Good mattress for around $600 or $700

My husband and I both are having back pain from our mattress and are looking for a new one. Our problem is our budget is limited. He is 6’ 3" 240 and I am 5’ 5" 200. We are both side sleepers. After reading you website I see latex would be the way to go but don’t think we can get one in our price range. Any suggestions which company or mattress might be the best for us to look at?

Hello Mags … and welcome :slight_smile:

While $600 is a little low for an all latex mattress … it is still possible to purchase a mattress with a latex comfort layer and either an innerspring or more commonly a polyfoam support core at or near this price. While polyfoam is not usually a great choice for comfort layers (unless it is HR polyfoam which is almost never used by most manufacturers), is is not as bad as a support layer under a good quality comfort layer as long as it is HD quality (usually 1.8 lbs per cu. ft. or better) and made by a reputable foam manufacturer. This is often a good choice for a budget mattress.

I believe that the construction and materials of a mattress is much more important than brand name and that the smaller local and regional manufacturers across the country usually offer much better quality and value than the national brands (particularly those that start with “S”) that are sold in the mass market or chain stores and are supported by heavy … and often misleading … advertising and fake “sales”.

From your description and sleeping position … it would be likely that you would need in the range of 3-4" of a softer high quality comfort layer for pressure relief and a firm or extra firm support layer under that for alignment/support. This would be a good starting point for mattress testing.

If you let me know what city you are in I’d be happy to check and see if there are any local manufacturers near you as they almost always represent the best value in all price ranges.

Phoenix

This is great info. Thanks for the welcome. I love this website.

We live near Rockford Il. So I saw beloit mattress company and I think the Milton WI are both within reasonable driving distance. I don’t think I saw any latex in the comfort layer in mattress in our price range. What would be the next best mattress to look at if that is indeed the case?

thank you.

Hi Mags,

There are 2 independent manufacturers within 100 miles of you and both of them happen to be members of the site :).

These are http://www.beloitmattress.com/ , (as you mentioned) and www.mygreenmattress.com which is connected to http://www.qualitysleepshop.com/ (which has a wider variety of mattresses available).

I have had extensive conversations with both of these and they are both “mattress people” which means that they will give you good and accurate information rather than just “sales talk”.

If I was in your shoes … I would talk with each of them on the phone and let them know your budget, your sleeping patterns and general body makeup, and the size of mattress you are looking for and then let them tell you which of their models may work best for you. They are all very helpful in terms of giving information about their choices and mattresses.

In general terms … latex is IMO the “best” of the foams but for lower budgets a higher quality polyfoam or memory foam in the comfort layer will also serve you well even though it won’t last as long. different types of foam have different expected lifetimes and “performance qualities” and this is part of the “budget tradeoff”. They will each be able to tell you what the realistic lifetime of the foam they use in their mattresses are and why they use the foams they do. I personally would tend towards higher quality polyfoam as a second choice unless you know for sure that you like memory foam and are used to sleeping on it since it is IMO is a bit “tricky” to get right and is often not great for back issues. Either a good innerspring or firm polyfoam support core would be the best choice in your budget range.

This way … you will know if each of them carry one or more mattresses that are a “good possibilities” for testing that are within your budget and then it is a simple matter to test your “narrowed down” possibilities over the course of a day or two to compare them in terms of pressure relief, spinal alignment, and overall value. I know that any of these will represent better value than what you may otherwise have available from most local mattress stores that sell the more heavily advertised national brands. While you may not end up with latex in your mattress … at least you know you will be getting the best quality “non latex foams” in your price range. If you are prone to back pains as well … I believe that field testing to make sure your mattress is suitable for both of you is important as what is great for one may not be as good for the other. Side to side “split construction” is a good option here if no construction that works for both of you is possible and I would ask them about this as well.

The only other option I would consider in your budget range would be a purchase from either WalMart, Costco, or Sams Club as they often carry mattresses that use a polyfoam core and a latex comfort layer. The down side to this is that you would lose the opportunity to field test your mattress first to make sure it is suitable for both of you, they do not say the source of the latex or polyfoam they use, they are compressed in shipping and the polyfoam (not the latex) sometimes doesn’t “come back” to its correct height, and they would not have anywhere near the expertise in terms of advice of a local manufacturer. The upside is that they are low cost and have generous and free return policies if you “get it wrong” or if “something goes wrong”. An example would be EcoSleep 10'' Align Talalay Latex Mattress - Walmart.com

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions … don’t hesitate to post them

Phoenix

Phoenix-

I looked online and the two you suggested that were closet to us. We went to Beloit Mattress, a member, :slight_smile: and we bought a mattress. We spent a little more than our original budget and were able to get a latex comfort layer. We slept on it last night, and I am a believer. I admit I totally was a bit skeptical on the whole mattress makes a difference in sleeping thing. I thought we had back pain because we were old. Not true, we woke up this morning with no back pain and well rested. I am thankful I found this sight. I will tell anyone I know who is looking for a mattress.Thanks for your help.

Hi Mags,

Congratulations on your new mattress!

A mattress is one of the most important pieces of furniture we own since we spend to much time on it and how we sleep can make such a difference in our “waking” life as well.

I know it is difficult sometimes to “stretch” a budget but IMO it is well worth it when you can (in the case of a mattress) since you will be using it for years. Regardless of budget though … it is always worth knowing what is in your mattress and knowing that what you are buying actually “works” for your unique needs and actually has the “value” that you would expect for a purchase of this amount.

Thank you for your comments. I appreciate them.

Phoenix