I am sorry, but I do not know where the foam is manufacturered
Hi Bruteye,
No problem. When I have the chance, I’ll give them a call to find out what I can and add it to my notes for future reference.
Thanks again for your feedback.
Phoenix
Anybody have a review on a Sealy Optimum Inspiraton Bed?
Or any model in this collection.
There are not any reviews currently online since it is so new. I am interested in purchasing however I would like feedback.
I am also interesed in the Sealy Optimum Pillow that was in a store i visited however they did not have a price or release date. Anybody have any inside info?
Hi asudixon,
I merged your post to another thread with the same title and some of my thoughts about the Optimum are in the earlier posts in this thread. There are more comments at the end of post #4 here.
The only way to know the quality and durability of a mattress is to know the specifics of the materials that are in it. Other than that … you are at the mercy of marketing stories rather than the type of accurate information that can be used to make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.
Sealy (along with most of the other major brands or what are often called “S” brands along with Tempurpedic and Comfort Solutions among others) is not a brand that I would consider. The only exception to this … and this would be very rare … is if I had tested a specific mattress that for some reason was different from any other and I knew the materials and layering of that specific mattress and they compared favorably in terms of quality and value with local manufacturers or other smaller independent brands sold at smaller “sleep shop” outlets that tend to have much better quality and value.
The first of the guidelines that I list in this article is …
1. Avoid buying a mattress made by any of the major national brands such as Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Tempurpedic. While they are not all “bad” mattresses and some may even be good quality, … none of them have good value when compared to similar mattresses made by smaller independent manufacturers. NONE
If you let me know the city you live in … I’d be happy to let you know about any local manufacturers or better outlets I may know about that have higher levels of knowledge and service and offer better quality and value.
Hope this helps 
Phoenix
Gastonia NC 28056
Thanks
Hi asudixon,
Post #2 here (centered on Charlotte) along with post #2 here (centered on Hickory) include the better options in your area. You are fortunate to have a range of good options close to you :).
These are the types of manufacturers and outlets that are highly responsive to consumers, are much more open and transparent about the materials they use in their mattresses, and will help to educate you about how to make better choices that better fit your short and long term needs and preferences.
It also doesn’t hurt that the quality and value of their products is generally much better than anything you will find from major manufacturers or chain stores.
Hope this helps
Phoenix
I live in Louisville, KY. Is there a location locally you can direct me to?
Country bedding sounds like they make a great product. The only problem is that you have to go visit them locally as they don’t have phones or Internet support. I tried to call them to see if they would ship to Virginia without success. No chamber of commerce exists as well. Looks like I’m out of luck… Sleepless in Virginia
Hi Mbower,
I also tried to find a phone number for them so I could find out more information about their mattresses but it seems that they don’t have one.
Typically though, local manufacturers like this are not set up and usually don’t even want to ship their mattresses outside of their local area.
There are a lot of good online choices that do though that would have similar value and there also may be some local choices available to you with similar quality/value depending on where you are in Virginia.
Phoenix
Hi,
Last year we purchased a latex foam bed and initally loved the way it slept. Because we like to cuddle, we found that it soon developed a “hole” in the middle where we felt like we were pulling outselves out of constantly. What is funny is that it sleeps great for one person, but the added weight of both of us just is too much (we are not heavy people either). We just got tired of it and moved it to the spare room about 7 months ago. We like the reduced movement this type of bed offers and are hoping we can find a good quality one that will last many for many years.
We are in Carrollton Texas, can you recommend a good mattress manufacturer or outlet here?
Thanks so much!
Hi Tddybear71,
I’d be interested to know the brand and model of your mattress. It’s unusual for latex to do this and it would be interesting to see if there are any other materials in the mix.
There are some very good options in the Dallas/Ft Worth general area and the better ones are in post #2 here.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
We bought the bed at Sleep Experts and were told that it’s manufactured by Sleep Designs, but the tag is showing the manufacture as Sanitary Mattress Company at 5808 Berry Brook Drive - mfg. date of 2/9/10. The model number on the tag is Starlight 624M315 with 85% Synthetic Foam, 10% Latex Foam Rubber, 5% Synthetic Fiber. (The tag is also showing a prototype number, which seems a little strange - I’m from the electronics industry and we never note a pro-totype number unless it’s still under prototype, but that may be normal for the mattress industry.)
Since I’m not very familiar with the different foams (reason for my visit to your web site) it could be that this is just not very good material for support.
Thanks for the information on good options in our area!
Amanda
(ps - love your web site and the help it gives to all of us who are unfamiliar!)
Hi Tddybear71,
Sanitary mattress and Sleep Designs are the same company. The Sleep Designs name is owned by Sanitary mattress.
Their website seems to be in the process of being updated but they are an Eastman House and Eclipse licensee as well as producing their own line. they have just come out with a line of gel foam mattresses called Elemental as well that are high quality and sold through some select retail outlets
Law tags don’t show the layering of a mattress or the thickness or position of the layers but Eastman house does make a Starlight mattress which has a 2" layer of latex in it. This is probably not the one you have though because 2" of heavier natural latex in a mattress would be much more than 10% by weight of the mattress contents. 10% would likely be an inch or so. The 85% synthetic foam would be polyfoam and some of this would be low density soft polyfoam above the latex and some firmer polyfoam would likely be the support core. The 5% fiber would be the fiber in the quilt.
What this means is that any impressions and softening are from lower density polyfoam and fiber rather than latex and it wouldn’t even be “fair” to call your mattress a latex hybrid mattress much less a latex mattress when the latex is a much thinner layer. Many retailers will call their mattresses a “latex” mattress when the latex is really only a more minor part of the mattress.
Mattresses all have a prototype which is used to pass the 1633 burn test. A prototype may be a thicker version and once the prototype has passed … then you can “build within” the prototype using the same materials but in smaller quantities so if you pass a 12" mattress prototype for example … then you can build say a 10" version that uses thinner layers of the same materials.
Given the materials listed on the law tag … I think the “mystery” of why your mattresses has developed “holes” or soft spots (low density polyfoam and fiber in the upper layers of the mattress) has been solved
Phoenix
Not sure on a release date, but we just purchased the sealy optimum destiny king size from morris home furnishings and they said the pillows would probably be around 150 or so when they come out. If anyone is wanting an extremely firm mattress, the optimun destiny is that. My husband is really big, so they told him he needs an extra firm mattress, me on the other hand i want super soft. We have had this bed a little over 2 weeks now, and it actually makes my ribs hurt when i lay on my side, and im a side sleeper, which sucks, cuz we spent over 2000 for this bed and morris only gives you a 7 day return policy, so now im gonna have to get myself a foam topper to put on my side.
Hi rayneandskylar,
Did you happen to ask about the quality specs of the layers in the mattress or even more importantly was the outlet willing or able to tell you. It would be great if you did because this type of information is difficult to find out with the major manufacturers and it’s important to know before anyone buys a mattress.
Without knowing the type and density of the foam layers … especially in the upper layers of the mattress which are the “weak link” of most mattresses … there is no way to know the quality or durability of the materials in the mattress and there is also no way to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses.
Sealy and the other larger brands are not good at this at all and use many marketing techniques (such as selling the same mattress under many different names) to make meaningful comparison shopping difficult if not impossible. Without knowing the quality of the materials in the mattress … no matter how well it performs in a showroom … there is no way to know if the price you paid is justified.
It would be like comparing a piece of furniture that used particle board and veneer with furniture that used MDF and aonther one that used real hardwood that were all selling at he same price. They may all perform the same when they are new but nobody would pay the same for the one with particle board as the one with real wood. If a consumer asked and nobody could or would tell them … would it really matter how it performed? Would you buy it if you couldn’t find out and nobody would tell you what was behind the nice looking surface?
This is one of the reasons that I don’t recommend any of the major manufacturers (as you can see in these guidelines) because they either won’t tell you what is in them or if you dig hard enough and pull enough teeth to find out … it will turn out that the same or better quality materials are available in mattresses that perform the same way for much less. There are hundreds of smaller manufacturers that don’t advertise the same way that are building much higher quality mattresses in every price range that will tell you what is in their mattresses and that have higher quality materials that sell for much less.
This is not to say that you won’t love your new mattress … and I certainly hope you do … only to say that without knowing the quality of the materials that are in it you can’t know whether the price you paid was worth it compared to similar options or for how long the mattress will continue to feel and perform the way it did when it was new before the materials soften or break down and the mattress loses it’s support or comfort and this is not covered by any warranty so there is no recourse when this happens.
Phoenix
I live in central IL, near Champaign. What options do I have other than the big box retailers? I too was looking at the Optimum.
Hi Vice,
Post #2 here should help. Four of the manufacturers listed have outlets right in Champaign so you have some very good options.
Phoenix
Phoenix,
Have you actually looked for, or seen the specific material list or construction of the new optimum radiance? I did like the feel of it while laying on it in the store for a little while, ofcourse I know this is a far cry from a few years of breakdown and what have you. Just figured these big mattress companies would get tired of knowing they’re being outdone by smaller manufacturers and actually use their finances to make an amazing product periodically?! Just wasn’t sure if a Sealy is a Sealy in your eyes (all terrible), or if I just need to sift thru the BS to find a good one.
Hi vice,
Looked for and asked in various places … yes. Found … no :). This isn’t surprising though because Sealy holds these specs close to their chest and isn’t exactly forthcoming with the meaningful quality specs about their mattresses.
There are many “pathways” to the same feel and performance in a mattress and many manufacturers may have a model that has a similar feel.
Because the larger companies control such a huge percentage of the market and because consumers are so receptive to advertising regardless of the truth behind it … there is really very little need for them to make an amazing mattress with amazing value. They are also more responsive to the profit margin needs of their biggest customers which are the chain stores and larger retailers than they are to the needs of the consumer and if they were to do what you suggest then the larger retailers wouldn’t likely carry their mattress because the profit margins would be too low.
In addition to this … they have many layers of infrastructure with many “mouths to feed” and each level of this infrastructure adds significantly to the cost of a mattress.
Finally … they are responsible to shareholders or private investment groups and the pressure for them to increase profits is much higher than the pressure to build better value mattresses. They count on the fact (correctly it seems) that no matter how many times someone may buy a mattress that they didn’t like … they will “forget” their experience from a few years previously and convince themselves (with the help of advertising and salespeople) that they were the exception and since all the models have changed and everything is “new this and new that” … that somehow things may be different this time. While they certainly do lots of research … most of it is in the direction of how to make lower quality materials perform like higher quality ones so that people will buy mattresses that feel good in the managed environment of a showroom and for long enough after that so that people will forget their experience and the models and advertising will have changed again.
Manufacturers will tend to have similar value across their lineup and the major brands have an infrastructure and corporate culture that just can’t compete on “value” terms with smaller manufacturers without the help of advertising and their larger customers (who they are most responsive to) like the chains and larger retailers.
Until consumers learn that the quality specs of a mattress are important and begin to demand that they are revealed before they “vote” with their wallet and also learn the basis behind real value … then the larger brands will continue to dominate because of people’s tendencies to follow advertising and to equate brand, size, market position, the availability of a mattress, and the approval of others" with quality.
So the answer to your question is that you can try to “sift through all the BS” of the advertising claims but you are still sorting through marketing stories not fact and you still won’t find enough meaningful information about the materials in the mattress to make good decisions. Even if you did (and they do what they can to discourage comparison shopping) … you would quickly find that the value wasn’t there which is exactly why they make this type of information so difficult to find. Sorting through the claims means you would be buying a mattresses based on who had the best story rather than who had the best materials and value. Either this or you would buy the mattress that had the best showroom feel without having any way to know how long the feel and performance would last.
Until consumers learn how to make more meaningful comparisons based on the quality of materials and construction and disregard the misleading information that they are exposed to … the major brands will continue to dominate and will have no reason to change. Like so many other areas of life … consumers as a whole are more easily led by advertising claims and loyalty marketing than by their own personal research into the “facts behind the stories”. This is unfortunate but a fact of the culture we live in … at least for now. Hopefully this will change over time and the goal of this site of course is to make that change happen a little more quickly
Phoenix