Iâm sorry to hear that your mattress didnât turn out as well as you hoped for (at least for your wife). Your mattress includes Talalay latex, Dunlop latex, and Polyfoam and all three of these materials come in a wide range of firmness levels so it would probably be more about the firmness of the layers and the mattress as a whole than about the specific type of material in your mattress.
I would keep in mind that here will be a break in and adjustment period for any new mattress or sleeping system as the mattress loses any of itâs âfalse firmnessâ and the cover stretches and loosens a little and the materials settle and your body gets used to a sleeping surface that is different from what it is used to (see post #3 here). This would typically be a few weeks but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specifics of the person and the mattress (higher density materials can take longer) and it can be surprising to many people how much their sleeping experience can change over the course of the first month or so and I would tend to sleep on a new mattress for a minimum of 30 days or so if possible before deciding on whether to exchange or return it (or possibly add a topper if the mattress is too firm).
Jamison was sold to Solstice Sleep but it was the only line of mattresses they carry that I would consider as a âpossibilityâ so Iâve removed them from the Cincinnati list.
Without knowing the information listed here (including foam density) itâs not possible to make any meaningful comments about the quality and durability of the materials and components in a mattress or the mattress âas a wholeâ and if a retailer either canât or wonât provide you with all the information that you need to make an informed choice I would pass the mattress by because it would be much too risky a purchase.
Yes ⌠all the major brands (such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta) tend to use lower quality 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 (and the major retailers that focus on them) along with any mattress where you arenât 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).
International Bedding went bankrupt and their assets were purchased by Corsicana which also arenât generally transparent about the quality of the materials in their mattresses. Having said that ⌠the name of the manufacturer isnât all that important anyway because outside of âcomfortâ and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you canât see or âfeelâ and assessing the quality/durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new) so once again I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
I would deal with more transparent manufacturers or retailers so that you can avoid the frustration of testing mattresses and finding out that you like it and itâs a good match for you in terms of PPP only to find out that the information you need to identify any potential weak links in the mattress or make meaningful comparisons to other mattresses isnât available and youâve wasted the time you spent testing the mattress.
Other than that ⌠I would just follow the steps in the tutorial one at a time.
Thatâs my biggest issue is Iâm still not sure which of the manufacturers in my area are transparent, I was hoping snuggy was but I found out they werenât.
I am looking over the list of manufacturers my local Denver mattress sales and they sell some of the major brands you mentioned avoiding, do you see any here that stick out as good ones? Iâm hoping they list materials so I donât have to look at brands.
Brands
Your Denver Mattress offers an unmatched selection of quality brands at unbeatable value. Your store is proud to sell product from brands you can trust to give you the most in style, selection, and value.
Denver Mattress
Beautyrest
Serta
Green Choice
Tempur-Pedic
Sealy
Stearns & Foster
Iâm guessing their own brand is the one Iâm going to be interested in.
I guess the only way to know is by going in the store and asking
If a manufacturer is willing and able to provide the information here about the materials and components inside their mattresses then they are what I would call transparent but checking their websites (which most often donât list the specs you need to know) or better yet making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the local lists that you are planning to visit is always a good idea before you decide on which retailers or manufacturers you wish to deal with anyway (this is step 3 in the tutorial). 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.
At Denver Mattress I would focus on the mattresses that they manufacture themselves because these are the ones where you will be able to find out the quality specs you need to know and I would ignore all the other major brands and the Green Choice mattresses that they also carry.
I was actually thinking about trying the Brooklyn Bedding soft, but I canât seem to see what the difference is in the materials that makes it any different, do you know Phoenix?
Iâm thinking a man of my size will sink into the soft version but it looks like I might not have a choice
We went to the Denver mattress in Florence KY today and they seem to be very knowledgeable, helpful and transparent. They list density of foam and materials used including coil gauge and everything I think we need to know.
I will attach the photo of the set we liked the most. Itâs $1459 for mattress with âbox springâ and also includes two pillows, frame and mattress protector
The Richmond Euro Top would certainly be worth considering for someone that was in more average weight ranges but it would be a much less suitable choice for someone that is in a higher weight range such as yours.
The 5 lb memory foam is a high quality and durable material but there is 3 3/4" of 1.8 lb polyfoam in the top 6" of the mattress which is a lower density and less durable material than I would generally suggest in your weight range (I would look for 2 lb density polyfoam or higher) and 2 3/4" of the foam layers are also convoluted and convoluted foam layers are also less durable than solid layers of the same material (see post #2 here).
In terms of durability this would be a risky choice for someone in your weight range.
Phoenix
PS: [quote]
Okay i had to attach it through tinypic i couldnât get it to upload right for some reason directly
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Thatâs probably because it was larger than the maximum image size that can be attached to a post which is 800 x 800 pixels (see the help page here). If you try to attach a larger image without resizing it it first then you will get a â500 errorâ.
That stinks I didnât see anything in my price range meeting all of the minimum durability criteria, that was the closest one and already stretches the budget
We tried to break in the mattress by walking on it and it has made a minor difference but still seems overly firm even for me. I know we still need more time to adjust but I am already starting to think about whatâs gonna happen if nothing changes.
We will definitely now be making a size change, and going to a king size bed. Do you have any insight on this Zinus frame/foundation?
I am trying to convince my wife to get a new frame off Amazon or similar and switching to the BME soft king, yet she is still upset about the medium and fears the soft will be too firm as wellâŚ
Either way do you think if we got that route the Zinus is acceptable for durability or maybe you know of something else from another site? I would gladly spend more on a frame if I could convince my wife to avoid overpaying at for the Richmond Eurotop king at Denver mattressâŚwhich is whatâs probably going to end up happening since she wants to try it before she buys.
Based on âaveragesâ ⌠a medium firmness range will generally be inside the largest percentage of the bell curve that would be suitable for most people and with your weight range a softer choice could be more risky but of course not everyone fits inside the âaveragesâ that would work well for most people which is the reason that a good trial period can be an important part of the âvalueâ of an online purchase.
The break in and adjustment period will vary with different people and different mattresses (higher quality and more durable materials can take longer to break in) and it can also depend on what you are used to sleeping on but for most people it would be somewhere in the range of about a month or less although for some it will be much shorter (some people sleep well on a new mattress right away or after just a few days) and for others it can sometimes take several months.
Are you experiencing any actual âsymptomsâ when you sleep on your mattress or is it just a matter of preferences and more subjective âcomfortâ issues?
[quote]We will definitely now be making a size change, and going to a king size bed. Do you have any insight on this Zinus frame/foundation?
Any mattress with a polyfoam support core will generally do best with a firm, flat, and evenly supportive support surface underneath it that has minimal to no flex under the mattress and for larger sizes with at least one center support beam that has good support to the floor to prevent any sagging in the middle of the mattress. The components (bedframe and foundation or platform bed) need to be strong and durable enough to support the weight of the mattress and the people sleeping on it without some of the parts bending, sagging, shifting, or breaking with extended use. The support surface under the mattress (which may be slats or a steel or wire grid) should have enough surface area to prevent the mattress from sagging through any gaps or spaces in the support surface over time but still allow some airflow under the mattress. If a foundation has a slatted surface then I would suggest that the gaps between any slats are no more than about 5" (with 1 x 3 slats) although less than 4" would be better yet.
I donât have any specific knowledge about or personal experience with the Zinus platform bedframe so I canât speak to how strong it is. The slats appear to be 3" apart (according to the questions and answers) but I would make sure that the slats are rigid and wonât easily bend or break under your weights and the weight of the mattress (many lower cost bedframes and foundations use slats that are thinner or use lower quality and weaker wood which can bend or break too easily).
There is more information about support systems (bedframes and foundations or platform beds) that are generally suitable for different types of mattresses and some examples of each of them in post #1 here and some of the information and comments in this topic (which would apply to any foam mattress) may be helpful as well.
I actually feel like I may have less back pain on the mattress and yes some of it may be personal preference but there seems to be too much pressure around my abdomen when sleeping in some positions.
Either way I donât think Iâve had enough time to tell or pay enough attention to it to know for sure.
If your back pain is improved or if you are spending time sleeping on your stomach I would be very cautious about choosing a softer mattress. I would keep in mind that spinal alignment (most important) and pressure relief (second most important) and any actual âsymptomsâ (or lack of symptoms) you experience over the course of the night or when you wake up in the morning are the most important factor in how well you sleep and your bodyâs ability to rest and recover.
After 30 days on the mattress my wife still hated it. We returned the Brooklyn Bedding medium queen mattress yesterday and ordered the Brooklyn Bedding soft in a king. Also ordered the Brooklyn Bedding simple life foundation and a Knickerbocker monster bed frame. Hopefully itâs soft enough for my wife because I can sleep anywhere.
The return process was okay just waiting for the refund to actually show up.
I thought I would share this also you probably already know this information Phoenix, if not I asked Brooklyn bedding about the specs on their latex for the #bestmattressever.
Soft = 19ILD Talalay Latex with 30ILD Dunlop Latex
Medium = 28ILD Talalay Latex with 32ILD Dunlop Latex
Firm = 32ILD Talalay Latex with 34ILD Dunlop Latex
Thanks for the information but the ILD of the individual layers really isnât all that important to know because they donât have anything to do with the quality of the materials and they also wonât tell most people anything about whether the mattress is a good match for them in terms of PPP.
ILD/IFD is only one of several specs that makes one material feel softer or firmer than another (see post #4 here) and the ILD or IFD of different materials or even different types of the same material (such as different types and blends of latex) arenât directly comparable to each other anyway (see post #6 here). The ILD or IFD of single layers or components also isnât particularly meaningful because every layer and component in a mattress (including the base layer and the cover and quilting materials) will have an effect on the feel and performance of every other layer and component and on the sleeping system as a whole and putting too much focus on ILD/IFD or thickness or any other single specification (especially if itâs only a single layer or component) will most often be more misleading than helpful.
While knowing the specs that can affect the quality and durability of the layers and components in a mattress is always important ⌠unless you have a great deal of knowledge and experience with different types of mattress materials and components and their specs and different layering combinations and mattress designs and how they combine together and can translate them into your own âreal lifeâ experience that can be unique to you (which would generally be a very small percentage of people) ⌠I would tend to avoid using complex specs to try and predict how a mattress will feel or perform for you. When you try and choose a mattress based on complex combinations of specs that you may not fully understand or only based on specs for single layers or components that may not be as relevant or meaningful as you believe it is then the most common outcome is âinformation overloadâ and âparalysis by analysisâ. Even the best mattress designers in the industry are often surprised at what a mattress they design âshould have felt likeâ based on the specs when they design it and what it âactually feels likeâ when they test out their new design.
Yes that all makes sense I was just curious as to how they offer different firmness levels without posting any of the differences in materials on their website but now I know thereâs lots of things that make it different.
After we have been on the Brooklyn Bedding best mattress ever king soft about 10 weeks I havenât got much extra impressions on it. My wife still doesnât love it, she wonât even admit she likes it even though she says itâs better than the wore out inner spring we got rid of. She still says itâs not âsoftâ enough, whatever that means to her.
I myself am happy with it mostly, itâs sinky soft yet supportive, the only thing I hate is the sinkage means if I shift while on my stomach my body goes one way but my clothes get stuck so I end up uncomfortable and could have my shirt tugging on my neck or something like that.
Overall I suppose Iâm happy with the purchase, hopefully it holds up to my abuse though
It sounds like your wife likes very soft mattresses that would be somewhat risky for most people in terms of alignment but itâs possible that a soft mattress pad may give her some additional surface softness that she may like a little more.
With latex comfort layers and a 2 lb polyfoam base layer durability certainly shouldnât be an issue although of course no mattress will last as long for someone in your weight range as it would for someone that was lighter.
