So, before I begin, thank you to everyone who runs this site as well as participates on it. You all are a blessing.
My wife and I have had a very unpleasant experience trying to purchase a mattress from local retailers over the last few weeks. I won’t rehash it all now, but needless to say, I regret not searching out this site sooner, and will definitely recommend it to all my family and friends in the future.
Anyway, after eventually getting our original order canceled with Mattress Firm, we eventually went to a local mattress shop business (that I did verify is an authorized tempur-pedic retailer) and chose the Tempur-Pedic Flex Supreme.
After reading all of the previous reviews and forum threads on here I could find, I understand that I paid more than I should have simply as a result of the Tempur-Pedic name. That said, assuming the price point wasn’t so different from other competitors, would you consider a tempur-pedic? Is it an OK bed?
While Tempurpedic doesn’t disclose the specifics of all their foam layers in their mattresses … according to Jordans here the Tempurpedic Flex Supreme has the following layers and components … ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: jordans.com/tempur-pedic-tempur-flex-supreme--tped-90016
Comfort Layers:
2" Tempur ES Material 4.0lb
1.2" Tempur Response Material 5.3lb
2.5" Poly foam 1.6lb Support System:
Pocketed coils, individually wrapped
17" gauge steel T/840 F/1260 Q/1610 K/2070
Full perimeter foam encasement
Twice tempered steel
The 2.5" 1.6 lb density polyfoam layer is a lower density material than I would normally like to see in the top 6" of a one sided mattress (see the quality/durability guidelines here) … especially in this budget range but the 3.2" of memory foam on top of it would absorb much of the compression forces that come from sleeping on the mattress that break down the foam materials so they would improve the durability of the polyfoam underneath it. Since it’s only a little lower than the minimum guidelines that I would suggest … as long as you aren’t in a higher weight range (more than the lower 200’s or so) where I would look for higher quality/density materials and would reduce or eliminate the use of 4 lb memory foam … you will probably be OK (even though it’s not “ideal”).
I personally wouldn’t consider a Tempurpedic no partly because I prefer other materials than memory foam and even if I did prefer memory foam because there are so many other options available that use similar or even better quality materials that are in lower budget ranges.
There is more information about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here 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 suitability, durability, and all the other 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 the price of a mattress is certainly one of the more important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase … there are many other parts to the “value” of a mattress purchase as well and unfortunately there isn’t a “formula” that can be used to assess or “calculate” value because there are so many different variables and criteria involved that may be more or less important to different people. In other words … the “value” of a mattress purchase is always relative to how it compares to the other finalists you are considering or to the other mattresses that are available to you in your area or online (if you are also looking at online options) in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences), the quality and durability of the materials, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. There are many reasons that a mattress that may be “good value” for one person may not be worth considering for someone else.
In other words … what I consider to be a “good value choice” may be different from someone else because each person’s criteria can be very different.