R & S Mattress and Brooklyn Bedding

I live in the Phoenix, AZ area and recently visited an R & S Mattress location looking for a reasonably priced quality mattress. Brooklyn Bedding was recommended to me, which I was told was there own brand, and was therefore much cheaper for a good mattress than a name brand. With prices they were offering during a Memorial Day sale in my price range ($600 - $800), I was steered toward two different memory foam mattresses and a latex foam mattress. I’m wondering if anyone knows if this is a decent retailer, or if there are any specific recommendations for a mattress in this price range that I should look at. I did see that Brooklyn Bedding is a member of this site, so I’m assuming they must be good. Also, I’m a bigger guy (5’11" 375 lbs). I’m wondering if that makes a difference on the type of material I should be considering. I’ve read thru the overviews, which helped a lot, but I’m still unsure of my best course of action. I had no idea that so much went into buying a mattress! Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi tsakana,

You’ve probably already read this if you’ve read through the overviews but just in case … post #1 here has the basic information, steps and guidelines you will need to make good choices.

The first overview is perhaps the most important because it outlines the two basic functions of a mattress which is neutral alignment in all your sleeping positions and good pressure relief. These are always the goal of every mattress no matter what body type or sleeping positions someone may have.

You are much heavier than average which means that you will need firmer than average support and comfort layers in a mattress as well as more durable materials so that the more rapid softening and breakdown of the materials in your mattress doesn’t lead to the loss of comfort and support over a short period of time.

I would also focus on connecting with “experts” that have the knowledge and experience to provide you with good guidance about mattress materials and the type of designs that would be most suitable for you. They already know what you would otherwise need to learn and who you deal with can be one of the most important parts of successful mattress shopping.

Brooklyn Bedding is certainly one of the “best of the best” in the country in terms of the quality and value of their mattresses but quality and value are only part of the puzzle and the suitability of a mattress in terms of what I call PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) is just as important because no matter how good the quality or value of a mattress … if it’s not suitable for your body type and sleeping style then it would have little value to you.

You are fortunate to live in Phoenix because you have some of the best options in the country available to you and post #4 here includes the better choices I’m aware of in the Phoenix area (including 3 of the members of this site).

If you follow the steps one at a time you will greatly increase your odds of choosing a mattress that is the “best for you” and that meets all your needs, preferences, and criteria :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Great! Thank you so much for that info. I’ll definitely do a little more reading on the site. I’m going to visit the showrooms for the 3 brands in Phoenix that are members of this site tomorrow.


I bit the bullet today after several months searching, learning and getting great information from the site and Phoenix guidelines.
THANK YOU!!!

Now my history has been sleeping on same firm beautyrest for 15 years and no sag, still comfy and love it.
I’m updating my bedroom to newer style bedroom set and wanted a new bed too.
The old bedroom set will go to guestroom status.

I’ve been reading many posts and checking many stores including the local factory shops in Phoenix area.
I had a budget and although latex is highly regarded it wasn’t within the price range at this time.

Today I went to R&S just to see what they had, didn’t expect to buy anything.
I talked to Marcel and he walked me through the ‘everywhere name brand’ mattresses and couldn’t find good comfort level.
I tried the Brooklyn Bed in store and liked the firm latex but it was $1400 set.
He said the website store and in store beds are different products with price points competitive with online sales.

A delivery of new mattresses just arrived and he had me try Brooklyn gel memory foam.
To me the comfort level felt great on my side and back, the other firm memory foam was too hard.
I was able to lay on it for about an hour because we were talking as he just got married few days ago.
The bed is Brooklyn Bed Ironman smooth top memory gel T3 10" queen.
I don’t know much about the specs besides what he said is 3" gel foam on top.
He was in a good mood and he made me a great deal for the mattress, wood foundation, 2 latex pillow, best bed protector and delivery today by 5pm, WOW!
I couldn’t pass up this deal, I paid less than price shown and it felt comfortable and in budget.
Plus the ‘law tag’ with manufacture date is 10/20/2014 just made yesterday and bought today by me, haha!

So now I ask, are the specs of mattress and how it compares to other products matter now?

Hi smthkat789,

The industry has changed a lot in the last 15 years and unfortunately it’s not likely that you would see this king of durability from a Simmons mattress sold today (see post #3 here and post #404 here).

I don’t know the specs of the mattress so I can’t make any meaningful comments about the quality of the materials (you would need to find out the information here and post it on the forum) but given where you purchased it and if it’s made by Brooklyn Bedding I would say that the odds are very high that you made a good quality/value purchase.

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Phoenix,

I went to an R&S Mattress today in Salt Lake City (Murray, UT) and expected to see Brooklyn Bedding models similar to what they sell online. However, all of the models were completely different…at least, named differently. The owner/manager of the store explained they spent two years building this line, and that they are all named after New York landmarks (even though the company is actually named after one of BB owner’s daughters, not Brooklyn, NY). The models were: Enchantment, Wall Street, Empire Eurotop, Tribecca (spelled with 2 “cc"s, even though the area in New York is Tribeca, Manhattan Pillowtop, Liberty Eurotop, etc.”

I thought these may be discontinued or “store only” models, but can’t find anything about any of them through a Google search. Feels sketchy and I’m stumped. Was excited to get into a Brooklyn Bedding mattress at a better price than online, but worried these are not legit. What are your thoughts? Thank you.

-josh

Hi jgnarans,

Yes … the Brooklyn Bedding and Dreamfoam mattresses are only available online (although they can be tested locally in Phoenix) and are different from the mattresses they make and sell through their R&S stores.

I’m not sure what you mean by “legit” but R&S mattress is certainly a reliable business and is a sister company to Brooklyn Bedding and Dreamfoam. You can see my thoughts about them in the Salt Lake City list here. The mattresses that they sell there that are made by Brooklyn Bedding would certainly be well worth considering in terms of their quality and value.

There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses but outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) a mattress is only as good as the quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label and since they are transparent about the materials in their mattresses you will easily be able to make meaningful comparisons between their mattresses and any others you are considering.

Phoenix

Well a quick update after 3 years & 3 months, the bed did not last for what I paid for.
Disappointed to find a 3 foot long split on the top layer foam of the bed.

So the search goes on…
However, I’m glad to chat with everyone again!

Hi smthkat789.

Thank you for your update. 'm sorry to hear about your experience with the tear in your mattress.

While I don’t know how exactly how it happened of course …based on your description of the mattress failure the defect should be covered by the warranty and you may wish to contact the retailer to discuss it and perhaps initiate a warranty claim.
The warranty guidelines for Brooklyn’s Bedding are listed in the warranty policy here R&S warranty policy should be very similar.

I hope you can get a positive resolution.

Phoenix

Thanks Phoenix.

I have reached out to Brooklyn Bedding with a warranty issue and was able to get credit for purchase price towards another bed.
We chose the BB Aurora firm and we are happy BB took care of us.

Best part is sleeping on a cool mattress and adapting to different style of bed with a 10 year warranty.

**The tear in the mattress was from the memory foam breaking down over time. Since it wasn’t the best quality foam it didn’t last to the 5 year warranty.

Hi smthkat789.

Thanks for your update.

I am pleased that you were taken care of and that the mattress defect was covered by the warranty. Now that you are having a new mattress I’m glad your initial impression is a good one and you’re sleeping well.

I look forward to any updates you might have along the way.

Phoenix

I’m interested as to how the Aurora mattress is doing for you so far. I am very interested and am days away from purchasing one myself. I hope you can give me some good feedback so my decision will be more informed. Since they don’t list the specs of the materials, I am wondering if they used sub-par materials in this mattress. I would love to know if anyone has the material specs for this mattress too. Thanks

Phoenix, I guess this would be more directed to you, but please, anyone else feel free to join in.
I have located specs for the BB Aurora, and based on info I have read on this site, I am going to assume that this mattress is sub-par when it comes to the minimal specs recommended. If it doesnt, please explain why. As far as I have read here, except for the 1.8lb and above base layer, everything else should be a minimum of 4lb. Here are the specs for the Aurora that I found. I am at the point of purchasing this mattress, but these specs have just made me take 2 steps back. Thanks for your input.

Quote from another site:
Two-Way Circular Knit (Stretch) Cover: with a phase change component (helps it to feel cool to the touch).
1.5" Medium TitanFlex Foam Layer with TitanCool: The patented TitanFlex foam is paired with TitanCool ™, a phase change surface infusion with high conductivity properties that draw excess heat away from the body, maintaining optimal comfort for each individual sleeper. This layer is also infused with TitaniumGel to help keep it cool and copper for its antimicrobial properties. 3.5 lb 12 ILD)
2" Medium Firm TitanFlex Layer: A second comfort layer of TitanFlex foam but with a medium-firm level of firmness. (3.5 lb 18 ILD)
1" (Transition) Firm Swirl Visco-Elastic Memory Foam Layer: A transition layer with the contouring properties of memory foam provides deep compression support, especially important to heavy sleepers. Foam is 2.5lb in density.
8’ Quantum Edge Pocketed Coils– An engineered layer consisting of 1,283 individually pocketed coils allows for better reactivity and motion isolation, minimizing sleep disturbance.
1" Base Support Foam: A high-density foundation gives the mattress structural firmness as well as a durable core.

I obviously don’t have near the mattress credentials of Phoenix or the manufacturer forum experts, but based upon my knowledge I think you might be overly concerned. BB’s TitanFlex foam is a newer generation material and I don’t think the 4.0 lb. density rule applies with it. Such foams are reputed to be more durable and similar in some aspects to latex, so having a density of 3.5 lb. is not necessarily a red flag. Also the fact that the transition layer is memory foam of a 2.5 lb. density may be alright since it’s limited to a single one inch layer and is not at the top level of the mattress construction where higher densities are more critical for durability. I have no first hand experience with the BB Aurora, just trying to share my understanding of its construction based upon what I’ve learned primarily in this forum. Hope this helps and I’m sure Phoenix or a forum expert will chime in and correct me if I’m mistaken. :unsure:

Thanks for the response Sweet Dreams.

So to put it all together:
top layer- 1.5" Medium TitanFlex Foam Layer with TitanCool @3.5lb 12 ILD
2nd layer- 2" Medium Firm TitanFlex Layer @3.5lb 18 ILD
3rd layer- 1" (Transition) Firm Swirl Visco-Elastic Memory Foam Layer @2.5lb density
4th layer- 8’ Quantum Edge Pocketed Coils @16 gauge
5th layer- 1" Base Support Foam @no info on density
I also found out that according to BB they use 16 gauge coils in the bed (up to 1283 coils)
Current price with discounts is $1600.00 for the King size.
So, based on my research the materials in this mattress are sub-par. Am I right coming to that conclusion?

Hi droidx

The top layer is made with Energex (using a TitanCool surface) and both top layers (Energex and the TitanFlex) are the new generation foams formulated to have different than the conventional polyfoam and better approximate some of the desirable of latex or memory foam. Just as Sweet Dreams mentioned (Thank you Sweet Dreams for “chiming” in… and yes you are quite right that the rule does not apply here) … these foams are high quality and durable and would not raise a red flag. I’d be also interested to know the density of the third layer in this construction. While specialty foams such as these (or latex or memory foam) that formulate more attractive properties into the foam would likely be suitable to you whether or not you would like this feel of course is subjective, and like with any online purchase you’d want to become familiar with any potential return/exchange policies, should your choice not turn out as well as you had hoped.

Phoenix

Thanks Phoenix. As far as feel, I’m still trying to figure out if this mattress is supposed to replicate latex feel or memory foam feel. Any info on that?

Hi droidx.

Some of these polyfoams are engineered to provide feels that are somewhat similar to latex, others similar to memory foam, and others simply versions unto themselves. The foams used in this mattress are some of these high-performance polyfoams you’ve seen mentioned on the site but no “theory at a distance” can replace your own personal testing and experience with the mattress and how it feels to you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences). You can read more about the newer generation of high-performance polyfoams here.

Phoenix

Thanks for the reply Phoenix, but just when you think you’ve decided on a mattress, another one shows up that you haven’t seen and makes you second guess yourself. If you wouldn’t mind, would you be so kind as to give me your opinion on this mattress build quality and any thoughts? I have not run across this mattress in my search until today, and am curious if anyone has heard of it. Its called Kaya, and I will post a pic of the specs from their website. I am also curious, as I am considering this and the BB Aurora, what difference the 2 inches in coil height makes.
Thanks so much.
https://www.kayasleep.com/our-story/

I have a question / concern regarding Brooklyn Bedding mattress. We bought a king mattress around 10/2015 which was also about the last time i posted here and now the mattress looks like a ‘W’. Am I wrong in thinking that the mattress should last more than 3 years? We bought the mattress after doing some research on this site which is extremely helpful.