Folding box spring foundation? Sleep Master vs Simple Life

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

First off, thanks for this resource. I’ve learned a lot since I started visiting nearly two years ago.

I’m getting a coil, one-sided, non-flip mattress that’s 13" in height. I need a box foundation to replace my old box spring (yes, it’s an actual box spring with “springs” that’s from way back).

I’ve settled on two folding box foundations:

Sleep Master BiFold Box Spring Folding Mattress Foundation, Queen
https://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Master-Folding-Mattress-Foundation/dp/B00X6HZCJI
This queen model is 9" in height.
Rated 4.7/5 stars with 133 reviews.
$160.00

Simple Life Fully Assembled Mattress Box Foundation, Queen
https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Fully-Assembled-Mattress-Foundation/dp/B00DGAZRCM/
This queen model is 8" in height.
Rated 4.7/5 stars with 123 reviews
$224.09

Both sold and fulfilled direct from amazon. Both are similarly highly rated.

There are references to the simple life version here:
https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/experience-with-simple-life-foundation
and here (in the “wire grid foundations” section):
https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/the-best-foundations-or-base-for-a-latex-or-all-foam-mattress

Doing a forum search for “BiFold” or “folding foundation” didn’t find a reference to Sleep Master.

One odd thing about the Simple Life is that the last amazon review for that item was on Aug 29, 2015. Today is Sep 14, 2015. The cheaper Sleep Master still has a steady stream of reviews littered throughout September 2015. It probably means nothing, but found it interesting.

I like that they’re both metal and not wood foundations. Of all the “box foundations” I looked up at amazon, they’re both nearly the highest rated I found. Others floated around 3.9-4.3 stars.

Both look identical. The Simple Life is mentioned on this forum by Phoenix and costs $64.09 more, but I’m not sure which to get. I am on a budget, and don’t want to unnecessarily spend more than I have to.

Any advice about which to go for would be greatly appreciated.

Quick update:

Just wanted to add that this is the mattress I’m planning to get with it:
Signature Sleep 13" Independently Encased Coil Mattress, Queen
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LQ1RQU/

Thanks.

2

Hi jumper,

I’m not familiar with the Sleep Master BiFold foundation sand I didn’t see any pictures of it’s internal design so I don’t know how it would compare to the Simple Life foundation.

[quote]Just wanted to add that this is the mattress I’m planning to get with it:
Signature Sleep 13" Independently Encased Coil Mattress, Queen
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LQ1RQU/[/quote]

I would make sure that you know the specs of all the layers in this mattress before making your purchase (see this article) because the odds are high that it would contain lower quality and less durable materials that would be a weak link in the mattress and would make a very risky choice in terms of the durability and useful life of the mattress.

With a pocket coil mattress I would also make sure that any gaps in the foundation are smaller than the diameter of the coils in your mattress so that all the coils in the mattress have some solid support underneath them.

Phoenix

3

Thanks for responding Phoenix. I too noticed there’s no photographs of the Sleep Master underneath the cloth. In that case, I think the safer choice would be to choose the Simple Life, if I were to decide between the two.

I hadn’t thought of that. That has me concerned, because if you look at the last product photo showing the bare steel, there are clear square/rectangular gaps in the coverage. I don’t think there’s any doubt that there will be coils exposed. A search through the Q&A and reviews for “coil” or “coils” didn’t pull up any meaningful comments that touches upon this area.

The mattress wouldn’t be sitting directly atop box foundation metal. It does have a cloth wrapping. Do you think that’ll help with the support? To at least provide some sort of flattened barrier?

There was one Q&A of someone asking about the space between the slots here:
ADMIN NOTE: Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: amazon.com/forum/-/Tx1DJBEEBFXYUVE/ref=ask_ql_ql_al_hza?asin=B00DGAZRCM

One response stated:

Here’s my thinking. I could switch to a wood foundation with slats that are, at best, 3 inches apart. But I assumed steel foundation is more durable than wood.

Finally, I’d be satisfied to have a bed that’ll at least give me 2-3 years of use. If a steel foundation with its gaps (assuming the mattress is of good quality) can accomplish that, then that would be ok. But if you’re saying a foundation with gaps larger than the coils can begin to unravel the comfort of the mattress way beyond that, then I do need to consider other options.

Thanks again.

4

Hi jumper,

Since you are in a very low budget range and are only looking for 2 or 3 years useful life of the mattress it’s probably not something I would be too concerned about and I would just use a foundation that is recommended by the manufacturer.

There are also some suggestions in post #10 here about “wire grid” foundations that may help to provide more even support under your mattress as well.

Phoenix