Hi karthikc,
As you probably know from your reading here … both of these would be great quality/value choices.
[quote]Yesterday, at one of the local stores I came across the Coaster Arese 13 Inch Memory Foam Mattress.
I slept on the bed and I I liked it terms of PPP. I am not sure of the materials used, and would greatly appreciate any help on deciphering those values .
These are the specs :
Pillow-Top Comfort, the ultra plush pillow-top design provides unsurpassed pressure relieving comfort, conforming to your body as you get the best nights rest.
The Arese bed has luxurious cashmere blended into the dust mite and allergen resistant cover. Features: 2" Visco Foam / 5.3 LB 1" HR 3 5/8" Visco Foam / 5.3 LB / 12-13 ILD 3/8" Air Barrier 3" x 3" Wedge Support 6" HR / 32 ILD Base Foam Cashmere Blend Cover FR Muslin Dimensions: 80"(L) x 76"(W)
Are there any weak links in the above specs ? Anything I should watch out for?[/quote]
While I would want to know the density of the base layer … if these specs are correct then there are only 1.375" of “unknown density” foam in the top layers of the mattress which would meet the guidelines here of “no more than about an inch or so” of lower quality or unknown materials in the upper layers of a mattress and there would be no obvious weak links in the mattress in terms of durability.
Having said that … the Coaster mattresses are imported and there is more about purchasing a mattress that is made in China or other imported mattresses that may be subject to longer periods of compression during shipping and storage and some of the additional risks and uncertainty that can be involved with this type of purchase in terms of durability in post #6 here. Coaster also isn’t on the CertiPUR list here which means that the foams may not have been tested for harmful substances or VOC’s.
[i]ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: certipur.us/for-consumers/find-products/
The Coaster Arese is also a memory foam mattress which is in a completely different category than either the BestMattressEver or the Kiss Mattress (see this article for more about the different types and categories of mattresses)
[quote]Another question I had in general was about the warranty. Coaster’s policy states that the Customer is responsible for sending the mattress to them for any warranty related issues.
Is this the standard industry policy? Because shipping a king size mattress to Coaster will be really expensive
Do the other mattress namely Kiss and Brooklyn have a similar policy ?[/quote].
While you would need to read (or ask about) the specific warranty for a particular manufacturer to know the particular warranty criteria for that manufacturer … this is a standard policy in the industry although if you purchase a mattress from a local retailer then they can act as an intermediary between you and a manufacturer for a warranty claim so you will often only need to bring the mattress back to the retailer (or in some cases they may even pick it up for a minimal charge if there is an actual defect) rather than ship it all the way back to the manufacturer.
While a warranty is important to guard against manufacturing defects in the materials or components inside a mattress that can happen on rare occasions … I would also keep in mind that mattress warranties only cover manufacturing defects and they don’t cover the gradual (or more rapid in the case of lower quality comfort layers) loss of comfort and support that comes from foam softening that is the main reason that most people will need to replace their mattress. In other words warranties have little to do with the durability or useful life of a mattress or how long it may be until you need to buy a new mattress. If there is an actual defect in the materials it will usually show up early in the life of the mattress but knowing the quality and durability of the materials in your mattress is always a much more reliable way to assess the durability and useful life of a mattress than the length of a warranty. There is more about mattress warranties in post #174 here.
[quote]One last question, I slept on Tempur Pedic Luxue and Cloud Supreme and really liked the feel. Unfortunately It’s too expensive for me to consider it.
In these forums, I came across Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam Mattress which a lot of people compared to the temur pedics.
Any advice on the quality of materials used? I am worried about the durability of it. A few amazon reviewers seem to have problems with it sinking in the middle after a year.[/quote]
Based on many people’s feedback and on their online description … the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 13" gel memory foam mattress would be an approximation of the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe (not the Cloud Supreme) although some people have said that it’s a little bit firmer. Of course firmness and softness is also subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual perceptions and in the case of memory foam can also vary with the temperature and humidity in your bedroom so different people may have different opinions about how closely one mattress “approximates” another one. There is more about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one in post #9 here.
There is also more about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here 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 suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price or course and the options you have available after a purchase).
While I can’t speak to how a mattress will feel for someone else … outside of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress always depends on knowing the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new) so I would always make sure that you can find out the information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to confirm that 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.
The Ultimate Dreams 13" gel memory foam mattress uses 4 and 5 lb memory foam and a 1.8 lb base layer so there aren’t any lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress relative to more average weight ranges (lower 200’s or less) although for those that are in higher weight ranges I would be cautious with a mattress that is either this soft or with thicker layers of 4 lb memory foam or 1.8 lb base foam because the risks both in terms of suitability and durability would be higher.
While there is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for a specific person or predict exactly when you will decide to replace it because it is no longer suitable or comfortable for you (because this is the only real measure of durability or the useful life of a mattress that really matters) because there are too many unknowns and variables involved that are unique to each person … if a mattress is well inside a suitable comfort/support range and isn’t close to the edge of being too soft when it is new (see post #2 here) and you can find out the specifics of the materials and components inside it (see this article) and confirm that they meet the minimum quality/durability specs that are suggested in the guidelines here then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer and the chances that you would have additional “bonus time” would be higher as well…
There are a number of reasons that can lead to comments about premature sagging in a mattress after a relatively short period of time (such as a year or two).
The first of these and perhaps the most common in the industry is that a mattress uses lower quality/density and less durable materials than would be suitable for their body type but for most people that aren’t in higher weight ranges (mid 200’s or higher) this wouldn’t be the case with this mattress.
In many cases the sagging they are talking about are only “virtual” impressions (not visible impressions) which means that they are sinking into the mattress more than they should be and are sleeping out of alignment which can lead to back pain and discomfort. This is normally the result of choosing a mattress that is either too soft in the first place or of choosing a mattress that is “on the edge” of being too soft when it is new so that even a “normal” amount of foam softening can take them outside of the comfort/support range that is suitable for them (see post #2 here).
In many cases it can be the result using an unsuitable support system under the mattress which is either sagging or that doesn’t provide suitable support for the mattress (either initially or over a relatively short period of time).
In some cases it can be the result of someone’s needs and preferences changing over time such as with illness or injury, gaining or losing weight, changing their sleeping position, or even as a result of normal changes in someones needs and preferences as they get older.
Although it would be much less common than the other reasons that can lead to virtual or visible impressions in a mattress and the loss of comfort and support relatively quickly … it’s also possible that a mattress has an actual defect (which will usually show up early in the life of a mattress) and there is visible sagging that is deeper than the warranty exclusion (generally 1.5") in which case they would need to contact the manufacturer to initiate a warranty claim.
Unfortunately most consumers that have chosen a mattress that is too soft (or that was on the edge of being too soft) don’t realize that the issues they are having are the result of their comfort/firmness choice rather than being an issue with the quality or durability of the materials in their mattress and other consumers that read their reviews also don’t realize this and can easily come to believe that the quality and durability of the materials in the mattress are less than they really are. This is one of the dangers of reading too much into mattress reviews.
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because any mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range) and reviews in general certainly won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
Phoenix
