G.S Stearns

I’ve been looking at mattresses for a while now, trying to make the move from a queen up to a king. After laying in a number of mattresses, I’ve come to the following conclusions:

I don’t like the feel of memory foam only mattresses - just doesnt do it for me.
MOST of the sleep number mattresses felt too weird with the air bladder - except their i10 which is prohibitively expensive
I like the feel of what I will call “composite” beds - inner springs with latex comfort layers
I have NOT been able to try out a 100% latex bed. However, I feel like I may feel the same about them as I do w/ the pure memory foam mattresses.

The most comfortable mattress I tried out was a G.S. Stearns branded “Cushion Firm Euro Pillowtop” with 2" Talalay latex, mongolian horse hair, Cashmere / Silk quilting, hand tufted, etc. Link is here: http://www.sleepys.com/stearns-and-foster-g.s.-stearns-cushion-firm-euro-pillow-top-mattress/SF9332.html

I’ve got my store talked to under $3k for the whole package, but I’m concerned about the “2” layer of pre-compressed HD foam" and the “Two layers of ‘HyperSoft’ Foam”. After reading through numerous posts on here, it seems like these are going to be a week link, and that this mattress has a high likelihood of breaking down after a very short period of time. NOT something I want after dropping $3k!

So my question is this:

I live in baltimore, I’ve looked through the link of the recommended baltimore / dc mattress places - and it doesn’t seem like theres much to go on there. I don’t see any local mattress makers in our area, and I REALLY don’t want to have to travel long distances just to be able to try out a mattress. I’m leery (VERY leery) about buying a mattress online sight unseen, and then having to deal with the hassle / expense of packing the whole thing back up / shipping if it doesnt work out.

So … is there anything I’m missing? What paths forward are there for me to find a longer lasting / more reliable mattress? Is the G.S Stearns model linked REALLY as bad as some people indicate for the “S” brands?

Thanks for the help!

Hi blilly,

It’s very unlikely that you will find any “all memory foam” mattresses because memory foam is a comfort material and isn’t firm enough to use as a support layer for a mattress. Memory foam mattresses will all have some type of firmer support material under the memory foam comfort or transition layers (usually polyfoam but sometimes an innerspring as well).

Latex and memory foam are very different materials so it’s possible that you may like the “feel” of latex although of course each person can have very different preferences than someone else. There is more about how memory foam and latex compare and the pros and cons of each of them in post #2 here but the best way to know how you feel about latex (or any material or type of mattress) is to test some latex mattresses that use different types and firmness levels of latex.

There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses but I would tend to avoid any major brand mattress or any mattress that has more than “about an inch or so” of either lower quality materials or “unknown” materials which would likely be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability (see the guidelines here). Buying any mattress where you can’t find out and confirm the quality and durability of the layers inside it (see this article) would be a very high risk purchase and is one of the most common reasons for foam softening and breakdown and the premature loss of comfort and support and the buyers remorse that goes with it much too quickly after a purchase.

The only way to know the quality and durability of a mattress is to make sure you know the type and quality/density of the materials inside it and it’s always much safer (and usually more accurate) to assume that any unknown materials are lower quality materials that would be a weak link in the mattress.

The best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Baltimore area (subject to the value guidelines I linked) are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

I ended up making a trip down to healthyback and was able to test out their lineup of latex mattresses. They really weren’t what I had expected! Ended up getting their “Pure Latex Bliss - Elegance” model. Managed to talk him them down to the same price for the whole kit (mattress, frame, support, cover, pillows, delivery / installation) to the same as I was looking to spend on the G.S. stearns linked above.

The big seller though was their return / exchange policy and warranty. 90days for returns, then ANOTHER 90 days for exchanges. Oh, and shipping on the exchange? Nada. Hundred bucks to cover shipping though IF I need to do a full return. Compare this at Sleepy’s “21 day exchange / no return” policy. Literally had nothing to lose by going this route!

Warranty is 20 years full replacement, and because it’s their “house branded” version, they are the ones to execute the warranty, not PLB. BIG plus to me.

My only concern right now is that we went with the 12" / softer mattress. I’m a big guy (6’ 250lbs) and my girlfriend is much smaller than I am (by about 100lbs), and likes the softer stuff more than I do. They had this mattress two different ways: one on top of a latex support, and one on top of a “traditional” support (split on one bed). When it was on the latex support it was WAY too soft for me, but on the traditional side, it felt perfect, so we went that way (plus, I like the taller bed).

I guess worst case scenario, if it seems too soft once it gets delivered, I can exchange it for the 10" model.

One question I do have though:
I see that with many of the online manufacturers, it’s possible to reconfigure the layers if need be. Is that completely ruled out with this mattress? I’m guessing that the layers are glued (think I read that somewhere) which probably means it would be a PITA, but I figured I’d ask.

Thanks for encouraging me to go check these guys out; I think I’m going to be much happier with this solution!

-Brad

Hi blilly,

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

The Elegance is equivalent to the PLB Beautiful so I would tend to be somewhat cautious with its softness at your weight both in terms of suitability and PPP and in terms of durability but you have a 90 day return policy and a 180 day exchange policy so this should give you plenty of time to see how well it works for you or whether you have any discomfort or back pain when you sleep on it. The 15 ILD top layer may soften or impress somewhat over time (and there have been some forum members that have had impression issues with the Beautiful) but in most cases this wouldn’t go beyond about 1/2" or so and if it does go past a 3/4" body impression then it would be considered to be a defect and they would replace the mattress.

The only issue with the exchange policy would be that the exchange would need to be for a mattress of equal or greater value and the only one that would qualify would be the Pristine which is softer yet so I would make sure that you carefully assess the mattress before 90 days is up.

I’m looking forward to any comments or feedback you have the chance to share once you receive it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

As you mentioned the layers in the Elegance are glued so there is really no practical way to rearrange the layers because this would involve some very careful and tedious cutting and would almost certainly tear the latex in many places.

Phoenix