Sealy Elation Updates Mid 2013 + Alternatives + Amazon Memory Foam Beds

Time for a new mattress… Holy mother of CONFUSION!

This site seems to be a wealth of good information, and has stopped me from buying two mattresses already. I’ve searched and read thread after thread, and I’m thinking some new info about the Sealy Elation material quality might be available by now. (Pls excuse any ipad grammatical nonsense)

Current situation: sleeping on an Original mattress factory coil spring, about 5 years old. Hate it, too firm, and I can start feeling the springs.

I’ve been to a few mattress stores and found the tempurpedic cloud luxe pretty comfy, but no one really knows what the hell they’re talking about, and in some cases have 19 year old kids on the sales floor with 2 months in the industry. I tried an icomfort, but after about 20 minutes and the foam compresses, i can feel pressure on the small of my back and lower spine…kinda like it bottoms out. The sealy elation is decent, and also an Ashley furniture store had their own “brand”… They had an uber soft memory foam that you sink in to enough to where I wouldn’t need a pillow. Loved this! BUT, I don’t know how good that would be for my spine over time. While it’d be great to lounge around in, supportive sleep might be another story. (I’m 6’, 210lbs, back and side sleeper)

That said, I’ve also found a registered company (to my surprise) on craigslist that is said to purchase truckloads of unsold mattresses from big box distribution centers, and have Sealy Elations for about 1k in the plastic. Sort of considering this, but don’t know if its still sketchy like most CL things. (I’m in Orlando, and went to look at a few “returns” “demos” “leftovers”…whatever the terms of the day is for craigslist, but it turns out to be some guy with a self storage unit selling used mattresses. Or, wait for it… “We buy them from staging companies and they’re just used in model homes. Then we steam clean them and rewrap them in plastic.” Every one of them has a different story, but similar, and uses deceptive postings to get you to show up… To a freaking storage facility nonetheless! )

The thought of spending over 2k on a bed that I’m not sure about, and don’t REALLY know the material contents of, truly turns me off. This lead me to reading tons of amazon reviews. They have several memory foam beds that have hundreds of reviews, but most end in being on the firmer side. I also don’t know how much faith I put in those reviews – I have friends in ecommerce, and one strategy I’ve seen them use is to buy reviews for a product line across the web to build it up to establish an initial customer base. Basically, fake it till you make it if you will

So, that brings me to this point. Does anyone have any experience with companies that buy leftovers (the Elations I mentioned), or is this another line of shit?

Are there any particular models on amazon that you’d recommend? There actually seems to be potentially good values there, but the choices and lack of concrete evidence make it overwhelming. Not to mention you’re buying it online and can’t try it out first. However, I’m still open to this.

Has Sealy released the material specs on the Optimum beds? Is it worth it? Most threads I dug up were from mid to late 2012. I also like the idea that they’re not compressed, which means hardly any smell and less off gassing.

I know this is pretty long and contains several questions. If anyone has any input, I’d really appreciate it! I’ve tried to make this as through as possible, which will hopefully help other searchers in the future.

Thanks,
Matt

Finding more answers deep in some threads… Keeping this all together.

Good Sealy Elation vs Ultimate Dreams Dream Foam breakdown - https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/ultimate-dreams-13-gel-memory-foam-mattress-first-impressions

Hi Mattt,

Post #1 here is the best place to start with any mattress research and has the information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices … and perhaps more importantly avoid the worst ones (which would include all the mattresses you have mentioned from Sealy, Serta, Tempurpedic, and Ashley)

Sealy doesn’t provide information about the quality of the material in their mattresses which is one of several reasons I would suggest avoiding them and the other major brands which also don’t disclose any meaningful information about their mattresses and in most cases also don’t have good value compared to many other choices that are available to you.

Sometimes some “alternative” sources can provide some information about these mattresses and in the case of the Optimum lineup you can find some information about the materials inside them in post #48 here.

To the best of my knowledge … the Elation has 2" of the 3.7 lb gel memory foam and 5" of the Optisense 4 lb memory foam under this and they use the higher quality Opticore Plus base layer.

This would be a soft mattress and with 7" of medium density memory foam would also be fairly risky in terms of alignment and durability.

Since a mattress is only as good as the quality of the materials inside it… I would focus my attention on manufacturers that are completely transparent where you don’t have to guess at the quality or value of the mattress you are buying and can make more informed decisions and meaningful quality and value comparisons.

As you discovered these are not “unsold” mattresses (there would be no reason at all for a big box store to sell them to another retailer if they were new) but various types of used mattresses that are probably either warranty or comfort returns that were previously purchased by someone else and then returned or exchanged for another mattress. If they were new then they would have a factory warranty and would not be sold “as is”. These types of retailers are very much “buyer beware”.

As you can see in mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here … I don’t recommend specific mattresses because there are too many variables and unknowns for anyone else to know which mattress design would be more suitable for you but the original “read first” post includes a link to some of the better online memory foam mattress retailers or manufacturers I’m aware of and one of these (Dreamfoam/Brooklyn Bedding) is a member here which sells a line of mattresses on Amazon that includes some memory foam models. Again though … the transparency of the manufacturer and their knowledge and experience along with their ability to help you make good choices in terms of which of which mattresses they sell may be most suitable for you is a key part of a successful purchase. I would tend to avoid retailers (either online or local) who are more interested in selling you whatever they can instead of helping to educate and inform you about their mattresses and the quality of the materials they use.

You can read my thoughts about mattress reviews in post #13 here and as you can see they will tell you very little about the quality, value, or the suitability of a mattress.

Once you get to step 3 in the guidelines that I linked … then the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Orlando area are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

Thank you Phoenix! All of that makes sense now after reviewing all of that.

It seems like I’ll get the highest quality product for the money by going with something online. Although this comes at a cost… The cost of not being able to try before I buy.

After checking out the threads you linked to, and I saw the ultimate dreams reviews, I went to a local mattress barn so I could lay on a few models again after being a bit more educated.

There were two that I really liked, the cloud tempurs and the optimum inspiration. I actually like the tempur cloud supreme a little bit more than the cloud luxe. Comparing the two, the inspiration is more comfy as soon as you hop in it, while the tempur cloud is a bit better but takes a few minutes to get there. The inspiration is also cooler… At least during the 20 minutes I was on it.

That said, the tempur is way outside of my price range at 4k and up. The optimums are on sale king for queen price, which brings the optimum to 1500 without the box spring.

Al that said,and preferences indicated, is there anything from Brooklyn bedding or amazon that I should take a closer look at?

Thanks so much for your help!

Hi Mattt,

I personally wouldn’t make the same generalization and it would depend entirely on which area of the country you live in and on the specific mattresses you are considering or are available to you. In some cases online may be worth the additional risk for some people and in some cases local value may be better. It would also depend a lot on your own personal value equation.

Regardless of which may be the case for you … I would always start off with local research and testing.

The Tempurpedic line can be useful for testing purposes because many manufacturers make mattresses that they make fairly specific comparisons in terms of similarity of feel or design or quality of materials (or in some cases all three) to the Tempurpedic lineup so your testing can provide a useful reference point. The Sealy Optimum is not popular enough for most manufacturers to use as a comparison so the value of testing these would be much more limited except as a way to make some very generic comparisons between memory foam and other materials or unless an online manufacturer has specific knowledge of how their mattresses compare to the Sealy Optimum lineup which would be much less common.

You can see more information about the Optimum lineup in post #48 here but they use memory foam in the 4 lb range (in the midrange of quality) and aren’t particularly good quality/value. In most cases the time you spend testing these is only useful if you intend to buy that specific mattress which I wouldn’t suggest.

It would certainly be worthwhile talking with Brooklyn Bedding or any of the other online memory foam manufacturers that are included in the list of better online memory foam manufacturers who in most cases can help you compare their mattresses to the Tempurpedic lineup in terms of “feel”, design, or quality (or all three in some cases) and in many cases use either gel memory foam (of similar or higher quality than the Optimum lineup) or more breathable “regular” memory foam which can also sleep cooler than memory foam that is less breathable.

Phoenix

Well, this has been a frustrating experience thus far. However, I think I learned my lesson: don’t buy anything online that you can’t lay on in a store first.

I’m on my 5th night of lower back pain sleeping on my Ultimate Dreams 13 from amazon. While it seems all well and good to do a bunch of research, find out what materials are used in construction, and compare the manufacturing quality, I think there is a flaw in this method of dissection and rating.

Construction aside, there is no substitute for try before you buy. Just because a certain set of manufacturing materials are indicated, really means nothing when you’re laying there at night tossing and turning. This thing is nothing like the tempurpedics I layed on in the store.

I’ll be giving this two more nights and if nothing changes, there’s no way I can keep this thing. How this mattress is recommended around here left and right and has so many good reviews on amazon, I have no idea.

Is this forum owned by Brooklyn bedding, dream foam bedding, or any related sister company? Are they partners here or something?

Hi Matt,

It’s unfortunate that you don’t appear to have read much of my replies to you or the links that they contain.

The goal of this site is to give people enough information that they can replace hindsight with foresight and better understand all the factors and tradeoffs that can go into buying a mattress and are the most important parts of your personal value equation.

Had you read most of the information you would also have realized that all online purchases have risk involved and that comfort and support can only be assessed on an individual basis based on experience. A mattress that is very similar to another for 9 out of 10 people may also feel different for the 10th because there are many objective, subjective, and intangible factors involved in how a mattress feels and performs for each person.

You would also have been in a better position to assess the risk and your own risk tolerance with any online purchase and could have made a choice where you had options for customizing the mattress after a purchase. These are all dealt with extensively in hundreds and perhaps thousand of posts on the site.

Finally you would also have realized that assessing the materials in a mattress are about value, quality, and durability and have nothing to do with the suitability of a mattress design because you can’t feel the quality of the materials when you lie on a mattress. Like you I believe that assessing the suitability of a mattress purchase based on the materials alone without taking the suitability of a design into account makes absolutely no sense and had you read the information I provided about this very topic (including in the “read first” post I link for everyone) you would have realized that I don’t recommend buying any mattress based on the quality or value of the materials alone.

There are many people who are very happy with their online choice and others that may not be. There are also many people who are happy with their local purchase and others that aren’t as well. Much of this depends on the quality of their local testing on the mattress they purchase or on a mattress that is similar to an online choice they are considering and on the options they have available after a purchase. All of this is dealt with extensively on the site. The showroom feel" of a mattress has very low odds of predicting how a mattress will feel and perform when you actually sleep on it and in most cases testing a mattress based on showroom feel alone has lower odds of success than random chance alone (see this study). This is why I provide guidelines for testing a mattress a little more carefully and objectively so that the odds of success are higher (although they will never be foolproof). There are always exceptions, risk, and tradeoffs with any purchase and helping people to evaluate these ahead of time rather than after the fact is one of the main goals of the site.

Had you read even a small portion of the site you would also realize that I believe that reviews are among the worst ways to choose a mattress (see post #13 here). You would also have realized that the site is not affiliated with any of the manufacturing members that are listed or any of the hundreds of retail stores or local manufacturers that are mentioned or listed in dozens of lists in the forum as better options or possibilities in almost every area of the US and Canada of which Dreamfoam is just one.

Perhaps the real lesson here is to do the research into all the many factors, tradeoffs, and risks involved in any mattress purchase (local or online) before you order a mattress rather than afterwards and to realize that quality, value, and suitability are all equally important parts of any mattress purchase decision and that any of them by themselves makes little sense.

Phoenix

You’re kidding me right?

I’ve spent so many hours on this site, it’s ridiculous. That’s the point, reading and research to no end will put you in a position like I’m in currently. Honestly, something is fishy here and I feel like I’ve been duped. Your condescending/defensive tone (how many times can you say “had you” done XX?) is not helping.

I think you should start recommending specific beds Phoenix. The information suggests without saying it anyway, so you may as well remove the final piece to the puzzle.

I will say, you are very good at being diplomatic about this entire industry. You never put yourself in a position of recommending anything specifically, and subsequently never have to defend any position, be it consumer or manufacturer side.

Hi Matt,

Sadly no … not at all.

You may have spent many hours reading but you clearly didn’t understand or apply a great deal of what you read which is truly unfortunate. My help is not designed to make you “feel better” in the face of your accusations or implications … it’s designed to help educate you and others that may read this thread.

I don’t suggest “research to no end” and as a matter of fact I discourage it. One of the comments you will have often seen me mention is to “connect with experts” so you don’t have to become one. Another is to use your own personal experience to replace “theory at a distance”. I provide people with tools and guidelines to make more informed choices based on factual information that can serve as a fact check and that helps them understand the risks, tradeoffs, and options that are connected to the choices that they have available. Each person is responsible for their own choices and the degree of risk they are willing to accept and what each person chooses to do with the information here is up to them.

Again … this suggests that you are having difficulty understanding what is written here or the concepts behind them (such as posts like this) because recommending specific mattresses would be a ridiculous idea when each person is unique. Nobody owns a magic crystal ball that can do this for someone else with any certainty. Nobody else can feel what your body feels on a mattress. Knowing how to choose and having access to factual information that can increase your odds of success is the only way to provide meaningful help to anyone that can increase the odds of success. Wanting others to make your choices for you is usually the first sign of someone who doesn’t want to take responsibility for their choices and would rather pass responsibility on to others. To suggest that anyone could spend the time involved in the more detailed personal conversations it would take with each and every person who visits this site to even begin to make specific recommendations out of the many thousands of mattresses that are available is a rather strange and absurd position to be taking to say the least.

I understand that you aren’t happy and in the middle of emotional reactions that seek to blame anyone that you can target for your choices and circumstances … but what you are suggesting makes no sense and would contradict the very reason for the site which is to educate not to recommend specifics for each person which isn’t possible. If you were to re-read the posts you claim to have read with a little more care and understanding you would realize this. Your comments indicate that common sense is not always “common” unfortunately.

If you really took the time to think this though more clearly you would understand how little sense it makes. Facts and accurate information don’t need defending … they just need to be made available so that you can have the knowledge and information you need to make informed choices and take responsibility for your decisions. Passing responsibility and blame on to others (whose intent is to help you to the best of their ability) when you make a choice that doesn’t work out for you makes little sense. I understand the concept of wanting all the benefits that go with a particular choice but each choice comes with risks and tradeoffs and the possibility of making mistakes no matter which direction you choose to go or how much others try to help you is always a possibility. It’s not much different from any other part of life itself.

Phoenix

Hehe, all I can do is chuckle Phoenix. This is absurd. (It feels like I’m playing tit for tat, and wasting my time even responding. But with 8k posts, you’re pretty invested in this, so I’ll give benefit of the doubt)

For some reason you think I’m attacking you and placing blame on you, your mattress forum, and reviews. I entered in my CC info to purchase, no one else. You have no idea how badly I want to report back here ecstatic about the great sleep I’ve been getting! It’s just not happening, was unexpected (given the user feedback), and I need a solution.

I’ve only been getting 4-5 hours of sleep for almost a week now, and wake up in pain. This has never happened to me before. I don’t understand how you can’t fathom that a person would be pretty irritated after reading tons of great reviews about a product, AND seeing it recommended all over this forum. It’s not that far off to speculate suspicion.

Indicating I have no common sense is a pretty asshole’ish thing to say. I don’t get why you’re so defensive and condescending.

Anyway, I don’t have time for anymore childish banter. I liked what I saw going on here, with people sharing useful info, and helping other people out with a difficult purchase. I’m just a person trying to get what he needs, that’s it.

That said, my complaint about not recommending specific beds, is aimed at most of the posts referenced here educate you, but there’s a slight cliffhanger at the end without body type recommendations etc. (I understand knowing the composition configurations like the back of your hand, it’s almost unconscious to get an idea of how something will feel. For the average consumer, this is unrealistic)

For instance, if you’re interested in the Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Mattress, and are 6’1, 215 lbs or heavier, you may want to consider something more firm. I love the plushness, but my experience after almost a week now has been that I weight too much for proper alignment. My hips sink too low when on my back, and I think it’s contributing to my lower back being strained during the night.

The complaints on amazon about it being too firm… To me, those people are living in a different stratosphere, smoking something inducing an alternate reality. (Although I’m feeling like sleep deprevation may produce a similar result lol. :wink:

There are a few things I never mentioned: I spoke to Chuck at Dreamfoam/Brooklyn Bedding before making my purchase. I asked a bunch of questions about different models, what to compare, etc… I then went back out to a few mattress stores and tried competing models thoroughly. While the UD13 is comparible to a tempur cloud luxe, there’s something different in the layering that stops the heavier portions of your body from sinking so low. I think if I could eliminate this in the ultimate dreams, I’d have a winner. I’m wondering if I should’ve grabbed the new UD supreme instead. I think at this point, I’d be skeptical about ordering another online mattress, especially one not fulfilled through amazon which I believe can’t be returned. (The 13 I bought was fulfilled by amazon, pretty sure the supreme is fulfilled by Dreamfoam which changes the 30 day return policy idiom not mistaken?)

Still two unknowns for me though:

  1. this is my first memory foam bed. I really don’t know if there could be some magical adjustment period, so I’m still giving it a go.

  2. break in. I don’t know how much the composition of this mattress will change, but I’d imagine it will only get softer. However, I suppose there could still be potential for things to fall in place.