Novice buyer in Houston TX

[phoenix]

Hi Ropgueskywalker,

After reading around further I purchased a king size 10" mattress from Tuft and Needle. However, I slept on it only for 2 nights and found it too firm with very little “give” and no feeling of comfort. They asked me to return it by donating it to a local charity, which I did and got the refund. Two thumbs up for Tuft and Needle on their responsiveness and return policy.

One of the great things about Tuft & Needle is that their return policy makes trying their mattress risk free. Thanks for sharing your feedback

I decided against Brooklyn Bedding and Bed in a Box as they use polyfoams in their mattresses which were more expensive than the tuft and Needle.

They both use polyfoam in their mattresses but they aren’t polyfoam mattresses like the Tuft & Needle. Bed in a Box makes either memory foam mattresses (which are memory foam over polyfoam) or a latex hybrid mattress (latex over polyfoam) and Brooklyn Bedding makes a wide range of mattresses (including memory foam and latex mattresses) but neither one of them makes a polyfoam mattress like Tuft & Needle. Brooklyn Bedding’s sister company Dreamfoam Bedding does make a polyfoam mattress (their 12 in 1 customizable here) which can be customized in many ways. Memory foam and latex are more costly materials than polyfoam so they will be in higher budget ranges than a polyfoam mattress.

[quote]However, I was terribly disappointed that I could not sleep om the mattress for longer than 4 hours continuously. I slept on the mattress for only 2 nights. We go to bed around 10 pm and I woke on both the nights between 2 and 3 am with numbness in my shoulders, back and upper arms. (I am a back sleeper.)

Being unable to sleep again, I had a lot of time to analyze what may have been causing the pain. My hypothesis is that my butt and head are supported on relatively firmer latex foam, i.e. middle portion of the tri-zone and the latex pillow, respectively. Thereby causing my back and shoulders to be on the softer latex. As a result, my back and shoulders sag into the softer latex of the trizone.[/quote]

Post #2 here and the posts it links to have more about the more common “symptoms” that can happen on a mattress and some of the possible underlying causes behind them that may be helpful but there isn’t a formula that can be used that is reliable (just like a medical professional diagnosing back issues … every symptom can have many causes).

If I had to guess I would say that the most likely cause of your symptoms would either be a pillow issue or an issue with comfort layers that are too thick and soft for you.

Interestingly, this effect of sagging into the softer zone of the tri-zone was not obvious in the 20 minutes or so that I spent testing the bed at HMF.

I would doubt that the issue is in the support core of your mattress or that your upper body is “sagging” into the softer zone (it’s much more likely that you are sagging into the comfort layers). I have also seen some comments that the mattresses they have in the showroom are wrapped in plastic so if this was the case with you as well this may also have had some effect on how the mattress felt or performed when you tested it.

For one, we definitely have to get it firmer so I don’t “sag” or “sink”. I am also questioning the need for the tri-zone. I am also curious about what the Aerus cooling gel foam brings to the table. I am inclined to think that we could do away with both the tri-zone (replacing it with a uniform density all over) as well as the Aerus foam. However, Michael is digging his heels in on replacing the trizone for some reason. He states that my wife and I do not weigh enough to sense the softer zone in the tri-zone. For some reason, he either does not believe me or thinks that I am mistaken.

I would agree that outside of a pillow issue … the most likely cause of your issues are probably in the thickness and softness or the mix of materials in the comfort layers … not in the support core. The zoning differential in the support core wouldn’t be that significant and in the large majority of cases a slightly firmer center zone would be more beneficial or at least “neutral” than it would be detrimental … particularly for back sleepers.

In most cases a manufacturer will have much more knowledge and experience about the effect of different changes than their customers and I would generally suggest that the “most effective” approach for a consumer is to describe their “symptoms” and then let the manufacturer take the lead with the type of changes that have the best chance of “solving” the symptoms you are describing and in this case I would tend to agree with their assessment. It’s not really a matter of “belief” that you are experiencing the symptoms you are experiencing but more that they would have much more knowledge than you do about the the type of changes that are most likely to be an effective solution.

Phoenix