"Major" Brands Sealy Optimum?

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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130

Hello,

I’ve looked around and don’t seem to be near any smaller mattress manufacturer. Plus I have an exchange privilege with my local Sleep Country on a mattress I just bought but is not comfortable enough.

I am considering the Sealy Optimum Aster here in Canada which has 1 or 2 inches of Opticool gel memory foam on top with 3 inches of high density memory foam under that. The core support has 2 layers of unidentified foam. The specification chart says things like “high density foam to minimize body impressions and optimize durability” etc.

Here are some specs as provided by Sealy:

Sealy®’s High Density Foams range from 1.35lb to 1.8lb delivering a higher standard of comfort, minimizing body impressions, ensuring a longer comfort life.
•The CoreSupport Center is a center-third lumbar support layer that sits directly underneath the high density foam layer for optimum support where you need it most.
•Beneath the CoreSupport Center is our patented OptiCore™ Plus, a firmer section at the bottom of the mattress, which provides a deeper level of support as well as a reinforced PostureLok Edge for a solid seating surface.

QUESTION: Are the definitions of high quality memory foam different in Canada than the US?

Because according to this website 1.5 lb memory foam is cheap and not suitable for a mattress.

QUESTION: If that is the case, then their 1.35lb to 1.8lb densities fall in this range, don’t they?

QUESTION: Since the last posts on this forum about the Optimum, does anyone have any recent info on the quality of materials used?

Here are a few more questions:

I recently bought at Kingsdown Landmark pocket coil bed. Every store I talk to say Kingsdown is a high quality manufacturer. Is this true? (My chiropractor has a 10 year old Kingsdown and is still happy with it.)

The problem with the Kingsdown is that I chose a model that has great support but not enough comfort layers to hug my body. So I can exchange it for an Optimum instead, which is the closest to my desired comfort and support and only $1100 versus other coil mattresses which are over $2000.

I see an interesting suggestion on here which has me thinking of using a mattress topper on the Kingsdown instead of taking a risk on the unknown and possibly low quality Optimum. Which mattress toppers are normally the highest recommended?

thank you!

Robert

131

Hi gentilr,

The only way to know the quality and value of a mattress is to know the details of all the materials that are inside it. this is the only way to make meaningful assessments or comparisons between different mattresses. Unfortunately most of the larger manfacturers refuse to provide this information to consumers and use “marketing information” to replace “quality information” instead.

This is a good example of what I mean. While this is more than most people would normally be able to find out, it is meaninless information because it is too generic and there is a substantial difference between 1.35 lb polyfoam (low quality) and 1.85 lb polyfoam (in the lower end of the higher quality polyfoam range). The layer thicknesses of each and how they are layered would make a substantial difference in the durability of the mattress but in most cases you won’t be able to find out the specifics and without this there is no way to identify any weak links in a mattress.

Providing a range like this is like saying “there is some good foam in the mattress and some foam that is not so good but we’re not going to tell you how much of any of it or how it is put together”. The weak link of most mattresses is the upper layers which are the most subject to mechanical forces that cause the upper layers to break down or soften faster than the deeper layers which are less subject to mechanical forces.

No … you can make the same comparisons with memory foam (or other types of foam) no matter where in the world it is made. the “definition” of high quality though will depend on who is selling the foam and what they would like you to believe. The polymer density of memory foam or polyfoam (before any filler is added) is the single biggest factor in their relative durability. You can read more about some of the many factors involved in the durability of a mattress in post #4 here and the other posts it links to.

Memory foam and polyfoam come in different density ranges and they are not comparable to each other. memory foam comes in densities ranging from about 1.5 lbs to about 8 lbs and I would be very cautious about using memory foam in density ranges under 4 lbs in layers more than about an inch thick. Poly foam comes in density ranges from under 1 lb to over 3 lbs and I would be very cautious about using densities under about 1.8 lbs (depending on the design and construction of the mattress and its budget range) in layers under about an inch thick as well. The mattresses section of the site has more information about materials used in the comfort layers section and the support cores section.

The information is still current as far as I’m aware but of course this type of information that comes from “alternative” sources and takes a great deal of research or some inside information (because they don’t disclose it even to their retailers) is not a substitute for information from the manufacturer themselves which they just don’t provide. This is part of the reason I wouldn’t consider them in the first place unless someone is comfortable making a blind purchase where there is no way to know the quality or value of what you are buying.

You certainly won’t find agreement from “everyone” … just the people that sell it who particularly like the margins that they provide. Anyone who tries to tell you that a mattress is high quality and can’t validate by providing you with information that validates it is just “selling you” rather than “educating you” and in effect you are just buying a story forthe sake of their profit. If they don’t know what is in the mattresses they are selling (which they won’t) then “quality” or “value” is just a meaningless word that they are hoping someone will believe “just because they said so”.

This can be a good idea when you have few other choices but it is important t make sure that there is as little as possible low quality foam in the upper layers of the mattress that you would be using the topper on. Post #2 here has more information and suggestions to other forum members that were in a similar difficult situation and somewhat “between a rock and a hard place” because they had to exchange a mattress for another one and there were no good quality/value options available to them.

Don’t forget that you can’t “feel” the quality of foam in a showroom and both high and low quality materials can feel similar of the same in a showroom but quality/density does determine how long a material will continue to feel and perform closer to how it was when it was new and how quickly it will soften and break down.

If you do decide to exchange for a firm mattress with minimal questionable materials in the upper layers … then post #2 here and the posts it links to can help you make the most suitable and least risky choice.

Phoenix

132

Just to let you know, we went with the 100% latex mattress at Michael’s Furniture in Brookfield. It’s been about 3 weeks now and we are very happy with it. They were good to deal with. Knew what they were talking about and were not pushy.

133

Hi DAK,

Thanks for the feedback!

I think you made a good choice and when I talked with Mike there (the owner) some time ago I was certainly impressed with their knowledge and transparency and the quality and value of their mattresses. Your mattress also has the “value bonus” of being two sided.

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix

134

Hello…
Your help, responses are great and im hoping you can help me out as well/
I wanted to ask you what , how you felt about costcos sleep science 10 memory foam mattress. It currently sells for $749- cal king
I had previously purchased a novaform GEL memory foam mattress from them and it didnt hold up. Started to sag within months and it was to soft to begin with… I was at local outlet mattress store today and i laid on the seally optimum destiny. Felt good, firm but as noted in others posts cant find much info , specs… I have been sleeping on my futon for over a month because i dont want to make the wrong choice again, and for it my back is killing me:(

I do love costcos return policy but am not afraid to look elsewhere…
I live in San Luis Obispo Ca

Any advice would be greatly appreciated…

Thomas

135

Hi thomas2929,

You can read a little more of my thoughts about buying from Costco in post #4 here and more about sleep Science in post #2 here.

A mattress is only as good as the quality of its construction and materials and they don’t list the quality of the memory foam or the polyfoam layers. Without this there is no way to make a meaningful assessment of a mattress. If you look at the old Southbay site here though you will see that the Emma uses 3" of 3 lb memory foam and 2" of 1.5 lb polyfoam underneath that which would both be too low quality/density for me to consider. They are also not CertiPur certified which is one of the criteria I use for all Chinese memory foam mattresses so they don’t meet the guidelines I use in terms of CertiPur and foam quality so I would tend to avoid them.

Some of the better options I’m aware of in the San Luis Obispo area are listed in post #2 here and some of the better online memory foam options I know of are listed in post #12 here.

Just in case you haven’t read it … post #1 here is always the best place to start your mattress research.

Phoenix

136

Hi Phoenix, Thanks for all the information you provide to help us become better informed consumers. I also had zeroed in on the Sealy Optimum Destiny, but have become very reluctant after reading your posts. I have a herniated L5-S1 disc, and have been having so much low back pain that I can’t stay in the bed more than 6 hours. I found that while on vacation, sleeping on a “not so great” innerspring mattress, I was able to sleep 8 hours and wake up with no stiffness or discomfort. That trip confirmed my suspicion that my mattress (11 year old Sealy Reflexion latex) was exacerbating my back pain. I need a thin mattress (not more than 10 inches) that offers good firm support, but is comfortable for side sleeping. Do you know of any maufacturers that still make high quality thin innerspring mattresses? The one I bought 30 years ago was great, and lasted almost 20 years. I would love to find something like that again, but they are all too thick for my high bed. I live in Southeastern NC.
Thanks!

137

Hi SENCMom,

The first place I would start in case you haven’t read it already is post #1 here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible and most informed choices.

Hopefully you will be able to find a mattress that has the same quality of materials as your old mattress although in most cases the only foam material that is more commonly available that will last this long (at least for most people) is firmer latex.

I’m not sure where in SE North Carolina you are but there is a list centered on Fayetteville in post #155 here, centered on the Wilmington / Jacksonville area in post # 5 here, and centered on Morehead City, NC in post #5 here.

Phoenix

138

Phoenix,
Roy here, looked at several mattresses in Mobile,Al. area. Like the Jamison TLC collection ’ Lady Lark ( 2" soft talalay, 2" more talalay, 6" firm talalay, 2" supportive base form) and also in same collection ’ Gold leaf ( 2" soft talalay, 2" more soft talalay, 7" Ultra-Premium High Density, Famous Hotel Foam Core). What’s your opinion on these. I can get the Lady lark for $1,999.00 vs $1,550.00. You think it’s worth the extra 450 dollars for the Lady Lark when comparing materials on both? Appreciate your input. Roy

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Hi rgd53,

From a quality point of view both of these use good quality materials and there are no “weak links” in either of them.

From a “value” point of view … most mattresses made by the same manufacturer and sold at the same retailer would have similar value across the lineup based on the cost of the materials and components. The main difference is in the support layer where one uses mostly latex which is a more costly material and the other uses polyfoam.

You can read a little more about some of the differences between an all latex mattress (and I would put the Lady Lark in this category in spite of the 2" polyfoam layer on the bottom) and a latex/polyfoam hybrid (such as the Gold Leaf) in post #2 here.

The Lady Lark would certainly be “worth it” based on the quality and cost of the materials themselves (latex is a higher quality material even than good quality polyfoam) but whether it is worth it to you personally would depend on your own personal testing and on any differences that you feel between them and whether you preferred one mattress over another in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). Each person’s perceptions, preferences, and Personal value equation may be very different from the next and the criteria and tradeoffs that are most important for each person can vary widely.

Phoenix

PS: You had a duplicate post so I switched them both to the same thread.

140

Hi Phoenix,

I am looking for a new mattress and have to say the process has been overwhelming. I was going to go with a “name brand” until i came across your site. I live on Long Island, NY. Can you recommend any places where I can get a quality mattress that I will have for a long time. I have been looking at the memory foam mattresses, mainly the Sealy Optimum line. Looking for something med firm to firm. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thank you
craig

141

Hi craigb75,

Hopefully you’ve already read it but in case you haven’t then post #1 here has the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice.

The better options I’m aware of in the Long Island area are listed in post #4 here.

Phoenix

142

I went to www.xtrememattress.com/ and seemed to like a mattress there. It was a king sized mattress that the guy claimed was a latex core with 3" of natural plush latex on top. The bed was called tranquility and seemed cheap at $1399. He claimed that the bed was made by the Amish. Have you heard of these amish beds? If so how is the quality. Seems that’s there’s no real way of telling whats in the bed except taking the guys word for it…

143

Hi Vik,

You can see some of my comments about Extreme Mattress and some comments about Dutch Craft (which is an Amish manufacturer that they carry) in post #4 here and in post #29 here.

There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here.

Outside of careful testing for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post … the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is knowing the type and quality of all the materials and layers inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label.

If you can provide the specifics of the mattress you are considering (see this article) and post them on the forum I’d be happy to make some comments about the materials or let you know if I can see any potential weak links in the mattress.

Phoenix

144

Ok thanks for the help. It seems that Dutch Craft has gotten some decent reviews.

I called dutch craft and they said the particular bed i was looking at was 88% polyurethane foam pad and 12% blended polyester fiber batting (poly fiber 56% rayon 44%) latex foam. She then verbally said it was two inches of talalay latex and that to her knowledge they don’t use any dunlop.

Opinions?

this is the 4922 - Romance - tranquility plush

145

Hi Vik,

Unfortunately the specs you listed are incomplete and aren’t specific enough for me to make any meaningful comments about the mattress.

If you can provide the information listed here and post it on the forum I’d be happy to make some comments about the quality of the materials or let you know if I can see any obvious weak links in the mattress…

Phoenix

146

I really like what I’m reading about latex at Brooklyn Bedding. Is there a comparable mattress co. That sells latex mattresses that I could lay on to try the feels of it? Is it similar to foam?

147

Hi Giddy,

While there probably wouldn’t be a mattress that feels the same because the designs would be different, there are usually some local retailers or manufacturers that carry latex or latex hybrids that would give you the chance to test different types and firmness levels of latex so you could get a sense of what it feels like in general.

If you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about any of the local options or possibilities I’m aware of.

Phoenix

148

We are in the 30824 area. We have some tight time constraints in getting a new mattress so I will have to shop locally.
Thanks for all your suggestions!

149

Hi Giddy,

When I posted my last reply I didn’t notice that you had already asked and I had already provided you with a link to the better options or possibilities I’m aware of that are close to you in my earlier reply here :).

Phoenix