Started mattress shopping Monday. Went to Mattress Makers in Brockton Ma. first. Next stop was Jordans furniture in Avon Ma., Bernie and Phyls and finally Westwood Furniture. The wife thinks she needs a real hard mattress and I told her I can’t deal with it so maybe we should buy two different mattresses. She said no to that.
I was trying some mattresses at Mattress Makers and did not think to look at the build quality. I already knew the wife likes the feel of Rhapodsy by TempurPedic But I really don’t want to go there. Definitely not TempurPedic and maybe not memory foam.
I liked the feel of the Panasleep Sun Luxury Firm, he told me that was the firmest but I notice now they had the Asana Firm and I wonder if that would have been firmer. It is a latex bed and has some give and the wife liked it some too. Pricey though and I know I can get a better value. Surprisingly there was a foam Sterns and Foster at Bernie and Phyls that she liked too and you sank into that one…
Westwood Furniture had the mattresses built at Mattress Makers and one came close but the salesperson was making conflicting statements compared to what their website and brochure said. They go to the trouble of finding and offering a better alternative and then the sales person wasn’t up to par… I don’t mean to sound impossible to please because I m not. The wife had not really been into it anyway. Texting friends and at one place not cooperative. After this she told me to go by myself and choose without her…
After work today I stopped at Gardner mattress in Newton Ma and he was similar to Mattress Makers just telling me where the different firmness were located… I tried some mattresses and paid attention to the build quality and to the untrained eye they seemed well built.
Last stop will be Yankee Mattress in Agawam Ma. .About 1 1/2 hour ride each way but I want to go there before I make a decision… I am looking forward to seeing their mattresses in person. When I bought our current bed several years ago we went together to several places. I know where we need to be for a compromise and we have a few choices. I know we could find a foam bed but not sure I want to go there. If I did I would probably give Selectabed a try…
Thanks for sharing your comments and feedback about your mattress shopping experiences … I appreciate it.
Just for reference … they have just become a member of the site and I will be adding them to the list and updating their description before I go to sleep tonight. They certainly make some very high quality mattresses.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding … and of course to any comments or questions you may have along the way that I or any of the other more knowledgeable members of the site can help with.
They had several firm mattresses, 1 foam and 2 latex. I am not sure what to think about a 2 sided mattress, Other than the foams I don’t recall anything real soft. The non foam I looked at was Nature Firm and Nature Soft Cotton/Wool with pocket coil.
What is your opinion on cotton/wool in a mattress for long term comfort, support and durability? I think these were tufted too.
There is more about the pros and cons of one sided vs two sided mattresses in post #3 here and the posts it links to.
An “old fashioned” two sided tufted innerspring mattress with natural fiber comfort layers would certainly be a very durable choice but it will also tend to be firmer than most mattresses that use foam materials in the comfort layers and natural fibers will tend to become firmer over time as they compress and pack down to some degree while foam layers will tend to become softer (particularly under the heavier parts of the body) over time. Some of the comments in post #4 here and post #2 here may be worth reading as well.
Wool is also a more resilient fiber than cotton and will tend to pack down less and maintain it’s softness and resilience better than cotton batting over the course of time.
They tend to be very good in terms of temperature regulation as well.
One thing about Gardner is that their boxsprings on the beds I looked at are 2 to 3 times the price of other local shops I am looking at who also claim to build high quality boxsprings. If the others are really making a high quality boxspring for that much less, it makes it tough to consider.
I also considered Charles P Rogers but they are too far away if I needed to send the product back for repair or adjustment. They are about the same or a little higher on boxsprings but they make their own springs.
Gardner uses two different types of support systems under their mattresses. One of them is a real box spring with springs which is used under their lace tufted and quilted lines and the other is their foundation (that doesn’t contain any springs) which is used under their other mattresses. Most of the support systems in the industry today are foundations and you will rarely see box springs which are normally used under two sided mattresses (which are also relatively unusual in the industry today). Box springs and foundations are very different products but foundations are often incorrectly called “box springs” as a left over from the days when box springs and two sided mattresses were more common … even though they aren’t.
There are many different foundations that are used in the industry that range from very cheap versions that are weaker and use low cost materials and poor designs that can lead to premature wear and sagging in a mattress to higher quality and stronger foundations that use better designs and stronger materials that will cost more but that will provide suitable support under your mattress for a very long period of time. As with all things it’s important to make apples to apples comparisons based on the design, construction, and the materials inside them.
Their box springs and foundations don’t appear to be priced unreasonably to me and I would be cautious with a foundation that only costs 1/2 to 1/3 as much which may be lower quality products. If you have questions about their foundations or box springs or their cost they would be able to tell you more about how they are made compared to others in the industry and how they are different from cheaper foundations that are very common in the industry so you can make more apples to apples comparisons.
I was not aware that people refer to foundations without springs as box springs. Lesson learned.
Nice to be informed and have an idea what is going on but at the same time I think you can get too anal, or at least I can. The reasons I would go to a local shop would be quality, value, knowledge and customer service. I think if you have to start analyzing every part of the mattress and boxspring you are buying from a local shop to make sure everything is the right specs and good quality then you should do business elsewhere (my opinion). Comparing quality and value between competitors is not a bad thing though.
I am confident that If I find the right bed at any of these local manufacturers among their better beds and buy it that I will have an overall quality product. Some companies might offer higher quality but then value also comes into play for me. I have seen it stated on this forum something like it is better to find someone who already knows it than learn it yourself. I am narrowing it down and then I will work with the companies of choice to find the right bed.
[quote]I was not aware that people refer to foundations without springs as box springs. Lesson learned.
Nice to be informed and have an idea what is going on but at the same time I think you can get too anal, or at least I can. The reasons I would go to a local shop would be quality, value, knowledge and customer service. I think if you have to start analyzing every part of the mattress and boxspring you are buying from a local shop to make sure everything is the right specs and good quality then you should do business elsewhere. Comparing quality and value between competitors is not a bad thing though.[/quote]
If you are dealing with a manufacturer or retailer that is completely transparent about the materials and components in their mattresses then it’s a simple matter to find out all the basic specs (see here) so you can make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses. Knowing the quality and durability of the materials in a mattress is one of the most important parts of making the “best value” choice.
Most one sided mattresses require a firm non flexing foundation and not a box spring which flexes and a box spring with springs can even invalidate the warranty with many one sided mattresses. A box spring that flexes will change the overall feel and performance of a mattress because it’s an “active” part of the sleeping system (unlike a foundation) and with many two sided mattresses a box spring is an important part of the overall “comfort”, support, feel, and performance of the “sleeping system”.
[quote]I would have to believe that Yankee, Mattress Maker, Worley and Gardner along with others sell all
quality products and that they know what they are doing. I am not trying to be abrasive, I appreciate the time and effort of this forum and all the info. I am just saying that for myself, I am confident that If I find the right bed at any of these manufacturers among their better beds and buy it that I will have an overall quality product. Some companies might offer higher quality but then value also comes into play for me.[/quote]
In its simplest form choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
I completely agree that the transparency, knowledge, experience, and guidance of a retailer or manufacturer you choose to deal with can be one of the most important parts of a successful mattress purchase.
Once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” and you have confirmed that none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design and if at this point there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your more detailed conversations with each of them, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
I had made up my mind that I should buy local because if there are any problems buying online from a smaller company that does not have the very liberal return policies, it could end up being very expensive to ship the product back for exchange or repair.
That being said, I am very impressed with Mattress To GO. Some informative videos and appears to sell some very high quality products. He does ship to 48 states, I am at least going to talk to them and discuss my location and concerns and see what they have to say.
First I heard of Therapedic but it seems to be a high quality mattress. Not only that but the place he gets the Therapedic mattresses from called The Bedding Group seems to be top notch too.
As you probably know I also think highly of Mattress To Go and Jeff is certainly one of the more knowledgeable people in the industry.
Therapedic is a licensee group (see post #2 here) and is the seventh largest mattress manufacturer in North America (see this article). Different licensees that make their mattresses for a specific region often make different mattresses with different specs compared to other licensees and like most licensee groups they also make a wide range of mattresses that can range from lower quality/value to higher quality/value designs. Jeff picks and chooses which mattresses he carries on his floor based on how they feel and on the quality of the mattress and the materials inside them.
I went out again after work today. I started at Boston Bed and looked at Therapedics. They had quite a few but none of them was the one I wanted. Since it wasn’t too far away I stopped by Mattress Makers again and had a back and forth with questions and answers. I really like one of the beds there and I realized after I left that I missed some things. Here is what is listed on the paper.
Edge to Edge High Profile Comfort Coil
2" 2.621 Comfort Foam
3" All Natural Latex C-3 (Dunlop)
Even though not listed she said there was also a 2" 2.621 support layer.
I realize I never asked about coil specs or dug any further into the foam specs. I am not sure what layer the Latex is in this bed either. I would think comfort layer would be top and support layer bottom and latex in between but not sure.
What is the C-3?
Would going from 2.621 to 2.627 foam be a big difference in firmness?
[quote]Edge to Edge High Profile Comfort Coil
2" 2.621 Comfort Foam
3" All Natural Latex C-3 (Dunlop)
Even though not listed she said there was also a 2" 2.621 support layer.
I realize I never asked about coil specs or dug any further into the foam specs. I am not sure what layer the Latex is in this bed either. I would think comfort layer would be top and support layer bottom and latex in between but not sure.[/quote]
I normally like to find out the thickness of all the all the layers and components in a mattress so you can make sure that they add up to the thickness of the mattress and confirm that there are no “missing” layers that you don’t know about.
Having said that … all of the materials you listed are good quality and durable materials so if they are all the layers and components in the mattress then there would be no lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress relative to any weight range. If you are confident that it is a good “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP and it also compares well to your other finalists based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you then it would certainly be well worth considering.
C3 is a firmness rating for continuous pour latex made by Mountaintop Foam. They make a range of different blends of continuous pour Dunlop that range from all synthetic to all natural and blends that combine both but all of them are durable materials.
The first two numbers are the density of the polyfoam (which in this case is 2.6 lbs/ft3) and the second two numbers are the ILD/IFD of the foam which is the firmness level. A difference of 6 ILD/IFD would normally be enough for most people to feel the difference in firmness but it would also depend on the position of the layer in the mattress because you will “feel” the firmness of layers that are closer to the sleeping surface than you will “feel” the firmness of layers that are deeper in the mattress.
I am changing things up. I don’t plan on taking the long ride to Yankee mattress now. Gardner has really good quality but I don’t want the wool /cotton bed. I could go back and retry the latex bed but right now I am thinking I will probably choose between the bed at Mattress Makers and the BB Best Mattress Ever. I realize it is not apples to apples and I would not be able to try the BB mattress first but they have that trial and return policy.
I sent an email to Mattress Makers asking for coil count and gauge, box spring or foundation specs, mattress height, all layers listed along with specs and order they are in on the bed. Shouldn’t be any problem, I mentioned this site while I was there and they knew about it.
Someone in another post mentioned a quick email response from Ghost Bed on a Sunday. I emailed Mattress Makers last night for some additional info as the stated layers do not add up to the height so I asked for a listing of all the layers and their specs, some info on their boxspring and also mattress coils. I thought it odd that they list some layers of the mattress but they do not add up to the total height. Makes you wonder if there is a reason they are not listing the rest.
Never heard back today. My opinion is that you should respond quickly to emails because that is part of customer service. The companies that are serious do respond quickly. This is the computer age and people do a lot of stuff online and through texts and emails. I know in the not too distant past I have experienced a few companies that do not respond to emails. No excuse for that as far as I am concerned.
Selectabed has a doctor who designed their beds and he gives his email and says you can contact him directly for recommendations. I sent him an email a week ago and have not heard back. That is ok because it helps me to narrow down who I want to do business with and it won’t be them…
The specs of the layers they provided you are the upper layers of the mattress which would normally be the weakest link in a mattress. If the mattress you are looking at is the Ultimate 3" latex eurotop then the layers are listed here and all you would need to know for the complete specs is the density of the polyfoam underneath the latex. If they are the same as the polyfoam on top of the latex (or are 1.8 lb density or higher) then there would certainly be no weak links in the mattress.
I would also keep in mind that when it comes to mattresses a phone call will generally be a more effective source of reliable guidance and information than an email (see post #4 here).
I knew the phone call comment was coming. The way I see it is that you have a computer and you list an email address then you should monitor it and respond to inquiries.
It is not the Ultimate 3 you mention according to the info given me. I looked at the mattress descriptions on their website last night and the closest seems to be the Latexpoly but there are still differences. There is 2.6 foam but not 8"as on the Latexpoly according to what is listed on the bed and also stated by the person. The Latex is 3" but I don’t know about the rest.
The stated layers on the info on the bed add up to 5 inches, if the coil height is added to the layers to equal the height of the mattress then maybe there are no other layers. What is the height of an average coil spring? 6 inches or so?
I can’t understand why they would go to the trouble of listing only 2 layers if there are really 3. Isn’t the benefit of going to these local shops supposed to be knowledge and getting straightforward, easy to understand info. They all know about this website and agree with what it stands for so they know that at least some people are going to want to know this.
They come in a fairly wide range of different heights so there really isn’t an “average height” that would be meaningful. A typical range would be somewhere between 5" and 8" but I don’t know the height of the coils they use in their mattresses.
Well, I owe the Dr from Selectabed an apology. He responded 2 days later and for some reason it was buried way down in my emails. The only reason I found it is because I was cleaning out my emails. I don’t understand how this could have happened because I check my emails multiple times every day and they are arranged in order of date received with the current date on top. I sincerely apologize for this error on my part.
The spring unit is a Edge to Edge Comfort Core Pocket coil queen size has 968 count.
There is a 2" layer of comfort poly with a density of 2.621
The pillow top is 3" Latex
The cover is quilted with aprox 1 1/2" poly
The mattress finished out at 14"
The Foundation unit is a 9" semi-flex steel unit
I then asked what density the 1 1/2 poly quilted cover was and got this response.
1.8 and 2.6
So the 1 1/2 poly is a mix of 1.8 and 2.6? Doesn’t sound right.
