Mattress Decision

Hi Pierce,

I understand what you are asking but as I mentioned in my previous reply the only way to find another mattress that will ā€œfeelā€ similar to you (regardless of whether it would feel similar to someone else) will be based on your own personal testing or your actual sleeping experience.

I would keep in mind that the first ā€œruleā€ of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best ā€œmatchā€ for you in terms of ā€œcomfortā€ or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) or how a mattress will ā€œfeelā€ to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or ā€œtheory at a distanceā€ that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

Phoenix

Maryland

Hi Pierce,

Iā€™m not sure where you are in Maryland but if you are near Baltimore then the better options or possibilities Iā€™m aware of in your area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked in my previous reply) are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

I am basically in Washington D.C. and after reading your link on the Maryland area I think Winndom is a company I might have to try in person.

The bed I have liked the most so far has been a Kingsdown Juliet witch is a hybrid with a 15.5 Ga. pocketed coil using urethane foam 84%, and polyester fiber batting 16% for $2600 before tax.

Hi Pierce,

The better options or possibilities Iā€™m aware of in and around the Washington, DC area (which has some overlap with the Baltimore list) are listed in post #2 here.

The specs you listed are probably from the law tag and donā€™t provide any meaningful information about the the type or quality of all the materials and layers in the mattress.

If you can find out the information listed in this article and post it on the forum Iā€™d be happy to make some comments about the quality and durability of the materials inside the Juliet but unfortunately itā€™s not likely that you will be able to find out the information you need either from Kingsdown or from your retailer (see here). If a retailer or manufacturer either canā€™t or wonā€™t provide this information then itā€™s not possible to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of any mattress or make an informed choice and I would pass the mattress by.

Phoenix

I contacted the manufacturer and they will get back to me as soon as the customer service rep can get the information. I did get the advertisement for the bed you may be able to tell me something from that?

Hi Pierce,

Unfortunately (and not surprisingly) the pdf you linked doesnā€™t include the specific information you would need about the thickness, type, and quality/density of the foam or fiber layers to make an informed choice or for me to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of the mattress.

Phoenix

Finally got some info from the manufacturer hope this helps.

All target densities are in lb/ft3:

Rails ā€“ 1.7

Base and Cap foams: 1.25

Comfort Layer: 1.55

Visco: 2.55

Hi Pierce,

The information you provided doesnā€™t include all the information listed here (about the thickness and placement of all the layers in the mattress) but as you can see in the quality/durability guidelines here itā€™s enough to know that the materials are mostly low quality materials that would be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability and I would avoid it.

Phoenix

I appreciate your help with keeping me from a poor mattress decision. With your advice I branched away from the ā€œsā€ brands and found a Gold Bond mattress that I liked. Here is a link, any info on this brand or this specific model would be outstandingly helpful.

http://goldbondmattress.com/uploads/media/Smart_Series-Smart_Series_4000-BlackBkgnd.pdf

Hi Pierce,

[quote] any info on this brand or this specific model would be outstandingly helpful.

goldbondmattress.com/uploads/media/Smartā€¦_4000-BlackBkgnd.pdf[/quote]

The specifics of the materials in a mattress are much more important than the name of the manufacturer on the label but you can see some general comments about Gold Bond in post #4 here.

They tend to use higher quality materials than the major manufacturers and the latex and the innersprings that they list wouldnā€™t be a weak link in the mattress but if you can find out all the information listed here (either from the retailer who should be able to provide it to you or from Gold Bond) and post it on the forum Iā€™d be happy to make some comments about the quality and durability of the materials and the mattress ā€œas a wholeā€ and let you know if I can see any obvious weak links in the mattress.

Phoenix

After more mattress testing I found another and the specs are as follows:

All latex foams are Dunlop Natural/Synthetic blends. Based on our testing, this is the best combination of durability, consistency and feel. Density equals firmness in latex, therefore the densities vary according to the comfort level required.
Ā· All polyurethane and latex foams are produced in the US.
Ā· Latex water-based adhesives.
Ā· No chemical FR additives. FR barriers use Rayon/Silica fibers to create a ā€œchar-barrierā€ to protect the mattress from flame.

The panel fabric, border fabric, filler panel (bottom of mattress) an closing tapes are all produced in NC.
Ā· The wrapped coil unit has three zones for extra support in the middle section. (Higher gauge for extra firmness.) It also uses a higher gauge around the perimeter to enhance side support. (For sitting on the side of the bed and to minimize ā€œroll-out.ā€) It also includes the foam center divider to further reduce partner disturbance.
Ā· Nominal densities:
o Side rails ā€“ 1.75
o 19ILD Latex ā€“ 3.4
o Gel Memory Foam ā€“ 2.55 (With vertical ventilation)
o Convolute comfort layer 1.55 (With vertical ventilation)

Hi Pierce,

If you could provide the thickness of each of the layers and make sure they are listed either from the top down or the bottom up and that the combined thickness added up to the thickness of the mattress it would be helpful (see this article for the specs you need to know). The side rails are fine but the 2.55 lb gel memory foam and the convoluted 1.55 lb polyfoam are both lower density than I would be comfortable and would be a weak link in the mattress if the thickness of both layers combined was 2" or more. It also looks like the support core of the mattress may be missing.

Phoenix

I would highly recommend going with a Memory Foam or Latex mattress :slight_smile:

Hi ImAbsorbed,

You can read more about the pros and cons of memory foam in this article.

Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the guidelines here ā€¦ the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses (see this article) are more of a preference and a budget choice than a ā€œbetter/worseā€ choice. The best way for someone to know which types of materials or mattresses they tend to prefer in general will be based on some local testing of different types of mattresses to see if they have a preference of one or more types or materials or mattresses over others.

Some people like memory foam a lot and some people donā€™t like it at all. Some people will also like some specific memory foam mattress and may not like others at all because there are thousands of different versions of memory foam mattresses that can be very different from each other.

I put all your posts in the same topic because they are mostly the same comment (saying that you like memory foam) and itā€™s never a good idea to buy a mattress based on someone elseā€™s preferences.

Phoenix

Unfortunately this is the only information they would give me.

This gold bond was a consideration but it didnā€™t feel near as comfortable.

The Smart Series 4000 hybrid is the same as our smart series 4000 but we change the spring system to a new L&P Bolsa spring unit, with 968 coils in queen size.

13.5 thick

3 latex infused with gel, this is the dunlop synthetic latex. Made in PA by the best latex factory making dunlop in the country
2 High Resiliency convoluted foam, 1.5 lb foam
densified insulator pad
968 queen coil count encased Bolsa unit with quantum edge
14.5 gauge steel

15 year non pro-rated warranty.
Fabric is a premium stretch knit fabric with a grey border

Hi Pierce,

If this is all the information that you are able to find out I would avoid the mattress because it would be a risky choice in terms of durability.

Assuming that the ā€œ3ā€ and the ā€œ2ā€ are inches and that these are all the layers in the mattress and that you have listed the layers from the top down ā€¦ the latex is a high quality and durable material but the 2" of convoluted polyfoam underneath it is a lower quality and less durable material so this would be ā€œon the edgeā€ (and probably on the wrong side of the edge) in terms of quality/durability because of the 2" of 1.5 lb polyfoam under the 3" of latex. While the convoluted polyfoam would be more durable under a 3" latex layer than it would if it was the top layer of the mattress and these are better specs than you would usually find in most larger brands or mainstream mattresses ā€¦ I would be cautious here because the polyfoam layer is thicker than I would generally suggest for lower quality/density materials and could be a weak link in this mattress.

Phoenix

Hello,

I live in Baltimore and am looking for a quality innerspring mattress.

Are you aware of independent/private manufactures in the area? I saw you post of suggestions regarding latex/foam manufacturers in the DC area. I will look @ those sites as well,.

Thank you for your time - and for this site. This process has been overwhelming!

Hello MarylandMom,

Thank you for posting.

Iā€™m not sure if this is the list that you saw, but here is a copy of a recent post I made about the Baltimore area:

I checked all the links in the Baltimore list and youā€™re right that the list needed some updating (I hadnā€™t updated it since last year)

americanfoamcenter.com/ Their website isnā€™t working but I called their number and the answering machine came on that said American Foam Center so they are probably still in business but have an issue with their website. (UPDATE 6/17/17: Forum member reports that AFC no longer sells to public.)
ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: americanfoamcenter.com/

The link for Mattress Fame changed from mattressfame.com/index.htm to mattressfame.com/
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gaithersburgupholstery.com/mattresses.html changed to www.abbafutons.com/
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mattresstraditions.com/products.htm changed to www.mattresstraditions.com/
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discountmattressoutletonline.com/ They appear to be out of business and Iā€™ve removed them from the list.
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With the updates the list should be up to date now.

These are the better options or possibilities Iā€™m aware of in and around the Baltimore area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines), and in the Northern VA/Washington, DC area list in post #2 here (there is quite a bit of overlap between them).

Happy mattress shopping!

Phoenix