Pulling the Trigger - Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam Mattress

Sincere apologies in advance, I know this subject has probably been beaten to death, however I’ve done all the homework I can and just need some input on a few last points. First, we currently have a foundation (or I guess a 2-piece King-size foundation) that we got with our old spring mattress, is it advisable to use it with this new memory foan mattress or should we invest in a different foundation? Next, does anyone recommend a mattress cover of any kind, and if so which one would be ideal with this mattress (our emphasis being on a cover that won’t trap heat)? Thanks much, appreciate everyone’s feedback.

Phoenix, thank you so much for putting together such a great site. – John

Hi bigbiped,

If you have a foundation with a non flexing slatted or closely spaced wire grid surface still flat and in good condition then it would be fine. If you have a “box spring” with springs inside it and it has no weak or soft spots (you can test the surface with your knees to make sure) and is in good condition it would also likely be fine but it could change the way your mattress feels compared to a rigid non flexing foundation. The “best source” though for what is suitable with their mattresses is always the manufacturer themselves so that they can confirm that your foundation or box spring won’t invalidate the warranty.

Post #89 here has more informatioin about the main types of mattress protectors and the tradeoffs that are involved with each. Most people tend to use the thinner membrane type that has some stretch with memory foam mattresses because they are waterproof and have little effect on the mattress but some people find they can increase temperatures somewhat because they are not as breathable as the other two types. I would also keep in mind that the sleeping temperature of a mattress is the result of a combination of factors so your sleeping temperature would also depend on the other layers mentioned in post #2 here including the sheets you plan to use.

Congratulations on your new mattress … it’s certainly a great choice :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Thanks for the speedy reply Phoenix, will read up on those!

Been looking and trying out latex and memory foam with gel mattresses. Focusing on a split King w/adjustable base. Husband had sports injuries that require lots of pillows for comfortable sleep on our innerspring mattress. I am a side sleeper and wake up with pain at hip bones from I’m guessing springs. Mattress is a pillow top (supposedly top of the line) that we purchased 6 years ago. It was ok for about a year and then the pillow top lost it’s fluff in key places.

Looked at the Latex Bliss but not liking the reviews I’m reading. Talalay has some additional negative reviews that are worrisome. Saw a memory foam with gel bed yesterday that “seemed” good but not finding reviews on that.

Just want a good night’s sleep. Any recommendations? We’re in the Jacksonville, Florida area.

Thanks

Hi Synd95,

As you’ve probably read on the site … this is pretty much “the norm” with the materials used in the pillowtops made by major manufacturers (polyfoam and synthetic fibers mostly) and one of the reasons I would avoid them.

I’m not sure what type of comments or reviews you are referring to here. I’m not a great fan of using reviews as a guideline (see post #4 here) which are usually written by people that have very little knowledge about mattresses and often mistake their “comfort” choice for the quality of a mattress. If you have some links with some examples of the types of reviews you mean I’d be happy to make some comments about them.

Some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the jacksonville area are in post #7 here.

Phoenix

Thanks. The pillow top is ready for the junk heap. I’ve disliked it from about month 5 of ownership. Never again!!!

Read through post 7 several days ago and visited all the recommended places. Synopsis:

Sleep City - very knowledgeable and helpful. Was feeling pretty good about the Latex Bliss split king w/adjustable base although wasn’t thrilled about the topper being a separate piece. Just know it will “move” and ultimately be a nusiance. Read reviews on several sites and just didn’t have a good feeling overall especially with the topper situation.

Haven’t been happy with Rooms to Go furniture that was purchased there 2 years ago. Poor quality. Maybe their mattresses are better but not willing to chance it…didn’t bother visiting.

Jax Mattress - Brad was very knowledgeable and helpful. Saw a memory foam/gel infused bed that felt pretty good. Great price on adjustable bases! Definitely a place to visit for bases. Would like to know more about the memory foam/gel infused mattress. Didn’t have any latex mattresses on the floor so no way to test out at the present.

Fox Mattress - spent several hours there today and got the full tour and experience. Amazing place and super helpful and knowledgeable. Focused on full latex, latex/memory foam combos both with and without quilted covers. Totally overwhelmed with information overload. Great deal on “imported” adjustable bases.

With that said I’m going to “sleep on it” and wade through all the information so far.

As a side, bought a memory foam/gel topper for my present bed to get us through the shopping for a new bed timeframe. So far the topper had done the trick. We are both sleeping better (such a big difference for such a small amount of $$)

Any thoughts on adjustable frames? American made vs. China? Mantua vs leggettt & Platt vs China made?

Thanks

Hi Synd95,

A mattress/topper combination can have some real advantages over a mattress alone if you are able to test them both together (the topper can be changed or replaced without having to replace the whole mattress and the top layers of a mattress are the ones that will usually soften or degrade the fastest) but the PLB topper is particularly soft and softer foams aren’t as durable or in some cases as suitable as firmer latex topper … even though they are still more durable than similar layers of soft low density polyfoam. I think some of the feedback may reflect this.

Assessing the quality, value, and durability of a mattress depends on knowing the materials in the mattress (which is really the only way to assess any potential weak links of a mattress) but most chain stores are not very good at providing this so it’s probably wise to pass them by … even for the single brand I listed there.

Hopefully he can provide you with more information about the gel memory foam and the polyfoam that is in the mattress you like and of course you’re always welcome to post the details of the layers here.

As you know … I think very highly of Rick and Fox Mattress (which of course is why they were invited to become members here) and as you discovered they are amazingly knowledgeable and helpful. Quite frankly I wouldn’t hesitate to buy anything that he sold (assuming it was suitable of course but they are good at helping you with that as well). He is what I call “mattress people”.

The adjustable bed thread here should help. I personally own a Reverie Deluxe (made in China) which I thought was the best value I knew of that was available at the time I bought it and I’m very happy with it. It was equivalent or better quality and had better features at a lower price (although Leggett & Platt prices have since come down somewhat).

Thanks for taking the time to write such a great synopsis of your experiences. I think it will be very helpful to other members in the area.

Phoenix

Lots of research and many hours later we’ve ordered our bed. I did stop in to the Rooms to Go showroom and they had no latex beds at all. That ended that quickly!

On March 1 we will be the proud owners of a split king natural latex on natural latex bed made by Fox Mattress in Holly Hill, Florida! They will also be delivering two Flexion 6 adjustable bed frames! We are super excited. Will be so glad to see our Simmons Beautyrest World Class Winchester Pillowtop be placed in the dumpster (where it has belonged for several years.)

Mick at Fox Mattress was so very patient and should receive an award for his positive attitude. I had more questions than most and did more shopping around than most.

Once it arrives I’ll be sure to stop back and give you an update!

Hi Synd95,

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

As you know I think very highly of Rick and Fox Mattress and they certainly know what they are doing and take the time to “educate” their customers.

I think you make a great choice and I’m looking forward to your feedback once you receive it. I hope you also told him you were a member here (to receive the 5% discount).

Phoenix

Phoenix

Yes I did mention Mattress Underground and got the 5% discount thanks to you!!

Yesterday I spent time researching (again) mattress pads/protectors. That’s a whole other world! I finally ordered two twin xl Dormeir Wool mattress protectors from Flobeds. They had absolutely the best price point! To top everything off ordered a set of split king bamboo sheets (that’s all I’ve used for several years now and I don’t think any other product comes close!)

So off to find a second job LOL!

Hi Synd95,

I see you’ve done some good research on sheets and bedding as well … including Flobeds pricing on the Dormeir.

By this time you’re probably qualified to sell mattresses … and I heard that there’s a need for some good mattress salespeople who know something about what’s inside their mattresses :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Update!

It is now day 3 with our new bed. Delivery and setup from Fox Mattress was great. Flobeds came through with delivery of the mattress protectors at 4 p.m. same day as bed was delivered. (amazing) Sheets had arrived earlier in the week so we were good to go by Friday evening. We approached the new bed with remote controls in hand and a bit of trepidation. What had we gotten ourselves into!

After some tinkering with buttons and a bit of humor, we found a comfortable position (zero gravity) for watching some tv. Immediately realized the 3 pillows we once used were two too many. Once it was time for lights out I returned to flat position but my husband decided to customize his side for comfort. We both fell asleep quickly. Sometime during the night I heard the buzz of the bed moving (not mine) and had to laugh. You’ve heard of butt dialing a cellphone. Well hubby left his control on the bed and rolled over on it. His side of the bed starting moving. Lesson learned–put the control on the night table!

Other than that one slip up on our part, we had a restful and relaxing night’s sleep. The best part was no backache in the morning. Night two and three were similar.

So far so good. It’s been cold in Florida and the wool mattress protector seemed to keep the temperature of the bed very comfortable (not hot and not cold.)

On to night four…we’ll see how things go but so far so good!

Hi Synd95,

Thanks for a great update … and just wait till the button your hubby hits is the massage button … on full force … and the remote control is hidden in the bedding somewhere :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Hi, I came upon your site today Phoenix! I am thrilled as this is going to save me so much money, time, hassle, and feeling “cheated” by the mattress industry:)

I would like to find out if there are any updates on Jax Mattress? I am thinking about going with his Golden Mattress: Their Lexington Gel Euro Top. It is a hybrid with latex foam and pocket coils. It is under $800 out the door for a king. I was also told by another person (not from Jax Mattress) this was like or is what they use at the Hyatt? If so, I really like the beds at the Hyatt.

We were thinking about taking a family vacation early January to Daytona. I would like to visit Fox Mattress, but their lowest price point for a king is 1k! I am willing to pay an extra few hundred if it is even better than what I just mentioned by Golden Mattress!

Help please:)

Hi maximizedmom77,

Based on their website they still appear to carry Golden mattresses and Bedboss memory foam mattresses and they now seem to carry mLily mattresses as well (BedBoss and mLily both use memory foam and polyfoam that come from the same factory in China).

I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses or their specs that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor or have available online (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking their websites and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the lists is always a good idea before you decide on which retailers or manufacturers you wish to deal with anyway. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria, are transparent about the materials in their mattresses, and that carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in that are also in the budget range you are comfortable with. Once you have checked their websites and/or talked with the ones that interest you then you will be in a much better position to decide on the ones that you are most interested in considering or visiting based on the results of your preliminary research and conversations.

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 I can’t speak to how a mattress will feel for anyone else because there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person … outside of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) the 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 “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress always depends on knowing 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 can find out the information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to confirm that 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.

I don’t see a Lexington Gel Eurotop on their website but if you can find out the specifics of all the layers and components in the mattress and post them on the forum I’d certainly be happy to let you know if there are any lower quality materials or obvious weak links in the mattress that would be a cause for concern in terms of durability.

There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be very unlikely) then there really isn’t a way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) based on the specifications of the mattresses.

Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so while you may find several mattresses that use “similar” materials or designs and there would be many others that are in a similar general category or firmness range … they will generally have different combinations of foam layers and components.

Unless a manufacturer specifically says in their description of a mattress that one of their mattresses in the same general category is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” another one in terms of firmness or “feel” and PPP (or they are very familiar with both mattresses and can provide reliable guidance about how they compare based on the “averages” of a larger group of people) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.

If you know the specifications of all the materials and components in two mattresses you are comparing then making durability comparisons based on the specifications of both mattresses is simpler than trying to compare “comfort” and PPP (which is much more subjective) but the durability of the materials in a mattress has very little to do with how if feels or performs because a mattress that uses lower quality and less durable materials can feel the same or very similar to a mattress that uses higher quality and more durable materials in a showroom or when it is still relatively new … it just won’t last as long.

The Golden Mattress you are considering would certainly have a different design and have different materials and components than the mattress you slept on at the Hyatt and while two mattresses that are different from each other can feel “similar” to some people … they would probably feel quite different to others because how a mattress “feels” is very subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual sensitivities and perceptions.

As you know I think highly of Fox Mattress and they are one of the members of this site and would certainly be well worth a visit if you are going there anyway.

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 they compare 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 PPP, 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 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 that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in (either locally or online) and that can provide you with all the information you need to know to make an informed choice and make meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …

  1. 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.

  2. Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

  3. 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.

Phoenix

Thanks for your detailed reply!

Here is what I found out about the above said mattress:

2" cool action gel memory foam
2" resilient super soft foam
750 luxury individual pocketed springs
Cool breathable Matlasee knit cover

Anything else I should find out?

Hi maximizedmom77,

The information that you need to find out is listed in this article.

The information you listed is missing the density of the foam layers and the thickness of the innerspring (so you can add up the layers and components to make sure they equal the thickness of the mattress).

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix

This string arrived in my mailbox this morning and I just had to say hi and give an update. It’s been several years since we purchased our adjustable bed and we are still super happy. The bed has been terrific and through some life changing events we’ve been able to tailor our needs easily with the bed. Husband had a serious head injury (sports related) and he was kept comfortable throughout rehab in this bed. No need for hospital bed or any thing. I had a bout with vertigo and thank goodness for the bed through that time. It was critical I stayed upright when sleeping and I never woke up with a backache or any discomfort! When I drive by Holly Hill I send good thoughts to Fox Mattress. They sold us the right mattress and frame for us and we couldn’t be happier!

Happy New Year to all!

Hi Synd95,

Thanks for taking the time to come back and share another update a few years later … I appreciate it!

It’s great to hear that all your choices worked out so well for you … especially considering some of the challenges you were facing…

Happy New Year to you as well.

Phoenix

That is great to hear about Fox Mattress! Sounds like the drive out there is more than worth it:)

Does an adjustable bed from there run more than 2k? Do they use organic materials?