Your website has been a lifesaver! My husband and I have decided to take the plunge and upgrade to a King mattress. Our current Queen is leaving us both aching and paining…I think its a hand-me-down mattress, who knows how old.
Anyway, we took advice from your site and avoided the big brands, and after a lot of lying down, we think we’ve narrowed down to 2 choices:
Majestic Cool Gel Memory Foam 7400 - At Majestic Futon in Vancouver. This mattress is a 6" foam core base (2lb high density foam), with a 2" layer of 5lb memory foam on top, and then a 2" layer of gel memory foam. We like the feel of this mattress, we like that the latex is Certipur. The price is about $1400 for the King. majesticfuton.com
Discount Foam on Fraser - Jon certainly seems to know his foam, but he suggested to us something we had never heard of before. Very comfortable, but I wanted to run it by you. He suggested a 6" polyfoam base (didn’t say the weight), with a 2" memory foam top, with a 2" “egg crate” foam topper on top of that. He said that he doesn’t glue the layers and suggested we flip them every year, and that every 2-3 years we will have to replace the egg crate. His price is about $1500 for the King. I’m wary because I’ve never heard of this technique, but it did seem very comfortable.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this? Where do you think the best value is? You’ve recommended Discount Foam on Fraser in your threads, but I felt dubious about his memory foam as when I asked if it had any certifications all he could say is that its not made in China…
From a sleep stat point of view, I am 5’7" and about 190lbs. Hubby is 6’1" and 230lbs. We are both side sleepers. My husband would like to be able to sleep on his back, but it starts aching after 10 minutes or so and he’s not sure if that is something any bed could fit. We both like a softer bed, but I also need to feel that my hips are being supported by a firmer underlayer.
This uses good quality materials and I think has good value.
This is certainly a valid design IMO and would be similar to using a topper which can be replaced (the upper layers of a mattress wear and soften faster than the deeper layers).
Using soft polyfoam (fast response) on top of memory foam (slow response) will change the feel and performance of a mattress and it would be a combination of the feel of the two which some people would like a lot. Having a replaceable layer for the less durable eggcrate makes up for the fact that it would be the weak link of this mattress. Of course the eggcrate is less costly than memory foam and to make a meaningful value comparison with the mattress at Majestic you would need to know the details of the layering (the density and thickness of the polyfoam and memory foam) but the design theory is certainly valid.
On the surface … and from a “commodity” point of view it seems that the Majestic uses higher quality more costly materials (memory foam is more costly than eggcrate polyurethane) but without more specific details about the foam layers it’s not possible to really make a truly meaningful comparison.
If the memory foam and polyfoam is made in North America (which his is) then I wouldn’t have any real issues with it (most North American foam pourers are CertiPur certified or at least I would consider them as being relatively “safe”) although of course it would still be important to me that I know the density of the foam. My main concern is with Chinese or offshore foams that come from a non CertiPur certified foam producer so you can’t know about their quality control, safety, or what they may add to their foam.
I would trust your personal experience when you are testing mattresses and the “in person” help of the people you are dealing with over any “theory at a distance” about the type of layering that may work best for you in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences). The one thing that I would pay attention to (and you are) is the quality of the materials used (or the ability to change out any weak links in a mattress you are considering).
If you spend at least 15 minutes on any mattress that you are considering … fully relaxed (like you are in the pre sleep state) … then he should be able to test for this. It could come from comfort layers that are too firm (unlikely if he is OK with side sleeping on a mattress) or from comfort layers that are too thick and soft which may create sleeping in a “hunched” or other position which is not “neutral” for him and may cause stress on the back muscles. It could also come from a pillow that is too thick for back sleeping.
You have some good choices available to you and I would fill in the “gaps” in the information you have and then make a choice based on all the many objective, subjective, and intangible factors that are part of your “value equation” which of course includes the feel and performance of the mattress, the “commodity value” of the mattresses, and also all the other benefits that are connected to a mattress purchase from a particular supplier.