looked more at your posts, and am curious if you still like Sleep EZ and
Brooklynbedding and dreamfoambedding.com (also Dreamfoam Bedding Amazon Store).
sleep ez, seems very comparable to Flexus
also wondered about merits of 10 v 13-inch latex of Flexus and SleepEZ. just a little more support?
Hi zebo42,
[quote]looked more at your posts, and curious if you still like Sleep EZ and
brooklynbedding and Dreamfoam Bedding (also Dreamfoam Bedding Amazon Store).[/quote]
Yes … SleepEZ is a Trusted Member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency.
While Dreamfoam and Brooklyn Bedding are no longer members they provide some quality products with good customer service.
Yes … their component mattresses have similar designs.
There is more about the pros and cons of thicker mattresses and/or more layers in post #14 here.
Phoenix
there are some very inexpensive dreamfoam or BB ones, which caugth my eye I haven’t really studied them, fyi, I noted a number of sites that commented to this effect
“But recently the material quality has been changed. At present they are using the density of about 1.5lbs instead of 2.35lbs. These days the materials are manufactured with the utmost quality durable comprising of 3”. The company is also popular in customizing all the mattress which has been made to the level of firmness which fits your request. It keeps cool during the sleep. It is one of the fastest response foam.
http://mattressreviewsbest.com/dreamfoam-mattress-ultimate-dreams-latex-mattress/
On the other hand, some of the cheaper ones are all Dunlap latex, which i gather is pretty good, tho not as good as Talalay. Hard to assess the UD Freedom with 11’’ v the 10 or 13 Flexus that is twice is much $.
thanks Mike
Hi zebo42,
[quote]“But recently the material quality has been changed. At present they are using the density of about 1.5lbs instead of 2.35lbs. These days the materials are manufactured with the utmost quality durable comprising of 3”. The company is also popular in customizing all the mattress which has been made to the level of firmness which fits your request. It keeps cool during the sleep. It is one of the fastest response foam.
mattressreviewsbest.com/dreamfoam-mattre...eams-latex-mattress/[/quote]
The change was actually a long time ago and it’s not “recent” at all but you can see some comments about it in post #2 here and the posts it links to.
They are certainly among the best quality/value mattresses that are available in their price range.
Phoenix
Thanks much.
You certainly hav e an unbelievably amount of info on your site, I am now enjoying it!. When I first went hear, I was overwhelmed, and almost skipped it, ut now it is fun to learn
I did poke around some other sites, and found the Old Bed guy site. He seems to be in love with Charles ROgers, not sure why entirely. So I looked here on the forum, and and got your views on them and him, no need to provide.
I would be interested in one of his observations, and your thoughts.
he says "The marketplace is filling up with confusing foam mattress ads riding on the popularity of the innerspring hybrid. These “so called” hybrids have the requisite comfort padding on top, but in place of the support and the durable springy comfort of a coil spring, firmer foams provide what support there may be. I have tried to like the idea, because in theory, it could lower the cost without lowering the benefits. However, there is nothing like a spring, to do the work of a spring. …
• Buy an innerspring mattress. University laboratory tests have confirmed that innerspring mattresses are, on average, 28% cooler than common solid synthetic foam, even cooler when compared with memory foam. My experience is that more people are happier on a good innerspring than even the finest solid or layered foams. University Proof of Cooler Innerspring Test ’
Next, i noticed a lot of the Charles Rogers bed seemed to show a foundation bed (wood of some type) and a mattress, seeimingly without a boxpring. I have always had a metal frame, no doubt $40, and boxspring - does th platform replcae this so yo don’t need a boxspring.
Lastly, do you have a post re top parts - cotton, wool, bamboo??
I will visit FLexus this weekend, so I guess this all is really wondering
Hi zebo42,
[quote]I did poke around some other sites, and found the Old Bed guy site. He seems to be in love with Charles ROgers, not sure why entirely. So I looked here on the forum, and and got your views on them and him, no need to provide.
I would be interested in one of his observations, and your thoughts.
he says "The marketplace is filling up with confusing foam mattress ads riding on the popularity of the innerspring hybrid. These “so called” hybrids have the requisite comfort padding on top, but in place of the support and the durable springy comfort of a coil spring, firmer foams provide what support there may be. I have tried to like the idea, because in theory, it could lower the cost without lowering the benefits. However, there is nothing like a spring, to do the work of a spring. …
• Buy an innerspring mattress. University laboratory tests have confirmed that innerspring mattresses are, on average, 28% cooler than common solid synthetic foam, even cooler when compared with memory foam. My experience is that more people are happier on a good innerspring than even the finest solid or layered foams. University Proof of Cooler Innerspring Test '[/quote]
You can see my thoughts about some of the misleading or even deceptive information on the Old Bed Guy website in this topic which will also explain why he promotes them so heavily.
I think that these types of “broad brush” comments or recommendations can often be more misleading than they are helpful and I personally treat the choice of materials or components in a mattress as a preference choice rather than a “better/worse” choice. There are many different types of innersprings that each have very different properties (see this article and post #10 here) and the type of materials and layers that are used on top of an innerspring and the specific design and layering of a mattress can also have a major effect on the feel and response of any particular mattress regardless of what it uses as a support core. These types of recommendations would be somewhat like recommending that everyone wear a suit and tie to work or that everyone should buy a pair of leather oxford shoes rather than making choices that they prefer or that are suitable for their own specific circumstances and preferences.
Materials like good quality polyfoam and latex foam in a suitable firmness level can certainly make a very suitable mattress for a particular person that can be just as “supportive” and “comfortable” and durable as any particular innerspring mattress for people who prefer them.
There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel” and why some mattresses are suitable for some people but not for others that have a different body type, sleeping position, or preferences or sensitivities.
While it’s true that there are more people that are used to an innerspring mattress than other types of mattresses and they are still the largest single segment of the industry … this is also changing and the growing popularity of foam mattresses (latex foam, polyfoam, and memory foam) speaks for itself and they can certainly make a great choice for those that prefer the specific properties of certain foam mattresses vs an innerspring mattress of some type.
In terms of temperature regulation … it’s certainly true that innerspring are more breathable than any foam materials but it’s also true that the layers of a mattress that are closer to the surface will have a bigger effect on the sleeping temperature of a mattress than the deeper support materials or components so if you have an innerspring matttress that uses thicker layers of memory foam as the comfort layers then it may sleep much warmer for someone than a mattress that has a polyfoam support core and more breathable and temperature regulating materials in the comfort layers and the cover and quilting. There is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress in post #2 here.
There is more about the different types of support systems that are generally most suitable for different types of mattresses in the foundation post here and the posts it links to (in the second paragraph). A platform bed that has a support surface that is suitable for a particular mattress and that is designed to support a mattress directly wouldn’t need a foundation since it would already provide suitable support for the mattress without it. A metal bedframe or a wooden bedframe that only has a few slats or cross members that wouldn’t be supportive enough for a mattress (the mattress would sag right through the spaces in the bedframe) would need a foundation on top of them to provide suitable support for a mattress.
There is more about quilting materials in this article and there is more about quilted mattress covers (including wool quilted covers) vs stretch knit covers in post #12 here and the posts it links to. There is also more about the the pros and cons of different types of fabrics used in mattress ticking (covers) in this article and in post #7 here and the posts it links to as well (which is more about sheets and bedding but the comments about the different types of fabrics would apply to mattress ticking materials as well).
There is more about all latex mattresses vs latex/innerspring hybrids in post #13 here and the posts it links to but again this would be a preference choice more than a “better/worse” choice…
Phoenix
Thought I’d report back on a couple places he went today – Flexus and dreamland a couple miles apart in Covina.
both of them were great places up but it’s not entirely fair to compare them given the price differential between the two. We first went to flexus I which has a very small a show room with about six of beds in itincluding a double-sided bed and a couple of all latex beds.
My wife more or less a fell in love with the 13 inch all latex a bed which had 3 3 inch medium layers and a soft Talalay top layer. The other half of the bed I had 2tfirm layers with a medium layer on top and then also the soft Talalay layer that I liked quite a bit, Both were very luxurious and being able to combine two different firmness levels is fantastic for those with different firmness interests. I also like that I could quickly switch the firm and medium a layer on my side to make it a bit firmer and the whole process took about five minutes
We also tried a 10 inch bed and both of us were surprised at how different it felt. Even though the layers up for the same firmness, the absence of one additional layer makes quite a difference and a 10 inch is a much firmer all the way around.
Interestingly my wife consistently seems to sink through some of the beds with a different types of comfort versus support. since she is much lighter than me the only rational explanation that anyone had is that she doesn’t really sink into the support level like I do and that it feels a quite a firm out to her. as a result she really didn’t like a number of beds that I was okay with
We then went and saw Bruce the owner of a dreamland who is only a couple of miles away. Most of the beds that we looked at a there were spinal bedding company mattresses that he said was now a Serta company. Most of them were individual coil bottoms with with different toppings as such as memory foam or latex, and some with all layers of both along with gel layer. He was a very helpful and knowledgeable but I don’t think either of us liked the beds a quite as much as the all latex up bed. However, they were a very nice beds in all respects and were only about half the price of the 13 inch a latex bed at flexes
We will try couple places are nearby tomorrow and then I’ll probably decide what to get
Hi zebo42,
Thanks for the update … and it’s good to see you are looking at some good options.
This is a fairly common phenomenon because the same materials will often feel firmer to someone that is lighter than they will to someone that is heavier. It can also be a result of different weight distribution and different body shapes or sleeping positions or even a different sensitivities to pressure. There is more in the first part of post #2 here about accommodating a couple that have different needs and preferences.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding.
Phoenix
O, I saw this post of yours, and am a bit confused
It seems Bruce has the same mattresses as the good Spinal Care (for example, Cloud, Monet etc) yet he said it was a Serta company, or used to be? (note that Kenzo makes the same comment ) seems like above that is the bad spinal care?
I did suggest my wife try firm, Medium medium with soft Talaly if we go back, to see how different it is, since that would giv eoptions down the road.
Hi all,
I am new to TheMattressunderGround forum and researching on some mattress for the side sleepers to know the issues of their back-pain. Wish a lot of information I will get from here.
Thanks,
Rodger Trivett
Hi zebo42,
I saw your previous comment that Spinal Care was now a Serta company and it was confusing to me as well. On the Dreamland blog here they say that they are carrying Spinal Care and they are an independent family owned manufacturer and when I last talked with Spinal Care in Gardena they confirmed they were still an independent company as well (and were having some real issues with the “other” Spinal Care). I also noticed that the “other” Spinal Care no longer has a website (you can see that all of their websites listed at the BBB here are gone).
In the end all that really matters is that you can confirm the type and quality of the materials in any mattress you buy so you can make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses based on the quality/durability of the materials inside them which is always more important than the name of the manufacturer on the label but I plan to call both Dreamland to confirm what they are now carrying and Spinal Care Bedding to ask them if they are still an independent manufacturer when they are both open.
Phoenix
Hi RodgetTrivett,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :).
I switched your post from the topic you originally posted in to a more general topic.
The first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to know how to make the best possible choice … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Phoenix
I am pretty sure it is the good company that Bruce carries and perhaps he is confused about there being two of them.
For those nearby, we did like Dreamland and suggest a visit, he is very helpful. ONe thing he stresses as a selling point is that Spinal Care has a 20 year non prorated warrenty on all its beds, even the one that are dirt cheap, like 600 for a king. He also says he is very unusual by dealing with teh warrenties himself if there is a problem. He says most if not all retailers will have you call the manufacturer directly if you have a claim, but he will do it himself, and go and eyeball your mattress for you. He claims this is much more likely to get you a new mattress since they will more likely accomodate him since he buys a lot from them, while you of course have bought one mattress and they may not care what you think.
NOt sure if this all is accurate, but thought I would mention it. since we like Flexus more, even tho much more expensive, it doens’t matter to us.
Hi zebo42,
Most good retailers will facilitate and act as the intermediary with warranty claims so that their customers don’t need to deal directly with the manufacturer and this would be part of the service they provide.
I would also take any warranties longer than 10 years or so with a grain of salt because longer warranties are more about marketing than they are about the durability or useful life of a mattress or when you will need to buy a new mattress. There is more about mattress warranties in post #174 here. It’s also true that many smaller manufacturers would be much more likely to replace a mattress that is in the grey areas of their warranty coverage because they are more focused on building and maintaining their word of mouth reputation for quality and durability and the ones that make higher quality mattresses will also tend to have less warranty claims.
While there is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for any particular person … if a mattress is well inside the comfort/support range that is suitable for someone and isn’t close to the edge of the range that is too soft for them when it is new and meets the minimum quality specs that are suggested in the guidelines here then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer.
It’s always more realistic to think of about 10 years as a maximum reasonable expectation for any mattress no matter what the quality or durability of the materials and then treat any additional time after that as “bonus time” because after about 10 years the limiting factor in the useful life of a mattress will often be the changing needs and preferences of the person sleeping on the mattress and even if a mattress is still in good condition after a decade … a mattress that was suitable for someone 10 years earlier may not be the best “match” any longer.
Having said that … with higher quality materials throughout a mattress and/or for people whose needs and preferences or physical condition or body type hasn’t changed much over 10 years then “bonus time” or even “extended bonus time” with higher quality/density and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam or natural fibers is much more likely than with less durable materials.
Phoenix
Hi zebo42,
Just to let you know I talked with Bruce today at Dreamland and he thought there must have been some misunderstanding in the conversation because Spinal Care Bedding in Gardena which they carry isn’t owned by Serta.
Phoenix
Update
went to more places around our area
ELectorpedic - very knowledgeable also, with more all latex beds. these are all synthetic Talalay, no Dunlap at all, and no natural Talalay. since no Dunlap, and who knows what else, more expensive than Flexus. THeir latex from Latex International, which he says provides most latex in this country. (But not to Flexus)
Nest Bedding - also would recomend visiting this place. one of few, if only , place to check out Bed in a Box in Los Angeles.
NOthing we found seemed to be as nice as the Flexus we had seen (other than the Electropedic latex) so we ended up going back there and getting a King size 13". As latex goes, reasonably priced if not low end on price, tho a lot of money. But for those who are looking at Temperapedic or Icomfort or similarly priced beds , I would certainly recommend looking at FLexus - it is less expensive than Temperapdic by far. For us, this bed was most comfortable, and has advantage of diferent firmness on each side, and ability to switch firmness later. My side is firm, firm, medium and then Talalay soft, while hers is firm, medium, medium Talalay soft top. Since the talaly level on top is a single sheet, you don’t feel the split in the lower levels (other than the softness difference)… IF you decide you want mor firmness, you can move the firm layer up and the medium down - we both felt the difference. For that matter my wife felt the difference between fmms and mmms, tho not a lot - we were surprised to feel a difference with 9 inches of the same materials above them. But it seemed better to have to option to change firmness down the road. They do allow you to change a layer within 90 days for free (or a modest fee, I forget which) but with the different lower layers we have that option throughout the life of the bed.
Won’t get it til this weekend, will report back after a month or so to see how we like it.
For those looking for a less expensive bed, you can get a double sided one at Flexus, or a 10 inch or 7 icndh at Flexus also. I am not in a position to comment if the double sided one really provides longer life as they say - it sounds reasonable IF you actually flip the bed regularly. For those looking to spend 1000-1500, I would check out Dreamland in Covina and NestBedding.
NestBedding (about 12400 Ventura Bvd) is next to about 4 -5 others retailers, so a great place to check out alternatives. We liked the owner at DreamEz, who sells Temperapedic, I comfort Stearns and Foster and a few more. He also has some “'House brands” that were more reasonably priced that we liked. SleepEZ is accross the street and they probably have 80 on the floor and a diagnostic machine of some type that suggests your recomended firmness. If you are looking for a name brand, I suspect they have it - they had Iseries, I comfort, Temperapedic Kingdown, Dormio and others
Lastly, I will comment on this site. I really like, as should be obvious, Phoenix is great. My only suggestion to you Phoenix might be simplify some things for some. When I first got here, it was a bit overwhelming - so much information etc and the fact that everyting is so individual makes it a bit daunting. A cliff notes version might be a good thing. In my former profession, I found that necessary - yes, if you want to do it really right, you need to do A -X, but recognize most or many aern’t willing to do that so here is A-D, with the caveat that you are taking shortcuts.
Hi zebo24,
Thanks for the additional comments and feedback … I appreciate them once again!
You were certainly doing some great research and looking some very good quality options and I think you made a great final choice … and congratulations on your new mattress 
I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
I agree with your comments here and over the course of the coming months there will be a number of changes to the site that I’ve been working on for well over a year but the site is always a work in progress and with 12 - 16 hour days 7 days a week the changes are always ongoing, incremental and gradual.
There is already a shorter version of the tutorial at the end of the tutorial post that I added several months ago for those that want the “short version”. Some of the other changes that will be happening include a research center that will make it easier to find the answers to the most common questions without having to search the forum or me replying with a link to a forum post that has the information that someone needs. Once the structural changes to the site and template that will support some of the other changes I’m working on are complete (which I expect to happen in a few more weeks) then I will be able to start gradually adding some of the other features to the site that I’ve planned since the start or have been working on in the background. Some of them will be sooner and some may not be available for another year or two because they will take considerable time and effort.
At this point (the new site going live) I also plan to start simplifying some of the reference information here or rewriting and amalgamating some of the articles that currently are “somewhat” redundant as I’ve added new information and reference links that come from more detailed forum replies to existing information in various posts and articles. I currently have a list of about 300 reference posts that I use to reply to the more common questions which along with some of the information in the main menu and in many forum posts will be amalgamated and/or rewritten and simplified and become part of the research center.
There are some other changes that will be coming as well as I gradually implement some of the other ideas that I hoped to accomplish in my original 5 year plan (which is a little less than 4 years old now) and based on my experience and interactions with the forum members that have posted here over the last almost 4 years.
Thanks for the suggestions and I think that most of the members that come here will be quite happy with some of the changes and ease of use and greater clarity that will be apparent by the time the site reaches its 5th year anniversary
Phoenix
I will add my final 2 cents on a short version, at least what I would have liked. Obviously everyone is different and you have tons more experience with what your readers like. My sense is that very few of us, me included, reaally are able or willing to get into the tquality of materials if we don’t have to. To be honest, I don’t know the quality of Flexus - basically relied on this site to tell me it had quality materials. To me, that is perhaps best thing here - rahter than spend more time wandering around LA aimlessly looking at retailers, you pointed us to a couple places that we could feel comfortable with. Obviously, you cant tell me if I like firm, or hot or cold, or foam or springs, and I need to decide myself. But youcan tell me about Flexus etc, so i don’t have to become an expert on materials. .
Anyway, here is my 2 cents
"Shopping for mattresses is incredibly hard for tons of reasons> this site is designed to make your life a bit easier. There are lots of ways to approach that task, depending upon how much time you want to invest. For those of you that want to seriously get into the project, we have all sorts of imformation to help you out. But, if you aren’t into doing a lot of reasearch, here are some suggestions that might help - of course, you need to decide for yourself if taking these shortcuts works for you.
best. zebo
Greetings Phoenix,
Thank you for the wealth of consumer-oriented information presented here. After careful consideration, I will most likely be ordering an Ultimate Dreams Freedom, and look forward to perhaps contributing to the knowledge base of user feedback amassed here, particularly regarding a budget oriented, online only, synthetic continuous pour dunlop latex customizable mattress. Dang that’s a mouthful that’ll be a hit at the next dinner party! 
:lol: :silly: B)
GreenDean
Hi GreenDean,
I think that anyone that can say “synthetic continuous pour dunlop latex customizable mattress” and know what it means has clearly been doing their homework even though the people at your dinner party may only be able to reply with “HUH?”!
As you know the Freedom is a great quality/value choice and assuming that you decide to pull the trigger … congratulations on your new mattress
I’m looking forward to any comments and feedback you have the chance to share once you’ve had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Phoenix