Can you help someone in Canada?
Hi sully64,
Absolutely. The first place to start is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choice ā¦ and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Once you get to step 3, if you let me know your postal code or city Iād be happy to let you know about any of the better local options or possibilities Iām aware of.
Phoenix
Hello Phoenix,
Yes, the tutorial is very useful but unfortunately I have already made a purchase. I wish I knew about this site prior to purchasing. However, I have ONE exchange allowed (for an additional cost of $50.00 of course), so I am trying to do as much research to I can make a more informed decision. I went into a large retailer that just sells beds. I thought, better to buy from someone that āknowsā beds and only does beds that way Iām certain to get what I need.
Perhaps you may be able to guide me to make the right decision. I noticed that prior posts include product details and Iām in the process of gathering that from my salesperson.
Thanks.
sully64
Hi again Phoenix,
Ok, Iāll start by saying that I explained to the salesperson that Iāve had a coil mattress with memory foam on the top in the past and that although I was happy with it, I did find it became too soft too quickly and formed indentations as well as held the heat. It was a Sears-O-Pedic bed, which is no longer, now apparently Kingsdown is manufacturing their beds under the Sears Whole Home line.
With that said, she showed me the newest Sealy Optimum foam bed on the market. Itās made like a āregularā bed. It has 8.5 inches of high density foam, edge support, 1.5 inches of super convoluted foam, stay true foam .25 inches, 1 inch of Opticool gel memory foam, 1 inch or 1.45 lbs of extra firm stay true high density foam and 3 inches of medium firm high density foam. It is far too firm for me. I understand that it will take a while to wear in a new mattress but at 94 lbs, I donāt see that happening anytime soon and Iām waking up with sore shoulders and a stiff back each day. I do like the fact that it stays cool. Iāve already spent approximately $1,200 on this, including the mandatory mattress protector of course and bed frame.
So, Iām considering a tempur-pedic type foam mattress. I tried these out in the store for quite some time and they craddle the curves and alleviate the pressure points. Iām looking at the āContourā brand (for an additional $97). It was explained to me that apparently āthis brand used to be carried in the Eatonās stores when they were around. They do not advertise which keeps their costs downā. This brand has 3 lbs of memory foam and 7.5 or 2 lbs of high density base foam and another 2.5 inches of memory foam with a 20 year warranty.
Iām also debating on the Sealy Optimum Destiny (which is now discontinued, floor models available only, at an additional cost of $400). It has liquid gel infused foam, high density foam in the core, gel memory with outlast foam and 2 levels of memory foam. I was unable to get the lbs and inches on this one.
The sales person tells me that between these two mattresses, the āContourā is an 8/10 and the Sealy is a 10. I worry about taking a floor model. She tells me that the full warranty will be honored.
I await your expert opinion.
sully64
Hi sully64,
You are in a somewhat difficult position if you need to exchange a mattress and are limited to the mattresses that are sold at the retailer you are dealing with (unless they sell some good quality/value mattresses which many mainstream stores donāt) and in this case I would follow the suggestions in post #2 here and the posts it links to.
Hopefully the store you are dealing with sells some mattresses where you can confirm the quality of the materials inside it so you can make a more informed choice but if not then the mattress/topper approach that minimizes the use of unknown or lower quality materials may be the best approach.
I would try to come as close as possible to the foam quality guidelines here (these are also linked in the tutorial) whether you are buying a new mattress or exchanging for a different mattress during a comfort exchange period. I would try to avoid any one sided mattress that has more than āabout an inch or soā of polyfoam lower than about 1.8 lb density or memory foam that is less than about 4 lb density. Once you are at about 2" or more of lower quality materials in the upper layers of a mattress then the risk of foam softening, sagging, or the breakdown of the materials and the premature loss of comfort and support (which isnāt covered by warranty) becomes much higher. Warranties have little to nothing to do with the useful life of a mattress or when you will need to replace it (see post #174 here).
Careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post is the most effective way to assess which mattress is best for you in terms of PPP. The Sealy warranty information here specifically says that floor models are excluded from warranty coverage (read under the "what is NOT COVERED section).
Phoenix