I’ve been unhappy with my bed for a little while, both my wife and I wake up fairly sore on just a basic mattress so we decided to start looking into a new mattress for Christmas.
I saw an article for Casper and they have kind of taken down in the rabbit hole of trying to find a bed for the two of us that will really be worth it. I figure that we’re grown ups now (mid-30’s) and might as well have a good bed.
I live in St. Louis and I was able to find a list of local retailers in this thread and I was wondering if there were any other people in STL who had first hand experience with these retailers or had a firm recommendation?
In terms of the bed I want, I’m still very much in the research stage (and my attention to detail means this stage will likely persist for awhile) but given the depth of knowledge and expertise I’ve found browsing here, I figured it was worth it to share any information I find to others who may be able to point out something I’ve missed or take advantage of any local information I find.
I fixed the link in your post so it can be “clicked” (it had an extra http:// in the URL).
Hopefully some of the members from the area will see your posts and share their comments about the retailers in the area but in the meantime a forum search on St Louis (you can just click the link) will bring up most of the previous posts and feedback from other members in the St Louis area. This topic may be particularly helpful.
A forum search on each of the retailers (with the “find posts from” option set to “any date”) will also bring up any comments or feedback about each of them individually as well.
Ahh, thanks for that, I thought I had fixed the link.
So after doing some more reading last night I thought I’d share a bit of where I was at in this process.
My wife seems to really like the idea of a Sleep Number type adjustable bed. She says she can’t ever really decide how she likes a mattress as sometimes she likes it softer and sometimes firmer. Are there other methods out there to be able to easily adjust the feel of the mattress? I would guess the worst case would be getting a mattress that was on the firmer side and then getting a topper to soften it up when needed would work, but not quite as conveniently. Sleep Number seems likely to be more advertising gimmicks then legit product and a quick search through the forums seems to suggest that I my initial take was probably correct.
As for what I’m looking for, we’re both sidesleepers primarily, though she sleeps on her stomach as well occasionally. And we both sleep hot, so at least using latex as the comfort layer sounds fairly appealing.
However, I am a big guy (6’6, 275) so I am a little concerned about making sure a bed will hold up for me, especially concentrating my weight by sleeping on my side. I have found some posts that give basic outlines on the appropriate densities for various materials, but I was curious how I should adjust those to compensate for my size. To ensure good durability I’d imagine I want to increase the material density, especially at the top of the mattress; but I’m not sure how far to take it.
You can see some of my thoughts about airbeds in this article. I would also keep in mind that that there are different types of softness/firmness (see post #15 here) and when you adjust the firmness of the air bladder in an airbed you are mainly adjusting the support of the mattress … not the comfort layers of the mattress … and the softer the setting the more likely that you will experience sagging under the heavier parts of your body (generally hips/pelvis) which can compromise alignment.
There is more about the variables that can affect sleeping temperature in post #2 here that can help you choose a mattress that uses more temperature regulating components and materials so you are less likely to sleep hot.
Post #3 here and the posts it links to have more information about choosing a more suitable and durable mattress for those that are in higher weight ranges and should be helpful.
There are also some foam density guidelines in post #4 here and more detailed information about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #4 here and the posts it links to.
So I’ve been looking at the options online, and think I have a few possibilities identified. On the low end, price wise the Tuft and Needle is making a play. Price helps value, seems to be quality materials, and if I’m buying online I love their return policy.
On the high end, I’m looking at the Bamboo Bliss from Brooklyn Bedding. It seems to have the really high quality materials that will make the bed more durable and comfortable, and is still within the range I am comfortable shelling out for.
In the middle I’ve been looking at the UD Natural and the UD Eurotop from dreamfoambedding.com; but I’m unsure as to which mattress would be “better” for us. I’m not sure how much of a difference having the wool with the Natural mattress is going to make, and then I’ve got to weigh up the benefits of a thinner, higher density foam vs a thicker lower density foam and figure out any durability issues. Which of course isn’t helped by the fact that one is HD foam, the other is Poly. Oh well, I’ve got a lot of traveling to do here shortly and probably won’t pull the trigger until February anyway.
I still intend to make the rounds of local manufactures here in STL on the first weekend I am free; some are relatively close to my location. I expect those would be pushing the upper end of my budget however.
There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.
There is also more about the differences between the Ultimate Dreams Natural and the Ultimate Dreams Eurotop in post #2 here that may help you decide between them.
After a long and drawn out (and off and on) process I’ve decided to go with the Tuft and Needle.
The quality of the materials, general positive interactions people seem to have with them here, and the generous trial period have sealed it for me.
Looking at the Membership list here, it seems like I should be able to get a 6.5% discount but I’m unsure of exactly how to go about claiming that. Does anybody know if that promotion is still honored?
You certainly made a great choice and I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback when you receive it.
You just need to call or email them to let them know you are a member here and they will credit the same card you used to pay for the mattress within a few days.
Ok, I’m about two weeks in with my mattress and thought I’d come.back and share my thoughts on it so far.
First off, it was a breeze to get my 6% credit for being a member here. The credit had been applied to my card within about 24 hours of requesting it. So it was nice how little of a hassle that was. Overall the customer service experience has been top notch.
I went with the King size mattress and the shipping box was large, almost comically so. I was able to carry the box by myself fairly easily once I got it balanced up on my shoulder; just gotta be careful going around corners and of course to lift with your legs. It was only 65ish pounds so not terrible. It was a little tricky trying to unbox it. The mattress is stuck in there pretty tight and my ceilings weren’t high enough that I could simply upend the thing and let it fall out. I ended up grabbing the mattress and using my feet to push the box off. I’m sure it was quite comical looking to my dog.
Once I had the mattress on my bed frame things went very easily. Opening the plastic caused it to inflate and unravel quite quickly which made getting all of the plastic off a bit interesting but not too bad. All told it took me about 30 minutes from delivery to set up; and that included moving my old mattress out of the bed.
The mattress had a slight chemical odor, but nothing too bad. Even my wife who is quite sensitive to odors wasn’t put off by it. We let it sit for a few hours prior to making it; it had probably sat open about 8-9 hours prior to sleep that night and there were no problems with it…
The mattress appears to be very well put together; it was clean (in design) and neat. Initial impressions were quite favorable. I gave it a few hours to inflate fully before trying it. And it felt pretty good. It’s not a lay down and go ‘holy shit’ type of thing; but after two weeks of sleeping on it I would say it gives me the best support of any mattress I’ve ever slept on. After the first night my back pain was significantly reduced in the mornings; and by morning two it was gone completely and has not returned.
In a perfect world, I’d probably like it to be a little bit softer/fluffier in the comfort layer. That’s not to say that the bed is uncomfortable; far from it. For me though, it doesn’t just feel like heaven when laying down. My wife and daughter love it however; and the quality of sleep is so fantastic now that I’m pretty happy with good comfort rather than great comfort.
The only other thing that I would list as a mild drawback is that if I am sitting up in bed (reading or watching a movie or whatever) and then try to goto sleep; I seem to have compressed the foam a fair amount and it feels like I’ve put a hole in the mattress when I settle down for sleep. It seems to take a little while for the mattress to get back to normal to where I’m not aware of it. It’s not a problem if I get up in the middle of the night to let the dog out or get a drink though. So possibly it’s just a perception thing.
One final note; the mattress works great for recreational activities. :whistle:
I thought I’d check back in after having the mattress for a year and give the perspective of someone who’s had it a bit longer. A lot has happened in the past year, including moving away from St. Louis, but I can say that we’re both still very happy with our Tuft and Needle mattress. As Phoenix mentioned, it did soften up a bit more and all in all it’s remained a pretty amazing sleep over the past year. The support is still top notch; and it’s remained very comfortable.
Initially we had the king size mattress setup on two twin box springs, and the mattress seemed to hump up in the middle where the box springs met. We’ve since switched to a new platform bed with slats for support and the hump has gone away. That’s the closest thing I’ve had to a negative experience with the mattress.
Once again I’d like to thank the website for helping to find a good mattress that worked for us, a year later and I’m just as appreciative as I was then.
Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and feedback after a year … I appreciate it
It’s great to hear that you are still sleeping well on your mattress a year later and it would be reasonable to expect that you will continue to sleep well for many more years as well.
Welp, it’s been a long time, I’m not in STL anymore, but this mattress has run it’s course I think. We’ve started waking up sore again which is what really drove us to the mattress market the first time around.
Still, it’s been a good run, lots of great sleep, and great value for the cost we paid for it. Time to start the search again but I’m thinking of running it back assuming the Tuft and Needle design is still solid and they’re still a reputable company and what not.
If you have the model/specs of the Tuft and Needle you’re looking at, I’d be happy to give it a look over for a durability review. They’re no longer a Trusted Member here, so there won’t be a discount available through TMU this time around. I’d definitely recommend reviewing our current Trusted Members as well, just for variety’s sake.
