Ongoing Review of my Select Foam Cirrus Supreme--Just Purchased

My new mattress just arrived! I’m going to provide an ongoing review of the process up until now and how it feels over the next few days/weeks.

I bought the 11" Cirrus Supreme from Select Foam. This was after trying a million different memory foam mattresses in showrooms, and specifically, going back and forth between the Tempurpedic Rhapsody and Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme.

I called them first to ask detailed questions about the mattress spec’s and their purchase policies. I spoke with both Peter and Juan, about 15 minutes each, over two phone calls. Both were very informative, and answered all my questions with lots of detail. They also answered a couple follow-up emails I had within minutes. Excellent customer service overall. The only snag was that they promised to send me FedEx tracking info by email for both the foundation and mattress they would be sending (separately). But the foundation showed up at my door three days later with no warning. It was fine, since it arrived OK and super-fast, but it would have been nice to know it would be waiting for me when I got home that day. For the mattress, tracking info was sent properly, and arrived exactly two weeks after my order, well within the 7-10 business-day period they promised to ship the mattress out.

The foundation required assembly, but it was very straightforward and quick. However, as you can see in the pics below, the slats are over 4 inches apart. Peter at Select Foam had told me they were 3 inches apart. Also, while I can’t say I know much about foundations, it seemed hard to imagine that this one is worth its $300 price. It doesn’t feel cheap, but it’s not especially heavy or solid, either. And, there are the 4-inch slats. So it felt a bit disappointing overall. Honestly, after the exhaustive search that went into choosing my mattress, I didn’t want to spend any more time doing the whole process over again with foundations. So I just decided to go with the one offered by Select Foam (even though it’s made by a third-party–that might also contribute to the high price). But in retrospect, I probably would have been better off with this one, which is $100 less and looks almost identical:
https://www.amazon.com/Products-Premium-Box-Spring-Foundation/dp/B00471HVDW/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1380073704&sr=1-2&keywords=wooden+foundation+mattress

The mattress itself was easy to extract and set up. Upon cutting open the plastic, it basically pops into full-size within a minute or two. I found it a little weird that there was no physical paper included for the warranty, but I suppose I could ask them for a copy. Also, one of the mattress labels said “Made in Canada” in big letters while another one said “Manufactures in Tampa” or somewhere in Florida, so I wasn’t sure what to think about that.

As the mattress took form, I noticed that it was about 12.5" tall! (see pic). This was supposed to be an 11" mattress, so I wondered if they had sent me the wrong model by mistake (there’s no identifying label–just “Cirrus Supreme” written in marker on the outside of the shipping box.) But I guess this will compress over time down to the 11"? Or maybe this kind of variation is normal. Also, there is a bit of off-gassing. It’s not overpowering, but definitely noticeable. 24 hours later, it’s not gone, but it has diminished a bit.

They tell you it may take 24-48 hours to fully decompress, but that you can lie on the mattress within an hour. Three hours after opening, I got into bed for the night (just sheets, no mattress protector–more on that in a minute). I had my A/C on at 66 degrees because I like it cool and am concerned about sleeping hot on memory foam.

All in all, the mattress felt quite firm–more so than the Tempurpedic Cloud models in the showrooms I tried. I realize that there’s a break-in period, so that might be it. Also, keeping the room cool can make memory foam harder, right? The other thing that surprised me a bit was that I didn’t feel too much “molding” or “gripping” of my body. All in all, it was quite comfortable, but didn’t seem to have that familiar memory-foam “sinking-into-a-cocoon” feeling I expected. I definitely felt comfortable sleeping on my side, which is how I normally start out in bed. On my old mattress, I would have to roll over on my back after 10 minutes because my shoulder would start to hurt. With this mattress, I felt very little pressure on my shoulder. While on my back, the mattress felt a little warm under my lower back, but not overly so.

To be honest, it wasn’t a great first night’s sleep. I woke up probably a half-dozen times, when I usually just wake up once at most. This could be just the unfamiliarity of the new bed, but then again, I slept the night before on an air mattress after throwing out my old mattress, and I didn’t wake up more than once that night. The good thing was I never felt hot. I actually felt cold by about 4 a.m. and had to get the comforter. The poor night’s sleep might just have been my mind being distracted by trying to evaluate everything as I was falling asleep as opposed to just relaxing. So I’m aware that it’s supposed to feel better as time goes on. Hopefully since I was so tired today after a sub-par night of sleep, I’ll sleep much better tonight!

One thing on mattress protectors. Peter told me that a mattress stain would not void the warranty if the bed doesn’t hold up. But they WOULD make you pay for a stain if you return a stained mattress during their free 90-day trial period, which costs $250. Since any mattress protector I would buy would be a high-quality thin one (to avoid sleeping hot and altering the feel of the mattress), it would probably set me back $150 or so. But I would only really need the protection for that 90-day period. In other words, it would be like buying a $250 insurance policy for $150–not worth it. I’m sure I can be really careful in the first 30-45 days or so, by which I’ll have decided whether or not I want to keep the mattress.

I’ll keep updating this post as I break in the mattress. I’d love to hear any others’ experience with this mattress, too.

***It seems the pics aren’t working. I’ll try and add them to this post later.

Hi colchao,

Thanks for taking the time to share such detailed feedback … I appreciate it. It will also be interesting to see how things progress as the mattress breaks in and you adjust to a new mattress over the next few weeks and I’m looking forward to your updates :slight_smile:

[quote]The foundation required assembly, but it was very straightforward and quick. However, as you can see in the pics below, the slats are over 4 inches apart. Peter at Select Foam had told me they were 3 inches apart.

***It seems the pics aren’t working. I’ll try and add them to this post later.[/quote]

There is a glitch in the forum template code I think and sometimes the “add file” button doesn’t work but if you click in the window above it (beside the 1.) the add file box where you can choose the file to attach should come up. In the worst case … if you email the pictures to me at the contact link at the top of the page I can add them for you.

Most of the KD foundations have about 4" gaps except for a couple that are in the foundation thread here. The one you linked uses fairly low quality materials and a low quality cover so this would probably be the reason for the lower cost (if you read some of the reviews with less stars you will see some of the consistent comments about this). 4" or even a little more is fine for the polyfoam in the bottom of a memory foam mattress though and 3" gaps or less are more important if the bottom layer is latex because it is more elastic than polyfoam and can sink into gaps more easily. These are usually shipped by a third party so they may have received misinformation from their supplier (some suppliers I’ve talked with when I was putting the foundation thread together didn’t know the size of the gaps and had to go and measure) but I agree it would be helpful if they knew the width of the gaps.

I’m guessing one of the labels would be where the cover was made and the other would be where the mattress was put together.

As the mattress took form, I noticed that it was about 12.5" tall! (see pic). This was supposed to be an 11" mattress, so I wondered if they had sent me the wrong model by mistake (there’s no identifying label–just “Cirrus Supreme” written in marker on the outside of the shipping box.) But I guess this will compress over time down to the 11"? Or maybe this kind of variation is normal. Also, there is a bit of off-gassing. It’s not overpowering, but definitely noticeable. 24 hours later, it’s not gone, but it has diminished a bit.

Almost all new mattresses will have some smell in the first few days but this goes away quickly. I don’t know the reason for the additional height and the foam won’t compress down. Out of curiosity I would be tempted to call them and ask the reason. It’s possible that they tweaked the design but this is a bigger variation than you would normally see in the thickness of a mattress. The model name should also be on the law tag.

Thanks again for the feedback and if you have any trouble attaching the pictures I’ll be happy to attach them for you.

Phoenix

Thanks for the resposne, Phoenix. It seems the solution for the pics works in Internet Explorer, but not in Chrome, which I was using before. So hopefully this time it’ll work.

These pics should make sense when linked to my comments in the original post. That pic of the mattress with the tape measure might look like it’s just the angle, but I assure you, the mattress is 12.5" thick at a minimum. Maybe even closer to 13" depending on how low you place it. Should I care? Thicker mattresses tend to be more expensive anyway, right? If anything, did I get a little bit of bonus bedding? I suppose I could just call and ask.

For the record, the second night of sleep was better than the first. Not as much waking up, but I still did so a few times. I seem to be coming down with a cold, so maybe that’s complicating things. But I felt better-rested this morning compared to after Night 1. And I most certainly never felt hot, which I’m really happy about.

I re-read user Justso’s initial comments on his ongoing review of the Cirrus Luxe, and a lot of what he said sounds very similar to what I experienced…an initially firm mattress that was more “springy” in feel with less “grab-and-hold” than expected, at least compared to the Tempur Cloud Supreme. I also remember he said that walking on the mattress can speed up the break-in, which I’ve done a few times. Should I continue to do so? Also, if it does in fact get softer and “grab-ier” (i.e. mold more to my body), will that increase heat retention and sleeping hot?

I’ll probably update again after one week’s use and then weekly after that.

Hi colchao,

I’m glad you solved the attachment issue. I’m not sure where exactly the glitch is but over time revisions or updates to the software or to the template that the forum uses will solve it for all browsers. I may even try to track it down myself but this would take some free hours that are currently very difficult to find :slight_smile:

Thanks for the pictures as well … they’re great.

Your foundation is actually higher quality than I thought and has better wood and construction than the cheaper ones you were looking at on Amazon. They even have sanded edges for the slats and a better quality matching cover. It’s not surprising they are more expensive.

While it’s certainly true that in an apples to apples comparison more materials would be more costly and could mean a “value bonus” … if the quality of the materials are lower then thicker could be worse and it could also lead to a difference in design that wasn’t as suitable for your specific needs and preferences so it could work the other way around as well. I would certainly be curious enough about whether the mattress I received was the right one that I would want to ask them.

It will certainly get a little softer and walking on the mattress is a way to speed up the initial break in period and is one of the suggestions mentioned in post #2 here.

It’s not really possible to quantify the effect of more subtle changes but in general softer foam materials that conform to you more closely will be warmer than firmer foam materials that don’t conform as well. There are also many other factors involved in temperature regulation though (including your mattress protector, sheets, and bedding) that are just as important as the foam itself (see post #2 here)

Thanks again for your comments and the pictures :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Thanks for the quick response, Phoenix.

Good to know the foundation is better than I realized. For the mattress, I just re-measured to be sure and it looks like the true measurement is 12.5". Still quite a bit more than 11 as advertised. I’ll call them tomorrow and update here with their response. If anyone else has bought this mattress and experienced something similar/different, please chime in!

Here’s the one-week update of my new mattress.

I called Select Foam today about the extra thickness in my mattress (it being a total of 12.5" instead of 11"). Not sure if I spoke with Peter or Juan, but he told me that they cut their polyfoam base layers in cuts of 10, 11, or 12 inches (or he might have said, or meant, cuts in three different amounts that lead to the mattresses totaling 10, 11, or 12 inches.) Either way, he said despite the miscalculation, it basically serves as bonus material, since the extra inch comes in the base layer. He assured me that the comfort layer is still made up of the original 2+2 inches they advertise for the Cirrus Supreme.

As for the mattress:

Off-gassing is totally gone, and the bed has softened somewhat since Day 1. There have been absolutely no issues with sleeping hot, which I’m happy about. This mattress definitely stays cool. Of course, I’m using no mattress protector and Egyptian cotton sheets, so maybe that helps, too.

It’s not really fair to judge sleep, because I had a cold for half the week that I’m just getting over now, and I tend to sleep worse those nights. Still, sleep did seem to get better each night, as I grew more used to the mattress. One thing I’ve really liked is the ability to fall asleep on my side. On my old mattress, my shoulder would be begin to hurt before falling asleep, making me turn onto my back. With this, there have been a couple nights where I fell asleep on my side–sometimes it feels as if there’s no pressure at all on my shoulder, which is great.

One thing I kind of wish the mattress did was conform to my body a bit more, as I mentioned before. There’s some grip/molding, but not quite as much as the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme. Maybe this will increase a bit with softening up. I’ve walked on the mattress about once a day, and will continue to do that.

That’s about all I can say for now. In sum, my body seems to already have adjusted to the new mattress, and sleeping seems to be getting steadily better. I’ll update in another week or so.

Hi colchao,

If the memory foam layers are the same he is correct that it would make very little difference except you would have a thicker mattress.

This may change somewhat as the mattress breaks in more although different memory foams also have different response times and some are slower and more “grippy” than others even if they have a similar softness. Temperature can also affect this.

Thanks for the ongoing updates :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Here’s the two-week update for my new mattress.

To be honest, the jury is still out. Everything I said earlier still stands, regarding Select Foam’s great customer service, the cool temperature of the mattress, etc. Also, the isolation of one person’s movement when two people are in bed is quite good. But I’m a little worried that I may have bought a mattress that’s too soft for my taste.

I’ve had mixed results over the last week with sleep. Last night was quite good, actually. I slept a solid six hours before waking up, which is usually as long as I can go, and then falling back asleep for 45-60 minutes. But there have been a couple nights where I’ve woken up several times and had trouble falling back asleep. There’s no additional stress or anything different in my life, so it’s tough to point to anything other than the mattress.

It basically feels fine and quite comfortable when I’m falling asleep, but every time I wake up, it feels a little bit softer than I’d like, or that I’m sagging in a little deeper than is comfortable. And there have been a couple days where I wake up with mild mid-back pain. It’s not terrible, and it’s pretty much gone once I’m up and walking around–and to be fair, I sometimes felt that before on my old bed–but it’s still something I notice.

To reiterate, I think this is just a personal-preference issue. It’s not like I was misled or anything. The mattress is advertised as being in the Plush category, it’s labeled as soft, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. But it does seem a little softer than the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme, which it compares itself to. To be honest, I did go into the whole shopping experience thinking I wanted a firm mattress, and I was a little nervous about buying a mattress categorized as “soft.” But the more I research I did, the more I was convinced that soft can be comfortable for people like me (for the record, I’m male, 35, 5’8, 150 lbs, slender/medium build, no major health/pain issues), and there were quite a few softer beds I tried in showrooms that felt nice.

But maybe I should have gone with my gut and gone for something more medium-firm. My true first choice was the Tempurpedic Rhapsody, but the comparable bed from Select Foam was just a little too expensive for me. Plus, on SF’s site, when describing my mattress, they say, “If you are over 200 pounds OR really need extra support in your shoulder or lower back, try our Cirrus Luxe-ES,” which is an even softer mattress. So I guess I thought this would be relatively firmer. And under the description of their Tempurpedic Rhapsody equivalent, they say, “Made for individuals that have injuries, chronic pain, side sleepers, heavy people, pregnant women and the disabled…”, so that was another reason I thought I wouldn’t need that mattress (in addition to the cost).

There’s still quite a bit of time in the 90-day trial window, so I know things can still change. One last thing. Pillows might be an issue. my usual pillow from my old bed was fine for whatever position I was in. For the new mattress, the old pillow is good for when I’m on my back, but feels too thin when I’m on my side. So it’s a little annoying feeling the need to switch pillows from thin to thicker when I roll over onto my side. But that’s probably not related to my main issue, which is the softness of the mattress.

Whatever happens, I’ll update again in a week!

Hi colchao,

Thanks for another great “report”.

I appreciate the time you’ve taken to share such detailed feedback about your experiences and your thoughts and insights about your choice as well :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Thank you, also, for the ongoing review.

Was your old bed also memory foam? It would appear thinner pillows do better with memory foam. Since you sink into the memory foam, the pillow should not be too tall and cause undo stress on your neck and back.

You also might want to try an “adjustable” pillow like shredded latex or down. This has been something I’ve been researching for the past week as I am also a back/side sleeper. A lot of good information from forum members and resellers is here:https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/natural-organic-vocs-pillows-and-otherwise The advantage is that you can adjust the height of the pillow throughout the night depending on how you’re sleeping.

As for softness, I am quite close in weight, age, and height and find firmness better for me. I have slept on and enjoyed a Tempurpedic Rhapsody and I originally set out to buy the equivalent from Tempflow or Select Foam and eventually decided on the Grandis from Select Foam (hopefully this extra splurging pays off). I do have (cause unknown) mild/light lower and mid back pain, though.

Thanks for the tips on pillows, GrandMasterJ. My last bed was a super-cheap innerspring, so memory foam is new to me. As for the 3-week update:

I realize this review is starting to sound completely bipolar, but, right after posting my review a week ago about mixed results, I had four straight nights where the mattress felt great to me. The mattress felt firm enough and I slept quite well. Then over the last two nights, Friday and Saturday, it felt a little too soft again! It never feels this way as I fall asleep, only when I wake up in the early morning. It’s not like I’m getting a bad night’s sleep; it just feels a little softer than I’d like sometimes.

But I think temperature might be the driving factor. I know that colder temps can harden up a memory foam mattress, and heat softens it up. Sure enough, those four nights where the mattress felt a little firmer to me, the way I like it, were colder nights (I sleep with the heat off every night). Then the next few nights weren’t as cold and it felt softer.

The colder temp in my room early last week was still nowhere nearly as cold as I let my room get overnight in the winter (probably the mid-50s by morning). So it would be nice if I was sure the mattress would firm up a bit more as the weather gets colder, but of course, it could still be uncomfortably warm in the summer.

So that’s the latest. Still not totally sold on the mattress, even though it’s comfortable in many ways and seems to be of good quality. I’m going on vacation for two and half weeks in a few days, so that loss of time will affect my 90-day trial window! Should still have about 3 weeks of time to make a decision once I’m back, though.

Hi colchao,

If you feel discomfort when you wake up (vs when you go to sleep at night) it’s typically an issue with alignment. I think you may have hit the nail on the head with your comments about temperature. Memory foam has a property called “foam creep” which means that is continues to soften over the course of the night with constant pressure (like all viscoelastic materials) and on warmer nights this additional tendency for memory foam to soften with time (along with temperature and humidity) could take you just over the your line in terms of best alignment.

Phoenix