Hi Mattress Underground,
I’ve spent several days reading many of the articles and posts here. My question is in regard to the first step of mattress shopping - trying out all types of mattresses. Many of the stores in our area sell the brands to be avoided. Does that matter so much at this stage of research? Should we just experiment wherever we find a retail store that sells mattresses? I’m not sure where to find a place that sells a variety of quality builds nearby as many of the searches I’ve done turn up the big retailers with the same high-profit products for sale. We looked at a few of these a while ago - two different chain stores - across the street from each other - were actually owned by the same company! I’d say we know we don’t like memory foam in general, but would like to try out a latex mattress, (I’ve never slept on one that I know of), and an innerspring build, which is what we are used to. Air beds are out, --been there done that. We just moved to this area - we are between Washington DC and Richmond, VA. Any suggestions where we might start looking? Thanks.
Hi Bradley22942,
Spending time testing most major brand mattresses or any mattress where you can’t find out the specifics of the materials and components inside it and where another manufacturer doesn’t make a better quality/value mattress that they specifically describe as being similar to a mattress you tested is mostly wasted because it would be too risky to purchase and in most cases they can’t be used as a reference point to purchase another mattress that is “similar”. At best it may give you some sense of the general firmness level you tend to prefer and if they carry a range of different types of mattresses (see this article) it may give you some sense of the type of mattresses you tend to prefer as well but in general I would tend to focus on more knowledgeable and transparent retailers and manufacturers that can provide you with more specific information about their mattresses … even for testing mattresses.
An exception may be Tempurpedic memory foam mattresses because the specs are generally known and there are a number of online memory foam retailers or manufacturers that make mattresses that they describe as being comparable to many of the Tempurpedic models but memory foam mattresses are just one of many different types or categories of mattress and you seem to be in the group of people that don’t like or prefer them anyway.
I’m not sure which city you live in but Fredericksburg, VA is in between Washington, DC and Richmond, VA so subject to first confirming that any retailer or manufacturer on the list that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets your criteria and the quality/value guidelines here … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Fredericksburg area are listed in post #2 here. Mt Vernon Sleep carries a number of latex mattresses.
Other nearby forum lists that may also include some options that are in reasonable driving distance would be the Washington, DC list here and the Richmond, VA list here and the Charlottesville/Lynchburg/Waynesboro, VA list here.
Phoenix
Phoenix,
Thank you for the response. All those cities are in reasonable driving distance from us. We are in Gordonsville. We actually went to some retailers in Fredericksburg. In general we found we didn’t like the feel of memory foam mattresses - we both felt ‘too stuck’ on them. We liked the feel of the innerspring mattresses we tried, and surprisingly a mattress that used coils in the comfort layer. We preferred ‘springiness’ in the mattress. One of the mattresses we tried was a Therapedic. We liked it and I just noticed it is on your list of top 15 manufacturers with ‘good possibility.’ The store had some other good choices too. (Virginia Mattress Direct) Most of the beds at Sears were brands generally to be avoided, but we were just getting a feel, to start with. Neither place had latex products so we still have to try that.
We’ll check out your lists (many thanks) and proceed from here.
Hi Bradley22942,
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding … and of course to any comments or questions you may have along the way that I can help with 
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
I’d like to give an update to this post.
My wife and I started in Fredericksburg. Virginia Mattress Direct had some very affordable models in a lower price range, including Therapedic ‘Emperor.’ This was what I would term, a basic old fashioned spring mattress. It was pretty firm, but we liked the general feel of it.
I apologize here for not knowing the individual components of all the mattresses I mention here. We were just ‘trying things out’ at this point in our quest. We asked when we were at the stores, but I didn’t keep a careful account of all the construction components, other than, they were generally good quality.
There was also a bed here, that used pocket coils in its construction, and ‘in general’ we thought this had a comfortable feeling but the company was not as transparent about materials.
We visited the Original Mattress Factory, and liked their ‘intermediate’ line mattress the best, in terms of comfort. I think it was called Regency. It was a spring mattress and the clerk called to check on the density of the poly foam used. She thought it was 1.3 or 1.8. If we get more serious with this model we would make sure it was the latter. It was still a bit less comfortable to what we tried later on.
Next we visited Bedcrafters by Michelle near Richmond. Twice. The first time we tried their Winndom models. They carried Savvy Rest, and since neither of us were familiar with pure latex mattresses we experimented a long while with the layers and configurations of this product. We weren’t comfortable with the feel of the latex mattresses, and that particular brand was way out of our price range. The clerk suggested we return on a day when Michelle’s son was working, as he was v. knowledgable. We did this, and he was extremely informative. I can’t say enough good things about him. We re-sampled a couple of the Winndom mattresses at his suggestion, and decided on the model that suited us most. I don’t want to get into too much detail here, but they back up their products. The most comfortable Winndom product we sampled just out of curiosity, was a very high-end pocket coil design, with another layer of very tiny pocket coils in the comfort layer. I hope I am not mixing this up, but again this bed was over $3,ooo, and we wanted to spend half that.
Next we went to Charlottesville. One store we visited carried a British label ‘Hypnos.’ One of these beds was our first choice of all the beds we tried - but out of our price range. It was so comfortable we have been tempted to consider it. I can’t recall the exact model, but we discussed the materials in it, they were all good, and in fact the mattress we liked had fewer extras than others in the line.
Our last stop was a pleasant surprise. Atlantic Organic Natural Sleep Shop in C’ville. We sampled the Pure Latex Bliss 10" mattress, and found it very comfortable. I think it was the ‘medium’ firmness option. My wife and I were both surprised, because we hadn’t liked the Savvy Rest. As comfortable as it was, we were a bit skittish about trying out a pure latex product over a spring hybrid. And, though we got a good quote, with the platform for the bed, we would be spending more than we had planned. Still it was nice to learn that latex might be an option.
Through this sight I became interested in the AZ Mattress Co. latex hybrid. I spoke with Ken on the phone about this product. Its well within our price preference, and offers pocket coil construction with a 3" Talalay comfort layer, that is ‘switchable’. Our only concern, was that the mattress casing is zipped and not stitched. My wife in particular was concerned about any possible looseness this might cause on the sides, though Ken did not think it was an issue - because the outer coils are thicker. The customer service policies here are very good. Our only concern, even with the layer exchange policy and satisfaction policies, is that we cannot try the bed out. But in terms of material and cost it seems like it would be a good bet to try.
We haven’t decided on a continued course of action yet.
Hi Bradley22942,
Thanks for the update and you are certainly doing some great research and asking the right questions.
As you probably know Arizona Premium is one of the members of this site which means that I think highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency and their latex/pocket coil hybrid would certainly make a good quality/value choice that would be well worth considering.
Of course when you are buying a mattress online that you haven’t tested in person I would always make sure that you are comfortable with the options you have to exchange or return a mattress and any costs involved just in case your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for because the only way to know for certain whether any mattress will be a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP will be based on your own personal experience.
A tight fitting zip cover shouldn’t be an issue in terms of the looseness of the fabric although all covers will stretch a little and become a little looser over time. If for any reason it does become too loose over time then one of the advantages of a component mattress is that the cover can be removed and tightened or replaced without having to replace the entire mattress.
If by “loose” you mean the edge support of the mattress then the pocket coil they use has two rows of smaller diameter and firmer coils on the edge to provide good edge support so this shouldn’t be an issue either.
There are certainly many people who prefer latex/innerspring hybrids over other types of mattresses (see post #13 here and the posts it links to) but again the only way to know whether you are one of them would be based on your own personal experience. While it’s not a complete list … outside of any additional options that may be available to you locally some of the better innerspring/latex options I’m aware of (which includes Arizona Premium) are listed in post #2 here and the post it links to but if you wish to test any of them in person rather than ordering online you would need to check their websites or call them to see if any of them have a dealer close to you.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding once the time comes to pull the trigger.
Phoenix
Bradley22942
Thanks so much for sharing your story and details. I live in Richmond, VA so I feel you’ve done a lot of the same homework I would need to do around these parts. I too will soon be in the market for a innersprings (either hybrid or maybe one with microcoils as a comfort layer – the heat retention of foam still scares me a bit)
Please keep us posted on your final decision and how it turns out!
Well, its long overdue that I follow up on my initial posts. This will be from notes and memory-
To recap quickly - we liked a British owned company that made a mattress line called Hypnos, sold in Charlottesville at a store called Mattress Gallery. But this was way out of our current price range. And I want to say that the store Atlantic Organic also in C’ville, has excellent customer service - even though we liked the pure latex bliss (I think it was) it was also out of our range, but the owner still keeps us informed of special offers via email.
Richmond Bedding and Furniture carried some higher end Therapedics which we were going to try out. We called and were told the specs for the materials were on-line - but we could not find the detail we wanted there, and since the prices of these were getting close to the AZ Mattress Factory Hybrid that I liked we decided to pass. We considered taking a trip to see some St. Regis products from Charles P. Rogers company based out of NJ, but again the price range for the products that used better materials exceeded what we could get from AZ Mattress Co. --So I was sold, the quality / price ratio from AZ mattress Co. supposedly uses materials that would cost much more for a comparable product.
Still my wife was reluctant to try mail order, so we waited. After an unexpected trip to NC at the invitation of friends, (where the bed we stayed in was worse than what we have at home) my wife was ready to pull the trigger too.
I called back Greg at AZ Mattress and ordered the Hybrid, two weeks ago. Now, it will take some time to arrive, so we are excitedly (desperately?) waiting. It comes in two boxes and takes about 3 1/2 weeks. I was assured I could get the boxes up the stairs to our upstairs apt. This was also an important consideration for us in buying something, because we will not be living here forever, and we wanted something somewhat portable.
We ordered the Hybrid pocket coil, with one side Talalay latex in plush, and the other in medium. Now, this was an option I did not know they would give us in a Queen so I was pleased with that. My wife has back problems and might need the firmer topper. But the exchange policy is generous so we are going to give it a try. I have to say, I have high hopes, because I could not find comparable materials in other products anywhere near their price. ( and we took the Mattress Underground discount.)
So, I’ll follow up after it arrives, and we sleep on it for a couple weeks. I have to say thanks to Phoenix for this sight. Mattress Underground does a real service, and I would not have had a clue how to shop without it - so MANY THANKS. (In the future I may give you a past-history of our attempts to get a good mattress product). Anyway, thanks, --I have a web site of my own and I know the WORK involved in keeping it up, not to mention all the writing…
Hi Bradley22942,
Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and feedback about your research … and thanks for the kind comments as well … I appreciate both of them!
It sounds like you did some great comparative research and ended up making a great quality/value choice.
Most importantly … congratulations on your new mattress
I’m looking forward to an update once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Phoenix