Really tough time finding a good store and mattress! GURU NEEDED!!!

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

So I had a novafoam from costco which was all foam and ended up bending and getting all out of shape so I returned it. (apparently highly rated by consumer reports).

So I have to get a new mattress, I’ve done alot of reading on this website and tried to find a small quality mattress store: so far I found two small chain stores.

  1. Zzzz Mattress has tons of yelp reviews, its a small store owned by one guy and they have local mattresses by Diamond and Maxim. The prices are pretty good, about $600-$800 for a queen independent coils and foam toppers, as well as some latex but I had a feeling it was the low quality latex because the bed was $800 for a queen set probably less for just the mat.

  2. Sit n Sleep - very informative mattress guy, showed us two Sherwood mattress that was really comfortable. The firm with a nice pillowtop was $675 and the latex version was $900. I felt like this was the best quality, Sherwood has been in business for 50-60 years compared to 30 and 40 for maxim and diamond respectively.
    I really liked it but wasn’t sure if it was a good deal because it’s sit n sleep and their brand name mattress prices were expensive.

  3. Big Chains - sales though
    Sears & Macys - had every firmness and every pillowtop, reasonable prices around $600-800 for brand name mattresses because of the big slae thru the 2nd Their name-brand mattresses seemed comparable to Zzz Mattress, prices were fair, but this website warns against the cheaper materials in the brand mattresses

I havent found a small mattress store that really meets the description on this website, even ZZZ had a gimmicky $400 off all their prices and they seemed like the closest description to the stores described here.

Any help? I just need a quality firm mattress with a nice thick pillowtop. I would prefer latex but it’s hard to tell with these sales people, I live in Orange County, CA near Anaheim, CA.

Also my parents need a mattress so I’ll pass on my knowledge to them.

THANKS IN ADVANCE MATTRESS GURUS!!!

2

Chopsui:

Orange County is a hotbed of innovative mattress shops, so you’re lucky to be shopping for beds there (though as i’m sure you’ve experienced, even in the OC, there are many more old school mattress shops than the type you’re looking for).

Check out Ergo Customized Comfort in Irvine, CA. I almost opened a store in Orange County recently (I am part of an online retailer as well as cofounder of a mattress store in Miami.), so I got to know the area quite well. The good news is that the area is extremely well developed in terms of latex, natural and organic stores. Another place to check out is a store called european sleep works.

Ergo customized comfort, however, has OMI, Natura, Technogel, Tempurpedic, Carpe Diem, and Naturepedic- though you may want to inquire about which models, as some of their selection is quite limited.

The bed that i really like from Ergo, that I recently referred a customer to, is the Silhouette Bed.
http://www.ergobedroom.com/beds-mattresses.html?cat=21
This is Ergo’s store brand, and it is a much better value than the other beds that I listed above, which are all over the place. You may choose between a coil and latex base, and the rest of the foam comfort layers can be customized to your preference. So essentially one floor model can be tweaked into a dozen or so different mattresses/feels. I’m currently designing something like this for my store, so it is front and center on my mind right now.

Ergo is also one of the best rated stores in the area according to yelp. As one of the first “Specialty Sleep Stores”, I’ve come to know the owner of this store as a mentor. When I opened Brickell Mattress 30 months ago, Ergo was the specialty mattress gallery (stores carrying air, water, latex, memory foam, gel, and/or handmade euro beds) that we sought to emulate.

Good Luck.

3

Hi chopsui,

The first place to start is post #1 here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices (and help you avoid the worst ones)

Price is certainly not an indicator of value (although it certainly is part of it). Any mattress is only as good as the construction and materials inside it so the only way to make a meaningful assessment of a mattress is by knowing the details of the layers inside it. I wouldn’t make an assumption or go by a “feeling” that a mattress is either good or not so good unless I had the specific information I needed. Almost all latex is a relatively high quality material compared to polyfoam no matter what type it is although like any material there are higher and lower quality versions compared to other types of latex.

Same comments would apply here. Once you know the details of every layer in a mattress you are considering then you can make meaningful quality and value comparisons with other mattresses. Without this information you can’t (and you won’t know how good a “deal” it may be).

As you will read in the guidelines I linked … these are among the ones to avoid completely.

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in your area are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

4

Thanks for the links to those retailers, it will help a lot. I had no idea I could build a mattress layer by layer. However, my current matttress is KILLING my back, but I’m trying to be patient enough to buy a quality mattress. I don’t think I want to build one layer by layer though.

I don’t think you mentioned Sit n Sleep at all, are they considered one of the big chains? They carried Sherwood from a small local retailer in business for 50+ years.

ZZZZ mattress carried both Diamond and Maxim which are at the bottom of the list you gave me. I would be happy with one of these if I knew the layers inside were quality. ZZZZ had many mattresses by each and when I tried them I would have happilly purchased a Maxim or Diamond, I just wasn’t sure of the quality, being from compton I dont want to find a crack pipe in my mattress one day.

What exactly am I looking for when I ask about the layers? Most of the time when I asked they would say they all have independent coils with xxx count (which you said not to focus on), then layers of either memory foam/latex.

How many inches of latex should be in a good comfort layer of a quality latex mattress? The salesman said if it were solid latex it would cost me $1,800 and he could order that (did he mean comfort layers or something else?), but he said it was latex on top of a layer of foam. I could easily call and get the specifics from him next time.

They had quality Diamond and Maxim mattresses and like I said, I would probably be happpy with any of them at the price ($700-$800 for a queen set)

I’m a technical guy. but this all seems too technical. What am I doing wrong? Should I get some kind of spec sheet? It seems like you either learn or build a mattress layer by layer, or else it’s a random crap shoot.

It’s hard enough knowing why latex is better, but with all the tricks like 1" layers of latex, etc. For a latex bed am I looking for the entire comfort layer made from latex?

I could tell you exactly what kind of mattress I want, maybe it would be easier to just have one custom build, is it possible in the $1000 range? I basically want a 3" comfort layer, preferrably latex, and a good firm independent coil system under. Why do they make 100 layers in these mattresses? Just to confuse people?

5

Hi chopsui,

What you need is the details of all the layers or components listed with the thickness of each layer, the type of material in each layer, and if it is polyfoam or memory foam the density or if it is latex then the type and blend of latex.
For an innerspring I would want to know the type of innerspring, the gauge of the wire, and the coil count although the details of an innerspring are less important than your own personal testing on the mattress because the support layers or components of a mattress are not usually the weak link of a mattress.

A good retailer or manufacturer will have the knowledge and experience to help educate you about what the specs mean and will be quite comfortable talking about them and helping you make meaningful comparisons but if they aren’t then of course you can post the details here and I’ll be happy to make comments about them.

This would be personal preference based on your body type and sleeping positions but the range is usually from 6" to 12" and the most common constructions are in the range of 8" - 9" of latex. The goal is that the thickness and design provides you with good PPP (Pressure relief, posture and alignment, and personal preferences) and if it does this then the thickness is “enough”.

I have no idea what he meant or the thickness or size of the all latex mattress he was referring to (both of which would affect the price). There is a link to the members here who sell online in the previous “read first” post I linked and they are useful as general pricing reference for various latex and latex/polyfoam hybrid mattresses. Again … you need the specifics of a mattress layer by layer to make meaningful quality/value comparisons with other mattresses.

I would start by reading the basic information and links in the “read first post” I linked earlier which will answer most of your questions and if you have more after that then of course feel free to post them here.

Phoenix