Purchased a SF Regalis today. Thanks for the info here!

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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After lurking on these forums for awhile, my wife and I finally overcame our indecision and purchased a SF Regalis mattress. We loved the TP Rhapsody at the local mattress discounters but couldn’t justify the cost. We weren’t as fond of the 5.3 lb/ft^3 TPs, and we definitely weren’t impressed with the iComforts, Sealy PPs, or any of the hybrids.

Because the Rhapsody was so expensive—and we didn’t particularly like any of the name brand competitors—we briefly considered Sam’s Club and Costco. The Sam’s Club brands, in particular Night Therapy, seemed to be low end, with densities topping out at 3 lb/ft^3. I found a few Sleep Science models from Costco with 5 lb/ft^3 foam in the $1500 range, but I wasn’t ready to commit to that knowing our (limited) experience with the 5 lb/ft^3 TP.

After doing some research, I realized that what we really wanted was the high density memory foam (> 7 lb/ft^3), so I narrowed in on that. I came across the Regalis at selectfoam.com and noticed that the layer stack was almost identical to the Rhapsody, so I was intrigued. After reading many reviews (actually all of them) posted on trustlink, I was a bit skeptical of the company, but they seem to be respected around here.

I called and placed my order with Peter today and received the MUG discount. From trustlink, I know there have been issues with returns in the past; it looks like the company has recently changed their policy so that they will pay for return shipping. This made me feel a lot better about the decision, as I’m still feeling a bit nervous about buying a mattress I’ve never seen.

This site was a tremendous resource and very helpful to the decision making process. The world of mattress (marketing) seems, frankly, very scammy, but this site helped us find our way through all the BS. Thanks to all of you who have contributed your stories. I’ll update this post in the future with our thoughts on the Regalis.

TL;DR. Fell in love with $3500 Rhapsody mattress. Bought a Regalis from Select Foam. They now offer free return shipping. Thanks for the amazing resource!

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Hi youbetterdon’t,

Thanks for the kind words and for your feedback.

You certainly made a good choice and I’m looking forward to your feedback when you receive it.

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix

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I’m overall pleased with my experience with Select Foam so far. They have been quick to respond to any issues/questions that I have had. It’s still too early to say much about the mattress, but I thought I’d go ahead and update this post with the latest news.

Shipping

I just received the mattress from Select Foam today Aug. 12. It shipped from Key Biscayne, FL on Aug. 5 via FedEx ground. I placed my order exactly two weeks ago on July 29. I was told the normal lead time from ordering to receiving is 7-10 business days, so I ended up being on the later end of the range (shipping to the west coast takes a bit longer).

I also ordered a foundation from Select Foam. This arrived Aug. 3 and shipped from Shelby, OH via FedEx home.

Foundation

I had a minor issue with the foundation: the center rail was defective and had one of the end pieces installed upside-down. I contacted Select Foam the same day and spoke with Juan. I sent him some pictures through email, and he had a new piece shipped out to me by Aug. 5 (the next business day). The new center rail arrived Aug. 10, and I was able to assemble the rest of the foundation.

While this experience was a bit irritating, I have to commend SF on resolving the issue very quickly. I had the new rail before the mattress arrived, so there wasn’t any time lost.

I’m not very familiar with foundations, but their job seems pretty simple: provide a solid platform to set a mattress on. That said, I think a decent foundation can be had a little cheaper than SF offers (IKEA has foundations at $150). The SF foundation is made from an unfinished soft wood (pine I guess?) and isn’t exactly fine furniture (not that I was expecting it to be). Of course, I haven’t seen the guts of an IKEA foundation, so maybe it’s just full of cardboard.

The SF foundation included a total of 6 screws for securing the slats to the rails. While this is probably sufficient, I was a little concerned about the “loose” slats banging against the rails and making a bunch of noise when moving around on the bed. So, I put a screw at every intersection of a slat with a rail (around 30 in total). This was probably overkill, but it seemed to make the foundation a bit more sturdy.

Frame

I bought a frame from IKEA. My wife and I decided on the LEIRVIK, which is inexpensive and seems to be pretty sturdy. The SF foundation fits perfectly into the frame.

Mattress

I have not been able to spend too much time with the mattress yet. I just laid on it for a couple minutes after letting it expand for an hour or so. I’ll just offer up my immediate observations, but take them with a grain of salt.

There is little to no chemical smell. The packaging smelled of baby powder though. I imagine this was to make sure things stayed dry, but it might have contributed to getting rid of the chemical smell.

Contrary to previous reviews I’ve seen of the Regalis on Mattress Underground, I find the mattress is actually on the softer side compared to the TP Rhapsody. I think this might be due to a switch from 8 lb/ft[sup]3[/sup] to 7 lb/ft[sup]3[/sup] foam. The description on SF’s website lists both densities, so I’m guessing that it changed from one to the other at one point. Or, possibly it was the longer shipping time through some really hot weather in a truck? I’m not sure.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible for me to compare the Rhapsody and Regalis side-by-side, so I’m just going off of month old memories. My wife probably remembers better than I do, so I’ll post her and my opinions on the Regalis once we get a few nights of sleep on it.

TL;DR: Got the mattress and foundation within the lead time specification. So far, so good.

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youbetterdont,

AWESOME AWESOME. Makes me feel even better about my purchase today. If you’re so inclined to read about it, you can here

I have to admit, I was just a tad bit hesitant based upon some customer service reviews I’ve seen on here, but taking Phoenix’s advice, I contacted the manufacturer directly and all my fears were put to bed. So far, first class. I intend to do some serious reviewing on this bed, from unpacking to initial sleep to a week, to a month. I find that so many threads here go dead after people make their purchase and never give feedback on the purchase. And those that do, just keep it very simple. This site & forum should be about providing as much quality information on mattress purchasing and information on the product from an end-user perspective. I think it’s the least one can do to in some way, give back to a site that has protected them from a bad purchase and directed them to manufacturers who give them a discount simply because of their association with the mattress underground.

I almost bought the bed you did, came very close.

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Hi youbetterdon’t,

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback and all the details of your experience. I appreciate it.

Most manufacturers are always looking for ways to tweak their designs to take advantage of new technology or materials that become available and make them better and they did just change from the 8 lb foam to the 7 lb which they believe has a better “feel” so their website doesn’t reflect this all the way through yet. The softness and feel of memory foam will also vary with conditions (humidity, temperature, and pressure) so this can play a role as well.

Just to forestall the inevitable questions about this as well … once you are past about 6 lbs or so with memory foam there is no meaningful difference in durability so this isn’t a “downgrade” in terms of durability or quality.

So thanks again and I’m looking forward to any further feedback you have the chance to share.

Most important of all … congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix

PS: @ Justo,

I certainly agree and it would be great if more people shared their feedback after a purchase … but this is also the nature of most forums and I’m grateful to those who do :slight_smile:

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Hello again. I’m back to report on my first week sleeping experience.

My first thought was that the mattress is a bit too soft. I sink in a good few inches, and it’s more difficult to maneuver around than my last mattress—cheapo IKEA foam. For reference, I am 5’11" about 185 lbs.

I woke up in the middle of the night the first few nights, but this isn’t all that unusual for me. However, the last new nights, I have slept soundly and find that I am already adjusting to the new feel. My wife seems to absolutely love the mattress. I think she prefers a slightly softer top layer, and she isn’t as sensitive to the warmer sleeping experience.

Unfortunately, I’m quickly realizing I’m totally unqualified to provide mattress reviews, as I’ve only slept on a few in my life. In comparison to my cheapo IKEA foam mattress, this is a huge improvement. The SF mattress appears to be a high quality product that is a good value. If I could go back and shop again, I might have gone with a firmer option (if there is one), but overall I’m satisfied with my purchase.

For those of you really looking for the Tempurpedic HD Rhapsody feel, I don’t think this mattress is really it. My wife and I both agree that the top layers of this mattress are softer than the Rhapsody. I’d be interested to hear other people’s comparisons—maybe we’re off-base.

I’ll try to continue to update this post with the details of our experience. Please post any questions you have about the Regalis here, and I’ll be glad to respond.

TL;DR: The Regalis is a good value but not the same as the Rhapsody. We’re getting some good sleep on our Regalis.

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Hi youbetterdon’t,

Thanks for the update and your feedback :slight_smile:

I hope you have the chance to provide a few more updates as you go through the initial adjustment and break in period of the mattress to see how anything changes along the way.

Phoenix

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Hi Phoenix,

I’ll keep updating this post. Hopefully it’s valuable to others.

I don’t have a lot to report right now. I’ve been sleeping pretty well on the mattress, and my wife really likes it. I have not noticed any changes in the feel of the mattress yet. It’s warmer than my old mattress, but it’s not really that big of a concern in the San Francisco climate.

Overall, my wife and I are still very happy with our purchase. If there are more specific questions, I’d be glad to answer them. Is there any kind of mattress reviews section on MUG? I’d be happy to throw in my two cents there.

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Hi youbetterdon’t,

I thought about adding a review section to the site originally but decided against it for several reasons. The first was that there are already many review sites around the web but more importantly I wanted to avoid becoming a “review site” and more of a “research site”. A forum search will bring up all the comments about any mattress mentioned here including member’s reviews but it will also be mixed in with comments about the quality of the materials and the retailer or manufacturer as well which I believe provides a more balanced picture of the compete purchase and the mattress over the long term. It can also help offset the temptation of many consumers to buy a “well reviewed” mattress that may not be suitable for them (each person’s needs and preferences may be different) or where the quality and durability of the materials wasn’t taken into account as part of the purchase decision (because the quality/durability of the materials in a mattress isn’t generally part of most reviews).

This way people who search for feedback about any mattress can get a much more complete and balanced picture of a mattress they are considering.

Thanks again for your updates :slight_smile:

Phoenix

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@youbetterdont: Can you post another update? I’m considering the same mattress and am curious if your impression of it has changed after several months.

Thanks