Hey,
So, back around 6 years ago, there was an insect and mold infestation in my home, and we had to throw out a ton of things, including my bed, and we had a lot of resulting housing issues. Recently as of this year, everything is finally repaired and I have a room to sleep in again, and therefore also the ability to get a bed.
I’ve been testing out mattresses at stores and been doing research, as well as trialing a mattress from Denver mattress for around 6 months now, but I’m not really totally happy with anything I’ve tried that’s within my price range so far.
I know that the big typical brand names like Sealy and Serta have a poor reputation, so I avoided those (though the Silver Chill tempted me). Denver mattress was the one store by me that actually offers information about their foam and springs in terms of technical specifications, and based on the research and conversations I have had with people, seem to have at least solid quality mattresses. I had essentially narrowed down my choice between the Doctor’s Choice elite Firm (with then a topper; apparently a 2.2/lb polyfoam topper, and then 4lb memory foam layer (according to the rep) with 884 induvial coils), or the Telluride Firm (apparently 1" 19 guage 2226 microcoils and 2.2lb support poly foam and with 744 individual support coils., has 4lb memory foam comfort layer. ): The latter had a more tactile, noticable foam feel that you intially sink into where you feel the foam compress under you, which I like, but didn’t quite offer enough support on my lower back, wheras the former had a quilt top cover which didn’t have that feeling. In the end, I went with the latter.
My suspicions turned out to be correct, there wasn’t quite enough support for my lower back, but the real issue was how the mattress protector and sheets interacted with the feel of the bed: Adding a mattress protector added surface tension to the bed, so when I lay down onto it, I don’t feel the foam compress as much, and I also think that the protector also prevented the foam from “pushing back” as I compressed it, as the foam was then pushing up against the protector, wheras without a protector, the foam would “fill in” the contours of my back as I sank into it (likewise, I notice it is easier to push down on the mattress with my hand and feel less resistance if I do so when the protector is on vs when it is off). This basically negated any benefits the telluride had, and I fond gave me much, much less support then laying on it in the store did, to where at best I just would feel “okay” but without the sensation I wanted, but at worst some nights I would feel like my pelvis was sinking into the bed, not just the intial foam layer, and caused pain.
Eventually, I did try other mattress protectors that were less tight and were stretchy (some jersey/bamboo ones from amazon, the Purple protector, etc, ironically the best so far is a Serta one) and with those there’s a bit more of a foam sensation and I haven’t had many nights where I feel like i’m sinking deep into the bed. but it’s still not ideal, and I still toss and turn a bit, and I feel like I am floating, not like I have support. So I’m having Denver mattress pick the mattress back up for a full refund in a few days.
Right now, I am looking at a Comfort Option mattress, since most of my issues with beds is fairly granular interactions with their different support layers, and they have a generous trial period and I can switch out the different layers modularlity, and I’ve heard they have decent to good quality foam. I am concerned about a few things, though:
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Will an all foam mattress not give me the “pushback” I am wanting after I intially compress the top layer, since it is all foam vs a hybrid which also has springs?
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I’m unsure if I want a softer or a firmer top layer: I obviously want it to be soft enough that I sink into it and compress it a bit, but with the mattress protector actually reducing the amount of pushback I feel, I am thinking maybe I should pick one of their medium firmness layers like a 10 rather then a S or a C (and i’m not sure if the S or the C is more or less firm vs the other, just that both are the two softest options) so I do actually feel the foam not compressing and wrapping around me, and not just it “going away” under my weight which it does with the telluride with the protector on
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I’m unsure if I should go with the 10, 18 or the Flex for the middle layer: The flex is supposed to feel like latex, and I did try a latex mattress at a local manufacterer this fourm reccomends (the beds there were outside of my price range) and I didn’t quite like the way the all latex mattrress felt. But if it’s an all foam mattreess, I want something that’s going to provide as much support and “pushback” as possible underneath the comfort layer, so I’m thinking the “bouncy” nature of the latex-like flex might be best at that? Not sure, though.
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the 35 or 45 IFT bottom layer. I’d think I’d want the 45, but the person at comfort option I spoke with said the 45 tends to get more complaints and I might still want the 35.
The benefit of comfort option is, as I understand it, I can have them send in as many layers to try as I want, so I can mix and match over the trial period, but I still want input from people here, and/or if I should look at other places entirely: I know there are more reccomended manufacters here on this site, but the caveat is that I need at least like a 2-3 month trial period where it can be refunded or returned where the mattress is picked up or donated, and I wouldn’t need to handle return shipping.
What I’m really most interested in is getting advice on how to get the balance I want to where, even with a mattress protector, I can get that feeling of the foam compressing under me and hugging me a bit, but still have good support and upwards pressure back at me once I do, be that via a specific mattress or a specific mattress protector (I plan to also try Sheex)
