I live on Oahu and have been trying to research what memory foam beds are available. I have not been able to find any local manufacturers. It seems our options are limited to brand name beds. We seem to have narrowed it down to either the icomfort insight or a anatomic global bed re-branded as island dreams by slumber world http://www.slumberworldhawaii.com/FindYourPerfectBed.aspx?c=TrustedBrands&sel_cat_id=5.
I have read the reviews on the icomfort line and am trying to find more information on the island dreams line.
The island dreams comes in a 9", 10" and 12". They had cut away samples at the store but the sales people were not sure about the different densities of the layers. These beds looked very similar to the Eco series line by anatomic global and matched the layer thicknesses i saw online. I would have though they were just re-branded Eco series except that they are listed for a couple hundred dollars less that what i looked up the Eco 1, 2 & 3 to be online. I can’t see how they could be the same and have the re-branded bed in Hawaii be cheaper. I would just like to find some assurance that the island dreams is not made with inferior foam to the Eco series and also any thoughts on the quality of the Eco 2 vs 3 if they are comparable to the island dreams line.
The serial number listed on the tag of the upper 2 models were EMFV12Q prototype ECO 13T and EMFV10Q prototype ECO 10T and i saw online the anatomic global ECO series listed as EMFV12Q-13F if that tells anything.
The warranty was also shorter at 20 yrs with 10yrs prorated with 1.5" sag.
Any other suggestions are welcome.
There is one local manufacturer near you that is listed in post #2 here. At the moment they are only producing mattresses from recycled materials but that will soon be changing as they are introducing a new line from an LA manufacturer if you can wait a few weeks.
They could very well be a re-branded version of the Eco Series which may be the reason they are able to avoid the minimum pricing (their prices ranged from $30 to $230 lower). If they are … then they would seem to have good value relative to the Eco Series … but none of the online outlets for the Eco Series that I saw listed the densities of the foams they use which would be reason enough for me to avoid them unless I could find out.
I do like Anatomic Global because they are owned by Foamex/FXI which is a foam producer I like. Regardless of this though … it’s the density of the memory foam that is important. The prototype information on the tag could very well mean they are different but I would avoid both unless I knew the density of the foam because for me this is the most important part of knowing the value of a particular mattress compared to others. I would think that someone at Slumber world would know though and they seemed quite open with me when talked with them so maybe it’s just a matter of finding the person there who knows.
In any case … there are always good online options if the local outlets don’t have what you want or can’t supply you with the information you need.
I’ve been trying to find out more info about the island dreams mattress. One sales person said the memory foam layers were 5 & 4 lb and another said they were all 5 lb. An email from the sales manager said they “are in the 5 lb range”. I am still trying to get actual numbers.
Abedderbuy had the Eco 3 specs as
2″ Low-Slow Response 5 lb. Density EcoMemoryFoam
2″ Mid-Fast Response 4lb. Density MemoryFoam
2″ High-Fast Response 4 lb. Density Enhanced Anatomic Support Memory Foam
5″ High-Fast Response BioFoam Core Support Layer
1″ High-Fast Response Base Layer
which i would believe to be the same as the island dreams. What is your oppinion on these specs?
I am 5’11" 200lbs 90% back/10% side sleeper and my gf is 5’11" 155 50% back/ 50% side. We feel confortable in the store on most of the medium firm mattresses.
Would the 4 lb in lower layers be ok because the wear and tear is taken up in the 5 lb layer. These beds were meduim firm and did not feel like there were sinking in, They felt comparable to the iconfort insight which we also liked.
My gf’s favorite was the Tempur Cloud Luxe for the pillow top feel with out feeling overly soft and sinking in.
The island dreams has a faster response top foam vs the Tempur’s slow response which she liked.
I emailed sleepez and sleepwarehouse for shipping quotes to hawaii but am still waiting for responses.
The specs you listed are the same that are listed by the sites that list the information that is provided to them by Anatomic global.
I called one of the outlets that carry them http://www.eco-mattress-store.com/ to get more details. My concerns were that this seems like a lot of memory foam in a mattress (6" could lead to sinking in a lot over the course of hours) and that I suspected that the lower 2" layer may not be memory foam (hopefully). He was quite knowledgeable about memory foam and materials in general and agreed that it seemed to be too thick. He also told me that he believed that all the layers were 5 lb foam which would be a good thing. His comment about the eco 3 was that it seemed to be a “medium firm” but he also knew that if the memory foam layers in a mattress were too thick that alignment would be compromised over the course of the night so this layering didn’t make complete sense to him either.
They list the top layer as being the slow response layer (which would be more conforming) but because this layer is only 2", the faster response feel would be coming more from the layers underneath it.
In any case he said he would call his rep and find out as much as he could (or that they were willing to tell him) to confirm the layering and the density of the layers. I’ll post here with more comments as soon as I hear from them.
Having lower density foams used deeper in a mattress and under other layers would improve the durability to some degree but this would also depend on the weight of the person on it and how much the foam was regularly compressed. Also with back sleeping … a mattress with this much memory foam would be very risky IMO because memory foam tends to creep (relax it’s internal structure) over the course of hours and you will gradually sink in more deeply with your heavier parts over the course of the night which means you could start off in good alignment but wake up with a sore back.
I called the eco mattress store again because they didn’t get back to me so hopefully I will have my questions answered and they will confirm the information you received.
What I would want to confirm is both the density of the foam and also to confirm that the top 3 layers are all memory foam which would be a lot of memory foam in a mattress. I personally would begin to ask questions and pay more serious attention to alignment with memory foam layers that were more than about 4". Of course your own testing would be a more accurate indication of this but my concern would revolve around the fact that over the course of the night your heavier parts may sink deeper into thicker memory foam layers. Once the memory foam goes hrough the initial softening period … I would doubt that a topper would be necessary or even desirable because there would already be more than enough soft memory foam in the top layers of the mattress. If anything you may want a wool mattress pad to help reduce the softening of the memory foam over time.
The differences in the layering between the 10" and 12" model are the 1" thinner layer of “low slow” memory foam in the top layer of the 10" and replacing the “mid fast” in the third layer of the 12" model with “low slow” in the 10" model and the 1" difference in the lower support layer. While it’s impossible to know for sure without more detailed information about the memory foams used and because different people may react to the same mattress layering very differently … my guess is that the 10" would feel initially a little firmer and more responsive but would gradually soften as the temperature reached the lower slower layer. Your own testing with more complex multiple layers like this though would be much more accurate than my speculation with such limited information.
I would agree though that the 10" version with “only” 5" of memory foam would likely be “safer” if the layering they have listed is correct.
Is there an update to information about the Eco 3 mattress as far as densities are concerned?
I too am considering the Eco 3. I tried it out at Goldes in Madison after trying out 2 latex mattresses by Suite Sleep of varying “firmnesses” all with a 2-inch soft latex layer and support cores ranging from firm to soft. One was the Suite Dreams and I’m not sure what the other one was.
I have been having pressure point issues and when sleeping on my side (right and left) every one of the latex mattresses eventually caused me pain in my arms often shooting down to my hands. Some of the latex versions were a little bit better (not much really) than the others; some took a few more minutes to become painful.
I really wanted the latex to work because of the lack of petro chemicals but by this time, all the time spent on the latex mattresses (about an hour) had triggered the pain and none of the latex mattresses alleviated very much, if any. At this point, in desperation I lay down on the Eco 3, and I could feel my body go "aaaaaaahhh. I lay there for several minutes and it just kept feeling better–no pain.
Please let me know if you found out anything more about how this mattress is actually constructed. I am still worried about sleeping with my face on memory foam. Would a 1-inch layer of soft latex protect me at all from the evil lurking below and if so would it throw off the pressure point relief at all?
[quote]Is there an update to information about the Eco 3 mattress as far as densities are concerned?
Please let me know if you found out anything more about how this mattress is actually constructed.[/quote]
I don’t have any additional information about the Eco 3 and I don’t seem to be able to get consistent information about the Anatomic Global mattresses. Having said that … all the versions of the information I did receive indicate that they don’t use any memory foam below 4 lb density. I also don’t know the density of their polyfoam base layers. About the best I can say is that for most people that aren’t in higher weight ranges there probably wouldn’t be any obvious weak links in the mattress in terms of the quality/density of the foam (you can see the density guidelines I would suggest in post #4 here). Unfortunately … Anatomic Global doesn’t seem to be particularly forthcoming about their foam densities.
FXI foams are CertiPur certified* so unless you had a specific reason to believe otherwise such as a known sensitivity or medical condition such as MCS that would cause you to avoid memory foam, for most people the “safety” of their foam wouldn’t be an issue. If hypothetically there was a safety issue with a particular type of foam in terms of VOC’s then an inch of another type of foam on top of it wouldn’t make any difference because you would need to use something around the entire mattress to either absorb or block the VOC’s (see post #3 here) and quite frankly I would avoid any mattress which I believed presented that type of safety issue.
There are too many variables, unknowns, and personal preferences involved to use use a formula or “theory at a distance” to predict whether a mattress would be a good match for you in terms of PPP. Only your own testing or experience can know this with any certainty with or without an additional inch of latex. Nobody else can feel what you feel on a mattress (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
I am 6’ 190 lbs. Is this a higher weight range? Would this still be ok for me provided it met all the PPP criteria (except that I can’t tell what it will do later into the night or over time)?
I usually start off sleeping on my back and sometimes stay that way for hours although most of the time I end up on my side after about a half an hour. Here is what the blurb about the mattress on Golde’s website says about the mattress:
Breathable Memory Foam! Not only does this mattress use “open cell” memory foam to keep you cool at night, but it also features a 3.5" layer of punched pin hole memory foam in the comfort layer to maximize airflow. No one else is doing this! Compare the comfort to the big brand memory foam names.
Specifications:
Depth: Approximately 13"
1"Soft Eco Memory Foam
2" 7 Pound Eco Memory Foam
3.5" Anantomic Punched Layer
2" High Density Transition Layer Foam
3.5" High Density Base Layer
1" Rebond Base Layer
20-Year Limited Warranty
Again, if it met my PPP otherwise, given my weight and sleeping style, do you see any flaws to this configuration?
There is more about the many variables that can affect durability in post #4 here and the other posts it links to but I would consider the start of a “higher weight” range to be somewhere around the low 200’s range and higher.
This is mostly hype. There certainly are others doing this such as here and here (their site is down at the moment but should come back up fairly soon) for example who are doing it more effectively because they also provide a way for the air to ventilate to the outside). A google search on ventilated memory foam will turn up others as well. There is also more about the different ways that are being used to cool down memory foam in post #6 here.
[quote]Specifications:
Depth: Approximately 13"
1"Soft Eco Memory Foam
2" 7 Pound Eco Memory Foam
3.5" Anantomic Punched Layer
2" High Density Transition Layer Foam
3.5" High Density Base Layer
1" Rebond Base Layer
20-Year Limited Warranty
Again, if it met my PPP otherwise, given my weight and sleeping style, do you see any flaws to this configuration? [/quote]
Unfortunately … the specs don’t include the most important information I would need to make any meaningful comments about the mattress or that you would need to make an informed choice and is missing the density of all the layers except the 7 lb memory foam (the information you need is in this article).