Looking for a mattress in NH

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

So I stumbled upon this site, and came to some realizations. The most prominent being, that I’m glad I didn’t just run out and buy a mattress at Jordan’s for 2 grand. I’m looking for a new mattress. I haven’t bought one in almost 15 years so to say that it’s time to replace the one I have is an understatement.

The only requirements I have is that it’s soft, plush, but yet supportive. I was looking into the possibility of going the route of memory foam and was looking at the Sealy Optimum line…but after reading a bit on here, I’m kind of glad I didn’t go out and buy one.

Not sure what’s local and a little more “mom and pop” around me that are good places to shop and offer good value. I’m in Merrimack, NH 03054 and I’m close to a couple major cities…Manchester and Nashua.

I was looking at something like this at Bob’s out here as well…but they don’t list what the materials are that they’re using… http://www.mybobs.com/Mybob

Any suggestions as to where to shop/look and what to buy? Any input is greatly appreciated!

2

Hi Shecki,

Don’t forget that “soft and plush” and supportive are opposites and your best choice will always be a balance between them that best fits your needs and preferences. The soft and plush part will come primarily from the comfort layers and if you go too far in this direction you will compromise support. The supportive part will primarily come from the deeper layers and if you go too far in this direction you may compromise pressure relief. This is part of why more objective testing for each (pressure relief and alignment) can be so valuable … particularly with the help of someone with the experience and knowledge to know that customers that go by subjective ideas of comfort on a mattress will likely make worse choices that they will not be a likely to be happy with over time.

Post #2 here has some links to posts and feedback about some of the better outlets within reasonable driving distance but there aren’t a lot of “best value” choices in your back yard that i’m aware of. I’ll take a quick look online for some of the outlets that may have some better “local” value a little later today but your best overall value (as opposed to the best that may be available locally) would likely include a drive into MA.

Exactly. They have a list of the layers in the top picture of most of their mattresses but nothing about the quality of the materials they use (only the type) … and this is the biggest problem with most of the lower quality/value outlets and the reason I wouldn’t consider them unless they gave me the information I wanted with a phone call (type and density/quality of all the layers) or it was available online. See post #4 here about my conversation with them. Without knowing what is in a mattress … there is no way to know it’s quality or make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses and if this information isn’t easily available (on a phone call) I would pass them by. The only mattress that I would likely consider there would be the Naturally Bobs and even then I would want to know more details about the materials in it (type of latex and density of the support layer) before considering it. MyBobs tends towards lower quality materials and “budget” mattresses … which of course is fine if the details are disclosed and the prices “match” the materials.

Phoenix

3

Phoenix…

Thanks a ton for the response. I’ve actually thrown around the idea of heading down to Gardner Mattress. They’re only about an hour ride from me. I’m wondering if they’re latex offerings might be a good direction for me to go. I don’t know a whole lot about talalay latex…but I can research it a bit and see if it’s a decent material. It seems like they have a couple different latex options. A pocketed coil with a latex top, and a latex base with a cotton pad top…https://www.gardnermattress.com/process.asp

I’ll have to give a call over to Bob’s to see if I can get any info on what kind of foam and density of what it is they’re using in that particular mattress…but I have a feeling, I’m going to be let down.

I appreciate the help!

4

Hi Shecki,

I updated the list for the Boston region and also did some research (and made a few calls) in the Merrimack area for outlets that may have some better “local” value. These will need some further research into the knowledge levels at each outlet and to find out their ability and willingness to tell you the layers in their mattresses but I’ve listed the brands they carry that may be worth including in your research. Some of these will have latex and also memory foam, and gel foam mattresses that you can test but I would call first so you don’t visit any of them without first having a sense of their overall knowledge and service and what they carry on their floor.

http://www.mymattressmakeover.com/ Merrimack, NH. Park Place, Innomax, Comfort Bedding.

http://www.mybobs.com/ Merrimack, NH. Memory foam and latex hybrid house brand (finding out the specs would be very important here and make sure you see post #4 here before you consider these)

http://www.tuckedinorganics.com/ Amherst, NH. Carries Savvy Rest, Organicpedic and Green Sleep mattresses which all use high quality materials (latex, innersprings, and natural fibers) but are also in more premium price ranges.

http://www.jordans.com/About%20Us/Store%20Locations.aspx?source=topNav Nashua, NH and various MA outlets. Retail direct outlet for Jordans Mattress Factory which has their own house brand (I would ignore the major brands they carry). Their memory foam mattress descriptions don’t say the type of memory foam or density but the polyfoam used in the support core is a lower density/quality (1.6 lbs) than is usually used. Their latex over polyfoam mattress uses better quality poly under the latex but doesn’t give the type or layer thickness of the latex which would be important to know (so you know that it’s not just a meaningless layer hidden between other layers of cheaper foam).

http://www.richardsfurniture.com/ Nashua, NH. Goldbond

http://milliondollarmattress.com/contact.html Milford. Retail direct outlet. Carries several memory foam and latex options from Therapedic which may have better than average quality and value.

http://www.endicottfurniture.com/bedroom.html Concord, NH. Englander

http://www.yourhomeyourworld.com/index.html Concord, NH. Carries 2 natural Dunlop Latex mattresses

http://www.siestasleepworks.com/mattresses.html Acton, MA. Pure Latex Bliss (talalay latex), Spring Air. Good people and open about their materials. PLB is a high quality talalay latex line of mattresses.

http://www.butler-furniture.com/brands/ Fitchburg, MA. GoldBond (gel and visco and 2 sided but no latex on floor).

http://www.sunsetmattressfactory.com/index.htm Ossipee, NH. Independent factory direct manufacturer that makes some “old style” and good quality innerspring/cotton mattresses with working box springs that are good value.

http://lovesbeddingandfurniture.com/contact.php Claremont, NH. Carries OMI, Pure Latex Bliss, GoldBond, King Koil XL, Symbol. They understand the importance of knowing the materials in your mattress and Bobby is the “expert” here.

Hope this helps and will give you some closer local sources to test various different types of mattresses.

Phoenix

5

Phoenix…

Thank you so much ! ! ! I will most certainly look into these locations. The one that probably intrigues me the most is Richards and also CA Hoit. Seeing as though I live on the Nashua and Manchester line…I can give both of those a quick drive and take a look at what they have to offer. I will keep the forum posted on my experiences there…and how I make out. Thanks again ! ! !

6

Is there any info or feedback on Natura mattress on here? I’m interested in the latex serene in plush…but it’s core is “plant based foam”…and can’t find a whole lot of info on that. Not sure what others might have experienced with this company.

I was looking at Gold Bond as well too…but found far more negative feedback on the company than I did anything good on them…so that turned me off a bit.

7

Natura actually was just purcased ot of Bankruptcy by Spring Air, I would be shy until I saw how that worked out. I think GoldBond is a great choice for you, dont be fooled by the plant based foam. They are ALL still petro based they are just cut with Soy, Castor or something else. They will still be atleast 80% petro. Be more concerned if they are low VOC, no harsh chemicals. Look for a certification from green guard or certi-pur that would be the most important things vs if a little soy was cut into it.

8

Hi Shecki,

As Joey mentioned … they are just emerging from a bankruptcy so there are retailers who are continuing to carry them and others are taking a more wait and see approach. This also means that there may be some who are looking to sell their stock and may have better value than normal because while Natura tends to use good quality materials … they are also quite pricey in an “apples to apples” comparison with other mattresses. There’s a little more information about the Serene in post #11 here. You can also see the layering on the Natura website here as well although they don’t disclose the density of the polyfoam they use.

As Joey also mentioned … plant based foam is a misnomer and quite misleading. There are two main chemical used in the manufacture of polyfoam … one of these is a polyol and the other is an isocyanate. Both are petrochemical based and in the case of “ecofoam” or other so called “green” foams … some of the petrochemical polyols have been replaced with plant oil based substitutes that have been chemically altered and refined to work in the manufacturing of foam. The percentage replacement is usually less than 20% although in some instances it can be higher. Basically it’s polyfoam with a different and “greener” name.

GoldBond is a smaller manufacturer that makes some “better than average” quality and value mattresses but of course this would depend on the specific mattress and who was selling them. When you come across negative feedback … make sure you know the basis for the feedback and why the feedback was negative. In some cases … consumers will make a poor choice of mattress and then believe the mattress is low quality because it’s not comfortable when in fact they just chose the wrong mattress.

A mattress is only as good as the materials in it and the label doesn’t mean a lot except for those who are “brand shopping”. Any manufacturer can make mattresses that uses lower and higher quality materials. Brand shopping usually means a consumer is much more likely to be misled or misinformed or not make their decisions based on the quality of the materials in a mattress and usually leads to the purchase of a lower quality and value mattress in any price range. GoldBond makes some mattresses that use high quality materials such as latex which may be well worth including in your research.

Phoenix