Stuck and need to exchange a "big brand" mattress

[phoenix]

Hi mermla,

So I went to Lubbock today and apparently when it comes to mattresses, I’m a “cheap date”. I seem to gravitate toward the entry level, or the firmest models in each series.

Normally that would be a good thing Many of the most expensive mattresses are only more expensive because they have more material in them than many people need (and in many cases much of this is also lower quality).

Now I am confused…I have laid on an Insight before and felt that it was like laying on concrete. Then online, according to which site you read, the Insight has a higher comfort level than the Genius.
Today, the Insight did not feel like concrete…I liked it very much. The Savant and Prodigy felt too soft for me. The Insight is the first in the line up, right? I like the idea of a topper… I may be able to use my credit for a Tempurpedic mattress topper, although they are 3 inches. My husband would love this, although I think its too much cushion for me.

Yes … the Insight is the entry level and has the 2.75" of 4 lb gel memory foam on top of the polyfoam support core. This would be firm for most people. The Genius has 2" of very firm polyfoam in between the gel memory foam and polyfoam which makes it firmer yet (the 2" polyfoam layer is firmer than the support layer) but it’s also low quality so if you lie on a Genius where this layer has softened then it could feel softer than the Insight. The insight would make a good base for a topper but unless you can try the actual combination and test it for PPP then it’s usually a good idea to sleep on the mattress first and then use your actual sleeping experience as a guideline for choosing the type of topper that adds the amount of extra softness you want (you can see some guidelines for choosing a topper in post #2 here and the posts it links to).

can you tell me what “graphene” is?

You can read a little more about graphene in the wikipedia article here. It’s quite a remarkable material with many uses but its use in mattresses is fairly new. The reason it’s added to memory foam is because it has a high level of thermal conductivity which in theory can help memory foam sleep cooler although memory foam is still an insulating material and thermal conductive and phase change gels or other materials added to memory foam still tend to have a temporary effect and are only cooling till temperatures equalize and after that are not as effective for temperature regulation over the course of the night as moisture wicking materials and good ventilation. You can read more about temperature regulation in post #2 here and the other posts it links to.

I asked the sales guy what the difference between the Insight and Inception was and he didn’t seem too sure. I asked him what the density of the foam was and he told me that the reps tell hem the foam is all between 4 and 6 lbs.

Over time information about the quality of the materials in the Inception will likely become available but if he knows (and isn’t just guessing) then it would be great to know the density of each layer in the mattress. The gel memory foam in the iComfort series is about 4 lbs (medium density/quality) but I don’t know the density of the memory foam in the Directions mattresses … although I suspect it would be reasonable quality or better (as I mentioned previously I believe that the dual effects gel memory foam is 5 lbs which is good quality but I don’t know this for certain and I don’t know the density of the graphene gfx memory foam). I normally don’t chase down the specs for major brands because it’s too time consuming and usually requires some good contacts that can find out and they aren’t good enough value anyway to make it worth the time but as I come to know them I’ll certainly put the information on the forum because there are many people who shop for major brand mattresses and don’t realize they are not very good value.

If my kids are up for another road trip tomorrow, I will go try the Jubilance (3 hrs away) and then I am officially done with my search and it is decision time. I will also ask the store what I can do with the credit, or if I will lose it.

I hope you are testing specifically for pressure relief and alignment following the testing guidelines (rather than just how comfortable the mattress is) but assuming that you are I’m looking forward to hearing about which mattress you end up exchanging for.

Phoenix