Help with a mattress

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

I’m finding this mattress buying very hard and I have tried to post a topic twice but it hasn’t appeared on the forum :frowning: . Which is a shame because I have spend a lot of time writing a detailed post.

Anyway myself and my partner re looking to buy a mattress but finding it hard due to not being able to find much information about them in the stores and online.

We have slightly different needs when it comes to a mattress although, she is less fussy then myself. I suffer from shoulder pain (could this be because I sleep with my arm under my head, on my side, with my head resting on my shoulder?). I also suffer with a mid and lower back pain, so buying the right mattress is very important to me.

A few things that I am finding are as follows:

  1. knowing the true spec of a mattress
  2. what I should be looking to pay for said mattress
  3. Also finding the mattresses we have seen on the manufacturers website!
  4. should I just look for latex comfort or should I explore the gel options?

Anyway I have been looking and tested the following:

Sleepeezee comfortm gel 3000 - cant find this on their website
Posturepedic ultimate latex - can’t find this on their website
Mammoth super soft medical grade foam(sounds like a trademark sales tactic) - never heard of them before
Posturepedic hybrid pocket ultima 2800 - seems a nice bed but not sure what geltex is?
Tempur Cloud platinum - very comfortable but very expensive and wasn’t that much better than the Posturepedic

2

I do have pictures of the mattress labels but i’m having trouble posting them.

:frowning:

3

Hi ademuzzy,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

The best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to 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 PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) 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, durability, and value.

[quote]Anyway I have been looking and tested the following:

Sleepeezee comfortm gel 3000 - cant find this on their website
Posturepedic ultimate latex - can’t find this on their website
Mammoth super soft medical grade foam(sounds like a trademark sales tactic) - never heard of them before
Posturepedic hybrid pocket ultima 2800 - seems a nice bed but not sure what geltex is?
Tempur Cloud platinum - very comfortable but very expensive and wasn’t that much better than the Posturepedic [/quote]

Outside of PPP (which is all about how well you will sleep on a mattress) … the most important part of the value of a mattress is it’s durability and a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality and durability of the materials inside it (which is all about how long you will sleep well) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label.

I would avoid all the major brands (such as Simmons, Sealy, or Serta) or any other mattress that uses lower quality or “unknown” materials in the comfort layers especially which could be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability (see the guidelines here). No matter how it may feel in a showroom … if you purchase a mattress that uses lower quality and less durable materials that would be a weak link in the mattress then they can soften or break down and you may need to replace the mattress much too quickly relative to the price you paid because the premature loss of the comfort and support which was the reason you purchased the mattress isn’t covered by mattress warranties (see post #174 here).

If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.

The mattress labels only specify the type of materials in a mattress but don’t provide any meaningful information about the design or the quality of the materials in the mattress so they aren’t particularly helpful when it comes to choosing a mattress.

You may need to reduce the size of your images to post them on the forum (see the help section here).

I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding … and of course any comments or questions you may have along the way.

Phoenix

4

Thank you for replying so fast Phoenix. I am from the UK so I’m guessing you won’t know of any places to look over here? Although you are pretty much the guru when it comes to knowing about mattresses so perhaps I am under estimating you? :slight_smile:

Edit: Also you mentioned that I should avoid all big brands, do you have any suggestions on who I should look for? Also how can I find out the construction of the mattress?

5

Hi ademuzzy,

Unfortunately … I don’t have any particular knowledge about the UK market so I won’t be able to help in terms of specific retailers or manufacturers I’m aware of there but the brand name of a mattress isn’t particularly important anyway because outside of how suitable a mattress is for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences), a mattress is only as good as it’s construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it (see this article and the quality/durability guidelines it links to) regardless of the name of the manufacturer and the mattress materials that are used in the UK would generally be the same as the materials in North America (see post #5 here about “brand shopping”).

The only caveat is that in North America the foam density guidelines for polyfoam and memory foam that I would normally suggest are expressed in lbs/sq ft while in Europe they are often expressed in kg/sq meter so you can use the online density converter here to “translate” them.

I would tend to look for smaller local and regional manufacturers/retailers or online manufacturers/retailers that are completely transparent about the type and quality of all the materials that they use in their mattresses so you can make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses and identify any lower quality materials that could be a weak link in any mattress you are considering.

Forum searches on .uk and on UK market (you can just click the links) will also bring up some posts, comments, and replies to other members from the UK that have posted here (with a few “extra” that may include the search terms that aren’t from the UK) that may be helpful as well.

Phoenix

6

This was very very helpful, we are going to buy from John Ryan although not sure which one to go for out of the following:

https://www.johnryancontemporary.co.uk/shop/hybrid-4-memtech-laygel-soft-medium/

https://www.johnryancontemporary.co.uk/shop/hybrid-7-pocket-coolblue/

https://www.johnryancontemporary.co.uk/shop/fusion-3-100-natural-latex-medium/

The first one seems good although I have heard so much good about latex that I am worried I will sleep on this bed and think what if I had just bought the Latex.

The second one has pocket springs and I’m concerned it won’t last as long.

The third one seems excellent but very expensive.

Very hard decision to make.

I had a chat with the adviser on the phone and he said that any of these would be suitable for our needs.

7

Hi ademuzzy,

While I can’t speak to whether any of these mattresses would be a good match for you in terms of comfort or PPP (you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress) … I would be cautious with the first mattress that you linked because it contains 2.4" of 40 kg/m3 memory foam which converts to 2.5 lb/ft3 which is a lower quality/density material than I would be comfortable with and would likely be a weak link in this mattress.

I don’t see any lower quality materials or weak links in the other two.

The weakest link in a mattress in terms of durability and the useful life of a mattress is generally the foam materials above the innersprings … and not the springs themselves. I would make sure you compare any mattress you are considering to the quality/durability guidelines in post #4 here.

The third mattress is all latex which is the most durable of all the foam materials (memory foam, polyfoam, latex foam) but is also the most costly. It would certainly be the most durable of the three options you linked. Like all the different types of foam latex also has a unique feel and response which some people love and some don’t so I would try to test some latex mattresses locally so that you have a better sense of how you like the “feel” of latex at least in general terms (even if none of the latex mattresses you test are the same in terms of firmness, feel, or design as the one you are considering).

There is more about the pros and cons of latex in this article, there is more about latex vs memory foam in post #2 here, and there is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here but the best way to know which type of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer is based on your own testing or personal experience.

Phoenix

8

Thanks for your help here. I realise you can’t comment on items you are not familiar with, I was just wondering if you’d heard anything about these brands in general? I used to think of these as high priced mattresses, but now having encountered the like of Tempur, VISpring etc, I think these are more mass market budget mattresses. I’ll have a read through those articals again, but I think there’s no better way to assess a mattress than to sleep on it over a prolonged period, which why I’m now going over to the Sleeping Duck thread:

https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/uk-sleeping-duck-mattresses

I said above that I’d like to try a pocket spring / foam combination, and here it is, with a huge amount of marketing hype of course and another 100 day guarantee. I really hope I don’t have to send it back this time, this has gone on too long!

9

Hi paddyb,

I’m not sure which specific brands you are referring to but I would also be very cautious about brand shopping in general because you are buying a specific mattress not the brand and most manufacturers have access to the same or similar components and materials. Many manufacturers make a wide range of mattresses that can vary from lower quality and less durable materials to higher quality and more durable materials in a wide range of prices. The name of the manufacturer on the label or the price of the mattress won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for you in terms of PPP or whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design that would affect the durability and useful life of the mattress (which are the two most important parts of a mattress purchase). There is more about the risks of brand shopping in post #5 here and post #12 here.

In other words … outside of your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) or your own personal experience to make sure that a mattress is suitable for you … I would focus more on the quality and durability of the materials inside it than on the name of the manufacturer on the label.

I would be very cautious about buying any mattress that uses lower quality/density materials or where you aren’t able to find out the quality and durability of the materials inside it. There would be little value in buying a mattress that only maintained the comfort and support that was the reason you purchased it in the first place for only a few years (or in some cases much less) regardless of the price of the mattress. I would always keep in mind that how a mattress “feels” (which is the reason for the trial period) and the quality and durability of the materials (which you can’t “feel”) are completely separate issues.

I would also make sure you have read my reply here so that you have the best possible chance of making a successful purchase in terms of suitability, durability, and value.

Phoenix