I have been reading over all of the great info on this site, but to be honest, I am a little overwhelmed with choosing a new mattress, and hope you can help me with my decision.
My husband (5’11" & 178 lbs-back and side sleeper) and myself (5’6" & 118 lbs-side sleeper) are in need of a new mattress. We currently have a 7 year old memory foam mattress from Sleep Innovations. It was a little too firm for me (shoulder and hip pain) when we first got it, but was remedied by putting a memory foam topper on top. Recently I have been turning over more than usual, feeling like we are rolling into each other in the night, and waking with a stiff neck and sore body. We thought it was the topper, so we replaced it, but it has not helped. At this point we have decided that the foam in the mattress has probably broken down, and we will need to replace it.
We are looking at purchasing online from Amazon from a company by the name of Dreamfoam bedding because of their great prices and good reviews. The ones we are considering are the Ultimate Dreams Copper Gel Memory Foam Mattress: “Three inches of Copper Gel Memory Foam over a 10” double convoluted high density core to increase air flow and comfort" or the Ultimate Dreams Queen Size Supreme Gel Memory Foam Mattress: 12": “Three Layer construction: 1.5” of 4lb gel memory foam, 2.5" of 4lb memory foam, 8" base of premium base foam". Lastly, the Dreamfoam Bedding Arctic Dreams 10-Inch Cooling Gel Mattress: .75 inch super soft quilting layer over, 3 inches of fast response Energex gel foam, over 6.25 inches of convoluted high density polyurethane foam
I am wondering though if the 12" gel mattress might be too soft for my husband? Any insight you could give would be extremely helpful. Also, if you have any other low to mid range options you recommend I look into, please let me know. Thanks for your thoughts.
Hi blueorchidz,
[quote]I have been reading over all of the great info on this site, but to be honest, I am a little overwhelmed with choosing a new mattress, and hope you can help me with my decision.
My husband (5’11" & 178 lbs-back and side sleeper) and myself (5’6" & 118 lbs-side sleeper) are in need of a new mattress. We currently have a 7 year old memory foam mattress from Sleep Innovations. It was a little too firm for me (shoulder and hip pain) when we first got it, but was remedied by putting a memory foam topper on top. Recently I have been turning over more than usual, feeling like we are rolling into each other in the night, and waking with a stiff neck and sore body. We thought it was the topper, so we replaced it, but it has not helped. At this point we have decided that the foam in the mattress has probably broken down, and we will need to replace it.[/quote]
Sleep Innovations tends to use some lower quality/density materials in their mattresses so you were probably fortunate to get 7 years of use from your mattress (even with a topper which can extend the useful life of a mattress) and I would agree that the foam in the mattress has probably softened and broken down which means that it’s time for a new mattress.
Dreamfoam is one of the members of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first 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 (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own 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 (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.
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
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.
Ultimate Dreams Copper Gel Memory Foam Mattress: “Three inches of Copper Gel Memory Foam over a 10” double convoluted high density core to increase air flow and comfort"
I don’t know the density of the foam layers in this mattress so I can’t make any meaningful comments about it but if you can find out the information in this article and post it on the forum I’d be happy to let you know if there are any lower quality/density materials that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress relative to your weight range.
Ultimate Dreams Queen Size Supreme Gel Memory Foam Mattress: 12": “Three Layer construction: 1.5” of 4lb gel memory foam, 2.5" of 4lb memory foam, 8" base of premium base foam".
There are no lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability and useful life of this mattress relative to your weight ranges so it would certainly be well worth considering. Based on Dreamfoam’s comments and customer feedback it would be in a similar firmness range to the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme so it may be worth testing the Cloud Supreme locally to see if it’s a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP. A forum search on Ultimate Dreams Supreme 12" Gel Memory Foam (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback about it as well that may be helpful.
Dreamfoam Bedding Arctic Dreams 10-Inch Cooling Gel Mattress: .75 inch super soft quilting layer over, 3 inches of fast response Energex gel foam, over 6.25 inches of convoluted high density polyurethane foam.
While it’s not a memory foam mattress … there are also no lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability and useful life of this mattress relative to your weight ranges so it would also be well worth considering. This topic along with a forum search on Arctic Dreams (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback about it as well.
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 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).
Again … a phone call with Dreamfoam will be the best source of guidance about which of their mattresses may be a suitable choice in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP.
If you are considering online options then the mattress shopping tutorial includes several links to lists of many of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include many different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of designs, budgets, firmness levels, and with different return/exchange policies that may be worth considering (including a link to a list of memory foam mattress options and a list of lower budget mattress options).
If you are also interested in considering local options that you can test in person then if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.
Phoenix
Phoenix,
Thank you for all of your help. I did a quick chat with Chuck at Dreamfoam yesterday. He recommended the Copper Gel Memory Foam Mattress. He said the Arctic Dreams mattress uses a type of memory foam that has more of a spring to it, and would feel a little more like a traditional spring mattress. Unfortunately, when I went to order it from Amazon, they had just sold out of the queen size. So I guess I am back to the drawing board.
I am now looking at the Supreme Gel Memory Foam 12" Mattress and the Aria Gel Memory Foam Mattress. They appear to be similar, based off of the info on their website, with the Aria being slightly more firm. This is where it gets a little tricky though. My husband likes a slightly firmer feel so he isn’t sinking into the bed too much, and I need a softer mattress or else I will get pain in my shoulders and hips. I am leaning towards the Supreme Gel Mattress because of this. I think I will talk with Chuck again to see if he can help me decide.
If anyone has either of these mattress and can give me their opinion on firmness, I would appreciate it.
Thanks again Phoenix and I will let you know what I decide.
Hi blueorchidz,
The Arctic Dreams uses a high performance polyfoam which isn’t actually memory foam and as he mentioned is more resilient or “springy” than memory foam (see post #2 here).
I would also make sure that you find out the density of the foam layers in the Copper Gel memory foam mattress (or any mattress) before you purchase it.
I would be cautious with other people’s opinions about firmness because different people can have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
Phoenix