Shopping this weekend

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

I actually found this forum trying to look up more information on the mattress that is used at the Hampton Inn. I travel a lot for work, and spend a lot of time sleeping on their mattresses. I love them. We currently have a ~11 year old Queen that is absolutely gone beyond words. I wake up sore every morning, and Iā€™m always sinking in it. The Hampton mattress may not be all that, but comparatively, itā€™s just awesome.

Iā€™m basically going to be shopping for something firm/supportive with a little bit of give on the top, if that makes sense. Something my wife and I both like. Looking to spend around $700 for now for a Queen. After we move to our new house, we will shop for a King and move this Queen we are buying now into the guest bedroom.

I have a lot of reading and research on here to do. The original thread I found basically stated I could find a better mattress for less money than the Hampton mattress, I just need to know what Iā€™m looking for. Letā€™s see how that goes.

Do you have any recommended places in Maryland to check out? I will search the forum too; it may already have been covered.

2

I did find this listing of local suppliers/retailers.

https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/direct-mattress-makers-in-northern-virginialimitstart=0#1026

3

Hi Dave88LX,

Part of the problem with hotel mattresses is that they donā€™t disclose the density and quality of the foams they use and in most cases they are lower quality and subject to foam softening and impressions. One of the first ā€œrulesā€ of mattress shopping is to make sure you know the quality of all the components and layers in the mattress. A mattress is only as good as its construction and materials ā€¦ especially in the upper layers (the comfort layers) and if you buy a mattress that uses lower quality foams or materials in the upper layers especially (which is common to most of the major brands) then foam softening and breakdown will lead to the loss of comfort and support much more quickly and this isnā€™t covered by a warranty. I would avoid any mattress where you have no way to make meaningful quality and value comparisons because the risk of a much shorter useful lifetime is much higher. There is more about hotel mattresses in post #3 here.

The first place to start your research is post #1 here which is a step by step buying guide that has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices ā€¦ and avoid the worst ones.

Iā€™m not sure where you are in Maryland but there is also a Baltimore list in post #2 here although much of it duplicates the DC list you linked.

Once youā€™ve done the basic reading ā€¦ if you have questions along the way feel free to post them here ā€¦ and welcome to the forum :slight_smile:

Phoenix

4

Phoenix,

Thanks for taking all the time you do to help us out.

What you say about the hotel mattresses makes sense. Iā€™m sure after sleeping on ANYTHING compared to what I am used to, it feels like a million bucks. Iā€™m hoping I can find what Iā€™m after in the $700 range. Not bottom dollar cheapo, but about half what I plan to spend down the road when we are ready to buy a King after our new house is built.

Ironically, that Hampton mattress thread you linked is the thread I found on a Google search which brought me to this forum. :slight_smile:

5

Hi Dave88LX,

Itā€™s funny how things work sometimes. I guess thatā€™s one less link I needed to post :slight_smile:

While you may not have access to the highest quality materials and components in your budget ā€¦ there are certainly better and worse quality and value options in every budget range and some of the information here will help you ask the questions and find the retailers or manufacturers that make or sell them.

Of course if you have questions along the way feel free to post them here as well.

Phoenix

6

Change of plan ā€“ Nixing the ā€œmidgradeā€ Queen and just going for a good King. Thatā€™ll bring the budget into the upper level of $1700 or so.

I have this unrealistic expectation that I just want to come home with a mattress today. Iā€™m trying not to be so spontaneous though. I have a lot of home renovations to do in a short amount of time and just want this over with alreadyā€¦haha.

7

Hi Dave88LX,

A mattress is one of the most important purchases you will make over the next decade or so and will have a bigger effect on your overall wellbeing and how you feel in both your waking and sleeping life than almost anything else you can buy.

Iā€™m glad you are taking a little more time ā€¦ it will be worth it IMO :slight_smile:

Phoenix

8

Oh absolutely! Iā€™m looking forward to being able to look forward to going to bed, and actually feel good when I wake up in the morning!

Tonight we hit up Healthy Back in Annapolis, MD, as one of your recommended places on your list. Iā€™m glad that we didnā€™t just blindly buy a latex mattress. Reading up on spring vs. latex vs. foam, I was pretty sure we were going to be buying a latex bed. After laying on them all, I found I wasnā€™t very fond of the latex beds. On the firmer beds, it felt like I was almost rolling around on the surface, like it just wanted to continue pushing me any time I moved. I felt like I was tensing up just to keep my body from falling over when I was on my side. Only the softest of the four did I find I liked, but I surely didnā€™t ~$4K like it.

The other thing that I found surprising is that I donā€™t like as firm of a bed as I thought I would. When it feels like youā€™re sleeping on a hammock, I guess you think that you want/need/like a firm bed, but in reality, I just want a supportive bed. I found the beds on the firmer end of the scale did not allow my broad shoulders to adequately sink down enough on my side to be comfortable, an that I would need a rather tall pillow to get proper neck alignment. I noticed sleeping on the hotel mattress though that I sleep fine on my back, which I hear is preferred to side sleeping.

So we tried the Tempur-Pedics (Rhapsody Breeze - nice, but not $4000 nice), the latex models (wasnā€™t a fan of the ā€˜rollingā€™ feeling on them, and the Technogel (Armonia & Estasi+) Neither one of the Technogels really ā€œwowā€™dā€ us either. I think my wife liked them more than I did, but I felt rather ā€œmehā€ towards them. Maybe if I spent more time on them.

This leads us to the following: Healthy Back Embrace Comfort
http://www.healthyback.com/products/Healthyback/Healthy-back-embrace-comfort-mattress/1299

ā€œSpecsā€ from the website:

  • 1.5" layer of ventilated memory foam
  • 2" layer of standard memory foam
  • 2" layer of comfort foam
  • 5.5" layer of support foam
  • Removable and washable cover made of dimpled strech knit & microsuede fabric.
  • No flip, rotate, or turn mattress

The both of us actually found this to suit us the best. Well, suit me. My wife preferred the Embrace Relaxation, which is 13" tall, and just a bit softer. I canā€™t find that one on their website though. The pricing on this Embrace Comfort is just right too - $2050 - 24% ā€œsaleā€ = $1537 + a pair of foundations for $300 total. They also offer a 5% military discount which will also help a little bit (hey, pillows!).

Their return policy is great (I think?): They want you to keep the bed for at least 30 days to get accustomed to it. If after 30 days you still do not like it, then you can return it up to 90 days later. From I believe 91-180 days after, then you can return it for store credit.

I believe he stated that ā€œClassicā€ made their mattresses for them, Iā€™ll see what I can dig up on them, as well as Embrace.

As of a year ago, you had heard of Embrace, but did not know a whole lot about it the line. Have you had the chance to learn anything since? Either the Comfort or Relaxation line (leaning towards the firmer Comfort).

I see by June '13 that you had found out some more information on this: ā€œThe Embrace Comfort is a fairly basic mattress with 3.5ā€ of 4 lb memory foam over 7.5" of reasonable quality polyfoam (the 1.8 lb polyfoam is on top which is where it should be and the 1.5 lb polyfoam is on the bottom where it will be more durable even though itā€™s lower density) and would be reasonable (but not the best) value as long as your body type was suitable for 4 lb memory foam. I would tend towards 5 lb memory foam or at least thinner layers of 4 lb memory foam if you were in the 200 lb range or higher but I would have a particularly hard time justifying the Estasi unless there was a particularly compelling reason that justified the cost based on your specific personal criteria."

9

Here we go, I assume this is useful?
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/2/prweb10438279.htm

The Embrace Energy series offers a 9" profile with a dimpled stretch knit cover and a 1.5" 3lb ventilated memory foam and 6.5" 1.5lbs poly base foam.

The Embrace Comfort series sees an 11" profile with a dimpled stretch knit cover with microsuede as well as a 1.5" 4lb ventilated memory foam, 2" 4lb memory foam, 2" 1.8lb comfort foam and a 5.5" 1.5lb poly base foam.

The Embrace Relaxation model boasts a 13" profile with a dimpled stretch knit cover with microsuede in addition to a 2" 4lb ventilated memory foam, 2.5" 5lb memory foam and an 8.5" 1.5lb ply base foam for ultimate relaxation.

The Embrace Bed series is available in twin, king, queen and full sizes and is back by a 25 year warranty and a satisfaction guarantee.

10

Hi Dave88LX,

It certainly is very useful ā€¦ thanks :slight_smile:

I would tend to avoid the Embrace Energy because of the lower density foams in the comfort layer and would stick with the other two which use medium density or better quality materials.

I would also make some careful value comparisons with both the Embrace Comfort and the Embrace Relaxation as well because they both use lower density foam than is available in other mattresses in their price range and design and there may be some better value options available for mattresses that have a similar design and materials. Of course a significant part of ā€œvalueā€ is the feel and performance of a mattress in terms of PPP and there are also other parts of each personā€™s personal value equation that may also be an important part of any purchase decision but they would need to be significantly better in some quantifiable way to justify their more premium prices compared to other similar mattresses.

Phoenix

11

[quote=ā€œPhoenixā€ post=24597]Hi Dave88LX,

It certainly is very useful ā€¦ thanks :slight_smile:

I would tend to avoid the Embrace Energy because of the lower density foams in the comfort layer and would stick with the other two which use medium density or better quality materials.[/quote]We were not too fond of the Energy anyways; My wife liked the Relaxation, while I liked the Comfort.

[quote]I would also make some careful value comparisons with both the Embrace Comfort and the Embrace Relaxation as well because they both use lower density foam than is available in other mattresses in their price range and design and there may be some better value options available for mattresses that have a similar design and materials.[/quote]Based on the specs of these mattresses, are there any ā€œnationally availableā€ mattresses you can think of which I should look at that would be a better value?

Thank you.

  • Dave
12

Hi Dave88LX,

Unfortunately I donā€™t keep searchable records of the specs of all the mattresses that are available and they change so often that it would be an impossible job anyway.

In general ā€¦ national brands (or at least the top 5) arenā€™t in the same value range as most of the better value options available across the country and I would tend to avoid looking for a mattress based on specs because that can turn into an overwhelmingly complicated job and the specs still wonā€™t tell you which mattresses would be more suitable for you in terms of PPP.

Having said that ā€¦ if you are looking at some of the larger national brands I would focus on the ones listed here that are more transparent and which in some cases would have better quality/value. There are also many local and regional manufacturers and other retailers that may also have better value but it always depends on comparing designs and materials that are similar.

Some of the online choices may also be good options if you are comfortable with the added risk of going in that direction. Just as a ā€œvalue referenceā€ though ā€¦ post #12 here has a list of some of the better online memory foam sources Iā€™m aware of and many of them have a similar design to the Healthy Back Embrace line (about the same thickness of memory foam layers) and use the same or better quality materials at significantly lower cost than the Embrace series.

Phoenix

13

Thank you for the info/links. This is how I now feel:

14

Hi Dave88lx,

I completely understand :slight_smile:

Itā€™s fairly simple to test a mattress for ā€œcomfortā€ and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) but the most difficult part is often making sure that the mattress uses good quality and durable materials so that the feel and performance that you originally purchased has higher odds of staying that way for longer periods of time. The challenge with this is that you canā€™t ā€œfeelā€ the quality/durability of the materials so you are dependent on the retailer or your own research to find them out. Lower quality materials in the comfort layers especially will soften and degrade more quickly and the more rapid loss of comfort and support that goes with this isnā€™t covered by a warranty. Finding out the quality of the materials in a mattress is the part of mattress shopping that can be the most frustrating because most retailers know very little about the difference between higher and lower quality materials and itā€™s more difficult to find this information or find retailers that are familiar with it in the mainstream industry ā€¦ even though the useful life of a mattress is one of the most important parts of an informed purchase.

With memory foam I would look for a minimum of 4 lb density with the exception of a thin layer that was less than an inch or so. You can see the memory foam guidelines here.

With polyfoam I would look for a minimum density of 1.8 lbs except in lower budget ranges or in a two sided mattress where 1.5 lbs would be OK. Once again a thin layer that is around an inch or so of lower density polyfoam would also be OK (this is most commonly seen in the quilting in the cover.

With latex ā€¦ any type would be a good quality material in terms of durability.

Density is the single biggest factor in the useful life of a foam and keeping to these guidelines will give you much higher odds that your mattress will have a longer useful lifetime. Higher quality/density materials are usually more costly so this can also be part of making meaningful ā€œvalueā€ comparisons because higher quality materials are (or should be) more costly than lower quality materials.

The mainstream mattress industry is just not very transparent or even knowledgeable and finding good information about the quality and durability of the materials in a mattress ā€¦ especially the foam used in the comfort layers ā€¦ is one of the biggest challenges of an ā€œeducated consumerā€.

Itā€™s often a good idea to call a retailer or manufacturer before you go there to make sure they are transparent (and preferably knowledgeable as well) about the materials in their mattresses and even better yet if you tell them your minimum criteria for foam densities (4 lb memory foam, 1.5 - 1.8 lb polyfoam or latex) you will quickly find out how much they know about the quality of the materials in their mattresses.

Most of them will go ā€œhuh???ā€ or ask you if you are an engineer as if engineers are the only ones that want a good value and durable mattress. Another common response will tell you that you need to just come in and test a mattress and that foam specs arenā€™t important ā€¦ but the truth is you need to do both if you want the most suitable mattress (that you can test) and also good quality and value (that you canā€™t). Another common response will be to talk about the warranty as if that is a reliable way to know about the quality of a mattress but warranties only cover defects and donā€™t cover the softening or breakdown of lower quality materials and the loss of comfort and support which is the main reason a mattress needs to be replaced ā€¦ not defects. Warranties have very little to do with the useful life of a mattress in other words and are mostly about marketing and justifying higher prices.

An equivalent to not knowing foam specs would be buying a computer where the salesperson couldnā€™t tell you about the type of CPU, the size or speed of the hard drive, or the amount of memory in your computer. They may also try to sell you a computer that uses a lower performance CPU or less memory or a smaller hard drive at a higher price than it is worth if you donā€™t know that these are important parts of the ā€œvalueā€ of a computer. These are ā€œbasicā€ specs that will make a significant difference in the quality and value of a computer ā€¦ or a mattress.

If you follow the steps in the guideline post one by one you will have much higher odds of ending up with a great purchase although I fully understand that the current state of the industry doesnā€™t make this nearly as simple and easy as it should be.

Phoenix