Jordan's Mattress Factory vs Name Brand

[phoenix]

Hi sdonaher1981,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

have narrowed by search to two mattresses that I really liked a lot. The Jordan’s Mattress Factory Revive Mattress Set and Serta iComfort Blue Touch 500 11.25" Plush Mattress from Mattress Firm.

The way to “compare” mattresses begins with learning about the componentry inside of them. You need to be sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.

The Jordan’s mattress uses:
1.5" 4 lb memory foam
2" 3 lb memory foam
1.75" 1.5 lb polyfoam
6.75" 1.8 lb polyfoam support core

The polyfoam core and the 1.5" 4 lb memory foam are of a density that wouldn’t generally be a concern for most individuals (unless a higher BMI), but the 2" of 3 lb memory foam combined with the 1.75" of 1.5 lb polyfoam are a bit lower in durability than I would recommend and are above the more than “an inch or so” that I recommend for foams of a lower density, so I would advise caution with an item such as this because of those layers.

Unfortunately, Serta does not disclose the density of the materials within their mattresses. The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).

The sales person at Jordan’s was amazing, he used a computer to see where my pressure points were and fit me to about 5-6 different mattresses and the one that I liked the best was their own brand mattress.

Most of the pressure mapping systems are specific to a certain line of mattress and aren’t really relevant to mattresses as a whole which have different constructions. They also only measure surface pressure (which you can often feel in your own personal testing) but don’t provide input into alignment or how the pressure is distributed in the deeper body tissues or include the differences in physiology between people (pressure affects different people differently). There are a few more comments in post #2 here and post #4 here about pressure mapping systems. I would trust your own feedback from your personal in-store testing over any “mapping systems”.

So the question comes down to name brand mattress versus private label. Both have great reviews, but is the name brand mattress better than the private label or am I just paying $600 for the Serta name?

The label on the outside of the mattress doesn’t matter nearly as much as the componentry placed on the inside. I would be very cautious about brand shopping in general because you are buying a specific mattress not the brand and most manufacturers have access to the same or similar components and materials. Many manufacturers make a wide range of mattresses that can vary from lower quality and less durable materials to higher quality and more durable materials in a wide range of prices. The name of the manufacturer or store on the label or the price of the mattress won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design that would affect the durability and useful life of the mattress. There is more about the risks of brand shopping in post #5 here and post #12 here.

In other words I would assess whether a specific mattress would make a suitable choice for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP … that uses materials that are durable enough for your weight/BMI range … and that meets all the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you on a “mattress by mattress” basis rather than on a “brand by brand” basis.

If you’re only considering these two mattresses, then I would probably be more comfortable with the Jordan’s mattress, as at least I know what is inside of that product, and as long as I was comfortable with the shorter expected comfort life due to the quality of materials, I would have spent less money than the Serta. But overall I wouldn’t recommend either.

Overall, you may wish to review the mattress shopping tutorial here and two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the 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 your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).

In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …

1. Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.

2. Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight/BMI range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

3. Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Phoenix