Like the title says we have had our mattress and box springs for fifteen years. No wonder we wake up aching. I started looking for a new mattress and wondered how long a mattress should last - found out we are long overdue!
I saw that a consumer magazine rated a Serta mattress and a Novaform (I think this is right) as top choices and good buys. We don’t have a Costco here in Longview, TX and I am not a member so I was looking at the mattresses at our Sam’s club. They did have the Serta and we were considering it. I did some more researching and I am glad I did. It led me to this web site and forum as well as some others and I am now about to buy the Aloe Alexis from Brooklyn Bedding.
I am also buying a new foundation, also discovered through here, from USA-Beds.com called the Glideaway. I will let you know how these work out.
An FYI for all those considering the Glideaway frame from USA-Beds.com. They do not offer any discount for being a member of this forum, at least for this product. I was told that at its pricepoint and the free shipping they do not do any more discounting. This also applies to a pre-labor day sale their site was mentioning. Still seems like a good deal. The other foundation I was looking at was on Amazon : Amazon.com.
The Glideaway costs a little more but has more longitudinal wires as well as the cross wires.
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! … and I’m glad you found us.
USA-Beds (Olejo) isn’t a member of this site so there would be no reason for them to offer a discount to the forum members here (although or course it never hurts to ask any retailer for a discount).
I would make sure you have read the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you know how to make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones (which would include all the mattresses you mentioned outside of the Aloe Alexis). As you probably know Brooklyn Bedding is a member of this site which means I think very highly of them and I believe that they compete well with the best in the country in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency.
You can also read more of my thoughts about Consumer Reports when it comes to mattresses in post #2 here and in this topic.
There is more about the different types of foundations and platforms that are suitable for different types of mattresses (including several types of the wire grid platform foundations you linked) in the foundation post here and the glideaway platform bedframe is one of the better versions of this type of foundation IMO.
I took the plunge yesterday and have ordered the Aloe Alexis from Brooklyn Bedding. After discussing my purchase with Mario I went with his recommendation of a level 5 mattress (3" 28 ILD latex over 3" 32 ILD latex over 7" 2.17 lb. HD Polyfoam). I received a good deal from Mario because of the upcoming Labor day specials as well as the two free pillows for liking the BB page on Facebook. I have not ordered our new foundation yet but I need to get that here in case the mattress arrives earlier than expected. I hope this will work for my wife and I - I am 6’ 290 lb. and she is 5’ 120 lb. I think this should feel great especially compared to what we are currently sleeping on; I just hope she doesn’t find it too firm.
You certainly made a great choice and if for some reason you need to make any adjustments to the firmness level you have some good options available as well.
I think you did well and I hope you have the chance to share your feedback once you’ve received it and had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
I decided to go with the Genius Hi-Rise wire frame foundation from Brooklyn Bedding. It should be here Saturday. The mattress arrived today via Fedex. The box was only 50" long so I was worried that I received the wrong bed (I ordered a queen 60" x 79") so where was the 60" width if the bed is rolled? I spoke with Mario at Brooklyn Bedding and he told me it was compressed and rolled, not folded, and should expand to the correct size. I will lay it out Saturday and watch it expand.
The Genius Hi-Rise foundation actually arrived on Friday, Sept. 5 so we set it up that night and proceeded to install the frame and unwrap the mattress. I will post my thoughts on each one separately in new posts so that other users will have an easier time recognizing a review posting. The new posts will also include updates as time passes. I also have some pictures to use once I figure out how to include them in the postings.
Just a quick review here: This is a level 5 (medium firm) Aloe Alexis from Brooklyn Bedding and it definitely “feels” firm. I had no shoulder or hip aches but my mid and upper back hurt every morning after the first four nights (woke up after about 5 hours) and I was just hoping it was an acclimation period. No back pain from the next two nights! Back pain, but to a lesser degree, back this morning. Again, I hope this is just an adjustment period. My wife has no aches but she is also getting used to the mattress and trying to find the right fit with a pillow. We both tried the free pillows which came with the mattress but gave up on them after a few nights.
I also have a question. I have read about rotating the mattress 180 degrees for the break in period. Should I do this after one week, then two, then a month, and eventually about once a year or should I wait and see if I get used to the mattress and the back pain stops?
There is some information in the help tab here that can help with attaching documents or images to a post.
Latex is a “different” material and has a different “feel” and properties from the types of foam that most people are used to sleeping on and it can take some time to get used to it for some people. It’s not uncommon at all that it feels firmer at first than other types of foam in a similar softness level because latex has a somewhat unique combination of softness and support compared to other types of foam. Post #2 here has some suggestions that may be helpful outside of just the normal adjustment and break in period for a new mattress. While I would normally wait for a minimum of a couple of weeks if possible before making any changes … if it still feels too firm for you then I would talk with Brooklyn Bedding about exchanging a layer for a softer version if you need to.
There is more about the normal rotation schedule I would use with any new mattress in post #2 here.
Thanks for all your help and all the good information available through this forum. I am confident I can eventually get my mattress situation squared away.
I did review the mattress rotation recommendations you pointed me to and we rotated our mattress 3 days ago. Unfortunately, the mid/upper back pain (seems to be muscular, not the spine) did not cease or abate. We had and old memory foam topper that was on our old bed setup (looks like a short 2") and I decided to experiment with this on our new mattress. This seemed to help quite a bit. The back pain did not appear this morning. Does this suggest I need a softer top layer on our mattress? Seems sad to have a cheap topper on our new mattress. I will keep it there for a couple of nights and then take it off and see what happens.
I wouldn’t have expected rotating the mattress to have any significant effect so this doesn’t surprise me. While the pain itself may come from the muscles … the most likely “cause” would generally be spinal alignment issues where the muscles are doing the “work” to keep you in alignment over the course of the night instead of the mattress.
While your body type would generally indicate the need for firmer layers (that will be softer for you because you will sink into them more than lighter body types) … I would also interpret your experience with the topper as “pointing to” softer layers as being the most likely possibility yes. I would give it a few days though so you can make sure your experience is more of a “pattern” than an anomaly. If you do decide to exchange a layer for a softer one (say 24 ILD) … then you will have 3 layers when the new layer arrives which would give you the chance to try several combinations (24 over 32 and 24 over 28 for example) before deciding on which one to send back.
I rotated the mattress yesterday and removed the 2" foam topper I was trying. Woke up after 6 hours sleep with the pain in my upper/middle back again - dang it! The question I have is on the latex sections themselves and if it would matter which side they were on (bottom to top, etc.). I included some pictures that show how the upper 28 ILD layer is oriented different than the bottom 32 ILD layer and also how the hole patterns are different on top and bottom. The written number on each section was upside down for the 28 and right side up for the 32 - I would not think this mattered except the holes are different on top and bottom of each layer.
This would seem to reinforce the thought that you need some additional thickness/softness.
With Talalay it doesn’t really matter which side is up or which holes are visible because the Talalay process has a more consistent firmness from top to bottom than the Dunlop process (see post #6 here). The top and bottom pincores in molded latex don’t go all the way through the whole 6" core that it is generally cut from so which holes are visible on the surface depends on which part of the original core the layer was cut from.
Small irregularities or discolorations are also “normal” with latex.
A few days ago I swapped the upper 28 ILD layer and the lower 32 ILD layer. I now have the firmer section above the softer section and I am trying this without the old 2" foam topper. I am still having the middle/upper back pain but not as severe as with the original configuration without the topper. I was thinking I needed to do an exchange and swap the 32 ILD layer for something softer but now I am more confused. It might be like you mentioned in a prior post and I need more thickness instead of softness. I will probably throw the old topper on there at some time and see how that works. My wife just thinks I am nuts.
Again, I hope this is just an adjustment period. My wife has no aches but she is also getting used to the mattress and trying to find the right fit with a pillow. We both tried the free pillows which came with the mattress but gave up on them after a few nights.
