Hi Phoenix
So I still have the SleepEZ Kiss mattress in Firm, King, and it doesn’t help my lower back pain. Whilst travelling recently we slept on friends guest beds, regular firm springs, nothing fancy and I had less back pain while sleeping.
So I thought I would be more comfortable on a traditional firm mattress. I’ve looked at your list of recommended Mattress companies in Massachusetts, and today I called into Boston Bed Company in Framingham, MA. They had a couple of mattresses with springs that felt OK, and I wondered if I could ask your expertise on the quality of the composition of them. I will attach the info I have. If the info isn’t enough for you to have an opinion, would you be able to tell me what questions I should be asking.
‘Laguna’ - Cushion Firm. (Double sided). $699 for King Mattress.
Cover: Circular knit
Quilting: 1" TAC and Jump Blended quilt celestia FR barrier.
Build up: Poly-Foam Comfort Topper (2/5)
Insulation: Lofted Ther-A-Pad Support (2/5)
Unit: 858 Tri-Zone High Profile Foam Encased Individually wrapped coil unit.
Borders: Quilted Border with Contrast Ribbon
‘Chatham’ - firm. $469 King (single sided)
Cover: designer circular knit
Quilting: 2 1/2" Firm multi needle quilt celestia FR barrier
Build Up: poly foam topper
High loft ther-a-bond insulator pad
Poly foam support topper
Unit: 504 13 3/4 Guage High Profile foam encased open offet alternating verticoil unit
Base: high loft ther-a-pad
Borders: multi quilt border
They will charge $99 for delivery.
I also could travel to see Yankee Mattress in Agawam, MA. It would be $175 for delivery from there. My budget is up to $1000 for a King mattress.
[quote]So I still have the SleepEZ Kiss mattress in Firm, King, and it doesn’t help my lower back pain. Whilst travelling recently we slept on friends guest beds, regular firm springs, nothing fancy and I had less back pain while sleeping.
So I thought I would be more comfortable on a traditional firm mattress.[/quote]
I would keep in mind that there are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
“Support” is often misunderstood and many people believe incorrectly that “firmer is better” or “more supportive” when the real goal of a “supportive” mattress is to keep the spine and joints in good alignment and this requires the type of contouring support that allows some parts of the body to sink in more (softer) and some parts of the body to sink in less (firmer) and this will vary on an individual basis. There is more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support/alignment” and “comfort/pressure relief” and “feel” and how they interact together.
In other words … a mattress that is too firm can be just as “unsupportive” as a mattress that is too soft and given your lighter weight and the fact that you are a side sleeper it’s possible that you may need some softer/thicker comfort layers both to relieve pressure and to provide the secondary support that can keep your spine and joints in neutral alignment although your own careful testing and personal experience will be the only reliable way to confirm this.
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article) but the best way to know which types of mattresses or combinations of materials and components you tend to prefer will be based on your own local testing and personal experience.
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of "comfort’, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) which is all about how well you will sleep, 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 see or “feel” and assessing the quality/durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and 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 find out information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines I linked 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.
I don’t see the information you meant to add about the mattress so I can’t make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of the materials or the mattress “as a whole” but if you can find out the information about all the layers and components in the mattress that are described in the “Mattress specifications you need to know” article and post them on the forum I’d be happy to make some comments about the quality and durability of the materials and let you know if I can see any lower quality materials or weak links that would be a cause for concern.