My head is spinning...

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

As has been said many times here, thank you for all this information!

I’ve been shopping for a new mattress off and on for several months. I started out thinking I wanted springs. I like soft and the cushy quilted pillowtops seemed the way to get that. Different salesmen steered me toward MF because of my arthritis, but the MF I tried out were like quicksand. I got in and couldn’t get out. At some point, I laid on a pure latex. I never knew that existed! However, it felt like a bowl of jello, all jiggly and wiggly. Not to mention the $8000 price tag. As I continued to shop, I almost bought a number of times. Sealy had Elation, Serta had I-Comfort Jubilance, Sterns and Foster had a couple that felt nice, but I just couldn’t make a choice. The models that seemed to be the most comfy to me had price tags that were seriously discouraging. Most were in the $2-3000 range, and I was so glad to find out on this site that maybe I didn’t need to spend that much.

Sooooooo, as per your recommendations, I called Oklahoma Mattress Company this morning. I am about 3 hours away from them, however I think it might be a worthwhile trip. It will be about 3 or 4 weeks before I can go, so I will continue to read here on this site and maybe I will know what questions to ask and what info to give them when I get there. If you have other suggestions to offer, I would of course love to hear them. I am a side sleeper, with arthritis in one hip and shoulder (same side), 5’10" and 155 pounds. My husband is about same height and varies from 185 to 200 pounds. He sleeps on all four sides, is not picky, spent many working years sleeping across a truck seat and says he can sleep anywhere. For once, it’s all about me.:slight_smile:

Thanks again for all the wonderful info here.

2

Hi Ceejay,

The most important suggestion I could give you (besides the steps in post #10 here and the information it links to) is to use some local outlets to narrow down which materials you tend to prefer in both the comfort layers and the support layers of a mattress (treat them independently). From the sounds of it though … your preferences lean towards faster responding materials and away from slower response materials although there may be an “in between” that you like as well because several of the choices you mentioned have memory foam (which is a slow response material) in the comfort layers (such as the Elation and the iComfort). The prices and “value” of the major brands in any price range … even their better quality mattresses … are not indicative of the prices you would pay for similar mattresses from smaller manufacturers or independent brands that used similar or better materials.

There may be some local outlets that are closer to you and even if they don’t have particularly good value … they may provide some good testing grounds as preparation for a trip to Oklahoma City. As long as the “specs” of a mattress are available from the store (not just partial but every layer) or are available online soyou will know what you are testing … then they can be useful for testing different materials and combinations to see which you prefer. When you are testing I would think in terms of the materials you are feeling in the comfort layers and support layers and do your best to differentiate them rather than thinking in terms of testing a mattress “as a whole” so you get a better sense of how each material performs and is different from other materials used in the same parts of the mattress. In other words … think in terms of testing materials rather than mattresses

Latex has many different variations from very soft to very firm or from “jiggly” to solid as a rock depending on the type of latex, the layers in the mattress, and the firmness of the layers. Few if any of them though would justify an $8000 price tag IMO (unless there were other factors besides just the latex involved like a hidden cache of gold that comes with the mattress) and you may not have even been testing the feel of latex itself if it had polyfoam in either the quilting or comfort layers over the latex. There are many mattresses that are sold as “latex mattresses” at very inflated prices or that use lower quality materials in the upper layers of the mattress (the layers that you feel the most). The key is to find out what is in the mattress you are testing.

$8000 mattresses can pay for a lot of great vacations somewhere along the supply chain between the manufacturer and you.

If you let me know where in OK you are … I may be able to point you to any better “testing” options I may be aware of that are closer to you in preparation for a trip to Oklahoma Mattress (which as you probably know I think very highly of, are members of this site, and have some of the best quality/value in the country).

Phoenix

3

Hi Phoenix. I am on the line between AR and OK, near Fort Smith, AR. If there is a closer option than OKC, I would be glad to find it as well.

An $8000 mattress is not in my future. I had the same thought about that as you.

My looking was all done before I found your site, so I didn’t really know what to consider. I will be making a list before I go back to look again. This is a great resource, but takes a bit of time to read and absorb.

Pardon if this is a double post. I somehow lost the response I had previously written.

Ceejay

4

Hi Ceejay,

The closest manufacturers to you that I’m aware of are listed in the Springdale, AR list in post #4 here and the Tulsa list in post #2 here.

There is one local wholesale manufacturer http://eadsbros.com/ that makes a line of their own promotional bedding (lower budget mattresses sold under the Sleep Dynamics name) that compete very well with the major manufacturers in terms of value and they also make Wickline mattresses (Stylution) which are imported as components and they assemble them. They are very open about what they make and while their retailers may not be well informed about the materials in their mattress … he will provide any specs that are necessary. He will also give consumers the names of any local outlets in AR, MS, OK, KS, and part of TX. They don’t make any latex mattresses. Good people.

They have at least one store in Fort Smith which is http://www.midlandfurnitureinc.com/product_listing.asp?category_id=6 but I haven’t talked with them to find out about the type of knowledge, service they provide.

I also took a look at the retailers in the area and outside of one retailer there is little in the way of local quality choices and the area is dominated by the major brands.

http://royalmattresscenter.webs.com/apps/webstore/ Retailer in Van Buren, AR. I talked with the owner here and he is knowledgeable about the industry and mattresses. Carries Sleep Harmony, Englander, Noctova, and Symbol. Runs on a low profit margin so the quality/value is good and he understands the importance of knowing what is in a mattress. You can read some feedback about them in post #7 of this thread (or just scroll down).

Other than this … your best choices involve a drive or if that is not practical … then working with one of the better online (or on the phone) manufacturers may also be well worth considering. A list of these that are members of the site and have some of the best quality and value in the country are in post #21 here.

Hope this helps.

Phoenix

5

Hi Phoenix. I wanted to update a little on this thread, and to thank you again for your help.

In reference to the Sleep Dynamics mattresses that are made by Eads Bros., that is the brand of the one I was replacing. It was a “hand-me-down” from my mother-in-law, but she only had it a few months before she passed away, and didn’t sleep on it much at all. Even with very little use, it was already beginning to sag when I got it. It is a double sided pillow top, about 13" thick. It sags in the middle and there is about 2" difference in the thickness from one side to the other. Someone is always rolling downhill. They may have good products, but this one didn’t appear to be one. With no receipt or paperwork of any kind, and not even knowing where it came from at the time, there was little I could do to fix the problem. It has been moved to the room where my granddaughters sleep when they are here. At 6 and 9 years old, they don’t seem to be bothered by it, but I will be replacing it soon anyway.

On to the new mattress. I shopped at Bedding Mart and Mattress King in Fort Smith, and a couple other places. I got some helpful sales people, mostly knowledgable, but I got a lot of conflicting information. This was before I found the mattress underground, so I really didn’t know what to ask other than an explanation of their warranty and what they would do if I was unhappy with my purchase. After doing some reading here, I felt like latex was the best choice for me. I went to Denver Mattress in Fayetteville, and in Conway, AR to look at Snowmass and Aspen. They both felt good, just not as soft as I hoped. The upholstered look of the Snowmass was appealing to me, as was the tufted appearance of the top. Those little tufts are like a mini-massage if you move a lot during the night, and I almost chose that one. The thing that stopped me was that there were only two latex choices there, and if neither was comfortable to me, there was nothing else there I would have wanted to trade for.

I made a couple of calls to Oklahoma Mattress Company and then a trip to OKC to look. Very nice people, and very helpful. After some guidance from Steve at OMC, I chose a mattress that was talalay latex, 10" thick, from the bottom up 2" of firm, 5" of medium, and 3" of soft. ILD #s were 35-31 for the firm, 24-25 for medium, and 17 for the soft. I also purchased their foundation and a new frame with a center leg and received the forum discount on all of it. I picked everything up last Friday. I expected there to be an adjustment period with latex, but honestly I loved it the first night. My “wake up and turn over” spells are cut in half if not more. I am able to sleep on the side with the bad hip, and it’s not sore when I wake up. I know that a mattress can’t cure a medical condition, but it is amazing to me how much difference it made. There are a few things to get used to, like the appearance of a slab of foam in a zippered cover compared to the quilted, upholstered look of a pillow top. Also, with no side support or structure, if I get too close to the edges, I feel a bit like I’m falling off. Those are minor things. Again, I loved it from the first night. Thanks again for your help and the information provided here. Like someone else said here, I have become a latexaholic!

6

Hi CeeJay,

This type of sagging is the “norm” with any lower budget mattress that uses lower quality polyfoam (typically 1.2 lbs) in the comfort layers regardless of who makes it … especially when it is a pillowtop and the soft polyfoam layers are thicker. When you buy a mattress like this from a local manufacturer you are at least paying a more reasonable price than if you bought something that uses similar density foam from a major manufacturer at a much higher price but I would avoid a mattress like this regardless unless someone was only considering price or a mattress for a child or guest bedroom. Because it’s two sided and still fairly new (possibly not yet broken in) … flipping the mattress and rotating it may even out the foam softening somewhat but it won’t eliminate the problem which comes with mattresses of this type and quality.

Both of these are good quality and value but of course if they don’t meet your needs and preferences then the quality and value isn’t really relevant and as you mentioned they only have these two choices and there isn’t a lot to trade for if they don’t work out.

It seems that the trip was worth it and you certainly did well! Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Adjustments periods can be very different for different people and you are one of the fortunate ones where there doesn’t seem to be any at all. It’s also great to hear that there was also such an improvement so quickly. Latex is unusual in that it can be both very pressure relieving and supportive at the same time even with softer layers like those in your mattress. In any case … welcome to the world of latex and I fully expect that with the quality of a mattress like this you will be sleeping well on it for a long time to come.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and feedback.

Phoenix

7

We had an excellent experience with Royal Mattress in Van Buren, AR, today.

We are in terrible pain from a two year old Sealy that has no support left. In 41 years of marriage, this is the worst mattress we’ve ever had, and has worn out the fastest. It looks perfect when no one is on it, so there is no point in filing a claim. When I get up in the morning, I can’t stand up straight until my spine has time to realign itself. My husband has Parkinson’s and the deteriorated support has made it so hard for him to move on the bed that he cannot turn over. He must stand up and turn around, then get back in bed. He has trouble getting out of it,too. The lack of mobility has affected out sex life.

The man at Royal Mattress (who remembers talking with you, BTW) was a pleasure to do business with. There is none of the “salesmanship” you deal with elsewhere. He now designs all his own mattresses and has them made by Ead’s Bros. locally. He can go right on the factory floor and see what is being done. He doesn’t even bother to name the mattresses.

There isn’t much price difference between models. He has no reason to care which you buy. He just steers you to the ones he thinks will meet your needs. He had us try a pair that only differed because one had a pillow top. I love the feel of softness on top of the firmness underneath, but my husband doesn’t like the pillow top. It makes it hard for him to get up or move.

We spent quite a while lying on the non pillow top one and both liked it a lot. My husband was able to easily turn over and get up. He wasn’t facing me when I got up and was surprised that I was gone. Obviously, there is not too much motion transfer. This is the model the man sells to rehab institutions where people have difficulty moving.

He sells mostly in quantity to hotels and institutions. Walk in individual sales are not the bulk of his business. He makes his money on the big multiple sales. His price for just one set is very fair. We prefer an innerspring and paid $600 plus tax and delivery. I wish a traditional box spring and two sided mattress had been available, but they weren’t.

The only down side is waiting a few days for the mattress to be made and delivered, but I think it will be worth it. And if it’s not, I’ll let you know! :slight_smile: Thanks so much for your site. I studied it all weekend and left home this morning knowing what questions to ask and what stores I wanted to try. Royal Mattress was first on my list.

8

Hi deadtreereader,

Thanks for taking the time to share such great feedback and for letting us know what you ended up choosing … I appreciate it!

I’ve added a link to your post in the Royal Mattress description so that other members can get a sense of the service they provide as well.

Most of all … congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I’m also looking forward to your feedback when you’ve received it and had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Phoenix

9

Last night was our third night sleeping on the mattress. My back feels increasingly better every morning. ALL the problems mentioned in my original post have been corrected :slight_smile: . We have slept better than we have in a good while.

I am having to adjust to not having a pillow top, and I find the deep tufting somewhat annoying, but overall am very pleased.

10

Hi deadtreereader,

That’s great news … and thanks for the update :slight_smile:

Phoenix