Phoenix:
Could you recommend a local manufacturer or factory direct mattress store in or near Roanoke, VA? If not, I’m willing to travel if I need to. There is a Sleep Essentials mattress store that sells latex mattresses here, but I am sorry to say, I went there twice to try them, but they feel to jiggly/soft for me. We currently have a Simmons Beauty Rest that I would love to get rid of, we purchased from Mattress Warehouse. We also have Grand Home Furnishings that sell Shifman mattresses. What is your thought on this mattress? Any reliable mattress/store you could recommend, I would sincerely appreciate.
Ginger
Hi Ginger,
The only factory direct in or around the Roanoke area that I’m aware of is Sleep Essentials and of course you’ve already been there. I must say though that I’m somewhat surprised that you found all their mattresses “squishy” because they have some firm latex mattresses in their lineup (40 ILD core and 30 ILD comfort layer) which most people would find too firm.
A mattress is only as good as the materials that are in it so without the layering information there is no way to know it’s real quality. I can tell you though that the Simmons Beauty rest mattresses have a lot of lower density polyfoam in the layering and like all the major brands are poor value compared to more open and transparent independent manufacturers who use higher quality materials and sell for lower prices. Lower quality materials, including lower density polyfoam, can be quite comfortable in a showroom … they just don’t keep their original qualities of comfort and support for nearly as long as a mattress that uses higher quality materials and components. The biggest issue with the major brands is not usually the support layers or innersprings but the soft and low density/quality foams that are used in the comfort layers which are the “weak link” of these mattresses.
The same general rule would hold true for Shifman. To make an accurate assessment or comparison of any of their models you would need to know the details of the layering, components, and construction inside the mattress you were looking at. They make some high quality mattresses that use natural materials (such as cotton) “old style” hand building methods (such as 8 way hand tied boxsprings and hand tufting) and some lower quality mattresses with lower quality materials including polyfoam in them. They are all two sided which is a durability bonus but I would question their overall “value”.
In general … the brand label on a mattress means little unless you know of a particular manufacturer that wants you to know the materials they use and want you to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses. These types of manufacturers are mostly local or smaller independent brands that you won’t see advertised and are usually (although not always) available more locally or regionally. These are the sources of most of the best quality and value in the country.
There are not a lot of great options in the Roanoke area and it appears that one of the best that are there doesn’t make mattresses that you particularly like.
Some of the other options that may be worthwhile including in your research are in post #3 here (Lynchburg/Charlottesville area), Post #5 here (Alta Vista and surrounding area), and post #2 here includes some smaller manufacturers in the High Point, NC area.
Some of these involve some travel so I would tend to talk to the ones that interest you on the phone first about the types of mattresses that may interest you (I would use local stores to find out the general types of mattresses and materials you prefer) and ask some questions along the lines of this article to make sure they are worth a visit.
If I have a chance I’ll take a look more locally in Roanoke to see if there is anything that stands out as promising other than what is listed and post them here if I do.
Phoenix
Thank you very much for all the information. I had my mind all set on a latex mattress, everything I read about latex was positive but when I layed on the mattresses I felt like I sank too far down into it.
I saw on one of the websites you recommended, there are some latex mattresses that are made with coils, maybe that would be something I should try. If you run across anything else, please let me know and thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions.
Ginger
[quote=“Ginger” post=7873]Thank you very much for all the information. I had my mind all set on a latex mattress, everything I read about latex was positive but when I layed on the mattresses I felt like I sank too far down into it.
[/quote]
Ginger - Don’t give up on latex just yet. I have laid on latex that you don’t sink into at all. And yes, some was like laying on melted butter! That’s why Phoenix mentioned how important it is to understand what you are laying on at every layer. Good luck in your hunt!
Hi Overcomer,
I spent a fair bit of the day looking at websites and talking with various outlets in and around the Roanoke, VA to Christiansburg, VA area and while of course a single conversation can’t tell you everything you may want to know about mattresses they carry or the retailer … there are clearly some better options and more knowledgeable people in the area. Here are the results (including some you may already know about but are included here for the sake of others from the area who may read this). With the ones I talked with I included some comments while with others I only included the brands that I would include in my research that have better odds of having better value. There are many that I excluded outright because they don’t appear to carry brands where the chances are better of ending up with good quality/value. Always make sure with a phone call first that they are able and/or willing to provide layer information for any mattresses you may be interested in. …
http://www.perfectlatexmattress.com/ or http://sleepessentials.com/ Factory direct manufacturer in Roanoke and Henrico, VA. I have talked with them on several occasions and in general think highly of them although I would take some of the information on their videos with a grain of salt because some of it is somewhat inaccurate or misleading… They make a range of latex mattresses with a variety of layering combinations and they are very knowledgeable about the mattresses they make. They are among the better local values and they also allow their customers to buy a mattress without fire retardant layers with a prescription (which they can help with). Good people although I would take some of the information on their videos with a grain of salt because some of it is somewhat inaccurate or misleading.
http://www.manta.com/c/mbywnfm/mattress-wholesalers-of-roanoke Roanoke, VA. Park Place (King Koil) memory foam/innerspring, Bed Boss (memory foam). I talked with them and they are knowledgeable and committed to helping their customers find the best quality/value and will provide meaningful information to the degree eir manufacturers make possible. No website.
http://www.vafurnituremarket.com/ Rocky Mount, VA. Park Place (gel), Restonic, and Imperial (which is a smaller manufacturer that makes some very good quality two sided innerspring mattresses). Are also knowledgeable and as open about their mattresses and the materials in them as their manufacturers information allows them to be.
http://www.mainlymattresses.com/ Retailer in Christiansburg and Floyd, VA. Carries Savvy Rest component latex mattresses. I talked with Patrick here and he is very knowledgeable and open about the materials in his mattresses.
http://www.allensfurniturestores.com/ Pearisburg, VA Imperial.
Mattresses | Furniture Store | Sofas | Rugs | Roanoke Salem, VA. Sleepworthy, Therapedic.
http://www.mattressdepotroanoke.com/mattresses/foam.shtml Roanoke, Christiansburg, Rocky Mount, Salem, VA. Paramount.
There is also a forum list for the Charlottesville/Lynchburg/Waynesboro areas in post #3 here
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions along the way. Hopefully this will exclude enough to help you focus on the better options or possibilities that are available in the area.
Phoenix
Phoenix-
Thank you so very much for all this valuable information! I wiil go to some of these places and try their mattresses.
Ginger
Phoenix -
I have emailed three mattress stores in my area. Two I emailed yesterday stating I was looking for a quality king size mattress, what types were available and if they had spec sheets available. I have not yet received a response. I emailed a different store today and the response was quick. They have Park Place mattresses, Nature’s dream latex but do not have spec sheets. I know nothing about this type of mattress. Do you?
Thank you
Ginger
Hi ginger,
As a general rule I would suggest talking with a retailer on the phone rather than emailing (unless your question has a one sentence answer that is black and white). For example … they wouldn’t know enough about you and the question is so broad that to even give you an answer that would have any meaning they could spend all day trying to cover every possibility and still would not cover what you really wanted to know. In general you won’t get any meaningful information with emails and it would normally take several email exchanges to ask you the types of questions that would make a meaningful answer possible and end up taking literally weeks to cover what you could do on the phone in half an hour.
Park Place has some very general layering specs on their website about their Nature’s Dream mattresses here but they don’t list the quality/density information that is important to know the relative value and durability of a mattress. In cases like this … either the retailer will understand the importance of this information and talk to the factory to find it or they won’t take the time. What I would want to know is do they understand the importance of this information and are they able and willing to find out if they don’t have it available. None of them will do this through email of course (they just wouldn’t have the time to list all the specs of every mattress they had in the store or even some of them and this would do more to confuse most people than help them anyway) but the better ones will either have this available or will find out to the degree that their factory makes the information available to them.
Park Place itself is a regional manufacturer that is privately owned and tends to have better quality and value than many larger brands and they use CertiPur certified foam but regardless of this … the only way to know if a specific mattress you are looking at is good quality/value is to know the type of materials and the quality specs of the materials that are in it and this is the job of the retailer to find out and the factory to provide it to their retailers.
In other words … this is how they “pass or fail” your phone “interview” (along the lines of this article). the key question you want to know from a retailer is their level of knowledge and experience and how much meaningful information are they willing to provide about the mattresses they carry. The brand label on a mattress means very little (although some manufacturers are more open and transparent than others). The only way you have to really know about the quality of a mattress you are considering is if the person who is helping you will provide the information you need to know.
You can tell how well a mattress will meet many of your needs and preferences by (things like pressure relief, alignment, motion isolation, overall feel) when you are testing mattresses in the store (if you test more objectively and not just go by “comfort”) but to predict how the mattress may feel in a year or more, how durable it will be, how temperature regulating it may be, and the quality of the materials in it that you can’t feel in a store (both high quality and low quality materials can feel great in a showroom) are just as important and you can only know these things by knowing what is in them. For this you are dependent on a retailer who has the experience and knowledge to understand how important this information and the willingness to help you find it for any mattresses you like or alternatively on your own ability to track it down which can mean weeks or months of research and frustration and only to find in many cases that you hit a dead end and can’t find out anyway.
Phoenix
Phoenix _
I have been directed to go to a website for information about Paramount mattresses. These are sold at Virginia Furniture Market. He recommends that I come to the store, see what I like and then he will help me.
I want to know first about the mattress, then if I like it I will already know the quality of the mattress. If the quality is not good, I don’t want to make a trip to this store.
I know you said that I needed to know what type of foam the mattress consists of but at this time, all I have is the website information, so I just want to ask you if you know this manufacturer to be one to be trusted for quality mattresses. I live in an area where it seems I don’t have a lot of choices. If I can’t get a mattress in my area, I am willing to travel farther if I need to, but that will be an added cost for me. I have attached the links and the mattresses that are of interest to me.
http://www.paramountmatt.com/tight_top.htm
The Med Care mattress and the Comfort Classic Luxury
http://www.paramountmatt.com/pillow_top.htm
The Pillow Rest
Comfort Classic Pillowtop
and Premium pillowtop
All these I’ve chosen are two sided. I believe this makes for a longer lasting mattress. Thanks again.
Ginger
Hi Ginger,
In the description for Virginia Furniture mart I mentioned that they were “as open about their mattresses as their supplier allowed them to be”. In these cases … the information they can provide you is limited to the information they are given by the manufacturer of the specific mattress you are interested in. The Paramount website is not nearly detailed enough about their specific models to provide you with the information you need. This means that you would need to do a little more research on the retailer before considering any of the Paramount mattresses they carry.
While I don’t know of any retailer who would have the time to “list” all the more detailed specs of many of the mattresses that they carry unless they already have this information readily available … they would certainly be able to tell you if the information you would need is available to them and if it is … that they were willing to find it out as part of their customer service (and not just direct you to the manufacturers website which doesn’t have it anyway). So in these cases the questions to ask on the phone and which need a specific answer would be something along the lines of …
“If I come in and test any of your Paramount mattresses and like one of them … can you confirm that you would be able to get all the specs of the mattress including layering and the density of any polyfoam or memory foam in the mattress that isn’t listed on either their website or yours?”
If they say YES … then I would then repeat the question in a different way to confirm this because many retailers aren’t used to being asked these types of questions or dealing with a more educated consumer and will tend to answer yes when in fact all they have access to is layering information or spec sheets which don’t include foam density. So if their answer to the first question is yes but you sense that they are more focused on getting you into the store than on making sure they have access to the information you would need … then I would ask again along the lines of …
"So just to confirm what you said … you will call Paramount and you already know and have confirmed that they will provide you with this specific information including foam density?
If they can do this and confirm that they know for sure that they can get the specific information you need and give you a clear sense they understand the importance of this information for a more educated consumer, then this would put them in the group of “better retailers”. If this information is also easily available to them through their channels with Paramount, it would also put Paramount in the group of " more transparent manufacturers" and I would then pay them a visit to look at the Paramount mattresses that they carry. In some cases the availability of this information depends on who the retailer normally deals with at the manufacturer level. If they are dealing with a typical sales rep … then this information may not be easily available to them. If they are dealing with someone in the company that is more knowledgeable or part of the ownership of the factory … then this information may be easier for them to find out or even part of what they normally do anyway.
If either Paramount doesn’t supply this information about the mattresses you are looking at or if they do but the retailer is hesitant to go the extra mile to find out … then you would be in a position that if you did like the mattress you would have to buy it on “faith” that the materials were good quality or that the value of the mattress was better than others that had a similar style or materials.
While I don’t recommend this type of “blind” purchase because you have no way of knowing what the quality of the materials in your mattress really are or any way to make meaningful comparisons … if I was forced to make a choice between a “blind” purchase from Paramount and a “blind” purchase from a major manufacturer, I would tend go with Paramount although with all the choices available … I would not want to be facing this type of “blind” choice in the first place. The reason I would choose them is that they fit the “profile” of a manufacturer where the odds are higher that their mattresses are better than average quality and value but higher odds doesn’t always translate into actual experience or to specific mattresses that they make.
So this is the type of research I would be doing with the “possibilities” that I often list in various areas to find out which of them are willing to go the extra mile and understand the importance of finding out the type of information you are looking for (or at least confirming that they can) before paying them a visit.
There are enough of these who will that I would not tend to look at mattresses or visit retailers where the staff wasn’t willing to the extra mile and find out this information unless there were no other options available in the area and even here my next “least risky” choice would likely be to deal with an online manufacturer or travel further to visit a retailer or manufacturer who made this type of information easily accessible. This is exactly why I normally suggest first doing some research on the phone to find out which are the better outlets or the specific mattresses where this information is readily available from a particular retailer before deciding where to visit. If you go there first without knowing this … the odds are good that you may be wasting your time unless you are comfortable with a “blind” purchase" where you don’t know and can’t find out the quality and value of what you are buying.
Phoenix
I spoke to a sales rep for Carolina Guild about the latex Flex luxury edition and the grand luxury. He says the top layers on both mattresses are latex and the soy based core support is 1.8 lbs density of polyfoam. If I understand what you wrote earlier, this is not a very good quality of core support. Is this correct?
Thank you
Ginger
Hi Ginger,
1.8 lb polyfoam is generally fine in a support core and is the minimum I would consider to be reasonable quality. There are some which have higher density/quality but this is normally quite suitable.
It appears then hat the layering of the Flex Luxury Edition is as follows …
3" of zoned all natural latex (I would want to know the type of latex)
5.5" of 1.8 lb polyfoam (this would be suitable for a base layer)
1.5" of polyfoam (unknown density and probably firmer and used as a base layer for stability)
This would mean that the mattress was about 10" thick (with some additional allowance for the cover). If this is the case … then these would be the only layers that are in it (no missing specs) and there are no obvious weak links in the mattress and the type of latex would really be the only unanswered questions. If the thickness is more… that would mean that there are some layers that they haven’t listed and then of course I would want to know what they were. The only other missing information is the type of cover fabric and any quilting material that it uses.
The Grand Luxury Edition is as follows …
1" zoned all natural latex (I would want to know the type of latex)
3" of VS latex (again I would want to know what type of latex this was because VS is just their own made up name)
Same base layers as the Luxury. I would also want to know the cover fabric and any quilting material.
This means that this mattress should be about 11" thick (with some allowance for the cover) and again if it actually that thick then there are no obvious weak links in the mattress.
These specs (and the unanswered questions) would give you the information you needed to make meaningful comparisons between these mattresses and other choices you have in terms of quality/value. If the layering information is complete … they would be good quality and their value would depend on their price compared to other similar mattresses.
This is the type of information that a better retailer would have available for you and if they didn’t … they would be the ones phoning the factory.
Phoenix
“4” or visco memory foam in the box top." Is this the type of memory foam that loses it shape and not good to be in the top layers of a mattress? Most everyone is pushing the memory foam or gel. I was trying to stay away from this type of mattress.
Hi Ginger,
Viscoelastic or memory foam can be good or not so good quality but it is a slow response material which feels and performs very differently from the latex you were mentioning in the previous post which is a fast response material.
Better quality and more durable memory foam is @ 5 lbs and up although there are many mattresses that use a mid quality/durability 4 lb memory foam because it can sometimes be a little more breathable, faster responding, and less temperature sensitive depending on the memory foam formulation and some people will prefer this “feel”. There is more about the pros and cons of memory foam in this article and more about the many variations of memory foam in post #9 here.
Ultimately the choice between slow and fast response materials in the comfort layer is about personal preference but either way it’s important to make sure that the materials are good quality and appropriate for the price of the mattress no matter which they are.
Phoenix
I called this store and asked about their mattresses. “These are the best.” I was asking if they had adjustable beds with latex and no memory foam. I could tell he was in a hurry to hang up the phone, but he assured me the mattresses are good quality and worth coming to see. As I’m looking on the website, I am wondering if one of the ones I’m interested in looking is actually an Englander mattress. The Ultra Comfort has Nature’s Finest written above it but not Englander but some of the mattresses do. Does thiis mean the Ultra Comfort is not actually made by Englander?
Also, the Lifestyle Latex Quilt mattress, if I were interested in this mattress, would I need to ask him the density of the 6" premium luxury Comfo cusion foam?
Thanks again,
Ginger
Hello Ginger,
This is my first post. Hello to Phoenix as well. Nice forum!
I am thinking about going to Roanoke Mattress Direct and looking at a Bed Boss Memory Foam, will be researching latex as well. I also need an adjustable base.
Did you go by there and have a look? If so, what did you think?
Thanks!
Hi John -
No, I did not go there, but I did call. The man’s name is Mike. I am looking for a mattress that contains some latex. He said he had one mattress with latex by King Koil, but other than that I did not get much more information about this mattress. He did speak alot about the memory foam mattresses that he has. He says they are high quality and low priced. He compares them to the high priced name brand memory foam mattresses.
Ginger
Phoenix -
I called this store and asked about their mattresses. “These are the best.” I was asking if they had adjustable beds with latex and no memory foam. I could tell he was in a hurry to hang up the phone, but he assured me the mattresses are good quality and worth coming to see. As I’m looking on the website, I am wondering if one of the ones I’m interested in looking is actually an Englander mattress. The Ultra Comfort has Nature’s Finest written above it but not Englander but some of the mattresses do. Does thiis mean the Ultra Comfort is not actually made by Englander?
Also, the Lifestyle Latex Quilt mattress, if I were interested in this mattress, would I need to ask him the density of the 6" premium luxury Comfo cusion foam?
Thanks again,
Ginger
Hi Ginger,
An adjustable bed is a base that goes under the mattress. Did you mean a mattress that was suitable for an adjustable bed? You can always buy an adjustable bed separately because you don’t have to test them like a mattress (they are all the same) so you can price shop a little more than a mattress.
I think that this is a pretty “standard” reply but it doesn’t mean anything. What does he mean by “good quality”. I would want to know some details about a mattress to make sure that it was at least close to what I wanted to look at before taking the time to visit any store. If I was looking for a latex mattress for example I would want to know if there was any polyfoam above the latex and if so how much. To me it is just too big a time waster to go and visit every store that sells mattresses only to find out that they can’t tell you what you need to know anyway.
Nature’s Finest is Englanders brand name for their latex mattresses. They usually use Dunlop latex. The Ultra Comfort is the model name, Natures finest is the brand name, and Englander (or a licensee factory for Englander) is the manufacturer.
The Ultra comfort has 5.5" of support polyfoam on the bottom(I would want to know the density but it’s probably OK)
Above that it has 6" of 100% natural latex (good quality) and 1.75" of comfo foam (this is polyfoam and i would want to know the density)
Above that in the quilting it has another 3" of polyfoam (quiltflex and pillowfex and comfofoam) so you would actually be sleeping more on polyfoam than on latex.
So there is almost 5" of polyfoam above the latex in this mattress and at this price I would probably pass it by. This makes no sense to me to put this much soft polyfoam above latex. At the very least I would want to know the density of all the layers of polyfoam. If there is less than an inch in the quilting then knowing the density is not as important because softening won’t affect the performance and feel of the mattress but with this much polyfoam that is subject to softening I would want to know the density of every layer.
The Lifestyle Latex Quilt is a little better.
It has 6" of polyfoam on the bottom for a support core (and I would want to know the density of this yes)
Above that it has 2" of 100% natural Dunlop latex which is good quality material. there’s not as much of this as in the other mattress but it’s closer to the surface where it belongs.
Above this in the quilting it has just under an inch of comfofoam in the quilting. This is inside the maximum (around an inch or so) that I would consider OK in a quilting layer.
Overall this mattress doesn’t have nearly as much latex in it but the latex is closer to the surface which means that you would be sleeping more on latex than on polyfoam and the upper layers (the weak link of a mattress) would be more durable. Even though this has a lower price … I would actually prefer this to a mattress that has thick layers of polyfoam on top. Assuming that the base foam is good quality (and that the layers listed are complete and correct) … the price of this is very reasonable for a set. Of course it would still need to work in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) because no matter what the quality or value of a mattress … if it doesn’t meet your needs and preferences then it would have little value for you.
Phoenix
Phoenix -
Are most all foam mattresses non- flip?
Thank you.