Looking for new softer Memory Foam/Gel Mattress.... Suggestions?

Bought a 12" Serta Deluxe Foam Mattress from Overstock last year and we’re not happy with it. The first one we received had a giant hump down the center probably from being boxed and folded for months and months. We called Overstock and they gave us the manufacturers name and number. They were very cool about it. Asked for a couple pictures showing the problem and they had another one out in the mail in 2 business days. Didn’t require me to return the old one or anything. Anyway so the new one gets here and we’re excited but this one is super firm. Like super. We let it expand 2 whole days before sleeping on it like it said to and boy it was still really really firm. 4 months later now it’s still super firm. Both the wife and I are having neck/back pain almost every morning now that we didn’t have even on the old mattress. Just for the hell of it I went and slept in the guest bed last night.(my full size memory foam about 5 years old, super squishy) to see how it felt. I tell you I woke up this morning so refreshed and pain free it was incredible after just one night. I’m going to sleep on it again tonight just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke but odds are we’re in the market for a softer mattress.

Really liking the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 13 incher. Yes I talked to Chuck. Made in USA. Good warranty/return policy, Gel for cooling. Seems like my best choice right now. Of course I loved the Tempur Cloud Luxe but I’m not spending $5 grand on a damn bed. That’s insane. They claim the Dreamform is similar but lots of reviews say it’s a little firmer. Are they any king mattresses out there under a grand do you think would fit better?

5"11 180lbs back sleeper
5"6 125lbs side/back

This is the Serta we got for reference. Overstock says Medium firmness but they’re smoking crack if they think that’s medium.

https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Serta-Deluxe-12-inch-Queen-size-Memory-Foam-Mattress/8573326/product.html?refccid=SRDPNMR4V2NZ6KKFOBO3VOQ3JQ&searchidx=4

Hi turns31,

I’m sorry to hear about your experience and it certainly sounds like your replacement mattress was different from your original one. It may be worth checking the law tag on both mattresses to see if they are different models.

[quote]Really liking the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 13 incher. Yes I talked to Chuck. Made in USA. Good warranty/return policy, Gel for cooling. Seems like my best choice right now. Of course I loved the Tempur Cloud Luxe but I’m not spending $5 grand on a damn bed. That’s insane. They claim the Dreamform is similar but lots of reviews say it’s a little firmer. Are they any king mattresses out there under a grand do you think would fit better?

5"11 180lbs back sleeper
5"6 125lbs side/back[/quote]

I don’t make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial)or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

I’m assuming that you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here but two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).

There is also more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be very unlikely) then there really isn’t a way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort” and PPP based on the specifications of the mattress.

Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so while you may find some local mattresses that use “similar” materials or designs and there would be many others that are in a similar general category or firmness range … they will generally have different combinations of foam layers and components.

Unless a manufacturer specifically says in their description of a mattress that one of their mattresses in the same general category is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” another one in terms of firmness or “feel” (or they are very familiar with both mattresses and can provide reliable guidance about how they compare based on the “averages” of a larger group of people) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.

There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.

While your own careful testing or personal experience is the most reliable way to know whether any mattress is a good “match” for you in terms of comfort and PPP or how closely it “matches” another mattress … when you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart (which I see you’ve done) and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.

Outside of any local options that may be available to you that you can test in person … the mattress shopping tutorial includes a link to a list of the better online memory foam options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) and many of them make mattresses that are designed to approximate some of the Tempurpedic mattresses as well which may also be worth talking to or considering (I don’t know the prices off the top of my head so you would need to check their websites to see which of them are in your budget range).

Having said all of that … you are certainly looking at a great quality/value choice for a mattress that is a reasonable approximation of the Cloud Luxe both in terms of firmness and in terms of the quality of the materials inside it.

Phoenix