Looking for Good Stores Around Atlanta & Couple Other Questions

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi -

I was wondering if anyone here could suggest factory outlets or smaller stores around Atlanta that have good value in Mattresses. My zip is 30307 but I believe there are more stores around my parents zip, 30033.

Also I’m looking for a moderately firm foam mattress (thinking probably memory foam). I understand I should make sure the comfort layer has more than 3 lbs. density and that the support layer is also much higher. Sounds like there isn’t a ton of faith in the gel infused foam mattresses but rather its a still a newer option that maybe the jury is still out. I’m still leaning towards getting one with gel just in case it really does help with big temperature as that can be an issue for me at night.

I went to Macy’s just to try out what they had and the one I ended up really liking was a Simmons beautyrest comforpedic. I need a King and yes I don’t want to pay $2800 so I’m hoping I can find something of better value in factory outlet somewhere. This comforpedic though did seem to have a 1" layer top of gel infused beads and then 2 other non-gel infused comfort layers and then finally a support layer and edge layers. The salesman did have a layered sample showing all of that. Really did seem to be a nicely constructed bed albeit I had no density information and did not ask for any at the time (it was before finding this site).

The bed I liked:
http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/comforpedic-by-beautyrest-mattress-sets-colony-grove-tight-top-plush?ID=900609&CategoryID=25931#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D5%26kws%3Dsimmons%20comforpedic%26slotId%3D3

Here’s brochure of comforpedic but yes they leave out the density information and is just mostly a bunch of hyper. Furthermore yes I can’t even tell what model corresponds to the Macy’s one. http://www.beautyrest.com/downloads/2013_CP_Brochure.pdf

So thanks to anyone that can suggest some good stores to hit around Atlanta and any other comments. This site has been a huge help thus far and I already feel much more informed!

Thanks!

2

Hi MattressMatt,

The first place to start your research and “reset” the way you may be looking for a mattress is post #1 here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices … and avoid the worst ones (including the Simmons Comforpedic lineup). It’s probably best to put the Comforpedic out of your mind completely because you are unlikely to be able to find out the specifics of all the layers inside it (which means I would avoid it ) and the only way to find something comparable is based on subjective “feel” and your own side by side testing but “showroom feel” won’t tell you anything about the quality or durability of either mattress. In most cases … the time you spend testing major brand mattresses or time spent in mainstream stores is mostly wasted unless you are just curious about how they feel without regard to quality or how they may compare to other mattresses because they don’t provide enough information about their mattresses to make meaningful comparisons or make an informed buying decision.

Some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Atlanta / Decatur area are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

3

Thanks for your feed back Phoenix… I have a few general followup questions

  1. What a rule of thumb when considering the overall thickness of a mattress? Should I really care whether it’s 11" or 8" generally speaking? It’s a lot to consider the type of material, quality of that material, density, and thickness – and then decide whether or not an extra inch in the comfort layer and 2 extra inches in the support layer even matter.

  2. It seems that latex is most desirable foam mattress in terms of quality and durability. Does it generally also have more resilient temperature control, where in effect it feels cooler than memory or poly foam?

  3. Don’t you think showroom feel is at least important to understand when evaluating what type of materials you want in the different layers? I could find out whether it’s latex, memory foam, or polyfoam, its’ density and thickness – but I still don’t really know whether I like the way that combination feels without at least laying on it first. Yes I understand laying on it for 10 minutes won’t tell me how it holds up overtime, but it will at least tell me whether I like it or not assuming it stays durable - then verify the durability using your guidelines/tips.

  4. Thanks for your list of Georgia outlets. I would like to stay in the local Atlanta area so I have it narrowed down to these 3 retailers. If you have any others in the Atlanta area please let me know.

    A) Tuckermattressfactory - Their website is down. Im wondering if they are still in business. Any personal knowledge of what they’re about?
    B) Mcdaniel Mattress - Seems they do custom orders. Not clear whether I try out mattresses in the showroom and then order them to be made to order or whether I can customize my own mattress. As I eluded to in point #3 I don’t really feel comfortable enough ordering a mattress I haven’t layed on, which would include me ordering one to my custom specs. I simple dont have enough knowledge about my owns like and dislikes to know what how many layers and what thickness of each layer to really know.
    C) DeCourcy and Company - I found another thread where you had talked to owner and posted some info about them. Do you have anymore information about the differences between the invigo, hevea grove, and linen lines? There website does not offer much specific information except that there is 3" of natural latex and 6" of poly foam in the support layer (no density or type of polyfoam). The comfort layer they do not offer any specifics except “plush”. I guess this is also another place where I would not be able to lay down on any of the mattress models before ordering? For their 1 retailer in Georgia for hevea grove they look just as expensive at the national brands, although I know you mention price will be lower if I order directly from DeCourcy.

I’m on verge of starting to contacting some of these places but I wanted to get a little bit more knowledgeable first.

4

Hi Mattressmatt,

There really isn’t any rule of thumb when it comes to mattress thickness. Some people may do very well on a 6" latex mattress (or even thinner) while for others an 8" innerspring with say 5" of latex on top of it with some progressive firmness may be ideal. It really depends on the specifics of the layers and components of the mattress and how they interact with each person. A 6" innerspring with only two inches of polyfoam above it on the other hand may be too firm. I wouldn’t use mattress thickness as any kind of a guideline except I would tend to avoid comfort layers that were too thick and soft regardless of the type of support layer underneath it. On the other hand … differences of an inch in comfort layers can make a significant difference in the “feel” of a mattress. I would avoid trying to choose a mattress based on specs unless you had extensive experience with how different combinations interact or specific reference points based on your own testing that were very close to what you are considering.

Latex is the most breathable foam category (Talalay even more than Dunlop) so it helps with temperature regulation more than other foams but the foam in a mattress is only one part of all the factors that combine to regulate temperature which in some cases can have an even bigger effect on a mattress. There is more about the combination of factors that are involved in temperature regulation in post #2 here.

The “feel” of a mattress is very subjective and most people have had the experience of testing mattresses earlier in the day and then going back to retest the same mattress later on and it felt completely different because the testing in between has changed their frame of reference. While “feel” is certainly part of any mattress choice and some familiarity with the different characteristics of different materials and components is important … it’s more of a preference issue and pressure relief and alignment are more important yet. No matter how good a mattress feels in a showroom … if you wake up with a back ache or pressure points then it would not be a good choice. Feel also says nothing about the quality or durability of the materials in a mattress. 10 minutes of “feel based testing” isn’t enough to predict how well a mattress will work when you sleep on it and could have even lower odds of making a successful choice than random chance alone (see this study). in other words it’s just one of the factors in a good mattress choice and is based mostly on preference and not on “needs”. One of the links in the read first post (post #4 here) goes into all the different factors that are involved in an “ideal” mattress choice including “feel”.

They are a husband and wife team and are probably not technology savvy. Some of the better “finds” I know of around the country don’t even have a website at all but are dependent on their local reputation in the area for business. Their phone is still working and they answer with “Tucker mattress Company” so I suspect that there is an issue with their website or domain and they are still in business. Since the introduction of 1633 which is the new fire code that came into existence in 2007 I’ve seen about 20% of the local manufacturers across the country go out of business as the “advertising dominated” major brands and chain stores increase their market share and it becomes more difficult to compete against consumer perception based on the massive advertising of lower quality more expensive mattress that have good “marketing stories” attached but I think they are still there making mattresses. You can see a few comments about them in post #2 here. They are certainly worth talking to.

That would probably depend on their policy about building a custom mattress on “spec” or on how confident you were after a conversation with them about a mattress that was based on “tweaking” one of their standard designs. I would personally stick with a mattress you had tested or a small variation in design that had a more “predictable” outcome unless you had good options to change out a layer or make fine tuning adjustments after your purchase. This would be part of the conversations I had with them because I don’t know their specific policies. Many manufacturers will make changes to a mattress after a purchase which of course makes more custom designs less risky. I haven’t talked with them so I don’t know much about them other than the basic types of mattresses they make.

They are really informative and knowledgeable on the phone and I would encourage you to talk with them to find out more about the differences in their different mattress lines because they will give you more specific information than anything I could say. In general though their top two lines are more “boutique” brands that are mostly sold through various retailers around the country which use more costly cover fabrics and materials. They really don’t have much competition at all in the major brands although they are their higher priced lines. They don’t “compete” with their retailers (which is the quickest way to lose your retailer base) so their direct prices aren’t lower than they are generally sold at stores. Their Invigo line has lower margins and uses blended Dunlop with Puralux Dunlop in the comfort layers and are more “value” priced. You can test their mattresses in person if you make an appointment first.

As long as you focus on materials and on your own personal testing more than specs you will be fine and you will normally find these types of local manufactures to be open, easy, and informative to talk with. They really do like to talk about the mattresses they make :slight_smile:

Phoenix

5

Phoenix -

Thanks for your expert advice and time. I wanted to post back to let you know the conclusion of this story, since I figure sometimes you don’t always get that or other users reading this :slight_smile:

I visited the Original Mattress Factory which has over 100 stores nation wide and 11 factories, but isn’t really considered one of the national-wide " big brands" like Sealy, Simmons, etc. I think you would do good to keep recommending that place again to other people if they have a store near them in their state. They make all their own mattresses and are focused on quality and value pricing as you mentioned. Supposedly, the owner use to the be the President of Sealy back in the day before there was some sort of leveraged buyout and he left after they started changing the way they make their mattresses.

I knew I wanted either memory foam or latex mattress this time, I wanted to try something other than springs. Their “Serenity” memory foam mattress was very comfortable and they used high density polyurethane core and had had some sort of 1/2" Aircool layer underneath the memory foam for ventilation. It looked like sparse fibers that the rep said was the same type of layer used in sneakers. Whether it really helped ventilation I can’t say as I didn’t sleep a night on it, but it was sandwhiched between the memory foam and polyfoam, so I would imagine all the heat transfer would have to make it through the entire memory foam layer which I was curious whether that actually worked or not. No sort of gel fused anything. Anyway, the memory foam was very comfortable, and had the exact level of firmness I liked, however I noticed after a few minutes of laying it, the heaviest part of my body (my backside aka butt) sank too far down into the foam and left my lower back arched just too much where it begin to ache a bit. That sinking in feeling was exactly what I wanted to avoid.

I then tried out their 1 latex model, “Serenity Latex” - and immediately thought it was too soft. However after I bit I realized it was basically the opposite of the memory foam Serenity model. Where with the memory foam it felt firm at first, but then started to sink in; the latex model felt soft at first but had more support and kept me from sinking in nearly as far (leaving my lower back not arched nearly as much and therefore less strain). It was a tough call, because I wished the latex was slightly firmer but overall I had to go ahead choose the latex model because of the following reasons

  1. Latex model is more durable because is actually flippable and the inherent durability of latex over memory foam. They put the pin-holed talalay latex on both top and bottom of the mattress, with high density polyfoam core in the middle. I don’t think there are very many flippable latex models on the market, and this definitely assured me I could avoid the Homer Simpson like indentation I have on my current pillowtop mattress. The way the memory foam mattress sank in so far, I felt indentations there over time was much more likely. This just seemed way more durable than the memory foam and would change a lot less over the years than the memory foam might.
  2. This particular latex used seemed to be one of the best quality. The latex is actually made by Latex International and original mattress factory then uses it when constructing their mattress. It is made with the Talalay process which supposedly should help more with cooling and ventilation than the Dunlap process (difference being Talalay has a freezing step to keep more air trapped in the latex). They also poured the latex around pins, resulting in a pinholed mattress that would seem to also greatly increase ventilation therefore make the mattress. Phoenix what is your opinion of putting the pinholes in the talalay latex and making flippable latex mattresses? I thought a side effect of pinholes might of be increased the softness, but that’s just a guess. I had heard memory foams sometimes can get hot and I wasn’t quite sure how effective that aircool layer would really be. So I gave the latex the nod on the ventilation/coolness factor.a
  3. I bought at Original Mattress factory because I could tell their prices were extremely fair and the person working there Julie (Buckhead location), I couldn’t even really call her a saleswoman. She was just extremely informative and knew the products very well without any sense of a pushy salesman mentality. They have pictures all over the walls of their clean factories and how the beds are put together here in America. She knew the names of the people in the pictures actually. Their website has videos of them making the mattresses and are very upfront about the exact materials and specifications of the mattress they make (includling material type, foam layers and their density, etc). They had layered samples everywhere showing the construction of mattresses as well. You just knew exactly what you were buying.

Here’s what I paid for:

King Serenity Latex Set (Matress & Omish made box springs) - $2,099
Very sturdy frame with middle support - $65
Breathable mattress protector - $40
2 King sized High Loft Latex Internation Pillows - $130

Tax: $190.32
Delivery: $45

Total: $2,569.32

And I bought the most expensive mattress in the store I believe. Still think I got great value and a purchase I will be very happy with for many years to come. 12 year warranty included. The Simmon’s comforpedic mattress I looked at was $2800 w/ foundation before tax in Macy’s. Macy’s mattress protector was also $100.

All in all, thanks for the great advice Phoenix and the recommendation to the Original Mattress Factory! The Original Mattress Factory before I started shopping would of sounded the same as The Mattress Firm to me, I probably would of passed on it as scummy pushy national mattress store from first impression without any knowledge. I probably would of ended up with a very different bed for more money had I not researched at the Mattress Underground first. I let them know I found out about them from this website (Which Julie knew about as well).

P.S. - Also it’s funny because my previous post I mentioned I had narrowed down to 3 stores, including this one, but I forgot to mention it and ask your detailed opinion of it like the other two I asked about.

6

Hi MattressMatt,

Thanks for sharing your experiences and feedback … I appreciate it … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I think you’ve described the difference between memory foam quite well. The memory foam starts off firm and then gets softer with heat and the time it’s compresses while latex feels softer at first but as you relax you notice more of how supportive it is. the memory foam is also more "in the mattress while latex is more “on the mattress”.

Even if it was one sided latex is more durable than memory foam (although the memory foam they use is also a high quality and durable material) but a two sided mattress is also more durable than the same type of mattress in a one sided version so you certainly have a very durable mattress.

Blended Talalay is certainly a high quality material and Talalay tends to be more breathable than Dunlop because of the cell structure and lower density. Almost all latex (Talalay and Dunlop) uses pincores in the mold to cure the latex and it’s part of the manufacturing process (they use heated steam through the pincores to cure the latex). There is some Dunlop latex that is poured on a belt instead of a mold and is made in thinner layers that doesn’t need pincores for curing but this is not as common. Different sizes and patterns of the pincores are part of the way that latex can be made softer and firmer. Latex is also the most breathable of all the foam types.

You can also see my thoughts about two sided mattresses in post #3 here and the posts it links to but there is no doubt they are more durable than the equivalent one sided mattress as long as you flip and rotate them on a regular basis.

I agree with you here and one of the reasons I include them in many of the lists around the forum is that they are fully transparent about the materials in their mattresses and tend to have good quality and value and for the most part knowledgeable staff.

I think you made a great choice … and thanks again for sharing the outcome of your research.

Phoenix