I have been stalking the site for a couple weeks now and I’ve gotten myself to the point where I’m totally overwhelmed and too far down the rabbit hole to see out. DH and I have been researching mattresses for a couple months, and started looking at Casper, moved to Brooklyn Bedding, and went to Urban Mattress yesterday. We have a sherwood mattress we bought for our daughter from there so we knew what to expect.
Well, we bought into the pitch and purchased a Sherwood Encore Patriarch king bed set for $1999 yesterday after trying out multiple beds and I’m having second thoughts. It felt great, but I’m wondering what folks here can tell me about it? Sherwood doesn’t really have any internet presence.
Also, I’m interested “safety” and avoiding chemicals if possible, DH is not worried about that at all. I know PPP will vary drastically by person, so what you can tell me about the sherwood’s “HD soy-based foam” (which I know is just marketing - it’s still mostly petrochemicals) v. say, casper’s “synthetic dunlop latex” (also petrochemicals, I think?) in terms of chemical exposure. My sense is that it’s going to be very similar, and it’s impossible to avoid petrochemicals unless you find a 100% natural latex mattress or natural fiber bed?
Also, I liked the Urban Organics bed, but DH didn’t. Won’t the Casper or BB feel similar to that bed?
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) the 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 quality/durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials 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) so I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
The specs you listed don’t provide the layer thicknesses and the density of the foam in each layer which are the most important specifications that you need to know. If you can find out the information listed here and post it on the forum I’d be happy to let you know if I can see any lower quality materials or weak links that would be a cause for concern. Without this information it’s not possible to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of the materials or the mattress as a whole.
There is more information in post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and “green” mattresses and mattress materials and components that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer “how safe is safe enough for me” so you can decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.
There is also more about so called “soy based” or other plant based foams in post #2 here.
Sherwood is CertiPUR certified which means that the polyfoam and memory foam materials in their mattresses have been tested for harmful substances and VOC’s so for most people they would be “safe enough” and wouldn’t be a cause for concern.
All the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, or Greenguard Gold and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s as well.
There is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications in post #2 here that may also be helpful.
There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting materials) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be very unlikely) then there really isn’t a way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) based on the specifications of the mattresses (even assuming that you can find out all the specifications you would need for both mattresses you are comparing).
Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so unless a manufacturer specifically says in their description of a mattress that one of their mattresses in the same general category is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” another one in terms of firmness or “feel” and PPP and/or they are very familiar with both mattresses and can provide reliable guidance about how they compare based on the “averages” of a larger group of people that have compared them (different people may have very different opinions about how two mattresses compare) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.
The Casper mattress and the Urban Organics mattresses have different materials and very different designs so they would probably feel quite different to most people.
I’m assuming that you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial (which is the best place to start your research) but 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 let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.
If you are looking at online options then the mattress shopping 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, firmness levels, and with return/exchange policies that would be well worth considering.
In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to first finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in (either locally or online) and that you have confirmed can provide you with all the information you need to know to make an informed choice and make meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
