When my wife and I first got the Serta iComfort Genius King in 2012 for $1699, we loved it. It was a huge upgrade over the noisy, creaky Queen spring mattress we had. For the first time in years, we looked forward to sleeping and had consistent, restful nights of sleep.
However, within about 3 months, that changed. The mattress started sagging on both sides of the bed, leading us to sink uncomfortably deep into the bed. Back aches and pains ensued.
We had the mattress replaced by the retailer ($169 fee) we purchased it from with a Serta iComfort Recognition, and the problem returned within a month.
We are currently using an equally terrible memory foam topper, which we both sink into.
We are both overweight (200-250lb), so it is possible that is a factor, but it seems like the bed should not be breaking down so fast, despite that.
I am looking at Leesa, Brooklyn Beds, Tuft and Needle, Casper, etc. as a lower cost fix to this problem. However, since they are a combination of memory foam and Latex, I don’t want to be out another $1,000 and not solve this.
Welcome to the site … and I’m glad you found us :).
I’ll start with the basics …
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress. There are just too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but the best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
[quote]When my wife and I first got the Serta iComfort Genius King in 2012 for $1699, we loved it. It was a huge upgrade over the noisy, creaky Queen spring mattress we had. For the first time in years, we looked forward to sleeping and had consistent, restful nights of sleep.
However, within about 3 months, that changed. The mattress started sagging on both sides of the bed, leading us to sink uncomfortably deep into the bed. Back aches and pains ensued.
We had the mattress replaced by the retailer ($169 fee) we purchased it from with a Serta iComfort Recognition, and the problem returned within a month.[/quote]
While again nobody can speak to how any specific mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress … outside of PPP which is the most important part of “value”, the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new) so I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (and the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
Having said that … even low quality materials wouldn’t normally soften or break down that quickly so it’s more likely that the mattresses you chose were “on the edge” of being too soft for you in the first place so that even the normal foam softening that happens with any new mattress over the course of the first few weeks (see post #3 here) was enough to take you outside of the comfort/support range that is suitable for you (see post #2 here).
I’m not sure of the density of the topper you purchased or why you added a topper to your mattress but it’s also very likely that it was also a lower quality/density and less durable memory foam than I would normally suggest in the durability guidelines I linked earlier. A topper will also make a mattress softer not firmer and a topper won’t “fix” a mattress that is already too soft so it’s possible that if your mattress was already too soft that a topper could make your sleeping experience worse. Even if a mattress is too firm and needs an additional topper to soften it up and provide some additional pressure relief then it’s also possible that the topper you chose was too thick and added too much additional softness to your mattress so that you were sleeping out of alignment.
There is also more information in post #3 here and the posts it links to that would be helpful for those that are in higher weight ranges
While the process of how to choose a mattress would involve the same steps that are listed in the mattress shopping tutorial … most people in higher weight ranges will generally need or prefer firmer mattresses (firmer materials will feel softer because you will sink into them more) and materials and components that are higher quality and more durable than those that are in lower weight ranges (the materials and components in a mattress will soften and break down faster for those in higher weight ranges than they will for someone that is in a lower weight range that doesn’t compress the mattress as much). I would be particularly cautious about mattresses that use more than “about an inch or so” of memory foam that is less than about 5 lb density or polyfoam that is less than about 2 lb density … particularly in the upper layers of the mattress.
There is more about what I call “simplified choice” mattresses in general in post #1 here and there is more specific information about the type and quality/durability of the materials in the Leesa, Brooklyn Beds BestMattressEver, Tuft and Needle, Casper and many of the other simplified choice mattresses post #2 here in the same topic.
[quote]Criteria
Firm mattress
Pillow top
Little sinking into/form fitting
Will hold up to extra weight
Online retailer with a good return policy
Any recommendations?[/quote]
In its simplest form choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.