Mattress in a box

Who knew there was so much to consider for mattress purchase.
We’re currently sleeping on a 10-yr old Kingsdown and need a new mattress like yesterday! I have visited some retailers Haynes, Mattress Firm but I am deciding to go with a online mattress. I hate the hassle of dealing with salespeople.
It would seem that a mattress that comes compressed in a box would be appropriate for an adjustable base. What are your thoughts?

Hi AnnB,

In general terms most foam mattresses (memory foam, latex foam, polyfoam) and most pocket coil mattresses that aren’t more than about 12" thick will be flexible enough to work well on an adjustable bed regardless of whether they are purchased online or locally or how they are shipped or delivered. When you are over about 12" thick then the mattress may not contour to the adjustable bed as effectively. While in general terms thinner mattresses will tend to be more flexible than thicker mattresses and will contour to the adjustable bed more effectively … this can also depend on the specifics of the mattress layers and components. 12" thickness is only a general guideline because some mattresses that are a little more than that which use more flexible materials may still be fine and some mattresses that are less than that may be less flexible and not work as well but 12" is a good general guideline. The most reliable source of information about whether any specific mattress would be a suitable choice for an adjustable bed will be a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or the manufacturer that makes the mattress.

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of mattresses that are available online but 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). The most reliable way to know which types of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer in more general terms would be based on your own local testing or your own personal experience. when you sleep on it.

When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart (and who won’t just sell you anything they can convince you to buy) and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.

I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase 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 all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

If you are considering online options then the mattress shopping tutorial includes several links to lists of many of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include many different types and categories of mattresses that use different materials and components in a wide range of designs, budgets, firmness levels, and with different return/exchange policies that would be well worth considering.

If you are also open to local choices that you can test and compare with each other in person then if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.

Phoenix

Thanks for your reply.
I am in Virginia Beach, VA 23456
I tested many ( probably too many) beds during my store excursions.
The two models I found the most comfortable were the tempupedic cool breeze luxe
(very comfortable) and the restonic nirvana talalay latex but both were pricey. I’m wondering if based on the all the reviews and research you have done you could recommend comparable more affordable model.
I looked at Brooklyn beds which has talalay latex, over Dunlop latex over HD poly foam and am wondering what are the weak links. I know you mention price has no baring on quality and durability but find it hard to believe that $500 mattress could compare to $4200 or $2000 mattress , respective prices of the two I mentioned earlier.
My budget is up to $1200 twin XL mattress. My husband have very different comfort and posture needs so we’re doing a split king with adjustable base d/t he snores and I have reflux. We are both under 200 lb ( I saw you cautions for> 200 lbs on some of your mattress comparisons)

Thanks for your time,
Ann B

Hi AnnB,

Subject to confirming that any retailer or manufacturer on the list you wish to deal with is completely transparent about the materials and components in their mattresses (see this article) and to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here which I also linked in my previous reply … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Virginia Beach, VA area are listed in post #2 here.

While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … I don’t make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” 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 “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable 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).

There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting materials) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover and quilting, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be fairly unlikely) then there really isn’t a reliable way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) based on the specifications of the mattresses (even assuming that you can find out all the specifications you would need for both mattresses you are comparing in the first place).

Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so unless a manufacturer specifically says in their description of a mattress that one of their mattresses in the same general category is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” another one in terms of firmness or “feel” and PPP and/or they are very familiar with both mattresses and can provide reliable guidance about how they compare based on the “averages” of a larger group of people that have compared them (different people may have very different opinions about how two mattresses compare) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP (regardless of anyone else’s opinions of how they compare which may be different from your own) would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.

Having said that … if you are researching online memory foam mattresses the mattress shopping tutorial includes a link to a list of some of the better online memory foam options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) and several of them make good quality mattresses that are designed and described to be reasonable approximations of many of the Tempurpedic mattresses (including the Cloud Luxe Breeze) and several of the other retailers or manufacturers that are on the list that don’t specifically describe their mattresses as being similar to one of the Tempurpedic models would normally be able to give you more information about which of their mattress would be the closest approximation to the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe Breeze as well.

I don’t know the specifics of all the layers in the Restonic Nirvana Talalay latex mattress for sure but there is some information about it in posts #12 and #13 here. I would make sure that the specs that are listed are correct and that the mattress is really 11" thick so you can be confident that there are no “missing layers” of lower quality materials. Even then though it would be unlikely that you would find another mattress that is specifically designed to “approximate” that specific mattress or find a mattress that has the exact same layers with the same thicknesses and firmness levels with a similar cover.

If you are considering latex mattresses then the mattress shopping tutorial includes a link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) and many of them sell latex and latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex that have a wide range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices that would be well worth considering and if you provide them with the information about the specs of the Nirvana they may be able to give you some guidance about which of their mattresses (if any) would be the closest approximation.

As you probably discovered in your testing … latex and memory foam are very different materials with very different properties but the choice between them is more of a preference and budget choice than a “better/worse” choice. There is more about some of the differences between memory foam and latex in post #2 here but the best way to know which type of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer in general would be based on your own careful testing and/or personal experience with each material in a range of different firmness levels.

The Brooklyn Bedding BestMattressEver doesn’t have any lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress for any weight range. There is also more about the pros and cons of a latex/polyfoam hybrid (like the BME) and an all latex mattress (like the Nirvana) in post #2 here.

There are certainly many people that have difficulty believing this until they actually find out the type and quality of the materials in some of the more costly mattresses they may have been considering. While a more costly mattress may contain more costly materials overall … it may also contain some lower quality and less durable materials that would be a weak link in the mattress.

Again nobody can speak to how any specific mattress will “feel” for someone else or whether it will be a good “match” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress but outside of PPP (which is the most important part of “value”), the next 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 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 again 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 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 regardless of the price range.

There are many very costly mattresses in the industry that include some good quality and more costly materials which can “bump up” the price but that also include some lower quality and less durable materials in the mix that would be a weak link in the mattress and which I would avoid completely.

Phoenix