North and West suburban Chicago mattress companies.

Hello. Thank you for all the time you devote to this website.

I have slept on a waterbed mattress for almost 25 years. In my teens I started with a simple free-flow mattress and I immediately slept an additional hour each night and felt I was getting a great sleep. In 1996 I moved up to my current mattress, a Land and Sky Impression http://www.landandsky.com/products/impression_waterbeds.asp. This mattress, which has internal coils and fiber, was also great, and much less sloshy.

About two years ago though I started not sleeping well, tossing and turning, and waking up with back and sometimes neck pain. When I bought a new couch I started sleeping on it more than my waterbed. I’m not sure what the problem is. I’m wondering if the mattress is just worn out (do waterbed mattresses wear out?), or if I need a different type of mattress.

I found your website while researching the new Serta icomfort memory foam mattresses. I tried that mattress line yesterday at a local chain mattress store. While I could immediately tell that I was far more comfortable on those mattresses, especially the two firmer versions, knowing what I know about big name companies, chain stores, markups and quality, I chose to research the mattresses, and I have you and this site to thank for helping steer me towards local mattress companies.

I live in the far NW Chicago suburbs. I’m considering taking a long ride out to the Beloit Mattress company, who is a member here, but I’m wondering if you know of any other local reputable mattress companies.

Thanks.

Hello offthelake,

What is likely to be happening is that your sleeping needs have changed over the years and that your waterbed is no longer providing the correct spinal alignment to prevent back or neck pain. This is probably because as we “age” we become less tolerant to “out of alignment” sleeping positions that used to be “OK”, our body proportions change (we become heavier in certain parts of our body which leads to a different sleeping profile), or our main sleeping positions can sometimes change. It is probably not the mattress itself although the bafffles/fiber could also have shifted or the plastic coils inside the mattress (the innercoils) could have lost some of their resilience. If the pain is in the upper body and neck area (rather than the lower back) … then there is also the possibility that a new pillow could make a difference.

We also have a member right in the Chicago area which is www.mygreenmattress.com and their sister company http://www.qualitysleepshop.com/ which are in La Grange.

Hope this helps and let me know if I can help in any other way.

Phoenix

Thanks for your help.

I’ve been looking at several internet manufacturers and I’m wondering what your opinion is of Acella-Flex foam used as a base for memory foam mattresses. It is advertised as “eco-friendly”, but I can’t find any ILD information.

As you suggested, I have been staying away from manufacturers who use 4lb memory foam, which has been difficult to do as many seem to use the 4lb foam.

I tried a Tempur-pedic Rhapsody in a store recently and it felt just about right for what I am looking for. Really, nothing else I have tried felt quite like it, it has a denser, more solid feel that the other mattresses I have tried. This mattress seems unusual in that it uses a high-density 1.2" 7lb memory foam top layer on top of a 2.8" 5.3lb sub-layer of memory foam, on top of an 8" base layer of unknown ILD . The pillows were excellent also. However the prices are astronomical.

I came across a mattress made by astrabeds.com in Arizona, called the SiriusBed, which they claim is similar to the Rhapsody (they specifically say the mattress has the above memory foam specifications) at less than half the price. They also have several latex offerings which they claim are organic and eco-friendly. I’m wondering if you know anything about them? Their website does not say anything about the origin or manufacturers of their foams.

Thanks again.

Hi Offthelake,

Acella-flex polyurethane foam is made by Sleep Innovations (originally made by the leggett and platt foam division which was bought by sleep innnovations) and like all polyfoams can be made in many different ILD’s and densities. Typically it would be about 33 ILD and 2.0 lb density (such as used in the ecosleep mattresses) . This would be considered a good quality HD polyfoam and suitable for use mattress core.

The “green” poloyfoams typically use either soy or castor oil to replace part of the petrochemicals in the foam and the percentage that is replaced is typically under 10% although in some cases it is more. While it is certainly a step in the right direction … thy can hardly be called “green”. Acella Flex replaces from 3% to 6% of its oil based polyols with plant oils. Green, soy based, or plant based foams are not a new category of foam (in spite of what many mattress outlets or salespeople will tell you), they are simply a new “buzzword” for polyfoam which has had a small percentage of its oil based polyols replaced with chemically altered plant oils. Even calling soy based oils “green” is a misnomer since soy is a crop which is a major contributor to the destruction of the South American rain forest. More about soy based polyols and green foams here http://www.bedtimesmagazine.com/Articles/2010/February/GreenFoamsGrabbingTheSpotlight.html

Denser memory foams are usually softer than the less dense memory foams (they have smaller cell structures) and of course more durable and typically slower to respond (have a longer memory). I understand how you like the feel as I also prefer the feel of a layer of denser memory foam in a comfort layer. They are more difficult to find though as many manufacturers reserve their denser and higher quality foams to manufacturers or to higher quality outlets to “prevent” their foams from being “lumped in” with cheaper lower quality foams.

In general … 4lb memory foam from a reputable manufacturer would be the best quality that can be reasonably be expected to be used in a low cost memory foam mattress. Genuine higher quality is certainly available but the cost goes up.

I would only consider using memory foams where the manufacturer or retailer discloses the density of their foam and it can be verified that it is certified by Certi-Pur or North American produced. Oeko-Tex class one certification would be preferable as it is a “tougher” standard (suitable for use with babies) however I doubt that there are many polyfoams or certainly memory foams which would pass this standard. Most Talalay latex and high quality Dunlop latex passes Oeko-Tex class 1.

I have talked with AstraBeds and our conversation became somewhat “difficult” when I questioned some of the things I was being told. They may have been having a bad day however and they are better value than others on the internet although not in the same value range IMO as the manufacturers that are members here. The conversation was a little too “high pressure” for my liking. We did not discuss his memory foam products. Like all memory foam products and outlets … I would only consider an outlet that fully disclosed the source of their memory foam … especially when they are selling higher densities which are often sourced in China. High density/quality memory foams are more expensive than lower densities and when I see high density prices that are very low I certainly would ask some questions and make sure I was satisfied with the answers.

In the case of memory foams which use the name “ecocell” … these are made by Dormeo which is an international drop shipper of memory foam mattreses. Their “typical” memory foams are 58 kg/cu meter (3.62 lbs/cu ft) so I would take the claims of an 8lb foam with a grain of salt and would certainly verify the actual weight. Many memory foam sellers measure their foam per 2 cubic ft which would make their foam seem to be twice as dense as it really is. I don’t know if this is what is happening here however I would seriously question a claim of 8 lb memory foam at these prices. These “cheap” ecocell memory foams are widely available on the internet.

An example of a true high quality high density memory foam mattress (using Foamex foams) is here http://www.chirosleeper.com/chirosleeper-diagram.htm however it is not “cheap” (sells for a little under $2000 in queen). An actual mattress manufacturer will usually give you memory foam information that can be more trusted to be accurate. It is generally not worth purchasing memory foam from unknown manufacturers or from outlets that are not transparent about their memory foam.

Hope this helps

Phoenix

Phoenix - I noticed you have posted links to the Chiro-sleeper mattress in a couple of places on your mattress forum.

FYI, I visited the Selectabed/Relief-Mart/Tempflow office and showroom in Thousand Oaks, CA today. My salesperson said they really haven’t made the Chiro-sleeer mattress for a few years, and it actually wasn’t a very good mattress. Their showroom has about a dozen beds, mostly featuring their Tempflow mattresses with Biogreen foam, Tri-Pedic and Soft-Pedic mattresses.

While they recommend the Tri-Pedic Platinum for back sleepers of my size (6’0" 220lbs), I found the Soft-Pedic was better for me, as the tri-zoned latex layer kept my hips from sinking in too far…

NOTE: Continued in the Los Angeles Thread

In Reply to Post #5 here (reply moved to this thread)

Hi LA sleeper,

Yes … I linked to the Chirosleeper on several occasions but more as an example of a layering that I like (a combination of latex and memory foam) and because it uses high quality ingredients. The Chirosleeper was (or is) a more custom built mattress that was made in consultation with chiropractors or medical professionals and was custom designed to each person’s needs. I think that what they may have meant by “not a very good mattress” probably means “it wasn’t very popular” because of its specialty application because the materials are certainly high quality.

I have talked with Dr Rick on many occasions at quite some length. I like his designs and the “biogreen” memory foam he is using in the Tempflow line which is very high quality and custom poured for him to his specs. His method of encouraging airflow in a memory foam mattress is also one of the few that are legitimate (Channels in the lower layers connected to holes in the memory foam) and he actually patented this. He was also combining softer memory foam over firmer memory foam before Tempurpedic came out with a similar concept in their Cloud series. Overall I am impressed with what he is doing.

As you know from your visit … Rick / Relief Mart makes quite a few lines of mattresses. They are all good quality but can also tend towards higher prices and the Tempflow don’t have the prices on the website. They are also very knowledgeable and have excellent customer service and do a good job helping their customers make the best possible choices for their needs and preferences.

One is the Tempflow line which are sold to retail outlets and also factory direct. They use the Biogreen memory foam which IMO is a high quality MDI memory foam and also includes their airflow system. This is their “premium” memory foam line. Their memory foam is very high quality and breathable.

One is the Memory Zone line which is their “budget” line that uses 4 lb memory foam and a polyflex layer (polyfoam) in between the memory foam and the base foam.

One is the Tri-Pedic line which uses a combination of 4 and 5 lb memory foams and a higher quality base foam than the Memory Zone line.

They also have two specialty hybrids which includes latex and memory foam which are the Soft-Pedic and the Fibro-Pedic.

Next they make their Polyflex line which are “all foam” mattresses (conventional foam rather than memory foam).

Their new Air-Pedic airbeds are here and use high quality flexible urethane bladders and have a center zone that can be separately adjusted for firmness. They use good quality foams above the air bladder.

Finally they make the Taluxe which is their latex layered mattress with 3 layers of latex (2" each) and varying amounts of high quality firm polyfoam in the base underneath this.

All the components of all their mattresses are made in the USA and all their memory foam is CertiPur certified except the Tempflow which they have had tested to Greenguard standards and they can provide the results of their testing on request. They are all high quality products and the Tempflow line in particular uses an unusual MDI memory foam which is custom poured for them and is very breathable, has a great hand feel and response, and is high quality but is in a more premium budget range.

I probably would have chosen the Soft-Pedic as well over the Tri-Pedic Platinum (because my own preference would also lean towards a zoned latex layer over polyfoam).

Thanks for your comments … and it was also a good chance to recap all the different mattresses they make.

Phoenix

In my pursuit of hitting some of the Los Angeles area manufacturers on your list, I noticed Vanguard Mattress’s website has been down for a few days and their phone number is not working anymore. Out of business? Too bad, because their Vital Rest mattresses looked very nice, and I wanted to check them out. Also, I happened to visit Royal-Pedic’s showroom today just for fun - beautiful space - their mattresses are quite a premium (expensive) product. I think their pricing is similar to Custom Comfort, which I have not visited yet.

We probably shouldn’t continue this thread under the Chicago heading…

Hi LAsleeper,

I think that’s a good idea and I’ve moved them to the LA thread :slight_smile:

I think it’s a safe bet to say that with both their website and phone number gone that Vanguard is no longer in business. They did make some very nice mattresses and just recently went to a factory direct model but it seems that they are another casualty of the current economic environment and/or a business model that doesn’t provide the value that consumers are looking for. I haven’t checked but there may still be some available here if you wanted to try them.

Added: I just checked and their site is not up to date and they don’t have any available.

I agree with you as well about Royal-Pedic. They are beautiful mattresses and well made and in some cases use some more labor intensive construction methods (like hand tufting) but I personally have a hard time justifying their prices when their are so many similar options which use the same or similar materials which are in much lower budget ranges.

Custom Comfort is also a premium brand with more premium prices but I believe that in general terms they have better value than Royal-Pedic. They have a much wider selection of models, use the same hand built construction and materials in many of their mattresses (including things like side stitching and tufting which are rarely seen), and while they are certainly a more “premium” brand, their prices are at least more understandable when you look at the details of their components and construction.

There are are often many details of materials and construction besides just the “basic” ingredients that come together to make a quality mattress … many of which are often not obvious and can certainly affect the price. While Custom Comfort is mostly in the premium budget range (although they do make some lower end mattresses and also make some “ultra premium” mattresses) … I would personally go in this direction over many other “premium” brands including Royal Pedic.

Phoenix

Phoenix:

Just wanted to let you know that we visited the selectabedRelef-Mart and ended up purchasing one of their tempflow line beds. I was very impressed with their new air mattress line but my wife preferred the pure memory foam beds.

Dr. Rick was very helpful and created a pleasant no pressure buying experience.

Thanks again for the recommendation,

Sweetmason

Hi sweetmason,

Thanks for the feedback. As you know I think highly of Dr. Rick and his Tempflow mattresses.

I hope you have the chance to give us your feedback when you’ve had the chance to sleep on it for a while.

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Hi,

We are also looking for a memory foam mattress and stumbled upon the Tempflow line. I am a hot sleeper (we bought an “original” Tempurpedic about 8 years and had to give it to my son, I sweated too much on it). He loves it, my wife loved it, but I can’t sleep on it. The Tempflow salesman told us that “memory foam gel” is really just a marketing ploy and that these types of mattresses feel cool at first but then heat up and retain heat the same or worse than the non-gel models. I am not sure how true this is - everyone is out to sell me a mattress, after all :-).

We live in LA about so are thinking about driving out to Westlake Village (about 45 mins) to try some of the Tempflows. They are very expensive compared to some gel foam mattresses and have a very long lead time (I was quoted 4 weeks) but seem to have a very good return policy - full refund less the original shipping cost plus the return shipping cost.

I’d be interested in your experience with the Tempflow mattress you got (which model?), particularly with respect to heat.

BTW I was seriously looking at Bed In A Box but having read Phoenix’s comments on these forums I am now concerned about the density of their foam - despite excellent price, excellent reviews, excellent return policy. My wife and I are both not heavy (i am 125, she is 135lbs), would that make a difference?

thanks
Don

Hi DonlnLA,

There is certainly some truth to this and ventilation and airflow is the most effective cooling technology over the course of the night although gel can make some difference when you are first going to sleep at night. Post #2 here has much more information and links to other posts about gel materials and foams that include gel in various forms.

You can read a little more of my thoughts about Tempflow in post #9 here and I certainly think highly of the quality of the materials they use, their knowledge and experience, and their mattress designs.

In most cases … depending on body type and sleeping style … lower weights will soften and degrade foams more slowly yes (you can read more about the many factors involved in the relative durability of a mattress in post #4 here. Your weight wouldn’t change the “value” of their mattresses though and I would still tend to avoid lower density when better quality/durability materials are available in a similar budget range (you can see some of the better online memory foam options I’m aware of in post #12 here).

A forum search on Tempflow (you can just click this) will bring up some feedback from other forum members who purchased them. My only personal experience with their Biogreen materials is their Trillow pillow which is my DH’s favorite pillow and had no offgassing or heat issues at all for her.

The Los Angeles list is in post # 2 here (in case you haven’t seen it).

Phoenix