Mass-tress confusion & budgetary issues, HELP!

[phoenix]

Hi LostInMattressLand,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

Luckily I somehow stumbled upon this website in my days (yes, I said DAYS) of researching mattresses. At this point, I. Need. Help. I found your research to be extremely helpful amongst everything else I have learned.

I’m glad you’ve found the forum and I hope you’ve been able to do some good reading about how to research and select a mattress.

Tidbit of history, hubby & I bought a ‘hybrid’ Sealy mattress 1 and a 1/2 years ago, and it has big divots/ruts in it and I’m not sure I want to hassle with the warranty or pay for it for that matter.

Unfortunately, the major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).

Our kids (part-time) have inexpensive memory foam mattresses in their rooms (seeing as they are only used for 12 weeks a year) and no one has complained about the comfort levels. Because of this, we are leaning towards a memory foam/latex/foam mattress for ourselves.

The demands placed upon a mattress by children in short-term periods of use of course will not be an accurate indicator of applicability for full-time adult use, as you can’t feel quality or durability of materials. That would be determined by finding out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase. Just in case you haven’t found it yet, the steps involved in this process are outlined in the mattress shopping tutorial here.

We are both considered overweight (me @ 220 and him @ 260). I understand, of course, there is to be some breakdown of a mattress but what we are experiencing after only 1 and a 1/2 years is not good.

Having a high BMI presents special challenges and generally requires firmer materials (in the support layers especially). This could be firmer latex or innersprings (the type of support component would be a personal preference and in the right design either could be suitable) or even a zoned construction. The same overall guidelines apply with higher weights though that PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) along with using high quality durable materials that will maintain their feel and performance for longer periods of time are the way to make the best choices. Heavier people in general will need firmer and thicker comfort layers and firmer support layers than those who are lighter and because no materials will last as long with much higher weights the quality and durability of the materials and components is even more important than normal. I wouldn’t “rule out” any types of mattress and base your choices on your own personal testing. Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about heavier weights that is worth reading.

We are very limited in our budget right now ($500 or less), but I need to do something as my back is hurting too bad and we’re not getting good sleep.

For those that have a more restricted budget then post #4 here and the posts it links to also include many of the better lower budget online options I’m aware of as well.

I totally understand that you have members on this website and want to promote their products, which I am all for, but I am also hoping for an opinion on what I have narrowed my search down to.

This site is not about promoting any particular brand – unlike review sites – but is focused on educating consumers about the “how” to select a mattress, not the “what”. While site members have earned the recognition that is offered them here, a very small percentage of mattress sales resulting from research done on this site are from site manufacturing members. I’m always happy to point out “value” wherever it is presented and help find what is most appropriate for anyone inquiring on the forum.

[quote]Sleep Innovations 12" Shiloh
Sleep Innovations 12" Taylor[/quote]
Sleep Innovations doesn’t provide any meaningful information on their web site and they tend to use some lower quality/density materials in their mattresses, so unless you’re able to find out the specifics of the materials inside of the mattress (as I linked to earlier in this post), I wouldn’t be able to comment upon the product an I would avoid considering it until you had that information.

Signature Sleep 12" Memoir

Signature Sleep mattresses are another “inexpensive Chinese import” that would generally use lower quality materials and I would avoid it as well (unless you can confirm that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in any of their specific mattresses that you are considering). I would also read post #6 here about mattresses imported from Asia or China and which may have been compressed for long periods of time in either shipping or storage before being purchased, and being sourced in China would make this somewhat of a risky purchase IMO.

Olee Sleep 12" Gel Top

The comments here would be the same as for Signature Sleep.

Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 13"

This mattress uses 3" of 4 lb memory foam over 2" of 5 lb memory foam over an 8" 1.8 lb polyfoam core. While for your BMI ideally I’d recommend a polyfoam core of 2.0 lb or higher and all memory foam of at least 5 lb, this would be by far the highest quality item in your list.

Take a look at the link I provided earlier in this post for better budget-priced mattresses and see if some of those items are of interest to you. I hope that helps to points you in a good direction.

Phoenix