Questions on the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 12" and Brentwood Bamboo Gel 13"

Hello everyone,

I’m contemplating purchasing one of these mattresses. For reference, the specs for each mattress are:

Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 12"
1.5" 4lb gel memory foam
2.5" 4lb gel memory foam
8" 1.8lb base foam

Bamboo Gel 13"
3.5" 4lb Gel memory foam
2" 2lb Airflow layer
7.5" 2lb base layer

In reading ‘critical’ reviews for both of these mattresses on amazon, customers complain that the mattress softens up significantly 1-2 years afterward. So initially, they love the feel and support of the mattress, but it clearly does not stand the test of time. My question is, why is this the case? Even with people that weigh similar to me (150lbs), have this issue. Looking at the specs, I would think that 4lbs of memory foam and 1.8 (or above base foam) is a good, durable and quality material? Is this not the case? And if so, then why are so many customers having issues with the mattresses softening and not being supportive so soon after purchasing? Both of these mattresses are US made and Certi-pur. I spoke to a representative at Dreamfoam and he said that you need to take into account the high volume number of mattresses they sell in relation to the customers who write a negative review. But still, an average weight individual shouldn’t be experiencing sagging or softening of a mattress only a year of two in right? Let alone, dozens of people?

It concerns me with other bed-in-a-box mattresses like nest bedding, casper, etc that also use 4lb (or less) memory foam in their comfort layers. Are these mattresses going to soften up significantly a few years in too and eventually become insupportable?

Thank you.

EDIT: I just received word back from Brentwood. The above specs are wrong. These are the actual specs:

3.5" Gel Memory Foam: 4LB Density, 14ILD

2" Ventilated Airlux Foam: 1.5LB Density, 30ILD

7.5" Therapeutic Base Foam: 1.5LB Density, 30ILD

So for the Brentwood, it would actually be low quality materials with th 1.5lb base. But still, my question remains for the dream foam bed as they had the most negative reviews regarding the softening, and they use a 1.8lb base!

Hi oznefu,

I’ll refer you back to a reply I made to you in an earlier post where you referenced reviews, specifically…

…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 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).

"Reviews’ left on sites such as amazon are one of the least reliable and meaningless ways to gauge the quality, durability and appropriateness of a mattress (pro or con) for any individual, as they are, by and large, provided by individuals unqualified to provide an educated analysis of a particular mattress.

A mattress that becomes “too soft” for someone as it breaks in (all foams soften gradually over time) doesn’t necessarily reflect a defect, but instead a change in comfort, and most likely someone choosing a product using materials that were not proper for their specific needs (sleeping position, sleeping style, BMI, level of fitness, level of flexibility, pre-existing conditions, etc.). Perhaps they were choosing a product based upon “reviews” themselves instead of learning about mattress componentry. The same goes for someone choosing something that uses higher ILD materials and then they complain that it is too hard and blame the mattress, when it is not a defect.

Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well, and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here), so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.

Both of the mattresses you referenced use softer material in the uppermost comfort layers, and someone expecting a product with this much memory foam in the upper layers to have a “firm” feel did not at all do their due diligence for selecting a product that would be appropriate for their specific needs.

The 4 lb gel memory foam and the 1.8 ln polyfoam core used in the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams 12" mattress would be a good quality and durable material, and there would be no concerns quality-wise for someone of your size for this componentry. However, whether or not the appropriateness of this product for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how the 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” would be unknown (and not an issue of the quality of material) and can only be determined through 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).

I wouldn’t agree that “so many” customers are having issues, as the negative complaints represent a very small percentage of sales from both of these brands, and it ignores the multitudes in the thousands who are happy with their mattress purchases and outweighs those that complain (we know people are far more likely, some research shows 30 times more likely, to complain than compliment something). The softening and gradual loss of the “false firmness” of any mattress doesn’t necessarily point to a mattress “not being supportive”, but it’s just the normal breaking-in of a product, in this case two mattresses that are quite plush. And if a customer makes the mistake of ordering a plush product that is very point elastic using 3.5" – 4" of plush memory foam on top and doesn’t like it when the mattress becomes “soft” (as it should and is designed to do), that is not a defect, but the mattress doing exactly what it is supposed to do, and the error would be in the customer purchasing something and having incorrect and unrealistic expectations of how the mattress is supposed to perform.

CertiPUR-US is a polyfoam certification for testing for specific harmful substances and VOCs. It doesn’t have anything to do with foam density, durability or quality.

That’s exactly correct. The same would go for overemphasizing positive reviews.

All foams will soften with normal use, more apparent in the first few months of use and then generally more gradual after that. While defects certainly can, and do, happen in mattress manufacturing, complaints (many which aren’t due to defects in the mattress) by “dozens” of people, out of the thousands and thousands of these mattresses being sold, aren’t any sort of a reliable indicator about a product.

The 1.5 lb polyfoam in the base is lower than what I would normally recommend (1.8 lb) and I would advise some caution for this mattress unless price was a main concern, with the realization that there may be tradeoffs in overall durability or comfort life.

Phoenix

Thank you Phoenix.

Hi oznefu,

You’re most welcome!

Phoenix