I'm having the hardest time picking a mattress!

It’s so hard to pick something based on the feeling in the showroom alone, and while I’ve read a lot of the stuff on this site to help in selecting a mattress but I’m still so unsure. So far, I visited Craig’s Beds and Dixie Foam, and these are the ones I like best:

  • Dreambed Deluxe Medium Firm (from Dixie Foam)
  • Summerfield Fusion Heather Plush Firm Mattress (from Craig’s Beds)
  • Serta iComfort Savant (from Craig’s Beds)

I’m a side sleeper primarily, 5’5, 120 pounds. I have a hip defect that causes pain when I sleep and sit (pain mainly in my hip flexors) so I was looking for something that would limit the pressure on my hip when I lay on my side. I hate normal memory foam as I tend to move around a lot in my sleep and I hate the way you sink so far down with normal memory foam that you have to pick yourself up and out of the “dent” to turn over.

Obviously I’d like to spend as little as possible but price is less of an issue. I’m looking to replace a 10 year old Spring Air with a plush pillow top which I really liked, but from what I read a normal spring mattress is the worst thing for people with hip problems of the types of mattresses out there. Lastly, I’m looking for a mattress that I can raise the head of the bed about six inches as I have reflux. While I’ve had the head of my bed raised on my spring mattress I feel it has caused a large deterioration in the mattress as perhaps it wasn’t made to move that way.

I don’t have my heart set on any of the mattresses I mentioned above so I’m open to suggestions. I’m intrigued by Brooklyn Bedding’s line but not sure what would work for me and am a little hesitant to buy a mattress I haven’t laid on, though their return policy is pretty good.

Any suggestions/opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Hi mattressnovice,

The best place to start is by reading the Mattress Shopping Tutorial. In it, Phoenix outlines the important aspects of finding a mattress that’s most suitable for yourself (PPP) as well as what materials make for a durable bed, and some considerations that might be important for your own personal value equation.

The link is in the top right corner of the web page.

Hi mattressnovice,

Have you had the chance to read the tutorial post ? It has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices … and know how to avoid the worse ones (including the major manufacturers such as Serta).

If you are comfortable with an online purchase it also has a link to a list of some of the better online options I’m aware of.

It also includes some testing guidelines you can use to decide which mattress is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences).

As you will read … outside of your personal testing a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials inside it and I would make sure you know the specifics of what is inside any mattress you are considering and use the guidelines in the tutorial post to make sure it has no “weak links” and that you can make more meaningful comparisons to other mattresses.

I’m assuming you are in the New York city area so just in case you haven’t seen it some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the area are listed in post #2 here and there is a more categorized list with some more detailed descriptions of some of them in post #7 here.

Out of the three you mentioned …

The Dreambed Deluxe uses good quality materials and there are no “weak links” in the mattress (Dixie foam is transparent and will provide you with the density of all the foam they use). NOTE ADDED: They are now a member of this site as well

You can see the specifications of Summerfield Fusion Heather Plush Firm here and as you can see it uses more than “about an inch or so” of lower density foams in the upper layers (1.2 and 1.5 lb polyfoam and 3 lb memory foam) which is more than I would suggest (see the guidelines here).

You can see more information about some of the iComfort lineup (including the Savant) in post #11 here but as you can also see in the guidelines I would avoid the major brands because they either tend to use lower quality materials or are not very good “value” compared to many other mattresses in the same budget ranges.

Any foam mattress and most pocket coil mattress that use good quality/density materials would be fine with raising the head of the mattress by 6" or even for use on an adjustable bed which can raise it even more.

If you follow the steps in the tutorial post one by one you will have the best chance of making the most suitable and best value purchase possible.

I would also keep in mind that one of the most important parts of a mattress purchase is how well it matches your body type and sleeping style in terms of PPP so I would make sure you do some careful and objective testing on any local mattress you are considering because no matter what the quality or value of a mattress … if it isn’t suitable for you to sleep on it would have little value to you.

Phoenix

Thanks for all of the tips! After reading the tutorial I’m still a bit lost (so many options!) I was looking at the Cool line at Brooklyn Bedding. I’m not a big fan of traditional memory foam as I don’t like to have to pick myself up out of the dent I make when I shift in my sleep. I’ve been told that gel memory foam “bounces back” much quicker and thus I wouldn’t have this problem as much. Can you tell me if the Cool line is like this or more traditional? Thanks so much!

Hi mattressnovice,

They would be the best ones to talk with about the “feel” of their mattresses and would know much more about this than I do (I’ve never slept on them or tested them in person).

Phoenix

Absolutely call them or if you just want to chat with them on their website you will not be pressured into buying anything.
I didn’t buy after chatting the first time and was impressed when they didn’t try to pressure me with fake sales and such gimmicks.
Give them a try and see for yourself,
Jeff