Just started the mattress search process and am very glad to have found this site. I’m already much better informed than I was yesterday, when my wife and I spent 2 hours inside a local Sleepy’s(two hours of my life I’ll never get back).
The thing that jumps out from your site is the preferability of local, factory-direct dealers. Does anyone have a suggestion or two on companies in southeast Massachusetts/Cape Cod? Besides Sleepy’s, there are a couple of furniture chains that carry mattresses. One of them is Bernie & Phil’s, but we weren’t impressed with what we saw there yesterday.
Thanks in advance.
I live in the south shore, and found that after shopping around (Sleepys, Giant, ect) that Jordan’s Furniture had a great selection and a great price. They staff was very knowledgeable, low pressure, and seemed less “gimmicky” than the others.
Thanks!
Cardis also has a good selection and pretty knowledgeable sales people for a big box store. Much wiider selection than many local outlets too. They’re the only local ones with an all (or near all) latex mattress.
Thanks. It certainly seems from my early reading that latex mattresses are the way to go. Not sure we even tested any of them yesterday at Sleepy’s, but we will now. Do they feel like the Temperpedic ones?
Hi Swami,
Post #2 in the Boston thread includes the local manufacturers who are closest to the Cape Cod area. The closest is Worley Beds in New Bedford which has some very good value and is probably the first place I would include in my research and Ecin Industries in Fall River but there are also some in Brockton.
Jordans is certainly a “better” choice than most chain stores and their house brand includes some “partly latex” models which may have better value as well as Natura and other models (including two sided) but like all outlets it would be important to have the information available about the layers inside the mattress which is the only way to determine the value of any mattress (see in particular my comments in the Boston thread about them). This includes the details about the innerspring (if any), the thickness and density of any polyfoam, the thickness and density of any memory foam, and the thickness and type (natural or blended, Dunlop or Talalay) of any latex along with any other materials that may be in the mattress. The ILD would also help but personal testing for pressure relief and alignment would be more important than knowing the ILD (softness/firmness) of the layers.
Cardis has a retail location in Hyannis, MA. which carries Spring Air (which includes Nature’s Rest) and SleepDesigns (who is also a regional manufacturer of Comfort Solutions or King Koil) which are the two brands I would consider there (both of whom make mattresses using latex) but again it is important to check the spec sheet for the layer details because the brand is not as important as what is in the mattress. Their online information doesn’t list an “all latex” mattress but of course they may carry models that aren’t listed on their site.
Overall … I would certainly have a strong preference towards the local manufacturing that is closest to you.
Latex feels very different from memory foam (like Tempurpedic). Memory foam mattresses are usually memory foam over higher quality polyfoam (like the Tempurpedic) and have a more "in the mattress’ feel and inhibit movement to greater or lesser degrees depending on the memory foam. Latex has a more “on the mattress” feeling and is more “movement friendly” than memory foam. Both are great pressure relieving materials and both also provide good motion separation between sleepers although a memory foam comfort layers is slightly better than a latex comfort layer at this. Latex is also a more breathable material and sleeps cooler than most memory foam. Memory foam is never found in a support layer because is is the least supportive type of foam.
Good luck and feel free to post if you have any questions along the way.
Phoenix
Thanks, Phoenix. Awesome site you have here. Extremely helpful.
has any one have an opinion of Gardner mattress company or Yankee mattress?? They are both in Massachusetts
Hi Jgunschel,
I noticed that you used your email as your username which may lead to some of the bots around the internet adding you to their spam lists. If you’d like me to change it for you to the part before the @ just let me know and I’d be happy to do so.
I personally think highly of both of them. Gardner is on the Boston list in post #2 here and Yankee Mattress is on the Springfield list in post #4 here. Both are knowledgeable, use good quality materials in their mattresses, and are better “value” than most of the mainstream choices that most people end up purchasing. (NOTE ADDED: Yankee Mattress is also now a member of this site)
A forum search on Yankee and on Gardner (you can just click these) will bring up more information about both of them. The search on “gardner” will also bring up some results for “gardners” (with an “s”) which is a retailer and not the same business.
Of course a mattress is only as good as it’s construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it along with it’s suitability for your specific needs and preferences so comparing the specifics of the mattresses you are considering is just as important if not more so than comparing the manufacturers.
Phoenix
We bought two mattresses from Gardner this year. First purchase was an all-Latex model that I liked but my better half didn’t. We exchanged it for a latex coil/combo one that has worked out well. At every point, Gardner was very professional and courteous. We made the initial purchase at the Newton store, and made the exchange at the Lynn store. I highly recommend them.