King Mattress Advice/Reccomendation

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi!

My wife and I are currently in the market for getting a King bed. Our current bed is a Capitol Bedding Emerald Queen mattress. It is still going strong, but we want to get a bit bigger bed for our room, so figured we’ll get a King! I am 5’8", 175lbs and my wife is 5’3", 140lbs. Our dog sleeps with us in bed too (kind of why we want a bigger bed), and he is 50lbs. I generally sleep on my back or stomach (trying to sleep less on my stomach), and my wife is a side sleeper. Our budget for the king mattress is $2000.

After reading as much as I can on this awesome site, and looking at all the places to go mattress shopping in the Metro Detroit, we’ve narrowed it down to 3 mattresses and I was looking advice/thoughts on the choices and if they would be good fits with our sleeping styles.

  1. Therapedic Theraluxe HD Cascade Plush (ORBalsam Firm)

Construction layers (Top to Bottom):
2" HD Polyfoam 2.1lbs (Balsam Firm has only 1" of this, and potentially a different ILD to make it firmer?)
2" HypurGel firm polyfoam 3lbs
1" HD polyfoam 1.8lbs
17 gauge pocketed coil spring system (foam encased)

Looking at the specs of this, it seems to all have top quality foams and even a great pocket coil system. My question with this mattress, is it a bit overkill for our weights? Looking at Therapedic’s website, they look to market this line of mattresses for heavier set people, so I guess I’m just curious if its too much for me and my wife? Or does it not really matter, and the quality of the material, is just high quality? Also, would it be better to go the Balsam Firm or Cascade Plush? Personally, I like the plushier mattress and how it feels, but at the same time I feel like firm might be better in the long term; That’s what people tell me at least (as you get older, firmer is better). That and I can always make a mattress softer and not firmer.
My one negative to this mattress is that Therapedic is a national brand and when looking at the top national brands on this site, Therapedic, didn’t seem to get a very high rating in terms of component quality (they seem to have provided all the specs for this mattres atleast). National Brand List

  1. Capitol Bedding Opulence Plush (More detailed specs)

Construction layers (Top to Bottom):
1" Quiltflex polyfoam 1.2lbs
1" gel polyfoam 1.5lbs
2.25" Serene PolyFoam 2.5lbs
1" HD polyfoam 2.5lbs 36ILD
15 gauge 6-turn Bolsa interior coils
1.25" base polyfoam 1.5lbs

When i laid on this mattress, it was very comfortable and plush. I keep going back to whether I need something more firm. Maybe that’s a question I need to answer first haha. Any advice on how to figure out firm vs. soft is what i need?. Anyways, I guess my issues with this from specs perspective is that there are A LOT of layers, and to me that says many potential points of failures. Also that top quiltflex foam is 1.2lb density and based on what I’ve read on this site it seems like the minimum density should be 1.5, or even 1.8lbs. Not sure if quiltflex foam is a different type of foam so lower density is still okay? I do like that this is made by Capitol Bedding. Like I said before I am a bit bias with what Capitol Bedding puts out. They are local to MI and I do like that and supporting them, but I feel like the Therapedic beats this one out in terms of quality of material and value since this is priced close to the Therapedic, from the few places I’ve gotten quotes from.

3.Capitol Bedding Evening Dreams Plush (Or Firm)

Construction layers (Top to Bottom):
2.25" Gel convoluted Foam 2.5lbs (Im basing the density off of the Opulence, since it seems to have the same foam based on the spec sheet)
5.5" Gel Polyfoam 2.5lb 26ILD (Firm is 36ILD)
3" HD Foam 1.8lb 30ILD

This is the one mattress I have yet to lay on, since it wasn’t in the showroom at the time. Hoping to lay on it in the next few days. Specs of this seem good though. Its using higher density foams. I am just curious on this if all foam models are better vs. hybrid models? Does foam (especially when used as the support layers) wear out quicker than pocketed coils? Or is that not a factor when comparing foam vs. hybrid? The support layer here is only 1.8lb density; I’m sure that factors into the longevity of the support layer, but based on our sleeping styles and overall weight, not sure if it’ll factor in too much when comparing to the other two mattresses. Also, this one is more expensive than the other two listed (roughly $500 more), so I am little on the fence of this once since not sure if it will provide the value that the other two will.

Anyways these are the three mattresses we have narrowed it down to. Hopefully I provided enough information. Not sure if you can provide a recommendation, but Ill ask anyways :). Which out of the three would you recommend based on quality of materials?

Personally, I am leaning towards the Therapedic mattress, since I feel like it has the best quality materials out of any mattress I have seen for the price category that its in. But at the same time, they are a National Brand vs. Capitol Bedding is local to Michigan and I’ve had a good experience with them in the past.

Thanks again for all the help!

2

Hey HariS,

Welcome back to the forum :). Thanks for your question.

Congrats on your new mattress shopping journey :slight_smile: ! That’s great news that your current Capitol Bedding Emerald Queen mattress is still going strong (perhaps making it an ideal candidate for a guest room?) and that you have plans for a king upgrade. Thanks for including details on both of your personal stats (and pups too), as discussion of those will help your manufacturer/ retailer of choice better determine which materials and constructions will best pair with your comfort and support needs. As with many couples, you both have opposite sleeping profiles, requiring different comfort needs. Back and stomach sleepers have less curvy profiles and require thinner top layers/ a more shallow cradle needed in the upper comfort layers. A good starting point for a back sleeper is 2" of softer material on top of your mattress and then increasing or decreasing from there depending on other factors like weight, preferences, or other sleeping positions. Side sleepers’ curvier profile of shoulders and hips need to “sink into” the comfort layers more to avoid feeling pressure point soreness during the night. In general, a good starting point for a good comfort layer for a side sleeper is 3" and then depending on weight, body shape, preferences, and the firmness of the support layers, to go up or down from there. Most side sleepers will fall in the range of from 2" -4".

Thanks for your kind words on the site and for providing the mattress model links and specs for review, HariS. You may have noticed on Therapedic’s site some tiny print below the general product “ingredients” this statement: *(elements may vary depending on specific model). While the TheraLuxe HD seems positioned for “Plus Size Friendly” on their site, the two models you provided specs for feature a 17 gauge pocketed coil support array, which is a finer gauge wire with a medium-soft support feel. The HD polyfoams’ higher density would provide a highly durable comfort material for a wide range of weights and would certainly not be considered “overkill” for your combined weights. The main consideration now is whether you both found the mattress desirable in terms of comfort and support for both of your individual preferences.

Thanks for considering a mattress purchase from expert trusted member Mattress To Go :slight_smile: ! This is a question of personal preference, HariS. With your back sleeping preference (and sometimes stomach) you may prefer the Balsam Firm more over time; however, your wife may find it too firm for her preferred side sleeping position. And you are correct in that you can always add different layers to soften the comfort feel of a mattress, but you can’t firm up the support of too soft of a mattress. You may want to consult with Mattress To Go owner/ TMU expert trusted member @JeffScheuer regarding these questions, he is deeply knowledgeable and experienced with pairing individuals with mattress materials and components to best suit their preferences.

You can likely thank Jeff Scheuer for providing the thorough component spec breakdown as all TMU trusted members are required to provide those details for quality and transparency assessment by consumers. I checked other Therapedic resellers sites and the product details listed were only by component and not by spec, just as does Therapedic.com

I checked Capitol Bedding’s web site to learn more about your current Emerald queen mattress but didn’t find it on the site. If you still enjoy its feel and want to stick with its firmness feel, that may be a good starting point for deciding whether you want to go with a softer vs. firmer feeling mattress. A reputable manufacturer would be happy to listen to your questions and help guide you along the decision making path in this regard.

Understanding the proprietary names, what the foams actually are, and their densities are key to measuring durability and useful life potential. The uppermost layer of 1" Quiltflex polyfoam, 1.2 lbs per cu. ft. is generally considered the lowest grade of polyfoamand could result in depressions in the upper comfort layer more quickly. One question I have for your is in regard to the pocket coil support layer: above, you describe it as a single zoned, 15 gauge Bolsa coil support array; however, Capitol Bedding’s site lists it as a Combi-Zone support coil with 3 support zones. If you’re considering this mattress, you would want clarification on which support core you’re getting as Combi-Zone Coil units usually have a firmer center zone and may be too firm for your wife’s side sleeping preference.

It would be nice if you have the chance to demo the Evening Dreams Gel Plush model before making final decisions, as all-foam mattresses have quite a different feel and character than hybrid mattresses. HD/ High Density polyfoam is the highest grade of polyfoam, weighing 2.5 lbs cu. ft. or more and uses a different formulation than that of conventional polyfoam. It should also have a support factor (progressive resistance) of 2.4 or higher and resilience of 60% to qualify for this grade. Your above specs rate the 3" HD foam support core at 1.8 lb/ 30 ILD, which is a perfectly acceptable density for a support material. It should last longer and will keep its firmness longer than lower density conventional polyfoam (depending on the density) but typically not as long as a high quality innerspring or higher grades of polyfoam, or latex foam.

Excellent job on your mattress research :slight_smile: ! Yes, you got everything needed to start narrowing your choices, as well as some personal experience with trying 2 of the 3 mattresses of interest. Based on the details that you’ve provided, it is certainly tempting to lean towards one of the Therapedic TheraLuxe HD models, as they both seem sound from a durability standpoint and they have the customer service backing of trusted member Mattress To Go. But ultimately, you and your wife will make that decision based on your comfort and preference needs, as well as the overall quality of the mattress being considered.

You are to be commended for supporting local small business, HariS. Keep in mind too that while Therapedic is a national brand, the reseller (in this case, Mattress To Go) is also a local small business with a long history of community involvement in the area and is worthy of consideration too. Good luck with your continued research and keep us updated as your decision making process progresses :wink: .

Thanks,
Sensei