Returning for Softness

Team,
Thanks for your help. We bought a king foam mattress and base (let’s say it rhymes with Dempursedic) some time ago from a big box retailer. We didn’t have it very long when we notice the mattress was softer where we slept than on the edges or in the middle. We did not know this was normal. Regardless of whether it’s normal or not, we both have back pain from the mattress. I have to sleep face-down with my legs crossed positioned across the gulley to minimize sinking into it. And we both wake up with back pain every morning. This company’s warranty will not allow a return unless there’s a visible depression. There is no visible depression but it’s clearly softer where we sleep and our bodies tilt awkwardly (and gradually painfully) throughout the night. If I can’t return this, I’m out several thousand to buy a new mattress.
Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

It is true that all foams will soften with use, especially when new. What you’re experiencing is quite normal, as the edges and the center of the mattress aren’t used as much and those areas are still “like new” as compared to the areas where you’ve concentrated your sleep activity.

As for a warranty claim, Tempurpedic allows up to .75" of visible body impression (when placed upon a proper foundation - make sure that yours is appropriate and properly supported) before considering there to be a defect in the foam. The softening in the area where the mattress is used is not generally considered a defect.

It sounds as if you sleep prone, and if that is the case generally something using visco-elastic foam can often allow too much sinking and could be contraindicated for such a posture, as generally something that offers a bit of a “harder” surface comfort would be preferred. Sleeping prone places your lumbar/lower thoracic region in a very weak posture, and accentuating the lordotic curvature of the low back by sinking in too deeply into the comfort materials of a mattress can result in waking up with a sore back, which you unfortunately seem to be experiencing.

I can’t offer you any sort of advice regarding your current mattress, as it seems that it isn’t defective, but in fact simply a comfort that isn’t appropriate for your sleeping style, level of flexibility, comfort preference, core strength, and so on. And comfort isn’t something that is considered a manufacturing defect.

If you are considering a new mattress, you may find this article interesting about different sleeping postures. Generally, a prone sleeping needs something that has a bit of a harder surface comfort with good deep support. There are many combinations of materials that can provide such a level of comfort and support, but you’d need to make sure that whatever you select uses food quality and durable materials, There are some really detailed guidelines for selecting a mattress in the shopping guidelines here on the forum.

I hope that helps you out.

Jeff Scheuer, The Beducator
Beducation / Mattress To Go

Jeff,
Thanks so much. Great information. I think I’m jammed on the money I put into my Tempurpedic but at least I’ll be able to buy a good mattress now.

Thanks.
-John

You’re welcome - good luck!

Jeff,
Thanks for your help on your reply above. Due to the discomfort the mattress is causing my wife and I, Tempurpedic is willing to replace the mattress. Given what I’ve described above, do you think if we go with a new version of their firmest mattress (Tempur-Contour Supreme) that it won’t also get too soft over time? We’ll need to sink some more money into the mattress as prices have risen and I’m not sure if I’m chasing something that will never work.

Again, thanks for your help.
-John

I wouldn’t be able to predict what might work best for you, and I generally don’t recommend memory foam mattresses for prone sleepers. But if this is your choice, then your best bet would usually be the firmest product offered, as all memory foam will soften as the viscous nature “activates” with increased body temperature (hits the “glass transition” temperature range) and as the foam generally softens over time. The Tempur-Contour Supreme would have an initial firmer feel.

Thanks for letting me know. Appreciate all of your help.

You’re most welcome.

I’m actually in the same boat and didn’t want to start a new topic, so I’m jumping in on this one.

We have received a warranty claim approval from Tempurpedic and are trying to decide between the Contour Supreme and the Flex Prima. The idea is that the Contour is the firmest on offer, but is still all memory foam and may cause similar problems to what we are having now with permanent depressions in the mattress. However, the Flex has the springs which may provide more stability in the long-term, but it’s not quite as comfortable and is definitely not as good at movement isolation. Also, the Flex is considerably cheaper, and of course, since we are not opting for the same soft saggy model we currently own, we are only offered what we originally paid (which was much, much less 8 years ago).

Any thoughts on or experience with permanent depressions in the Contour Supreme or the Flex Prima? We are both 200-250 lbs and side/prone hybrid (yeah, it’s weird) sleepers. This is probably our greatest concern as it’s what has caused us the most misery with our current mattress.

Hi jodiesattva.

Welcome to our forum. :slight_smile:

It looks like you are leaning towards the “better” of the two options that you have available, but for the wrong reasons. While Tempurpedic isn’t a brand that I recommend to members of the forum due to their overpriced nature, and as you need to choose between the two lines Tempur offers for your exchange, I suggest that you base your choice on your needs and preferences rather than the durability of the two different lines. Generally speaking, there is no point in having a mattress that will last you longer if you cannot sleep well on it. As you sleep prone, I would also avoid choosing something that has too much soft material in the uppermost layers. This being said, the Contour Supreme uses the following layers and components …

Comfort Layers
1" TEMPUR Comfort layer 5.3LB
2.4" TEMPUR Support layer 5.3LB

Support System
3" Polyfoam Base 2.0LB
5.1" Polyfoam Base 2.0LB

These are all high-quality materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links in this mattress that would compromise the durability of the mattress, and being firmer would probably the best for someone seeping prone. You can read some of the past comments on the Contour Supreme here

The Flex Prima is in a different category from most of the other Tempurpedic mattresses because it’s a pocket coil/memory foam/polyfoam hybrid which uses memory foam and polyfoam in the comfort and transition layers on top of a pocket coil support core. This would have a different and more responsive and resilient “feel” compared to most of their mattresses that use a polyfoam support core with memory foam comfort and transition layers.

Tempurpedic doesn’t disclose the quality/density of the memory foam and polyfoam comfort and transition layers in this mattress but there are several inches of lower density polyfoam under the memory foam (probably 1.6 lb density) which would be a lower density and less durable material than I would normally like to see in a one sided mattress (see the quality/durability guidelines here) and I would normally avoid any mattress that has more than “about an inch or so” of lower quality or “unknown” materials in the upper layers of the mattress because it could reduce and/or compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

There is more information about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase (or in your case a warranty replacement) in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or any exchange/return options that are available to you).

The first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than 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).

While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else in terms of firmness, “comfort”, or PPP because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP (which is all about how well you will sleep on a mattress) the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is it’s durability and in terms of durability a mattress is only as good as its construction and the type, quality, and durability of the materials inside it (which is all about how long you will sleep well) regardless of the name of the manufacturer or the name of the mattress on the label.

Hope this helps

Phoenix

Phoenix, thank you so much for your reply and welcome!

Yes, if we did not already have the Tempurpedic and the warranty claim, we would certainly not be getting another one, hence why we are so stuck on which direction to go with the new choice. Both are comfortable to us now, but it’s so hard to say which is going to provide the best long-term comfort.

I read the buying guide and various other posts in here when I joined. I’m just so wary of making another wrong choice because of this brand being notoriously overpriced for what you get - and it’s a $600 difference between the two models. We would pay $300 extra for a Flex and have the stability of springs and could buy a topper for fairly cheap if required.

But I did find out that if we spend any money we will get another 10 year warranty. The problem is if the pure memory foam mattress, the Contour, develops a depression that isn’t 0.75 inches or more then the warranty doesn’t activate. I can’t spend $900 to risk a half inch depression in the mattress that my husband will complain about incessantly - this affects his sleep severely. That’s why I was asking if the firmer models have a history with that at our weights - I’m 200, he’s 230.

Hi jodiesattva.

Many manufacturers make a wide range of mattresses that can vary from lower quality and less durable materials to higher quality and more durable materials in a wide range of prices. In the case of Flex while the price may be lower compared to their usual selling price, I’d still advise caution when you’re purchasing something without knowing the makeup of the materials within the mattress, The price point would obviously be another part of your personal value equation. While durability may be for a shorter time, you’ll still want to make sure that whatever you choose uses good quality and durable materials as you’ll want as consistent of a comfort life during the time you’ll be using the mattress, and there are many lower-quality materials that can initially feel good but only have a comfort life of just a few years. If you are able to find out the specs in the mattress then the guidelines I would suggest to make sure there are no lower quality materials or “weak links” in a mattress you are considering are in this article and there is more detailed information yet about the many factors that can affect durability and the useful life of a mattress relative to different people in post #4 here and the posts it links to.

All things being equal outside of whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP … a mattress is only as good as the quality of the materials inside. As you established that both mattresses feel comfortable to you, I would choose based on durability (useful life) criteria. At a glance…on the one hand, Contour has high-quality materials with no known weak links …. on the other hand Flex is less expensive but of unknown materials… additionally, from your description, you seem to indicate that you are valuing the “stability” of the Flex mattress. While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either of the mattresses because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that everyone has a different personal value equation with different priorities and what is important to them, may not be important to others and that there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences for anyone else to make the appropriate choice. With this in mind, I suggest that you revisit and reassess what is important to you based on your personal value equation.

You would need to make sure that each of the mattresses meets the minimum quality/durability guidelines relative to your BMI. Your BMI is based on your height and weight. You can use one of many online BMI calculators such as here) to find it. Then, you’d just want to be sure that the memory foam was a higher density of 5lb/ft[sup]3[/sup] or more (which in the case of Contour is), and that the memory foam layers are not too thick and that the support structure and other foams were appropriate for higher BMI individuals.(Which in the case of the Contour the 2" lb/ft[sup]3[/sup] the polyfoam in the support base would also be a good and durable),…either way the Contour would have good and durable materials for your weight range.

I hope this brings some clarity and I’d be interested to learn of your eventual decision.

Phoenix

Thanks again for your reply. I re-read your original response and did a lot more research. I also talked to my husband more about our preferences as well as called Tempurpedic customer service a few more times to get specifics on financing, warranty, etc. We have already made a decision…

It came down to comfort and quality. We simply could not deny the primal feeling of comfort offered by the Contour. Additionally, evidence for the quality of the Contour over the Flex was insurmountable. I haven’t used a BMI calculator since the 90s but we are both fairly tall, so I think that our weight distribution should be reasonable on such a firm mattress. And so, even though the cost is higher, we felt that we would receive much greater value from the Contour.

I was having trouble wrapping my mind around paying for a mattress that cost the same as the model they were offering us a free replacement. But a warranty is a warranty and we will be much happier with this model. Throughout my calls to Tempurpedic, I found out that we could finance the “upgrade,” which helped justify the $900 additional cost. We also decided to purchase a foundation in the hopes that it will prolong the life of the mattress, as that was such a major concern. And do you know what? They offered that to us at no cost. I cannot wait to get my new bed.

Hi jodiesattva.

Thanks for taking the time to share your decision and updates.

But above all congratulations on your new mattress and a new foundation. :slight_smile: You certainly made a better quality choice and made the best of your warranty claim in the process. I am glad that they were so responsive and worked with you.

I look forward to any other updated you might have

Phoenix