The Mattress Underground was founded on 3 core values.
These are knowledge, service, and value. A knowledgeable consumer who buys a mattress from a retail outlet with exceptional service, produced by a manufacturer that makes a high-value mattress represents the most important reasons why The Mattress Underground exists.
We have 3 ideals, one for each part of the “resistance” against the mattress industry as it has “evolved” over the past decade or longer.
Knowledgeable consumers should have access to a quality mattress, sold by a service driven retail outlet, and made by a manufacturer that understands and produces true value, at every budget range and in every area of North America.
Retail outlets who are service driven, knowledgeable about their products, care about their customers, are open, honest, and ethical in their sales practices, and provide true value are the most deserving of our business.
Manufacturers who produce the highest value, using the best quality materials and methods available in a price range, are transparent in the information they publish about them, who inform consumers and retailers rather than mislead or deceive them, and who offer their mattresses through a short supply chain at a fair profit are the most desirable brands.
The Mattress Underground also has 3 main goals.
To give consumers a place where they can learn the truth about different mattresses, construction methods, and materials so they can be armed with helpful information in their search for their perfect mattress.
To connect local and regional manufacturers and retailers with consumers in their area, region, and across the country so that consumers know where to go to buy their mattresses and benefit from the kind of value we talk about on this website.
Our third goal is a larger one and that is to help change the direction of the industry so that false advertising, misleading information, poor mattress construction, and deceptive sales practices no longer dominate the industry and that the facts and the truth becomes the main source of consumer information.
While these values, ideals, and goals may seem obvious and self-evident, in practice they are not, as anyone who has purchased a mattress in the last few years will likely know. The industry as a whole has become dominated by misleading information and advertising, fake sales and gimmicks to create a false sense of urgency, lack of transparency, greed, deceptive sales practices, and poor customer service to the point where consumers are more confused than ever. In addition, it is common that seemingly independent websites or information sources often have hidden agendas and connections. It is not easy to know where to go to get accurate information about mattresses, which ones to buy, and where to buy them.
The Mattress Underground is a “resistance” movement against these trends and intends to “push back” against them. It has existed informally for many years as evidenced by manufacturers and retailers who still do business in the “old fashioned way” and have pushed back against these trends towards lower quality and higher prices in spite of many pressures to do otherwise. By bringing together and connecting educated consumers, service-oriented retail outlets, and manufacturers of “off brands” that are transparent and produce high quality and value, we believe that we can reverse the trends that have dominated this industry for many years. Unfortunately, there has been nowhere that these three parts of the industry could truly connect in a spirit of goodwill, education, value, and co-operative competition. Until now.
This site is filled with general and technical information, helpful ideas, and ways to connect with others who believe that these values, ideals, and goals should be the dominant force in an industry that sells products that directly affect 8 hours of every day and indirectly affect the rest as well. If you are one of these, either as a manufacturer, retailer, or consumer … then
I owe my getting educated about the mattress I want (that will last and perform as I hope) to youtube video reviews. That led me to do research and come to this site where I am learning enough to feel really confident about making a satisfying purchase. Readying Amazon’s customer comments alerted me to the nature of some very appealing mattresses, also. Thanks to this site I am now on my way to a selection of stores/factories in the Dallas area to shop seriously! Thank you!
I’m glad that you’ve found the site and that the information here has been helpful.
As you’ve mentioned that you’ve been looking at mattress “reviews”, I’d advise you to put very little stock into other’s opinions about a product, as these will be the least reliable indicator of the appropriateness of a product for you, and they usually tell nothing of the quality of the componentry inside of a product, which is one of the most important things to help your find a durable mattress (see post #13 here).
I hope that through your research you’ve been able to take some time and read through the mattress shopping tutorial here, which will walk you through the steps to make an educated mattress decision.
Just in case you need help finding some retailers in Dallas, subject to first confirming that any retailer or manufacturer on the list that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article ) and to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Dallas/Ft Worth area are listed in post #4 here .
Hello Phoenix,
I just became aware of your site and just recently started looking for a replacement King mattress due to severe back issues is the short story. We haven’t shopped for one in 10 years. We are located in South Florida. I don’t know where you are located. We currently have been to Mattress Firm, pushing the Icomfort firm foam by Serta. Went to City Mattress and we liked their brand of Latex called Prana Sleep until we read reviews, plus the cost was VERY expensive for the twin XL to make a king with adjustable remote, and firming slates under neath. We only looked at 1 Temerpedic, but those reviews weren’t that good either. Haven’t looked at the Sleep Number, but that also got many poor reviews, especially for my condition. I know I need something ASAP, but want to get as informed as possible. We saw a site slumbersearch. This site showed the top mattresses for Osteoporosis that showed brands only sold online which we won’'t do( Sapira, Bear, Nector, Herobed, WinkbedLoom & Leaf, Urban, Leesa, etc) . I’ve read stay away from that anyway. I also saw you said the top 5 Mfg to AVOID. So do we go Foam, Latex, Hybrid, conventional? Any guidance input would be appreciated. Thank you
If you provide me your zip code, I can see if I am aware of any better local options for you.
The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
Regarding reviews, I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
There are some review sites that amalgamate mattress reviews from all around the internet (such as slumbersearch) and then “rate” mattresses (and other products) based on these amalgamated reviews. Reviews are the least reliable manner to select a mattress, generally taking very short term opinions from consumers who aren’t in a position to render an educated analysis of the componentry within a product. For the most part (with only few exceptions) mattress reviews are a classic example of garbage in / garbage out even though the “garbage” may be well meaning and true to the experience of the person writing the review. Sites like the one you mentioned and many other similar so called “review sites” are really just revenue sites that know little about mattresses or mattress materials, as I discuss in post #11 here and in posts #4 and #6 here.
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see post #2 here).
I would tell you to “reset” how you’re looking for a mattress, and start your research by reading the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
While again nobody can speak to how any specific mattress will “feel” for someone else or whether it will be a good “match” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress … outside of PPP (which is the most important part of “value”), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new so I would always make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Thank you for the in depth reply, it’s greatly appreciated. We are located in South Florida like I said, and the zip code is 33486. Where are you located?
The City Mattress PranaSleep Latex I’d made in Florida and he had brick and mortar all over and is one of the largest media advertisers which I don’t care for. I only know of one local mfg Blu Sleep, but not sure of the quality. Any names or reccomendations would be appreciated. Regards, Gary
“South Florida” is a rather larger area, so thanks for the zip code so I can be more specific in the information I provide.
Subject to first confirming that any retailer or manufacturer on the list that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale are listed in post #2 here.
