Memory foam option: Pure Crafted Truessence, Amerisleep Colonial/Independence, others?

[phoenix]

Hi Substance-p,

The challenge is that my wife is 5’4" 120lbs, sleeps on her side, and has a history of arthritis meaning she needs good pressure relief. She really prefers a soft (i.e. plus/pillow top) mattress. I’m 5’9" and 225. I sleep on my back-in part because sleeping on my side leads to numbness in my shoulders and arms (as an avid weightlifter, I’m fairly broad in the shoulders and struggle to find a good option for side sleeping that allows my shoulders to sink far enough into the mattress).

It’s not unusual at all for a couple to have different needs and preferences and there is more information in the first part of post #2 here about some of the different ways that can be used to accommodate a couple that have very different body types or sleeping styles or different needs and preferences in a mattress. Of course the only way to know whether any specific mattress will be suitable for both of you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) will be based on your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) or your own personal experience.when you sleep on it.

Zoning systems of various types can sometimes be useful and worth considering for people that have more difficulty finding a mattress with the right “balance” between comfort/pressure relief (under the shoulders especially) and support/alignment (under the hips/pelvis especially) or who have more challenging circumstances or sensitivities, body types that are more difficult to “match” to a mattress, more complex medical issues, or who have a history of having more difficulty in finding a mattress that works well for them. There is more about zoning in this article and in post #11 here and the additional posts it links to but once again the only way to know whether any specific mattress (zoned or otherwise) will be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP will be based on your own careful testing and/or your own personal experience.

We have tried an all latex mattress before we owned the Tempur Cloud, and it was not a favorite of ours. Although it had a cool sleeping experience and nice support, we seem to have a strong preference for memory foam or at least memory foam-based hybrids.

Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the 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 best way to know which types of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer in general terms will be based on your own local testing or your own personal experience.

Each mattress category can include hundreds of different mattresses with a very wide range of different designs, different “feels”, different characteristics, and different firmness levels. Every individual layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting material) will affect the feel and response of every other layer and component both above and below it and the mattress “as a whole” so each mattress category will generally include some mattresses that have a design that will be a good “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP and others that use the same type of materials and components and are in the same category and may be just as durable but have a different design or firmness level that may be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on … even if it uses the same general type of materials and components.

At this point, we have laid on just about every mattress out there at the major retailers and have found the Cloud Luxe Breeze to be a favorite (but I’m not wanting to spend that degree of money on a bed at this point). We also found Beautyrest black hybrids (in plush or luxury firm with a pillowtop to be comfortable).

The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).

Unlike the other major brands … for the most part Tempurpedic uses good quality materials in their mattresses but there are certainly other local and online options that would be better quality/value choices than Tempurpedic which tend to be significantly overpriced compared to other memory foam mattresses that use similar quality/density materials that may be just as suitable, just as durable, and better “value” choices (see post #2 here). With Tempurpedic you are paying a significant premium for the name on the label which has little to nothing to do with the quality and durability of the materials or how well you will sleep on a mattress.

Having said that … your BMI is higher than average (about 33) so there is also more information in post #3 here and the posts it links to that would be helpful for those that are in higher weight ranges or have a higher BMI.

While the process of how to choose a mattress would involve the same steps that are listed in the mattress shopping tutorial … most people in higher weight ranges (or that have a higher BMI) will generally need or prefer firmer mattresses (firmer materials will feel softer because you will sink into them more) and materials and components that are higher quality and more durable than those that are in lower weight ranges (the materials and components in a mattress will soften and break down faster for those in higher weight ranges than they will for someone that is in a lower weight range that doesn’t compress the mattress as much). I would be particularly cautious about mattresses that use more than “about an inch or so” of memory foam that is less than about 5 lb density or polyfoam that is less than about 2 lb density … particularly in the upper layers of the mattress (which would include the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe Breeze).

In looking through the members’ list on the forum, I haven’t found a lot of memory foam options that are national, but of those I have found I have looked closely at the Pure Crafted TrueEssence comfort firm (their softest). It is listed at 2.25" of 4lb gel memory foam, 5.5" of 2.4lb high density foam, and 3" of 1.8lb base foam.

If you are researching online memory foam mattresses then the mattress shopping tutorial includes this 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 memory foam mattresses that they describe as being reasonable approximations of the general firmness of many of the Tempurpedic mattresses. 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 probably also be able to give you more information about which of their mattress would be the closest approximation to a Tempurpedic mattress that you prefer as well.

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 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 would suggest looking for mattresses that use materials that are suitable for your weight range to reduce the risk of choosing a mattress that may need to be replaced more quickly than you would hope for or alternatively if you do end up choosing a mattress that uses materials that would be more suitable for someone in a lower weight range then I would reduce your expectations about the durability and useful life of the mattress and how long it may be before you need to replace it accordingly.

I have also been considering the Amerisleep Colonial 2" of 4lb 11ILD on top, 4" of 1.65lb 23ILD in the middle, and 7" of 1.8lb 35ILD as a base. I have read the forum posts on Amerisleep and liked that is similar to the Cloud Luxe but also understand that although it is just inside the specs of “okay” for each layer, it may not be the most robust. Amerisleep recently adding a new bed, the Independence, that is also supposed to have a softer feel but I wondered your opinion on the materials: 2" of 4lb 11ILD top, 3" of 3lb 11ILD middle, and 9" of 1.65lb 40ILD foundation.

These all include lower quality/density and less durable materials than I would suggest in your BMI range.

If there are any other Cloude Luxe similar options out there that would be okay for a heavier sleeper, I’d love to track them down. Novosbed is about the only other one that I can seem to find. I am also someone who is okay with a slightly shorter mattress life for a more comfortable bed.

Off the top of my head … Novosbed (in their medium firmness level), and Rocky Mountain Mattress, and Tempflow, and Foamorder, and Christeli all make at least one or more mattresses that use 5 lb or higher memory foam but you would need to check their websites or talk to them to find out how they compared to any of the Tempurpedic mattresses.

I should note that I am located in Indianapolis and have checked the forum for recommended options in this area; although, there were some recommendations provided- I didn’t see many that have a product similar to what we are looking for (memory foam).

I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses or their specs that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor or have available online (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking their websites and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the local lists is always a good idea before you decide on which retailers or manufacturers you wish to deal with anyway. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria, are transparent about the materials in their mattresses, and that carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in that are also in the budget range you are comfortable with. Once you have checked their websites and/or talked with the ones that interest you then you will be in a much better position to decide on the ones that you are most interested in considering or visiting based on the results of your preliminary research and conversations.

In its simplest form choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person (or couple) 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 …

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

Phoenix