Hi Phoenix,
I have been reading your comments and appreciate all the info but my head is swimming right now with too much overload. I need to order a mattress pronto as I am moving from Milwaukee, WI to Ft. Myers, FL next week. I would like to have my mattress waiting for me there. I really need someone to TELL me what to order. I have decided to take the plunge and order a Saatva mattress hoping that most “the best” comments are real.
I have been sleeping on a mattress and box spring that is on the floor. I like the height of about 21" and I have a mattress topper. I have a king size backboard that I would again like to use.(not using now). My questions are which size Saatva mattress and foundation combination I should order as well as what firmness I should order. I sleep on all sides and like a medium firmness. I don’t want to sink into bed and I don’t want mattress to sag in the long run, but I do not want it to be TOO firm. I have some lower back degenerative disease. My Hon likes a little softer mattress than me, but it is my choice this time. We have liked the feel of the Westin Heavenly Sleeper as well as Wilderness Dreams mattresses. I have tried Stearns & Foster “Rita” innerspring and like the way it feels. Also a Beautyrest “?”. After reading reviews, I have decided to steer clear of these name brands.
I will order a 7" king bedframe along with the mattress set.
Hi rallen,
It may be a little late to do any research if you’ve already purchased a mattress.
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 other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would also be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) 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 any 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) and reviews in general certainly won’t tell you much if anything about the quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
I or some of the more knowledgeable members of the site can certainly 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 relative to your weight that you may be considering, 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.
In other words there is no such thing as the “best mattress” in general terms … there is only a mattress that is “best for you” (regardless of whether the same mattress would be “best” for anyone else). The “bottom line” is that the only way to know whether any mattress is a good match (or at least a “good enough” match) for you in terms of PPP or how it compares to another mattress for you (regardless of whether someone else would have a different opinion about how two mattresses compare) will be based on your own personal comparisons and/or experience.
Unfortunately nobody has a crystal ball that can predict which specific mattress or combination of materials you will like best or that you will sleep best on with any certainty based on specs or “theory at a distance” and I would be very skeptical of anyone who claims that they do. It just doesn’t exist.
You can see some comments about what I call “simplified choice mattresses” in general in post #1 here and you can see some more specific comments about Saatva (and some of the other “simplified choice” online mattresses) in post #2 here. As you can see I would be somewhat cautious here about the quality and durability of the materials that they use. A forum search on Saatva (you can just click the link) will also bring up much more information and feedback about them as well. Outside of the risks involved in buying a mattress based on other people’s experiences … I would also be very cautious about buying any mattress based on “marketing information” that is on a website.
If you would like to do more meaningful research into a new mattress then the first place I would start is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, can guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase 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 all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
If you are looking at online options then the tutorial also includes several links to lists of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include many different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of budgets that would be well worth considering.
If you are also interested in local options then the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Milwaukee area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelilnes I linked earlier in this reply) are listed in post #2 here. There is also a forum list for the Port Charlotte, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, FL areas in post #2 here as well.
Phoenix