I'm at a loss....reaching out to the experts for some advice/guidance

Talk To The Experts
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First off, thank you TMU for the wonderful and comprehensive site that this is! As well documented, this industry can be so full of disinformation sometimes, that having a resource like this is certainly a blessing. THANK YOU and keep up the good work!

As for my issue…I’m at a bit of a loss with all the information that’s out there and looking to TMU for some guidance and advice.

Some background…

I’m an M, ~5’10" and 210lbs. I would say I prefer a medium firm bed, but I’m not sure if it’s only because I’ve gotten used to the bed I’ve been sleeping in for the past 5+ years now. I do enjoy the “plush” feel of some hotel beds when we go travelling, but it could be due to the fact I know that it’s only for a few nights. I’m mostly a back sleeper, but often times will go on my side before I eventually doze off.

My wife is ~5’4" and 110lbs and prefers a firmer bed. She is mostly a side sleeper, but can be all over the place. She finds our current bed a little too plush, and would prefer something firmer.

We’re now shopping around for our next mattress. While we’ve only tried about 20 mattresses through a couple of shops so far in Vancouver, BC, the one that wifey likes so far is the S&F Ashton, a firm mattress. I find it a bit too firm, and am hoping I can persuade her on the S&F Crystal, a luxury firm one if we go with this retailer/brand. Perhaps an important note here is we didn’t try any latex/memory foam ones. I don’t believe I will enjoy them as much as a coiled mattress myself, but I’m not sure about my wife.

However, here’s my dilemma after reading the interweb, including TMU:

  1. the retailers don’t disclose what’s in the mattress (neither online nor at the store), so I can’t “compare” and truly know what’s in the mattress
  2. TMU strongly encourages us to “avoid the S brands”
  3. Google searches have turned up some very negative reviews on S&F as an overall brand recently (I get that negative reviews are usually more “vocal” than positive ones, but I can’t help but take that into my consideration)
  4. there are certainly S&F fans out there as well, but they’re sleeping on the same S&F beds that they bought 10+ years ago so I’m unsure as to whether the quality has gone down since or…
  5. I’m unsure, but doubtful we would go down the latex/DIY route
  6. as we will be purchasing a king-sized mattress, my preference is that we purchase the one that will fit our needs and that we will most likely be happiest with vs. needing to return or exchange later on…or worse, just suffer with the purchase for x number of years

We will be visiting a smaller local retailer, where we bought some other furniture from recently, and the Sales Manager suggested that we try out a couple of Restonic mattresses, particularly their Drew and Jonathan’s series Lavender and Bellflower mattresses as well as their Spring Air Aria and I believe it was the Lilliana ones as well. In reviewing the retailer’s website though, there’s no information on what’s in the mattresses either, nor is there anything on the manufacturer’s website as far as I can tell. However, with TMU’s help, I know the questions I need to ask them when we try out the beds. The one thing to note is this local retailer does not have a “comfort policy”, so there’s absolutely no return/exchange if/once we make the purchase.

In the meantime, I wanted to “talk to the experts” at TMU to get your thoughts on the following:

  1. are S&F (I understand they’re owned by Sealy now) and Spring Air, both “S” Brands that TMU is encouraging to avoid?
  2. any thoughts on the Restonic brand/mattresses?
  3. should we be considering latex/memory foam?
  4. is there somewhere on the internet can I find the specs for the mattresses, if the retailer is not willing to share when asked? (red flag, I know)
  5. any other things you feel we should take into consideration when shopping and before pulling the trigger?
  1. knowing where we are coming from, are there any other brands TMU would suggest we consider looking into? our midpoint budget is $2000CAD.

Thanks in advance!

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Hi WhiskyJ.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile:

Analysis paralysis! You aren’t the first (and won’t be the last, haha). Hopefully you’ve found the information here useful and have found a few answers to some questions you may have had!

It certainly doesn’t hurt to try them out, but if you’ve found a different type of mattress to be both comfortable and supportive, it’s okay not to. Ultimately, you have to listen to your own body and preferences!

Sometimes this is to “protect” proprietary formulas. Generally speaking, the higher end models of some of these bigger brands will fall within what we’d consider acceptable for longevity/durability.

Like what? Are people complaining of sagging materials? Something else?

I will say, the advantage to latex is that you can often get a split king which allows for customization on either side. It would be amazing if they could do this in the mattress you have tested, but it’s probably not likely.

Well, I hate that. There is inevitably always a break in period on a new mattress, so I would hesitate to buy anything you’re not absolutely in love with from that place.

Stearns and Foster? Not in particular. Mostly, we want to educate consumers here to be aware of certain sales tactics and to know that mass production usually means a sacrifice in quality and durability. That said, some of these brands have some beds that are perfectly durable and, of course, budget and preference will always factor into a consumer’s decision!

Sometimes you can find them here by doing a forum keyword search. It’s really hard to get that information when they don’t want to share it!

Just what you’ve likely already read in our Mattress Shopping Guidelines.

I’m hoping a few others will chime in here as well. If you’re interested in going down the memory foam path, I’d recommend checking out Memory Foam Comfort - they’re also in Canada!

NikkiTMU

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