I recently bought a S&F Kathryn luxury firm estate collection mattress from mattress firm. I am quite happy with the mattress except it gets a little hot in the night. I am a stomach sleeper and my wife is a side and back sleeper.
The reason the confusion started when I started reading reviews and there is a lot of complaint regarding sagging and durability. The last thing I want is paying so much and then worrying about the product quality.
I am evaluating to return the mattress and currently researching Saatva luxury firm Mattress. Please suggest if there is genuinely a significant quality difference between The S&F that I bought ( since there is no specific review related to the one I purchased ) and if it is worth buying Saatva over The S&F that I have since Saatva is only a few years old and there is not a lot of history so not many issues raised.
The first place to start any research on mattresses is the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices.
A mattress is only as good as it’s construction and the quality of the materials inside it regardless of the manufacturer but unfortunately Stearns & Foster doesn’t provide the information that an educated consumer would need to make an informed choice. Most of the major manufacturers use lower quality materials in the comfort layers than many smaller manufacturers which is the reason that a mattress loses its comfort and support or develops impressions much more quickly than they should. As you can see here … the Kathryn has over 6.5" of foam and some synthetic fiber over the innersprings and the fiber and at least 2" of the foam (the hypersoft and ultrasoft) are lower quality materials that would be subject to more rapid foam softening and breakdown or impressions than higher density foams or materials. Some of the other layers may be lower quality as well and the lower quality/density foam in the comfort layers would definitely be a “weak link” in this mattress. In general I would avoid all major manufacturers because of their use of lower quality materials and their relatively poor value and the much higher risk involved in buying any mattress where the manufacturer doesn’t disclose the quality of the materials they use. I would always avoid any mattress that had more than about an inch or so of materials that were either unknown or lower density/quality and once you are at about 2" or more I would consider the purchase to be risky.
You can read a detailed analysis of Saatva mattress in this thread and a forum search on Saatva (you can just click this) will bring up more posts and feedback about them as well. To their credit they disclose the details of all the materials in their mattress and while outside of your own personal testing or sleeping experience there is no way to know with any certainty how good a match they may be for your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP … I would certainly choose the Saatva in terms of durability and value. Even if they are not a good match for you … they have a very good return policy so the risk of an online purchase that you can’t test ahead of time is reduced.
I would also tend to be very cautious about using reviews as a replacement for actual mattress research and they are also a very risky way to choose a mattress (see post #13 here).
Thanks for providing me the understanding. Believe me I have had such a tuff time deciding on the Mattress…after much deliberation I finally decide to return the S&F today, However as per the Area sales manager, he suggested that Saatva is a good Mattress however it is not as high quality as S&F Kathryn Firm I have at the moment.
But I still scheduled a Return for S&F and I have ordered Saatva Luxury Firm. Though Saatva seems to be my Best bet under $1500, I am not so sure if it is a comparably Luxury firm but I guess I will know once I receive it.
My Experience so Far : It terms of the Customer Service for Saatva, has been mixed. I agree that they are courteous However I felt the representative lacked in terms of Knowledge and fail to compare their Brand with any relevant competitive brand to educate me about How Firm their Mattress is and answer specific questions about the material used apart from reading specs which I can do it myself.
Additionally so far the Process of trying to figure out "When I would receive my Mattress has not been the best. I order my Mattress on the Dec 15th and they told me shipping will be within 9-18 Days. I felt that usually they will send me some kind of information of whether in 10 days or Tracking # etc. So I called them again…The Guy initial said 9-18 and since I was persistent in asking exactly when…He put me on quick hold and told me that mattress is under construction & I will receive the call from them by 23rd or 24th to schedule a delivery by Saturday ( 12/28). so far I have received no calls or information as to when the Mattress would arrive. I cannot comment on the quality of Mattress but I can surely suggest that this is clearly “Improvement Opportunity” for them.
Thanks again. Will share my thoughts on the Mattress…
If the area sales manager can’t or won’t provide you with the density of the foam layers in the mattress then “quality” is just a meaningless word and he is just “selling” you instead of “informing” you.
I’m not so sure whether it’s your “best bet under $1500” in terms of the material value (there are some very good quality mattresses in this budget range) but it may be the best match for the criteria of your personal value equation which means it may be the best value for you. They are transparent about the materials they use so I would certainly choose it over the Stearns & Foster. The firmness of a mattress is completely subjective though and depends on each person’s body type, sleeping positions, and individual perceptions. There is no “standardized” firmness ratings between different manufacturers but when the same manufacturer “rates” their mattresses it can give you a reference point about the relative firmness of each of their mattresses. For most people their “Plush soft” would be softer than their “Luxury firm” which in turn would be softer than their “Firm” but these wouldn’t necessarily agree with the firmness ratings of other manufacturers. Your own experience will be the most reliable way to know if it’s a good match for you in terms of PPP.
Thanks for the feedback and congratulations on your new mattress
I’m looking forward to your feedback when you’ve had the chance to sleep on it.
I got a call from the delivery guys on Friday and receive the mattress today. My initial observations for Saatva luxury firm
The product seems to be of fairly good quality
It does offer more back support and the firmness is better than the S&F luxury firm. I agree with your thought that the firmness is subjective to an individual and at this moment it seems pretty good
Unlike the S&F this seems to makes me feel more comfortable and I don’t feel hot in this bed but it is a short time of usage so will learn more with time
My only concern : I do see an average motion isolation and in this regard the S&F was better. But nothing which is not manageable
Having said that this seems like a reasonable product but I would share more after I spend a few days in it but my initial review it seems better Thant the kathytrn luxury firm that I purchased…will share more on Saatva within a month or so off usage.
Thanks for the initial feedback … I appreciate it.
That’s most likely because of the difference in the type of innersprings they use. The Saatva uses a Bonnel coil which uses helical springs to connect the coils together so they don’t compress individually and the Stearns & Foster uses “coil in coil” individually wrapped pocket coils (see here) so the coils can respond more individually without transferring as much motion.
I’m looking forward to any ongoing feedback you have the chance to share.
Have been using Saatva luxury firm almost for two months now and I am facing a few issue with it. The bed on one side has started to develop body impression and I am very disappointed to see that considering the kind of quality commitment claims made by saatva…I am not sure if this is just a defective mattress since on the other side there is also an occasional spring noise from the mid back to upper back region area of the mattress.
I have drooped a note to Saatva and hope I receive a positive response…but at this stage I would want to say that I am very disappointed . Hope the address the issue…
Some degree of settling or slight impressions would be fairly normal and it would be a good idea to rotate your mattress on a regular basis to make sure it breaks in evenly and on both sides (once every week or two at first and then gradually extending the time to about once a season) but of course whether it’s normal or a defect would be a matter of degree. How deep are the impressions (you can measure them by putting a straight edge over the impression and measuring the depth)?
I hope so too and I hope you have the chance to let us know what they say.
I measured both vertical & horizontal from One edge to the other. There is only one spot ( around the Pelvis/Hip area) which almost has a hole/SPOT which is 3.5 cm or approx 1.5 inch deep. i don’t know if you would call it an impression or a sag ( since I haven’t had this situation ever).
Please suggest if I measured it the correct way but the hole or damp spot is very visible. I am a stomach sleeper and nothing wrong on my side but my wife is a back sleeper and the issues seems to be on a particular spot. Also the Spring noise is more from my side of the bed ( more from Head to the mid & upper back region)
We did rotate for a 10 days but no change and I decided to write to you and Saatva. They have responded that they will call me today.
I’m in the same boat as you are. I purchased a Saatva Luxury firm mattress about 4 months ago. Recently, I started to notice a very deep body impression in the mattress. As you did, I measured the impression and it measured 1 1/2 inches on my side and my wife’s side of the mattress. I called Saatva, spoke to a manager, and he told me to take pictures and email them to him, which I did. He’s going to get back to me either later today or tomorrow with a solution to my problem.
Please do me a favor and let me know the outcome of your predicament. They’re supposed to be a very customer service oriented company, and I hope they take care of our problems in the proper way.
So they called me this morning and I was asked to take pictures, which I did and have emailed it to them. I hope they respond promptly and close the issue. At this point they seem to be extremely prompt and assuring
Probably one question in my mind…do we ask for a replacement if they offer, which I believe they should offer or take our refund? Thoughts
so they called back post I sent pictures( which is in less than a minute). They have initiated the replacement process and suggest I should get the mattress within next 2-3 weeks.
It’s good to see that they were so responsive and are replacing your mattress because visible impressions that are 1.5" or more would generally be considered a defect and not “normal”.
I believe you are past the trial offer period (which is 30 days) so you will likely only have the option for a replacement.
I hope you have the chance to let us know how it all turns out and also how your new mattress works out for you when you’ve slept on it for a few months as well.
I suspect Mohit’s question was intended for 2manybeds in post #10. It would be helpful to others for both 2manybeds and Mohit to respond to Mohit’s question!
I have not initiated an exchange yet with Saatva. I’m still within my comfort guarantee (I had it extended several times) and I have another 2 weeks to make up my mind if I want to exchange it. Right now, I’m leaning towards returning the bed because it failed so quickly. The only way I might decide to exchange the bed is if Saatva gives me another comfort guarantee of 90 days to return the bed for a full refund if it fails again. They were not willing to do that when we talked last.
Did you get delivery of your new mattress yet? Please give me an update on the status of your new mattress.
I am waiting for the new bed to arrive by Saturday March 15th. Unfortunately I am moving out of US and won’t have the option to test the mattress. So far my experience on exchange has been Good, however the challenge was that I had to call them every time to know the status. I also got a courtsey call from their Director customer service and gave him the feedback that there should be tracking mechanism for the customer and an order/ exchange # to know the status of the mattress.
One issue so far : Delivery channel used by saatva is disappointing since they called me last friday that the mattress is being shipped but it is almost 8 days later that it would be delivered despite my request to expedite since I am moving out of country
Phoenix : Sorry about the confusion, I replied to the blog /post of 2manybeds and thought it would automatically make a reference to him.
