I have managed to narrow my choices down to 3 internet retailers and 1 other mattress found at a local mom/pop shop.
I am comparing the novosbed aria and the brooklyn bedding cool series together. I do not really see any HUGE differences between the two both use approx 4lb top layer and a 5lb middle and 2.17 base. To me they almost seem the same except novosbed has the odd looking cone foam that is supposed to help airflow? Now throw in select foam…with the same basic details…enter indecisions!!
We managed to go to a mom and pop place that sells Sherwood Bedding. I have never head of them (makes sense since i am not an expert on mattresses). We were looking at the Conforma 5.0…but i try to go to their site and i see no detailed info on what the mattress is made out of. The salesman said they are one of the better memory foams (that they carry) and he said that they have a layer of gel on the top instead of mixed up with the memory foam. I dont know…but all i can say is that i know too much about mattresses and the more i learn the more indecisive i am getting.
the facts? I am 5’4 130lbs…hubby 6’1 170lbs we are both side sleepers and sometimes I like to sleep on my back (probably cuz i cant get comfortable on our spring which is about 12 years old). I sleep hot. but i dont want to spend the extra money on cooling that doesnt really cool me. We LOVE the temperpedic Cloud supreme breeze…my hubby likes icomfort insight (but i have read to much to indulge him with the idea of buying that mattress.)
The two most important parts of any mattress purchase is PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) which is the most important and the quality of the materials so that you have some reasonable assurance that the mattress you are looking at has no obvious weak links that will soften or break down more quickly than it should and that the comfort and support will be maintained over a reasonable length of time.
When you are testing a mattress locally then you can test the mattress for PPP and when you are considering an online purchase then you are dependent on your conversations with the manufacturer, any local mattresses you have tested that are rough equivalents, and any return policy to reduce the risk of making a choice that is less than ideal. These are all part of each person’s personal value equation.
You can read a little more about soft solid gel materials (which are the type of gel used in the top layer of the Sherwood mattress) in post #4 here. It’s a very durable material but is also relatively firm so it’s usually only used in thinner layers with softer materials underneath it. It’s also more thermally conductive than memory foam which only has a percentage of gel infused inside it. It’s not a weak link in any mattress so you can focus on how it feels in the mattress you are testing rather than its technical specs. There is also much more information about gel materials in general in post #2 here and the links it includes for those that want more detailed information (although this won’t tell you how you will feel on the mattress).
I would also want to know the density of all the other layers in the Sherwood mattress so you can make sure it doesn’t have any weak links and you can make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses.
There are some comments about Sherwood and one of the Conforma mattresses in this thread but it may not be the same mattress you are looking at.
Once you know the details of the Sherwood and can make sure that it has no weak links … then you would be down to your finalists that are choices between “good and good”. When there are no “poor” choices or clear winners between them then “best judgement” and all the other objective, subjective, and intangible differences between each mattress purchase is the only way to decide and make your final choice between them (see post #2 here).
Thank you for that link to the conforma mattress. That is the same mattress we are looking at. It appears that the density is a little lower than the novasbed aria and the brooklyn bedding cool series. I guess my issue now is do i purchase a lower density mattress since i can actually “test” it out or just go with the online unknown. I do plan on verifying those stats with the company when they open on Monday.
I do have to mention that i was pretty upset with one of our local retailers. I was testing out a Southerland memory foam mattress and asked about the density of the foam and the owner proceeded to tell me “whats in the mattress does not dictate the quality of the mattress”. (true story…crazy i know!) I couldnt believe he said that. So I asked him if there was a row of cars that looked exactly alike, how would he determine which one to buy? Would he pop the hood and open the doors to see whats inside? With that i gathered my family and left. I have to say i have learned so much about memory foam mattresses from reading this site and other manufacturer sites. Thanks so much! Will let you know which mattress ends up in our house!!!
As sad as it is … many of the salespeople that tell this to their customers actually believe it.
Since the online mattresses you are considering are approximations of the Tempurpedic Supreme … you can at least test the Supreme to get a sense of whether they are a good match for you in terms of PPP. They also all have all have a very good return policy so the risk is lower if your experience on the mattress isn’t close to your experience with testing the Supreme.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up choosing … and it’s always good to see when the members here have done some good research and end up with good final choices.