Sherwood Harmony Gel

Hello,

I am in the market for a new mattress so just to get some ideas I went into the Sit n Sleep around the corner to check a few things out. Nothing really stood out to me except this Sherwood Harmony Gel mattress. It was very comfortable and is somewhat in my price range. The thing is, I really have zero, to limited knowledge on mattresses and when I went to look up this particular mattress, I couldn’t find a single review on it. Basically, I am just looking for help on whether or not you guys think this is a good mattress or not, or if you have any insight on the Sherwood brand in general. Thanks!

Hi dudeitsmattk,

The first place I would start your mattress research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you with how to make the best possible choices … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Post #13 here also has more about the most important parts of the value of a mattress purchase.

The most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is that it’s a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) because if you don’t sleep well on a mattress then no matter what it’s quality or price it would have little value to you. The tutorial has some suggestions about testing a mattress that can help you make the most suitable choice.

After PPP … the next most important part of the value of a purchase is knowing the quality of the materials inside the mattress. Since lower quality less durable materials can feel the same as higher quality and more durable materials … the only way to know if a mattress doesn’t have any “weak links” or to make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses is by knowing the type and quality of the materials inside it (see this article). If a retailer either can’t or won’t provide you with the information you need to know to make an informed choice … then I would pass them by (see the guidelines here).

I would also be very cautious about using mattress reviews (either good or bad) as a way to choose a mattress because other peoples’ experiences on a mattress can have very little to do with your own and a mattress that is a perfect “match” for someone else or even a large number of people may be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on. Mattress reviews will also tell you very little about the quality or durability of the materials inside it or the mattress as a whole. There is more about mattress reviews in post #13 here.

Once you reach step 3 in the tutorial … if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.

Phoenix

Phoenix,

Thank you for all the wonderful information you have presented. I have a lot of reading and research to do the next couple days. I suppose on a more basic level, have you (or anyone else) heard anything good, bad, or otherwise about the quality of this particular mattress? I plan on calling the manufacturer tomorrow to see if I can get more in depth specifications than the ones on their website. Or better yet, is there anything you see in these specs that is an automatic “red flag”. Anyway, thanks a ton, there is a lot more to this process than I could have imagined! By the way, I am in the Santa Clarita, CA (91387) area and I work in North Hollywood (91601).

Okay so I got a little more info. Using the diagram I posted earlier as reference, the top inch layer of poly memory foam is 4lb density and the next two inches are 5lb. Under that is 7inches of the soy based support foam. Also the foam is made in China but is CentriPur certified. It is priced at $699. Any thoughts? Any more info I should try and get? Thanks!

Hi dudeitsmattk,

[quote]have you (or anyone else) heard anything good, bad, or otherwise about the quality of this particular mattress?

Or better yet, is there anything you see in these specs that is an automatic “red flag”.[/quote]

The only way to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of a mattress (good or bad) is by knowing the specifics of the material inside it and unfortunately I don’t know the specs for this particular mattress.

You can see some of my thoughts about Sherwood Bedding in post #2 here and as you can see in post #2 here I would consider some of their mattresses but I would be cautious with others depending on the specifics of the materials inside them. A forum search on Sherwood (you can just click the link) will bring up more information and comments about them as well but I would be very cautious about buying any mattress where you don’t know the specifics of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer.

It may be a better idea for your retailer to call them because many wholesale manufacturers aren’t really set up to deal with customer enquiries and some will only provide this type of information to their retailers that sell them (and some won’t provide them at all even to their stores). You can see another example here of a customer that tried to contact Sherwood and they didn’t provide the information they wanted for “proprietary” reasons.

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in your area (subject to following all the steps in the tutorial post) would be listed in post #2 here for the Greater Los Angeles region or post #2 here for the Santa Barbara/Ventura area.

The link you posted in your last reply goes to a “404 page not found” error but I think this link may work. If the foams are coming from China I would read post #6 here because there would be a higher level of uncertainty about their quality/durability and I would also want to know the density of the base foam as well but the quality/density of the memory foam layers meet the guidelines here and they don’t have any obvious weak links.

Phoenix

Thank you so much for all this extremely valuable information! I went back to Sit n sleep today after work to lay on the mattress one more time and I loved it. Unfortunately I didn’t see your post til I got home. I’m going to call and ask tomorrow about the density of the 7" base foam and if it checks out, I think I’m going to go with this mattress. The salesman was very helpful. When I called about density he didn’t have the numbers so he called his Sherwood rep and called me back within an hour with the numbers I provided for you. Anyway, thanks again Phoenix. I’ll let you know what he says about the density of the support foam.

Hi dudeitsmattk,

You’re almost there … and your efforts will also be helpful for others that are considering the same mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Alright Phoenix,

Just got off the phone w/ Tommy over at Sit n Sleep and he called the Sherwood rep for me again. The density of the soy based support foam is 1.8lb, and he said it’s “furniture grade” which I am not sure what that means. So given all the specs, and a price point of $699 for a queen, what do ya think?

Matt

Hi dudeitsmattk,

“Furniture grade” is a generic and non specific term that means that the foam would be suitable for use in furniture cushions and would be relatively durable. It usually refers to polyfoam that is 1.8 lb density or higher. As you can see in the guidelines here … 1.8 lb polyfoam would be a good quality and durable choice in your budget range.

The “value” of a mattress purchase is relative to the other finalists you are comparing it to or what else is available to you either locally or online but there is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here.

In the absence of any other mattresses you are comparing it to though … if you are confident that the mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP and you are comfortable with the somewhat greater uncertainty that comes with Chinese materials then there are no obvious weak links in the mattress and if it is also a good match for all the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you (including the price and any options you have after a purchase) then I think it would make a good choice.

Phoenix

Thanks again for all your help, Phoenix! I’m going to buy the mattress today and have it delivered to my new house when I move in Saturday!

Hi dudeitsmattk,

That sounds good … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I’m looking forward to your feedback when you’ve had the chance to sleep on it!

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,

So it has been seven months since I purchased my Sherwood Harmony Gel mattress and I am coming to you for advice. First a little bit of backstory: I had my old mattress for about 10 years and it was starting to hurt my back, so I decided it was time to get a new one. I tested the Sherwood Harmony Gel Mattress, and between bouncing the specs off you, and laying on it multiple times, I decided it was the right fit. I knew out of the gate it would be a little firm and would need to be broken in, but seven months in, I am starting to feel I made a mistake. Every morning when I wake up, my back is sore, sore to the point where no matter how early it is, I can not fall back asleep. After about an hour of being awake and moving around, the pain goes away, but it is irritating nonetheless. Just to make sure it was the mattress and not my back, I slept in the guest room on our spring mattress for a week. I woke up pain free every morning. I am still in the process of paying this mattress off, and do not have the means to go and buy a new one. By the way, my girlfriend LOVES the mattress so I think it is a quality mattress, just not a great fit for me. My suspicion is it may be too firm. Is there anything I can do to my Sherwood (add some kind of topper) to remedy this problem? Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi dudeitsmattk,

At least it’s good to see that at least your girlfriend loves the mattress even if you aren’t doing as well with it as she is :unsure:

There is more information about the most common symptoms that people may experience on a mattress and the most likely reasons for them in post #4 here and the other posts it links to. While the most common reason for lower back issues is a mattress that is too soft … your mattress only includes 3" of memory foam (as far as I know because I don’t know the exact specs) which would generally be a firmer memory foam mattress and increase the likelihood that it’s too firm so it’s very possible that in your case the back issues could be coming from a mattress that is too firm.

There are also some suggestions in post #2 here that may be helpful (particularly if you are using a thicker mattress protector or mattress pad that may be affecting the ability of the memory foam in the mattress to contour to your body shape).

If your mattress is too soft it would be much more difficult to “fix” without removing and replacing the upper layers in the mattress which are too thick and/or soft (see post #2 here) but with a mattress that is too firm then adding a topper can certainly help provide the additional pressure relief and/or secondary support (the type of support that “fills in” the gaps in your sleeping profile) that you may need.

If you are confident that the mattress is too firm then post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to can help you use your sleeping experience on the mattress as a reference point and guideline for choosing the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the best chance of success. It also includes a link to a list of some of the better online sources for toppers that I’m aware of as well.

If you aren’t certain whether your mattress is too soft or too firm then I would make sure that any topper you purchase has a good return policy so you can try it on your mattress with little risk just in case it doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for because the only way to know with any certainty whether any mattress/topper combination will be a good match for you in terms of PPP will be based on your actual sleeping experience.

Phoenix

Thank you so much for your help, once again it is much appreciated! I have spent the last day and a half looking for a local place I can test out a latex topper (or at least be close enough to return if it doesn’t work out). All of the recommended places that were linked to me seem to have return policies which include paying for return shipping (on a package that size I’d assume shipping is quite expensive). I can’t afford to pay to have something shipped back that I will never use. Do yo know of any places in the Los Angeles area that would latex mattress toppers? If not, I may try memory foam because they are much easier to find. Thanks!

Hi dudeitsmattk,

Mattress toppers are most often considered to be a personal item and it’s common that there is no return policy at all. For those that do include a return/exchange policy then the cost of returns and exchanges would be built in to the price of the topper so the people who don’t return a topper would be paying for the ones that do. The topper guidelines include this link to a list of some of the suppliers with good return/exchange options. With toppers that can be returned by courier (which most of them can) the cost of return shipping isn’t significant (usually under $50).

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Los Angeles area are listed in post #2 here but I don’t have a list of which ones sell toppers or their return policies so you would need to check their websites or call them to find out which ones sell a topper that would interest you and the specifics of any return policy they may have.

Phoenix