Recommendation Request - Stearns Alternative

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Greetings,

I am looking for recommendations for a medium to medium firm mattress in the New York City area with a showroom. I am mostly a side and back sleeper, 5’10" and 180 pounds, and will be sharing it with someone that is 5’4" and about 120 pounds. We both prefer hybrid or spring mattresses instead of pure foam or latex.

From reading this forum and Reddit, it seems that Stearns and Foster may not be the best value for my money but has been the most comfortable choice I have tried in a Mattress Firm and PC Richard.

Are there any other mattresses that you could possibly recommend? I am planning on visiting showrooms to try out the Saatva Classic, WinkBed, Helix Midnight, and Avocado Green. Are any of these highly recommended here? Are any of them red flags?

I understand that there are trusted retailers but I personally need to try a bed out in person for at least a few minutes to commit to such an investment.

I was even considering the Kirkland Stearns brand from Costco since it seems similar and half the price as the Rockwell: https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-by-stearns-%2526-foster-14.5"-lakeridge-mattress.product.100541532.html

I also plan on getting an adjustable base but I still need to do more research on what would be a good choice for that.

My price range is roughly under $2,500 and can qualify for first responder discounts if any are available.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

JJC

2

Hi JJCNYC, and welcome to The Mattress Underground,
Glad to have you here :slight_smile:

First off, thanks for providing your specifications and sleep position, this helps to provide you with the best answers; Is your partner a side/back sleeper as well? You can take a look at our article on sleeping style and personal statistics to get a better overview on why this is so important.

You might want to review an article we have here on quality mattress shopping , and Phoenix’s five steps to finding your perfect mattress article - although congratulations on knowing from the start that the best way to choose a new mattress is to test it in person. It is essential to test the mattress for your spinal alignment and comfort in your usual sleep position. Its’ great you live in NYC and have a large number of showrooms available to you for testing these mattresses for yourself and your partner

Consumers on TMU consider, especially side sleepers, that the Avocado Green has a comfort level of firm to very firm. As a side/back combination sleeper a medium-firm comfort level would probably suit you better.

The Helix mattress is good quality, and they use a questionnaire with their customers that takes information such as BMI, body measurements, and sleeping positions into account and use an algorithm to choose the both the order and the firmness of each of the comfort layers that are most suitable for each of their customers. The 3 comfort layers are on top of 4" of 1.8 lb polyfoam with two different firmness levels. They use good quality materials that would be suitable for most weight ranges in terms of durability.

The Winkbed is also a decent quality mattress, with high density polyfoam; they also use a pocket coil in their bottom layer which provides better contouring and motion isolation.

I took a look at the Kirkland Signature, and it seems similar to the Rockwell, as you say, but I cannot see any detailed specifications; you may want to check with their customer service to get layer and density details before you test it out

You also might want to take a look at Nest Bedding one of the Trusted members of our site; they have the Owl Hybrid which you may be interested in, with latex and foam layers and plush, medium and firm comfort options. They also have a showroom in NYC at 196 Bowery so you can stop in to test it out.

I hope this helps,

Basilio

3

Thank you very much for the feedback. The information is greatly appreciated. Other than an in-person physical exam, the specifications for a good bed seem to be quite technical!

My girlfriend has a similar sleeping position to myself.

Other than being probably overpriced, do you feel that the Rockwell’s quality is decent from the available information?

Also, any opinion on the Saatva Classic?

Thank you very much for your time.

4

In addition to the above, would you have any opinion on the Brooklyn Bedding Sedona model ad well?

5

Hi JJCNYC, glad you found useful information.

Yes, Mattress specifications can be extremely technical, which is why its’ important to have some basic mattress knowledge and determine what type of materials and mattress style you think you can do well with and are looking for beforehand, or it can be overwhelming.

One thing to keep in mind is that major consumer mattress brands like Stearns & Foster, and the retailers that focus on them are generally among the least transparent, and tend to use lower quality materials in their mattresses. Take a look at simple q&a in post #3 and some post #12 about Major Mattress Brands as well as more ‘buzz’ about marketing stories & major mattress brands

The 3 mattresses you listed – Stearns & Foster Rockwell, Saatva Classic and Brooklyn Bedding Sedona, are missing a complete list of materials used in these mattresses which makes me suspicious that there may be lower quality materials that would compromise the longevity of this this mattress regardless of the warranty offered. I wouldn’t personally buy anything unless I know what I sign up for. If you manage to find the mattress specifications you need to know especially density I’d be happy to make some comments.

Remember, the most valuable criteria are always how you and your partner feel and how long you will sleep well in this mattress. Its’ great you both have similar sleep positions, as this makes it easier to find a mattress which is comfortable for you both.

You might want to do a Forum Search to see what our members’ experiences have been with either of the specific mattresses you are considering.

I hope this helps,

Basilio

6

Thank you for your input.

I will be going to a few show rooms tomorrow and see if the ones you recommended end up being comfortable.

If so, I’ll use the density considerations as a major factor in my consideration.

7

After examining most of the mattresses in my list, including the Sedona, WinkBed, and Avocado Green, I believe the Nest Owl is my top choice so far.

It has a good combination of sink in/down while providing a nice feeling of support of the latex compared to the foam hybrids.

As you mentioned earlier, the Avocado was too firm for my tastes and felt that I was bouncing off the top. The Sedona had too much sink down to me while the Owl just had a better surface feel than the WinkBed to me.

Considering that Nest is also a trusted manufacturer here, I feel that I feel like it increases the chances of it being a successful long term purchase.

Let me know if there is anything additional to consider about the Nest Owl. I’ll do a search of the forum just to double check that there are no red flags as well.

8

Also, surprisingly, I felt that the Owl in plush felt better than Medium for me. The Sparrow Medium felt too soft while the Owl Medium felt a tad too firm.

Considering that we are mostly a side sleepers, with only occasionally back, I don’t think this should be an issue.

9

Hi JJCNYC,

[quote]Also, surprisingly, I felt that the Owl in plush felt better than Medium for me. The Sparrow Medium felt too soft while the Owl Medium felt a tad too firm.
Considering that we are mostly a side sleeper, with only occasionally back, I don’t think this should be an issue.[/quote]

Yes, local testing, as you did is the best way for ensuring best PPP (Posture and Alignment, Pressure Relief, and Personal Preferences). You’ve certainly selected a finalist that seems to have the best long-term chances of success so I would definitely go with your gut feeling on this. Bear in mind that the mattress will adjust to you and you to the mattress and may lose some of the firmness and/or crispness so if you find that the plush option would not be so suitable for you in a few weeks’ time after the adjustment period you can always exchange the layer for the medium version – The Nest Bedding Owl has a zippered top cover, allowing you to exchange the layer for the medium version; I checked their return policy, and they have a 365 night trial period, beginning with a 30 night mandatory Adjustment period. After your 30th consecutive evening with the mattress, you are welcome to either exchange, exchange/refund, or refund the item. As long as the item has been properly trialed, on an appropriate foundation, remained clean and you contact them after night thirty and prior to night 365, they can do an exchange or refund.

Let us know your experience with your new mattress once you’ve had some time with it.

Basilio