I have read all the overviews as well as advice from other sites such as Old Mattress Man. I returned a Sleep Number iLE mattress so I have been burned by thinking the mattress felt good in the showroom but was TERRIBLE at home. I have chronic upper back and neck pain that I feel is caused by my mattress. (I had no pain when I was in Rome and the best mattress I have ever slept on was in a hotel there) I am planning to go to Atlanta ,Ga to shop for a mattress and have called several stores that were mentioned in one of your post. I am leaning towards Elements of Rest since I think I want a pocket coil/ latex combo. I am concerned that an all latex mattress would be too warm especially for my husband. I spoke with Tucker Mattress Company and was told they could make the comfort layer different for me and my husband ( his body index is 30 and mine is 18.5 so he likes a much firmer mattress than I do). Both men at each store were very helpful and did not mind my numerous questions .Any feedback would be appreciated!!!
Hi ALGlover,
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful, I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
You can see my comments about the Old Bed Guy and his website (and some of the very strange comments he makes) in this topic… There is “some” good information on his site and a lot of information that is questionable at best and misleading, inaccurate, or deceptive at worst.
While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
Latex in general is the most breathable and “temperature neutral” of all the foam materials (polyfoam, memory foam, and latex foam) so it would be very unusual for someone to sleep hot on a mattress that has latex comfort layers.
My comments in post #2 here and the rest of the topic may be helpful. A specific term site search on “elements of rest” and a forum search on “elementsofrest” (you can just click the links) will also bring up all the forum posts that mention them.
A forum search on “Tucker” (again you can just click the link) will also bring up all the forum posts that mention them as well.
You’ve probably read this in the tutorial but just in case you haven’t … there is more about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress (or sleeping system) purchase 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 if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
While nobody can speak to how any specific mattress or sleeping system will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress … outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) which is the most important part of “value”, the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of all the materials and components inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new).
If you can provide the information listed here about any mattress you are considering I’d certainly be happy to let you know if there are any lower quality materials or “weak links” that would be a reason for concern in terms of the durability and useful life of the mattress.
I or some of the more knowledgeable members of the site can help you to narrow down your options, help you focus on better quality/value choices that are available to you either locally or online, help you identify any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress, act as a fact check, answer many of the specific questions you may have along the way that don’t involve what you will “feel” on a mattress, and help with “how” to choose but only you can decide which specific mattress, manufacturer, or combination of materials is “best for you” regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or whether anyone else (including me) would have the same criteria or circumstances or would make the same choice.
Phoenix
I’ll comment since I’ve been happily sleeping on a Rest Revolution M8 from Elements of Rest since last fall. I tried a Leesa and a Brooklyn Bedding BME before I decided to order the M8. I’d had a Sleep Number bed for many years that had died and badly needed replacing and we had liked the ability to change the firmness so I was attracted to the idea that you can change the comfort of the M8. We have tried various configurations and after quite a bit of trial and error, are now both sleeping very well. I will say that they changed the mattress right after I bought mine. What is now 3" of memory foam used to be 2" of memory foam backed with 1" of polyfoam and what is now 3" of latex used to be 2" of firm soy foam backed with 1" of medium polyfoam. The layers I got allowed me to flip them over and get 4 distinctly different feels and that’s now reduced to 2 BUT the bed now comes with both zip off covers instead of the one I had to choose (I chose the stretch knit top.) I did order a replacement latex layer after a couple of months because I felt like the soy foam wasn’t quite firm enough and before that, I actually ordered a very firm polyfoam replacement from an online foam source because my husband liked the give of the standard springs but wanted a really firm foam on top of them. Some people would say that indicates that the bed was never right for us but I disagree, I think the bed allows us to fine tune to our exact specifications. I love the firm edge support, I like the springs instead of all foam construction, and I like that I can choose my comfort layer and then flip it, rotate it, and replace it whenever I want to. I also like that I can machine wash the stretch knit cover. I’m very happy with my choice and anticipate that it will serve us well for many years. I expect that we’ll replace the foam at some point and maybe even the zippered top but that’s better than chucking an entire king size mattress in my opinion. When I ordered it, I expected that I would like the extra firm springs with softer foam on top and instead both my husband and I are sleeping on the standard springs with quite firm foam. We both have softer foam under our heads and shoulders, another thing that’s impossible in most other beds. You can essentially create your own zoning. It took us a while to figure out our configurations but I’m glad we figured it out and I would never have discovered that with a bed that didn’t allow customization. I used to think that not feeling pressure points on the hips and shoulders was a fantasy but now I believe it because I do not feel that on this bed. It’s been great for us and they are very helpful and patient with questions there. Nice people and a uniquely designed bed.
Thank you for your reply. It was very helpful to hear how you were able to really specialize the mattress to meet your needs . Since my husband and I differ in what we find comfortable in a mattress, I think we will need to be able to do what you have done. This forum is very helpful.
Hi ALGlover,
There is more information in the first part of post #2 here about some of the different ways that can be used to accommodate a couple that have very different body types or different needs and preferences in a mattress and there is also more information about the pros and cons of split firmness mattresses in post #2 here that may be helpful.
Phoenix