OK - I’ve done research here on Mattress Underground, Sleep Like the Dead, and Consumer Reports.
I’ve got a list of places I want to check-out from that research, but I can’t spend a lot of time going out and shopping (have autistic child that makes going out with wife to shop very difficult - we have to shop separately, and communicate later). Because of this, an online vendor is attractive, but that also of course means I don’t get to see or lie on the mattress before buying it, which I don’t like.
I know that I want a king size mattress, either all-latex or innerspring/latex hybrid. I don’t want an air mattress that can break like a machine, and I don’t like memory foam because it’s terrible for the non-sleeping activities you may do on a bed.
We are a obese couple in our 40s, who are out of shape (high BMI), and we are both side sleepers. We’re willing to grudgingly spend $3,000 for a mattress, but if we can get a durable one we can sleep on for less, we would love to spend less.
Here’s the too-long shortlist of suppliers that I have:
(Online Vendors)
Luma Sleep Hybrid - Recommended here. Pretty much specs I’m looking for at a lower price than local vendors or most latex mattresses. http://bit.ly/TMU_LumaHybrid
Best Value Mattress Warehouse - not recommended on any site, but I’ve bought the kids mattresses there. They have Symbol, Corsicana, BedBoss, and clearance/return mattresses from major manufacturers at deeply reduced prices. https://www.bestvaluemattress.com/
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 (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) 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 mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
Although you did some initial research I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is 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 (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) 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 the choices you listed you certainly have few good options but again you would need to assess them individually based on your personal value equation and make a few phone calls along the way. Going through each one of the 11 options you listed I am afraid it would be too large of a task for most people no matter how well intentioned they are. Depending on your needs and preferences, between the local testing an online enquiring you I suggest that you narrow this list down to only 2 - 3 options.
Whatever business you’re considering, I would always confirm that any retailer or manufacturer that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and also make sure that any mattress that you are considering meets the Post #13 quality/value guidelines here.
Having a high BMI presents special challenges and generally requires firmer materials (in the support layers especially). This could be firmer latex or innersprings (the type of support component would be a personal preference and in the right design either could be suitable) or even a zoned construction. Heavier people in general will need firmer and thicker comfort layers and firmer support layers than those who are lighter and because no materials will last as long with much higher weights the quality and durability of the materials and components is even more important than normal. I wouldn’t “rule out” any types of mattress and base your choices on your own personal testing.Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about heavier weights that is worth reading.
Lastly regarding your research and while other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … 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).
While these types of surveys or reviews can certainly be interesting, they can also be quite misleading because they take very broad based and non-specific information that doesn’t take any details and specifics into account so you end up with “muddied averages”.
There are some review sites that amalgamate mattress reviews from all around the internet for example (such as Sleep Like The Dead) and then “rate” mattresses (and other products) based on these amalgamated reviews. In their case they “rate” innerspring mattresses (as a category) significantly lower than other mattress categories but this doesn’t take into account anything about the specifics of the innerspring mattresses that are included in their statistics. There are so many innerspring mattresses made by major manufacturers for example that use lower quality materials in their comfort layers that these types of mattresses would “dominate” the statistics (and the lower satisfaction ratings) and skew the results and yet some of the best mattresses in the world use an innerspring construction and some of the smaller manufacturers around the country make very high quality innerspring mattresses that don’t have the same “weak links” of the major brands. If people were to take these types of statistics to heart or put any weight on them because they don’t know any better they could very easily lump a mattress they would otherwise consider into the broader “innerspring category” and end up not even considering a mattress that may have been the “perfect” choice for them.
You can also see my comments about the Consumer Reports mattress ratings and recommendations in post #2 here and in this topic. While they may be a good source of information about more “objective” purchases … as you can see I would consider them to be an unreliable source of information or guidance about purchasing a mattress and their “ratings” are somewhat nonsensical and meaningless. My thoughts are also shared by most of the more knowledgeable people in the industry (see post #5 here for an example).
Unfortunately, you can’t test PPP for online mattresses easily - you have to go on ratings, reviews, and construction. That’s where I’ve started - I’ve identified half a dozen online mattresses and learned about their construction. Next, I’m going to the local stores to see what I like. If what I like has similar construction to an online vendor, I can get a good value comparison.
My problem is that the time I have in-store is very limited and valuable. That is time that my wife and I are together, away from our youngest son with severe Autism. That doesn’t happen very much, and when it does, we would much rather be doing something other than mattress shopping. So, I’m trying to minimize the in-store time.
I use each of the sites for information that they are good at providing, and ignore the information that they are bad at providing.
In the case of Consumer Reports, I like the fact that they buy 127 mattresses retail (not enhanced versions given to them free from a manufacturer), and rigorously test them, using measurable criteria. If they say a mattress is durable, then it’s durable, not based on advertised construction, but based on being compressed a few thousand times. Their drawback is that 80% of the mattresses I am considering aren’t reviewed by them at all, and their idea of “comfort” is determined by machine, not by a person. Machines don’t measure comfort well. In the case of mattresses they don’t review, I look at their construction and see if it is similar to the construction of their best rated mattresses. They are also 100% unbiased - they are paid by my membership fee.
SLTD is useful for reviewing mattresses in ways that you can’t in-store, providing BBB ratings for manufacturers. For example, one of their review criteria is suitability for sex. You can’t test that in-store! You’ll get arrested. But, it is an important consideration. They are also 100% unbiased - the only mattress ads they have come from Google Adwords (meaning they are paid by Google, not a mattress company)
Your site is very good at educating on mattresses, and the forum is great for getting feedback, but it isn’t 100% unbiased. You accept advertising from mattress suppliers, and you discourage going to other retailers/suppliers that are not part of your network (major brands and box chains). I’m not saying that’s a wrong conclusion - My other research tends to validate that belief, as the major brands dominate the least durable mattresses in Consumer Reports (although they also have mattresses that do very well), and don’t have great satisfaction ratings on SLTD. Then, looking at the mattresses at Mattress Firm, it’s hard to find good value there. Your conclusion about smaller independent manufacturers appears to be correct.
I am sorry to hear to of your son’s condition and I understand that this imposes great limits on your time, unfortunately there are no shortcuts to investing the time that is needed to find a suitable system that would meet all the criteria of your personal value equation. Neither I nor anyone else can feel what you feel on a mattress and the only reliable approach is to personally test a mattress and gather the appropriate tools listed in the mattress shopping tutorial and information needed to help you make an informed decision.
You are correct that going to local stores and testing mattresses in person is one of the best ways to get an initial feel of the mattress and eliminate any unsuitable ones. As long as you do this … you do not “have to go on ratings and reviews” but instead rely your own testing and on finding the specifications you need to know to assess the useful life of a particular mattress, and have a detailed conversation with a mattress manufacturer /retailer that has your best interest at heart. As far as relying on reviews or ratings…regardless of the criteria they use for their reviews and as you pointed out they amalgamate mattress reviews from all around the internet (such as the one you indicated) and then “rate” mattresses (and other products) based on them. These “muddied averages” have very little meaning and consolidating them into a larger batch of data and attempting to pass that off as homologated is a textbook example of garbage in – garbage out. A larger pool of data rendered by those who are unqualified to make an educated long-term analysis of a product isn’t a tract I advise to use to select a mattress. It is unfortunate that there is an entire industry created around “reviews” and procuring “reviews” and IMO I would give a very low percentage of importance to any site that operates that way.
I think you may be misunderstanding the difference between an analysis and a review. They are very different. While I/ we certainly don’t claim to be unbiased … at least my/our biases are based on research and fact rather than unsubstantiated stories supported by heavy advertising. Materials have certain qualities regardless of how they may feel. I am a big advocate of getting factual information before buying a mattress … or at the very least buying from someone who knows the facts rather than being trained in the stories that a customer is most likely to believe.
Stating that this site collects membership fees from manufacturers who have passed very stringent requirements (here is a list of the criteria for becoming a member of The Mattress underground, somehow makes the site here biased or the information less than accurate is simply cynical. Spending only 10 minutes on this site it will be completely evident that quality componentry and products are mentioned, and sometimes even defended, regardless of the site membership. The goal here has always been to educate versus promote. Running this website takes enormous amounts of time and it is not a charity, and just because other sites derive income from side sources (such as Google ads) in no way validates their information as factual or accurate. To assume such is a logical fallacy.
I am the first to recognize that there is no such thing as “gospel” when it comes to mattresses which is why I welcome posts that “challenge” my opinions and thoughts. This is how we all learn and keep our learning curves going. This is also the very reason I started this site and is exactly why I provide the reasons behind what I post rather than making blanket statements with no substance behind them to support what I am saying. I am the last person who wants anyone to believe me or you or anyone based on “faith” and the goal of the site is to provide the knowledge that either connects consumers with “mattress people” who already know what they would otherwise need to learn and sell high quality/value mattresses or to provide them with accurate information and bypass the more biased and misleading information that tends to come from people who only promote or recognize the value of what they sell to the detriment of all other choices (no matter where they may come from). In other words … the goal is to inform and “empower” people to make up their own mind based on facts and meaningful comparisons instead of the overwhelming amount of misleading and inaccurate information that comes from all sides in this industry.
This is also the reason that this site will never be a review site (there isn’t a section for reviews) because it will always be more focused on educating the members here with more “fact based” information than on encouraging them to repeat the same mistakes that consumers have been making for many years … which includes warning them that reading or “counting” reviews as a reliable source of research can be among the worst ways to choose a mattress.
Just to make clear as well … I have no “standing” outside of the information on this site … and I would prefer that it always stays that way … because I would much rather that people learn to rely on information that they can verify for themselves than rely on the so called “standing” of a person that provides it. That way they can come to their own conclusions about what the “preponderance of the evidence” points to and make their own “best judgement choices” free of the influences of others that are more focused on emotional gratification than on providing accurate or meaningful information. This is what real research and due diligence is all about.
I hope this brings more clarity and completes your picture of The Mattress Underground.
I look forward to any comments you may have and if after some showroom testing you manage to narrow down your options to a few that are suitable for you, then I or another Expert Member of the site would be happy to assist you.
