Hi Phoenix,
First and foremost, I’d like to thank you for creating and maintaining this website. I found Mattress Underground a few hours after putting a refundable deposit down on a big box store mattress that probably would have been mistake. The information you provide here has been invaluable in helping me find a new mattress that will fit my PPP. There’s a bit of “Princess and the Pea” going on for me when shopping for a mattress that will suit my side/front-sleeping, aching hip, stiff-muscled, heavy-ish female frame.
The initial mattress I was going to buy (before finding Mattress Underground) was this Sealy: It wasn’t really the answer to my hopes and dreams, but the sales woman said she could get me a warehouse clearance queen mattress for $699, and I figured that anything would be better than the mattress I’m sleeping on now. At the time, I thought I needed a relatively firm mattress to relieve the low back and hip pain I was having… pretty much because that’s what the salesperson told me.
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It was only after doing a lot of research (mostly here), that I was able to use my body’s senses to understand how each mattress distributed the pressure and affects my alignment when lying down. The shopping experience was so different after I was armed with that information! Being able to evaluate the comfort and support layers instead of just my first overall impression of a mattress has helped me figure out that I want a mattress with a thick, plush comfort layer, but with a firm enough support layer to keep my hips from sinking too low and throwing my body out of alignment. It’s a very fine balance indeed. I tried some memory foam models to test the pressure relief factor, but it turns out I don’t like memory foam because I move around a lot and want a material that will rebound right away, so latex is primarily what I’m looking for.
I didn’t find a mattress that I loved at Soma. The closest I came was the Obasan Acadia 2.0 or possibly the Green Sleep Sogno, but neither gave me enough sink-in factor for me to fall in love with the mattress. Christina was patient and helpful – especially considering that I walked in thinking that I needed a firm mattress and ended up looking for something really plush. Also, I was in a bit of sticker-shock while I was there, as my initial budget for a new mattress was $800-$1000 Canadian Dollars.
I visited the Ton Furniture showroom, where I found only one of the Dream Star beds would be suitable for me, the Natural Escape Plush. It’s 4" of Talalay over HD soy foam… it was pretty good for me, but I still wanted a bit more softness from the comfort layer for a more luxurious sink-in feel, but that is not customizable. Andy was very helpful and suggested that he could order a custom version of this mattress that has a softer foam core, but I was doubtful that the softer foam would provide the support I need.
Dormio was my absolute favourite store by far. I visited the Dufferin store and Lance was really helpful and knowledgeable without being pushy at all. Hands down, this was the best mattress shopping experience I had. At Dormio I narrowed my choices down to the Opulent (4" soft latex over 6" firm latex) and the stratus (re-arrangeable 2" extra-soft, 2" soft, 3" medium, 3" firm). When I left the Dufferin location, I had a preference for the Opulent. However, when I visited the Mississauga location to spend some more time testing the mattresses, that preference had shifted strongly towards the Stratus, which is also much more adjustable for changing comfort needs. I decided that I absolutely love the Stratus mattress, and if I’m getting a 100% organic latex mattress, this will be the one for me.
And then, this morning, the heartbreak of reality set back in. When I looked at the numbers, it became very apparent that I can not afford to spend that amount of money on a mattress right now, even if the Stratus is on sale and excellent value for $ right now. Maybe, if I hadn’t already committed to going on a cruise with family this winter and if I didn’t want to replace my ageing computer with a fairly expensive model that has the processing power I need for my work… No matter how I tried to work it out, I just can’t afford my dream mattress right now. It’s something I’d have to plan and budget for, and I can’t put off a mattress purchase because I’m waking up in pain every morning from sagging foam and hard springs.
So, in the end, I’ve accepted that the Dream Star Natural Escape Plush is the best I can afford at this point in time. I might be able to get a nice wool mattress pad or topper to make it a bit more lux feeling and then make sure I budget for the mattress of my dreams next time I’m ready to buy a mattress.
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