I'm done! Looking for a mattress for heavy folks.

I have had it up to my big neck with trying to decide on a mattress. I have been Conned, scammed, confused, and robbed with mattresses I have bought in the past.
I have read all the great info on this sight, and weighed the options. Flippable, non flippable, spring, no spring, memory foam, latex…

Hi Melillo,

Only you can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to make specific recommendations or suggest a specific mattress or combination of layers based on specs (either yours or a mattress), health conditions, individual circumstances, or “theory at a distance” (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

Outside of the information, suggestions, and guidelines in the tutorial post … post #3 here and the posts it links to also have more information that will be helpful for those that are in higher weight ranges to make the most suitable and most durable possible choice.

The tutorial post includes several links to lists of the better online options I’m aware of and if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.

One of the most effective “shortcuts” that can help cut through much of the confusion when you are buying a mattress is to focus on finding and dealing with knowledgeable and experienced retailers and/or manufacturers that have your best interests at heart (and aren’t just interested in selling you anything that they can convince you to buy). These are the ones that already know what you would otherwise need to learn and understand the importance of choosing a mattress that is a good “match” for you and knowing what is inside any mattress that you are considering. They can provide you with the type of information and guidance that can help you make the best possible choice. Who you choose to deal with can be one of the most important parts of a successful mattress purchase.

Phoenix

Half my post did not post. This was my first post but I am not sure why. I stated that I was thinking about getting a low end inexpensive mattress that would last about 3 years since I have spent up to two thousand on high end and have had it last about 5 years. The current money drop is about 5 years old a Vera Whang pillow top that slants like a wedge from the middle to the floor. I researched the heck out of it and by all the hype was lead to believe that it was the best thing since sliced bread. I now sleep trying to keep from rolling off the bed to the floor. I figure that by spending about five or six hundred on a low end mattress at least I will get what I was expecting and replace it with a new one in three or four years. I was looking for some suggestions on the low end spectrum so I don’t have to spend all that money for a mattress that will only last a year or two longer. At least I would have a new mattress every three years without the added cost.

Sorry theist didn’t all show up.
Thanks for your help

Hi Melillo,

In terms of quality and durability … a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality and durability of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or the price of the mattress. Without knowing the specifics of all the layers and components in a mattress (see this page) it’s not possible to assess the durability or identify any potential weak links in a mattress. There are many mattresses in the mainstream market, even in higher price ranges, which use lower quality materials in the top layers of the mattress which will soften, break down, or start sagging much too quickly relative to the price you paid and if you are in a higher weight range then it’s even more important to make sure that any mattress you are considering uses higher quality and more durable materials.

If you don’t know the type and quality of the materials in a mattress then all the research in the world won’t tell you much about the durability or useful life of a mattress or how long it will be before you need to replace it.

The potential problem with this strategy is that many low end mattresses may only last you months before they start to soften or break down under higher weight body weights and in many cases hoping that a lower end mattress will last you 3 or 4 years before you cross the thresholds from sleeping well on a mattress to sleeping “OK” to tolerating a mattress to finally deciding to replace it may be overly optimistic. In some cases if the mattress is already on the edge of being too soft for a particular person in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) when it is new then even the initial break in period (usually from 30 - 90 days) may take you over the edge of the comfort/support range that would be suitable for you (see post #2 here) even though this is more of a suitability issue (choosing a mattress that is too soft) than a durability issue.

Again … the only way to assess the durability or useful life of a mattress is to make sure that you know the quality and durability of the materials inside it.

Some of the better lower budget online options I’m aware of are listed in post #4 here and in posts # 3 and #4 here but once again I would confirm that the quality and durability of the materials are suitable for your weight range because a mattress that would be a durable choice for lower weight ranges may not be durable enough for higher weight ranges.

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.

Phoenix

I was looking at the I comfort ( I was worried that memory foam breaks down faster even more so with heavier people) I want a firm mattress and I tried them at a bedz express. The sales person was not a high pressure pusher but he kept explaining the warranty when I explained my worries about breakdown. It is only a 3/4 impression for the 10 year but it doesn’t mean that it can’t break down
And still have enough spring to bounce back enough to fill in. I don’t mind spending the money but I do mind buying an expensive mattress and having it not live up to the hype. I want to spend under $1,500 but am open to a little more for a known winner.
I would go latex in a heartbeat but many say I comfort and Tempurpedic are better. The prices of the Temp… Are way out of my comfort zone with money. The I comfort felt good and with a topper the second firmest would be great. But no matter how much you ask and research all you find is there is a gel layer and memory foam is it good foam or bad foam? I am going to Royal bedding this weekend it is about an hour and half ride from Huntsville. I will be looking into a flippable mattress and Latex. They have both. They even have an air mattress. I also looked into an air system that SAMs club sells but am again weary about buying a mattress that I have never slept on. All this is what made me say what I said. If I knew that an I comfort or a latex mattress would actually last as long as they claim I would pull the trigger. I weigh 280 and am looking at a king mattress. Sorry for all the negativity but I am throughly confused and with all the great info on this forum it is even more difficult to make the right choice. Are any of my choices btw the I comfort I was looking at was the Insight Everfeel $1,499 , Genius Everfeel $1,799. We also looked at the Sterns and Foster Emille-May mattress only was $1,800 haven’t been to Royal Bedding yet but going on Sat if all goes as planned.
Thanks for your time.

Hi Mellillo,

I would make sure that you can find out the type and density of all the foam layers in any mattress you are considering because it’s the only reliable way to know about the quality and durability of a mattress. A warranty has little to nothing to do with the durability or useful life of a mattress because it only covers defects and not the gradual (or more rapid in the case of lower quality materials) loss of comfort and support that come from foam softening (either with or without visible impressions) that is the biggest reason that people need to replace their mattress. Warranties are more about marketing than they are about the useful life of a mattress (see post #174 here).

If the salesperson you are dealing with either can’t or won’t tell you the density of all the foam layers then I would avoid the mattress completely and I would avoid the major brands anyway unless you can confirm the quality of the materials inside them (see the guidelines here).

The choice of materials is a personal preference and not a “better/worse” choice so whoever is telling you this is “selling you” not “educating” you. Every material has higher quality and more durable versions and lower quality and less durable versions and regardless of the material that you tend to prefer it’s always important to make sure that the specific version of that material in a mattress you are considering is durable enough for your body type. There is more about how memory foam or gel memory foam compares to latex in post #2 here.

There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses but it comes down to testing for suitability (PPP), checking for the durability of the materials, and then comparing your finalists for “value” based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if you aren’t confident about your choice or it doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).

If you are in reasonable driving distance of Pelham then a trip to Royal Bedding would be well worthwhile. You can see some comments about them in the Birmingham list and here and here as well.

Phoenix

The salesperson told me the density of the mattress but I thought there were different types of foam in quality.
How do I know what quality of the foam used in the mattress. I find that each company has a different name for their foam so how do you know the difference between shakalaka dura foam and funkadelic deluxe foam? Does the density make all the difference? Or is there a difference in different quality of foam and density? I completely understand about the warranties and that was the point I very poorly worded in my last post. The warranties aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. The reason I was asking about I comfort was you seem to know about the different brands and the quality of materials. He was talking density but I am confused about density and quality. If a mattress has high density then does that mean it is higher quality than a lower density?
I completely understand the difference in latex and the different types of latex Dunlop and Tallaly( however you spell that)
And the firmness. Natural and synthetic. Are latex mattresses really worth the money. I figure I can get one for about $1,800 to $2,000
But do they really live up to all the hype. Will they really last as long as they claim? That is the hundred dollar question. I will be going to the royal bed company this weekend

Hi Melillo,

A mattress doesn’t have a density that means anything … only individual foam layers. You’re right that each type of foam material (polyfoam, memory foam, and latex foam) has higher quality and more durable versions and lower quality and less durable versions.

If they are a foam material then they will either be polyfoam, memory foam, or latex foam regardless of any proprietary names.

With polyfoam and memory foam the density is a “quality spec” and is the single biggest factor in the durability of the material (and has little to nothing to do with the feel or firmness of the foam because every density has a range of different firmness levels). With latex the density is a “comfort spec” which depends on the firmness of that particular type of latex and the type and blend of the latex is the information you need to know. You can see the minimum guidelines I would suggest for different types of foam in post #4 here and there is more about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to different people in post #4 here and the posts it links to.

Again a mattress doesn’t have a “density” number that is meaningful … only the individual foam layers in the mattress. The density of polyfoam and memory foam have little to do with how it feels but if you are defining quality by the durability of the material then the density of any polyfoam or memory foam is the single biggest factor in its durability.

This is a question that can only be answered by each individual person and would also depend on the specific latex mattress they are considering. If a latex mattress is a suitable “match” for someone in terms of PPP and they like the feel and performance of latex and a particular latex mattress compares well to the other latex mattresses they are considering based on all the other parts of their personal value equation that are important to them (including the price of course) then for that person it would certainly be “worth it”

For someone that doesn’t like the feel or performance of latex or if a particular latex mattress wasn’t a good “match” for them in terms of PPP or if it didn’t compare well to the other latex mattresses they were considering based on their personal value equation then for them it wouldn’t be “worth it”.

Either way it’s one of the most durable materials available in the industry.

While there is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for any particular person … if a mattress is well inside the comfort/support range that is suitable for someone and isn’t close to the edge of the range that is too soft for them when it is new and meets the minimum quality specs that are suggested in the guidelines I linked earlier in this post then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer.

It’s always more realistic to think of about 10 years as a maximum reasonable expectation for any mattress no matter what the quality or durability of the materials and then treat any additional time after that as “bonus time” because after about 10 years the limiting factor in the useful life of a mattress will often be the changing needs and preferences of the person sleeping on the mattress and even if a mattress is still in good condition after a decade … a mattress that was suitable for someone 10 years earlier may not be the best “match” any longer.

Having said that … with higher quality materials throughout a mattress that has no lower quality materials or weak links in the design and/or for people whose needs and preferences or physical condition or body type hasn’t changed much over 10 years then “bonus time” or even “extended bonus time” with higher quality/density and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam or natural fibers is much more likely than with less durable materials and you will find some people that have slept well on a latex mattress for decades (see the video here as an example).

Phoenix