainty.

I made some comments about your exchange at the end of my last reply …

How long did you own your Sealy Optimum and how long did you sleep well on it before you began to experience back issues? Was your exchange because of a defect in the mattress (visible impressions deeper than the warranty exclusions) or was it due to a comfort issue? What is the likelihood that you will experience the same issues in about the same period of time with the same or a very similar mattress? Your answers to these questions will be an important part of deciding what to do next.

Phoenix

My current mattress is a sealy spring mattress, a queen size euro top ultra plush. It is sagging in the middle with a 2 inch depression. The upgrade fee is the cost to go from this, to the optimum and from queen to king size. ($560) and then $140 shipping. They said they would give me the euro top queen for free, except shipping.

Hi conceptcar3,

That clarifies things a little … I thought you were replacing a Sealy Optimum.

How confident are you that the Sealy Optimum Radiance is a good match for you in terms of PPP and have you done some careful and objective testing on it using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post? Don’t forget that the “showroom feel” of a mattress is very subjective and may not be a good indicator of how well you will sleep on the mattress.

Have you talked with the online retailers/manufacturers of the other mattresses you are considering? How confident are you that they will be a good match for you in terms of PPP based on your conversations?

These will help you answer the most important question of which mattress is the best “match” for you.

In terms of quality/durability … the other mattresses you are considering use the same or better quality materials as the Optimum.

Assuming that you have answered the most important questions and are confident in the suitability of your choices (or you have good options after a purchase if your purchase doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped) … you really have two options.

The first is to pay $700 for the Optimum Radiance and end up with one “suitable” mattress.

The second is to pay the price of your “final choice” among the other mattresses you are considering … do the warranty exchange for the same mattress you have now … and end up with two mattresses. If you keep the plastic on the replacement mattress then you could try and sell it on Craigs List or through your social networks as a “never used” mattress. If you were able to sell it for say half of what it would sell for new you would recover some or even all of the cost of your purchase and assuming that the mattress you purchase is a good match for you in terms of PPP you would end up with one “suitable” mattress that used similar or better quality materials than the Optimum for a significantly lower net price.

Phoenix

As far as posture and alignment, I’m not so sure how well the optimum radiance will be for me. Since the base layers are 1.5lb or less (unknown) it’s hard to say how durable or how well they will provide posture and alignment for my spine or how long it will laat. As far as pressure relief, I really felt the mattress excelled at this when I laid on it. However, overtime the durability of the top memory foam at 3.6lb density may start to collapse, just like my spring mattress did. The question is how long before that happens? Finally, as far as personal preference goes, my wife and I went to a local store and laid on the temper pedic cloud luxe, the optimum radiance, optimum destiny, and optimum inspiration, and we both loved the radiance above all the others as far as personal preference. What mattress do you think will feel closest to the showroom radiance (so my wife stays happy lol) ?

Hi conceptcar,

The base layers of the Radiance are 1.5 lb density but the density of polyfoam has very little to do with its firmness or with PPP … only with how long it lasts and maintain its original firmness. The base layers are also not as big a factor in the durability of a mattress as the comfort layers although this will depend to some degree on your weight, the thickness of the comfort layers, and on how much you compress the base layers “through” the comfort layers.

This can’t be predicted with any certainty outside of saying “more than this or less than that” because there are too many variables involved including your body type, sleeping position, how close to the edge of your comfort/support range you are before a mattress is too soft for you (see post #2 here), and on your physiology and where you are in the “princess and the pea” to “I can sleep on anything” range and how sensitive you are to the effects of foam softening before you cross the thresholds from sleeping well on a mattress to “sleeping OK” to “tolerating it” to finally deciding to replace it.

I have no personal experience with any of the mattresses you are considering or how they may compare with the Radiance but there is more about the different ways that one mattress can “match” another one in post #9 here. In most cases the only way to know how close one mattress feels to another one for any particular person would be their own personal side by side comparisons and/or sleeping experience. Some online retailers or manufacturers use a well known and widely available mattress as a reference point so that you can test a local mattress to get a sense of how an online mattress feels and performs but the most common reference point would be one of the Tempurpedic line. If an online retailer/manufacturer is familiar with a mattress you have tested and with how their own mattresses compare to that specific mattress then in this case they may also be able to help you make a more meaningful comparison between them.

Phoenix

Well I pulled a fast one on myself! lol. I called sealy and had them cancel the $560 upgrade to the optimum and told them to ship me an identical eurotop spring mattress at no charge which I will sell on Craig’s list. I went ahead and went all out and ordered this mattress.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0092UCN0Y/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0092UCN0Y&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&tag=memoryfoamman-20

I hope we will love it! It sure sounds excellent.

Hi conceptcar3,

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I hope you will love it as well!

You certainly made a good quality/value choice and most people that have purchased it have said that it is similar to the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe in terms of how it feels.

I hope you have the chance to share your feedback when you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Phoenix

Hi there, so we received this mattress on Friday, and we slept on it that same evening. The first night I found myself waking up a few times and very very HOT! Also, my initial feeling of the mattress felt like the foam was not of the same quality as a tempurpedic. My wife and I also feel it lacks the support we felt on the tempurpedoc supreme we tested in a store. The supreme felt like a “heavier” or more dense foam and it felt sturdier and felt like it provided more support for our backs. My wife feels like she is rolling down a mountain when we are close to each other on this matress, like I am a gravitational black hole sucking her in, whereas she said when we laid close together in the store on the tempur pedic cloud supreme, she did not have that sensation and felt that it had more support. Last night we slept on it again, and it seemed a little better. Maybe the mattress was not fully expanded on the first night as it takes 24-48 hours. I was not hot at all, and it felt mildly firmer. I’m just very concerned that perhaps this mattress is just too
Soft for us. My wife and i agree to continue trying it since the amazon reviews are so high , and the materials that dreamfoam uses are such good quality. I do wonder though why it feels like the foam is not as firm, or as “dense feeling” as the tempurpedic. I must also add after all that negativity, that it feels 1000x better than my old broken sealy eurotop mattress! Does dreamfoam offer any kind of exchange program, in case my wife and I wanted to swap this out for a firmer model? Look forward to hearing what you all think and have to say about this!

Hi conceptcar3,

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback.

Memory foam can certainly sleep warmer for many people and it tends to be the warmest of all the foam materials and softer mattresses tend to sleep warmer than firmer mattresses but there are some suggestions in post #2 here and the temperature regulation post it links to that may be helpful. Sometimes even changing your mattress protector or sheets can make a significant difference in sleeping temperature.

The density of memory foam is the most important factor in its quality and durability and quality isn’t something that you can tell by “feel” … only by weight. It’s certainly true though that different types of memory foam that have the same density/quality can feel different from each other. There is more about the possible differences between different types of memory foam in post #9 here and in post #8 here but these have to do with the properties of a specific types and formulations of memory foam … not it’s quality/density. The memory foam in your mattress is is 4 and 5 lb density which is the same as the memory foam used in many of the Tempurpedic Cloud mattresses. The Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme for example also uses 4 and 5 lb memory foam although the Cloud Luxe uses a layer of 7 lb memory foam in addition to 4 lb memory foam.

The “feeling” of a mattress is very subjective and it will depend on body type, sleeping positions, and individual sensitivities and preferences and a mattress that feels too firm for one person can feel too soft for the next. Any density of memory foam can have a wide range of firmness levels and other properties as well that are part of the formulation of the memory foam and it’s more likely that you are feeling some of the different properties (temperature sensitivity, recovery time etc) of two different memory foams.

This is not uncommon with mattresses that have thick and soft comfort layers (especially with higher weights or weight differentials between couples) and I would keep in mind that your mattress is closer to the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe than the Cloud Supreme which is a firmer mattress. It can also be more apparent when the memory foam warms up and becomes softer with body heat so it may not be as obvious in a store as it would be over the course of the night. The temperature in your bedroom may also be different from the temperature in the showroom which can make a difference in the softness of memory foam. I would also check the firmness or the support surface under your mattress to make sure that it’s not contributing to the issue as well (I don’t know what you are using for support under the mattress). One way to test this is to use the mattress on the floor for a few nights which is as firm and even a support surface as it’s possible to have to see if it makes any difference.

Your mattress is certainly in the softer end of the range (like the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe) and it’s possible that it’s too soft but the best suggestion I would have for the first few weeks is to do nothing (other than the suggestions in the previous links) while the mattress breaks in and you adjust to the feel of a new sleeping surface because what your mattress feels like in a few weeks may be quite different from what it feels like when it’s brand new.

They don’t have a return or exchange policy on their Amazon memory foam mattresses if they are Dreamfoam fulfilled but if they are fulfilled by Amazon then they are subject to the Amazon large items return policy (see here). Mattresses purchased on their Dreamfoam site have a 45 day return policy (see here). I know they have made some exceptions and allowed some customers to return their Amazon mattress although there would be some shipping charges involved because it would have to be returned through a common carrier once the mattress has been decompressed which is more costly than shipping by courier. Once you have slept on the mattress for a few weeks if it’s still not working well for you then I would certainly talk with them to discuss your options.

I hope you have the chance to share some additional feedback over the course of the next few weeks to let us know how things are working out for you.

Phoenix