Stumped on Store vs Online Choices

[phoenix]

Hi catalana,

Hello, and thanks in advance for your assistance! I’ve spent many hours reviewing the tutorial and have searched through tons of posts. The wealth of information has just left me more confused.

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 (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …

1. 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.

2. Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

3. 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.

A bit about us. My wife and I are both side sleepers and prefer a more plush mattress. We live in Cincinnati. We like to sink in a bit, but not feel so overwhelmed we can’t toss and turn. I also tend to sleep hot on our current bed, a really inexpensive Serta innerspring.

As you probably know from the tutorial I can certainly help with “how” to choose but it’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range (some people can sleep warmer on mattresses that most people are generally fine with) and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.

Subject to confirming that any retailer or manufacturer on the list you wish to deal with is completely transparent about the materials and components in their mattresses (see this article) and to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Cincinnati area are listed in post #212 here.

I am about twice the weight of my wife (about 270 vs 140) and that has been some concern to us in mattress shopping.

There is also more information in post #3 here and the posts it links to that would be helpful for those that are in higher weight ranges (or are part of a couple that have very different weight ranges and different needs and preferences).

While the process of how to choose a mattress would involve the same steps that are listed in the mattress shopping tutorial … most people in higher weight ranges will generally need or prefer firmer mattresses (firmer materials will feel softer because you will sink into them more) and materials and components that are higher quality and more durable than those that are in lower weight ranges (the materials and components in a mattress will soften and break down faster for those in higher weight ranges than they will for someone that is in a lower weight range that doesn’t compress the mattress as much). I would be particularly cautious about mattresses that use more than “about an inch or so” of memory foam that is less than about 5 lb density or polyfoam that is less than about 2 lb density … particularly in the upper layers of the mattress.

Given the cost, the Madison is right about where I want to be at $1,000. My concern is that after going home and reviewing the specs, I have a lot of concerns about durability.

I would have some concerns with 1.8 lb polyfoam in the comfort layers in your weight range as well.

So, all of this has left me thinking that perhaps the only two appropriate mattress choices we have in the online-only mattress segment are the Kiss and Brooklyn Bedding BME. Is that right? I’m also starting to think that we won’t find a mattress in our price range at Denver Mattress. Are there other mattresses I should be considering? Thanks.

Outside of any local options that may be available to you that are on the Cincinnati list … the mattress shopping tutorial includes several links to lists of many of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) outside of the simplified choice list that you have probably been reading that include many different types and categories of mattresses that use different materials and components in a wide range of designs, budgets, firmness levels, and with different return/exchange policies that would be worth considering and some of them would also meet the quality/durability guidelines for your weight range.

Off the top of my head I think that most of the Denver mattress models that are in your budget range use 1.8 lb polyfoam and some of it is also convoluted (see post #2 here) … so I would be cautious as well but I don’t know the specs of all their mattresses off the top of my head so you would need to check the specs on each of them to make sure.

Phoenix