Pick your (Tempurpedic) poison

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi Phoenix & crew,

It’s been a while! I do still read many of your posts and am still always appreciative of the time you dedicate to the site!!!

I thought I’d check in and pick your brain a bit today - and ask the dreaded question —

** IF you had to purchase a Tempurpedic mattress right now, which would you select and why? And more importantly, IF you had to select a Tempurpedic mattress, which model do you think would be the most durable in the long run and least likely to develop impressions? **

That asked, I do understand the general consensus about Tempurpedic, as well as most memory foam, but I am still very curious. Brief history of our situation: many mattresses later, we have been sleeping on a Berkeley Ergonomics mattress from Sovn here in Dallas - the Willow “C”- medium feel. For some reason, my husband has generally decided that he doesn’t like the mattress and has been retreating back the guest room on and off. Our guest room is just an old, firm, queen Spring Air with a super cheap 1" foam topper from BB&B, but everyone loves it, including myself. I am fine with our Sovn bed most days although some days I do still wake with middle back pain, which is likely a result of bad posture at work and not so much a mattress issue.

At this point, I have contemplated getting so crazy as to simply say - every man for themselves! Let each of us select whichever twin XL mattress we want & them drop them both into our king frame. Hopefully we can keep them about the same height, but they’d likely be very different feels since my husband seems to very much love a rock hard spring mattress. The other benefit would be that down the road if/when one of us is sick our our side and wants to make changes, we don’t have to disrupt the other person’s comfort on their side if they are happy- we’d just change out one side at a time.

So…if we let him purchase a very firm Spring Air twin XL (Divine), then I could convert my side to the Sovn bed twin XL OR finally try a Tempurpedic like I’ve wanted to for a few years, but my husband is just not a Tempurpedic guy. I have to say that literally every friend I have who has a tempurpedic bed loves them and raves about them. One day, curiosity may kill this cat, but I really want to try one! But— I’d like some input on which model may be most durable (or any to avoid)! I used to really like the Bellafina, but they no longer make that one. In stores, I’ve generally liked the Cloud select & supreme (very surprising b/c I usually don’t love soft) & the weightless supreme. I am wide open to trying others, but wanted to seek your input first if you can provide any guidance!!

The other thought I had was a Sleep Science (Black Diamond hybrid or 10" memory foam) from Costco mostly just b/c it’s totally returnable if necessary, but most of their twin XL models are out of stock b/c it’s back to college time right now.

THANK YOU ALWAYS FOR YOUR INSIGHT!!!
Sleepless

2

Hi SleeplessinDallas,

Long time no see :slight_smile:

As you know I’m not a fan of thick memory foam mattresses (I don’t like the feeling of being “in” the mattress as much) or Tempurpedic (I wouldn’t buy any of their mattresses because of their poor value compared to others that are just as high quality or better) but if I was forced to choose one my choice before would have been the BellaFina as we talked about before (and which you liked as well). This was because they used latex under the memory foam and I prefer this type of feel when there are thinner layers of memory foam and then a more resilient material underneath it but they don’t sell this any longer.

While I haven’t tested them with the specific intent of choosing between them (so not carefully testing to the extent of determining a clear personal preference) … if I was forced to make a choice I would probably lean towards one of the weightless models because they also have a thinner layer of memory foam (their Tempur ES 4 lb memory foam) over a more resilient material. The problem is that they don’t provide any information about what the float material really is but if I had to guess it would be HR polyfoam (see post #2 here). I would have real trouble buying Tempurpedic though and even more trouble buying a Tempurpedic when I didn’t know what was in it and knowing they have also lowered the density of their base polyfoam layers in at least some of their models to 1.5 lb polyfoam.

[quote] And more importantly, IF you had to select a Tempurpedic mattress, which model do you think would be the most durable in the long run and least likely to develop impressions? **

But— I’d like some input on which model may be most durable (or any to avoid)![/quote]

The biggest factor in durability would be the density of the memory foam so of course I would avoid the Simplicity line because they use such poor quality memory foam (under 3 lb) and if durability was a key issue or if I was in a heavier weight range (200 lbs or so or higher) I would also start being cautious with any of their mattresses with 4 lb memory foam. I have no way to know the durability of the weightless models because they don’t disclose what is under the memory foam and this would be a factor although It would probably be high quality polyfoam. The 4 lb memory foam above it would be less durable than their higher density memory foams (either 5.3 lbs or 7 lbs) but I would make the tradeoff between how they felt and durability towards feel. If I had to choose one of their mattresses that only used memory foam in the comfort layers and durability was the main concern it would probably be the Allura or perhaps the Rhapsody (which is firmer) which both use 7 lb memory foam over their 5.3 lb memory foam.

I’m sorry to hear that you both aren’t equally as happy with the BE after all the time and effort (and various mattress issues over the years) it took you to choose it. “Mattress conflicts” between the preferences of a couple can sure be frustrating :unsure: .

Phoenix

3

Thank you Phoenix, I certainly understand! Like you, I do like just a bit of spring to my mattress. Tempurpedic told me that the weightless collection is what replaced the Bellafina. But man, if I could find a twin XL Bellafina these days I think I’d buy it just to have it! That said, i did like the weightless supreme in the store (wasn’t able to locate weightless select). And ironically, I sort of loved the cloud supreme. Not sure why, but that’s the one that made me want to just curl up and go to sleep in the store. Although, definitely softer than usual for me.

Three follow-up questions…

1.) I have been reading about Select Foam on the forum and wondered if they provide any additional material detail or if these descriptions are as vague as what Tempurpedic is sharing these days?

2.) Is there anywhere locally here in Dallas/Ft. Worth that you could recommend to make me something similar to the Bellafina - a latex/memory foam hybrid, good value, good quality?

3.) Do we generally want to avoid the Costco sleep science brand due to possible chemicals, etc… b/c they are not made in the US?

Thank you in advance as always Phoenix!!

4

Sleepless, if you email Select Foam they’ll give you the details of the Mattresses. I have the Cirrus Luxe and I love it.

5

Hi sleepless,

Ditto to what cviz said. If you email them or (preferably) talk with them they will give you the specific details of every layer of their mattresses.

The 4 lb memory foam in the Cloud series will soften faster than their higher density foams but the Supreme would probably be less risky than the Cloud Luxe because there is only 2" while the Cloud Luxe has 2.75" on top.

The Dallas list is in post #4 here.

Although I don’t think that Original Mattress Factory has memory foam and I don’t think that Sleep Craft does either (although they do have one mattress that mentions memory foam), the four manufacturers there would certainly be worth calling to see if they either have or could build something along the lines of what you like. I have talked with and think highly of all four of them.

Therapedic in their Ecogel line and Restonic in their Tempagel line also has combinations of memory foam or gel memory foam with either high resilience foam or latex under it in some areas of the country and you could check the retail finders on their site for local retailers and then call and ask them if they have any mattresses that fit your criteria. The Restonic retail finder is here and the Therapedic licensee for Texas is Sleepinc and you can contact them here.

The minimum guidelines I would suggest for a memory foam mattress are in post #10 here. In terms of the density/quality it would depend on the specifics of the mattress but none of the Sleep Science mattresses are CertiPur certified.

Phoenix

6

Thanks Phoenix!

I will research Restonic and Therapedic, as well as Select Foam further.

I know you also recommend groups such as Brooklyn Bedding and Arizona Premium Mattress?

IF I were inclined to try memory foam, are you familiar with this model from Arizona Mattress?

At 3" of 4lb. memory foam I wondered if it might resemble the Tempurpedic Cloud line and if so, for the $ would be interesting.

:whistle:

7

Thank you so much Phoenix as always!

I will do some research on both Therapedic and Restonic.

After some additional digging & reading on your site, it sounds like you also think respectably of groups such as Arizona Premium Mattress, Select Foam, and Selectabed IF one were interested in pursuing some type of memory foam or hybrid?

I was trying to rack my brain some more as I continue to read your posts and really we should be dealing with a pretty solid base here - the Berkeley Ergonomics with 8" pocket coils + 2" medium talalay latex. But as we get a little older, perhaps that is still just too firm. I used to love a firm mattress, but now I find myself appreciating a greater comfort layer than I used to. I did put a 2" medium latex topper on our current configuration the other day and after 3 nights it actually feels pretty good. My husband has only tried it for one night b/c I feel bad putting him through my little experiments these days and usually put him in the guest room when I am putzing with our bed so at least he’ll get a good night sleep even if the experiment is awful :wink: This topper may situate us for a little while, but I’d still like to research a few memory foam mattresses in case we decide to go with the two twin xl idea :wink:

I’ll plan to keep digging through the Select Foam Featherlight & Cirrus Supreme, Selectabed Tripedic & Fibroedic, Arizona Mattress EcoSleep memory foam, as well as the Restonic and Therapedic in case we decide to go that direction-- at least for my side! I do know that I want no more than 2" of 4lb memory foam on top if I go this type of route. If there are any of these that I should stay clear of off the top of your head, I’d love to know. Otherwise I’ll continue my research and keep you all posted :slight_smile:

8

Hi SleeplessinDallas,

Yes … some of the manufacturers that I’ve invited to become members of the site (so far) and sell online are listed in post #21 here and some of the better memory foam manufacturers that sell online (including some that aren’t members yet) that I also think highly of are listed in post #12 here. Many of them sell mattresses that are close equivalents to the Tempurpedic line in one or more ways (see post #9 here). Arizona Premium Mattress specializes more in high quality/value latex mattresses although he does have some memory foam mattresses on his site.

Yes you have a great base and a topper can certainly be a good solution for a mattress that is too firm (and there are some topper guidelines in post #2 here). Unfortunately it’s not at all unusual that the dreaded demon of “aging” takes its toll and our needs or preferences on a mattress change … in most cases towards softer. Of course I’m not speaking from experience here (cough).

I think highly of all the retailers or manufacturers on the lists and they are all knowledgeable and experienced and will provide good guidance and insights when you talk with them on the phone. There are none I would “steer clear of” :slight_smile:

Phoenix