Actually i was considering memory foam because it seemed like a better alternative. As far as i can tell, my options are innerspring, air bed, futon, water bed, memory foam, latex and other organic solutions. I’m not crazy about buckwheat hulls and woven dandelions, that’s a little too close to nature for me. Water beds are too heavy for my current floor structure and can be pricey as well. Air beds aren’t all that comfy, i’ve slept on them for camping and regardless of how hard they’re inflated, x amount of body weight on fabric/plastic over an air pocket produces the same pressure. I slept on a futon when i was younger, but they’re a bit too firm for my taste now so that pretty much cancels out otis beds and the like. My current sad state of affairs i call a mattress is a worn out innerspring. Unfortunately, my preference is for some plushness on top even if the overall bed is medium or medium firm. I don’t sleep well on firm or extra firm with a thin quilted top. So far everything I’ve read says that for generalization purposes, memory foam/foam lasts and performs as well as if not better than innerspring. I’m scared to buy another innerspring since i feel my mattress was lesser quality than mattresses used to be and it’s 10yrs old - and the typical viewpoint now is beds aren’t built like they were even 10yrs ago, so that leads me to believe an even less worthwhile mattress. My preference for some sort of ‘cush’ on top leads me down the pillowtop/eurotop road of non flipping, sagging, destined to fail avenue. So my curiosity led me down the path of foam. I’ve slept on memory foam and it’s pretty decent to me for a sleeping surface, so it’s not entirely an unknown. Plus the fact that there’s albeit a ‘fad’ i guess you could say of the idea of a compressed rolled mattress that arrives on your door step. Fad or not, most chain mattress stores are 60mi from me and i did that last time with the mattress macguyvered to the roof of my car like a windsail for 60mi. (if i lived closer, their free delivery and all that jazz would apply but i don’t). So the whole bit of cramming the mattress like a sardine and being able to have it at my doorstep is great for my situation.
Even going with the typical innerspring, my options are either 300-400 for virtually no padding requiring some sort of topper in addition to it. Or something i looked at was the Simmons recharge line which i believe is their lower end and places me again within the 400-500 price range. fyi, long ago i was very broke and desperate and picked up an innerspring from the dollar store for $100 - i don’t recommend it. lol. With all the information out there from this forum and others like wtb mattress and sltd, the general consensus is choose anything BUT an innerspring. When an innerspring fails, unless mattress surgery is an option there’s nothing you can do. With a homebrew foam mattress, if one layer breaks down i can replace it independently for a lot less than i can replace an entire mattress. Have i been unnecessarily scared away from innersprings? Would something like a simmons recharge (one of a hundred various subnames) be better than a foam mattress of similar price? I don’t currently have the funds to purchase a bed to last me the next 15yrs and that’s not the plan. maybe 5-8 realistically. Something temporary that will do, but not such junk as to replace it every 18mo either. Maybe there is no happy medium. A friend of mine invested 1500 in an S brand mattress (don’t recall the exact one) and it’s a plush top - excellent condition after 6yrs despite their heavier than average weight (350+), and that was for a king size bed. Hard to consider a foam bed for nearly the same price given i don’t think a $1000 memory foam is really in the same arena as a top of the line premium innerspring. Regardless if bayer made the memory foam, or if it was made on the moon by nasa themselves as i understand it, memory foam’s nature is to lose it’s memory feel after some time and lose its’ support despite springing back to shape. Nothing against any manufacturer, but eventually it’s the nature of the beast. Even a premium scientifically designed water shedding pattern in a hydro edge performance car tire has a life expectancy.
Anyway, that’s how i came to start looking for memory foam options. Nothing else seems doable or suitable for my preference and while i’m not unhappy with the feel of an innerspring they do tend to wear quickly - especially pillowtops, which is why i’m in the situation i am now. Actually i’ve done some feeling around while laying on my current mattress and came to realize the discomfort i’m feeling is what i believe is called ‘hammocking’. There’s a lot of pressure that’s uncomfortable, but i don’t feel the springs. I’m not bottomed out on the springs, the upper layers of ‘fluff’ have compressed so much that the top fabric now sags to the point that it’s stretched extremely tight under the pressure points until the taught fabric itself feels ‘hard’ and has no give. I’m not looking to spend 500-600 for a mattress that’s going to end up just like this in a year or two, there are 250-300 price range models that will do me at least that well (or poor). If a $500 mattress was suitable for the 4-6yr range it would be worth considering, but not for 18mo. If i have to start considering $1000 or more, then it may as well be a 12-15yr mattress consideration and is still out of my current budget. In the $1000+ range i can’t realistically consider it for a middle of the road option. At that point, i may as well buy a couple $20 sleeping pads and throw a sleeping bag on the floor and save my money.
TandL, thanks for the heads up. No i hadn’t seen the crazy quilt models. Definitely looks like an option, i’m guessing it’s a regular block of poly? It appears to be zoned, but they haven’t added any info like some of their other models, no description of foam density used or anything. Never slept on a straight foam block before. Wonder if it feels more like a bed or more like a couch cushion without any layering or visco type topper. Inexpensive enough to add a topper though. And thanks Phoenix for going to the trouble emailing certipur, i’d be interested as well to see what they have to say. Hopefully kwm or anyone else would opt to leave out certification seals if they truly weren’t qualified than use them illegitimately. (I’d have more respect for someone who said hey, our foam is cheap and it’s not been certified to any standard - that’s why it’s so cheap.)