I would encourage you to visit Yankee mattress and talk with Nick in spite of your friendās experiences (although I donāt know the specifics). They are good people and very knowledgeable about mattress materials and what makes a good quality mattress and have some good quality and value there. I would doubt that your friends are aware of mattress materials and foam quality or have much knowledge about what makes a good mattress unless they have spent many years in the industry so they may not be the best source of advice (although again I donāt know the specifics of their experiences). NOTE ADDED: They are also now a member of this site
MEK is just a company that sells some of the mattresses they make.
A mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials inside it so it would depend on the specifics of the materials inside any mattress you were looking at.
The good news is that they will tell you the specifics of what is inside any of their mattresses which means that you would be able to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses in terms of quality and durability and they will also educate you about the quality of the materials they use.
Thatās a very broad question because gel foams are an entire category or materials and it includes many different types of foam. It depends on the specifics of the gel materials but you can read more about gel materials in general in post #2 here and more about the factors involved in the sleeping temperature of a mattress in post #2 here. Again though ā¦ there is lots of information in both posts so I would just read it to get a broader overview of some of the gel related or temperature regulation information rather than study it. There is a lot of āhypeā about gel materials in the industry but it also has some benefits (temporary cooling for a while until temperatures equalize and adding a little extra support to memory foam for example) and your best source of accurate information is talking with āexpertsā that are familiar with the specific materials they use in their mattresses rather than becoming an expert yourself.
Thank you. I will do more reading today. (hard to do at home since I only have the cell phone). I really appreciate your time and especially your knowledge.
After flipping around on mattresses the past couple days at various places, I bought one! Tom Wholley at CT Mattress was great! Much easier going in w a clue, and he gave me a great price. Thank you so much for all your help. I cannot wait for my new bed! This forum is the best. Thank you Phoenix.
Your post #4 really helped me in making my final mattress decision! I normally do a good amount of research on any purchases I make of this size , and was looking all over to get some more information to make my choice. I was finally between the Ultimate Dreams Latex and the Lucid by linenspa 10" latex. After reading lots of reviews, I am deciding to go with the ultimate dreams latex as it seems to be of better quality and value for the money, and I am not too comfortable with the idea of not knowing exactly what the mattress is made of as well as coming form China.
The change from 2.35 lb foam to 1.5lb was something I had originally been concerned with but your comments helped ease that fear. I am not large at 5ā9", 160lbs so I hope that the change will not have an effect on me. Also knowing the base foam is not the weak link eases fears.
This extends to issues I had heard people have with sagging, so I was wondering if this is something I should fear? I plan on getting a sturdy boxy spring like this one here:
Iām glad the information here was able to help you.
The information you read is is out of date and they are currently using a 1.8 lb polyfoam base layer but either way it certainly wouldnāt have been a weak link in the mattress in your weight range.
While other peopleās comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful ā¦ I would also be very cautious about about using other peopleās experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because any mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range) and reviews in general certainly wonāt tell you much if anything about the quality, durability, or āvalueā of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
When you canāt test a mattress in person and you are uncertain about which mattress or firmness option to choose 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 (which would include Dreamfoam) and who can help ātalk you throughā the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and āfeelā of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best āmatchā 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 āaveragesā of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about āmatchingā 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.
[quote]I plan on getting a sturdy boxy spring like this one here:
I donāt know the distance between the slats in the foundation you linked (itās not a box spring that has springs) but if they are less than 5" apart then it should be fine (although 4" or less would be better).
Most importantly ā¦ congratulations on your new mattress
You certainly made a great quality/value choice and Iām looking forward to your comments and feedback once youāve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Thank you for the updated information! Is the 1.8lb base layer of a different construction and one that is known to be well received as well as durable?
I will definitely take what I read with a grain of salt. I have had a couple preliminary chats with the people at dreamfoam and they have been very helpful in guiding me and telling me all I wanted to know about the mattress!
Iāve spent some time trying to figure out what firmness would be right for me (here again, the reviews were all over the place, some recommending firmer, others softer!) and hopefully will get the right guidance by talking to the professionals. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any latex incorporating mattresses around me to try, but am choosing it based on what I have read about latex being softer, but not to such a degree that you get a āsinkingā feeling, making it easier to move around on.
Higher density foams would be more durable but it wouldnāt really make a significant difference in your weight range (although it could for higher weight ranges that compress the deeper layers more). The design and feel and firmness of the mattress would be the same (most of what you feel comes from the upper layers of the mattress as well).
There are also no āstandardā definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like āmediumā for someone else or even āsoftā 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 ārateā 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.
All of this can be fairly subjective and will vary by person which is why itās not a great idea to use other peopleās experience on the same mattress as a reliable reference point for how you will feel on the same mattress.
The ābottom lineā is that the only way to know for certain whether any mattress will be a good āmatchā for you in terms of firmness, feel or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) will be based on your own personal experience (which may be different from other people).
