Hello. I have been following your site for awhile and have read your tutorial, other subscribers posts, etc. I am looking for equivalent suggestions on some beds my wife have tried. We like the feel of the Tempurpedic cloud elite, cloud supreme, and cloud supreme breeze. About us…
I am 6’0 and weigh 180lbs, wife is 5’6 125lbs.
We are mostly side sleepers but will sleep on back occasionally…
We live in San Antonio, Texas.
We both are having some back and shoulder pain…likely from our 5 year old spring coil mattress.
I have looked at Novosbed aria and this seems like a good choice but the harmony is also a possibility. Have also looked at amerisleep, select foam(worried about their terrible bbb rating), and lots of other online retailers…
Thoughts and suggestions? If you were to buy a memory foam bed today what would be your top choices for the above criteria? Your help is greatly appreciated.
I don’t 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” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compared to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate 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).
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).
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would also be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because any mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range) and reviews in general certainly won’t tell you much if anything about the quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
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) 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” and PPP based on the specifications of the mattress.
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 while you may find some local mattresses that use “similar” materials or designs and there would be many others that are in a similar general category or firmness range … they will generally have different combinations of foam layers and components.
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” (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) … 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.
There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
While your own careful testing or personal experience is the most reliable way to know whether any mattress is a good “match” for you in terms of comfort and PPP or how closely it “matches” another mattress … when you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
Outside of any local options that may be available to you that you can test in person … the mattress shopping tutorial includes a link to a list of the better online memory foam options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) and many of them make mattresses that are designed to approximate some of the Tempurpedic mattresses as well which may also be worth talking to or considering.
I or some of the more knowledgeable members of the site can certainly help you to narrow down your options, help you focus on better quality/value choices that are available to you either locally or online, help you identify any lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress relative to your weight that you may be considering, act as a fact check, answer many of the specific questions you may have along the way that don’t involve what you will “feel” on a mattress, and help with “how” to choose but only you can decide which specific mattress, manufacturer, or combination of materials is “best for you” regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or whether anyone else (including me) would have the same criteria or circumstances or would make the same choice.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the San Antonio area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked earlier in this reply) are listed in post #2 here.
Thank you for your reply. What do you consider the premium/ultra premium memory foam mattresses or mattress producers? I am willing to pay more for a more durable memory foam mattress with higher density. Thanks.
I would be very cautious about brand shopping in general because you are buying a specific mattress not the brand and all manufacturers have access to the same or similar components and materials. Many manufacturers make a wide range of mattresses that can vary from lower quality and less durable materials to higher quality and more durable materials in a wide range of prices. The name of the manufacturer on the label or the price of the mattress won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for you in terms of PPP or whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design that would affect the durability and useful life of the mattress (which are the two most important parts of a “premium” mattress purchase). There is more about the risks of brand shopping in post #5 here and post #12 here.
When it comes to the quality and durability of a specific mattress I would focus much more on the type and quality/durability of the materials inside a mattress (which are important to know anyway) than I would on the name of the manufacturer on the label.
Again … there is more information about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here 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 suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or any exchange/return options that are available to you).
You can also read more about the properties of a “perfect” mattress relative to any particular person (and a mattress that is “perfect” for you is the only definition of “premium” that really matters) in post #4 here and in post #2 here.
Thank you again. I think I have narrowed it down to the Novosbed Harmony. This seems to meet our requirements and most people speak favorably about the mattress. I see that you also like Novosbed. Any final thoughts in the value/quality of this mattress? We were also considering the Amerisleep colonial, but it seems that you have been less than impressed by their quality/value. Any last minute advice before I pull the trigger? Thanks.
There is little I can add to my previous comments. If you have done some careful testing on the Cloud Supreme Breeze and it’s a good match for you in terms of PPP and you have also talked with Novosbed on the phone about your choice then it doesn’t have any lower quality materials or weak links in the design and if it also meets all the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you then it would certainly be well worth considering.
NOTE ADDED JAN, 2016: They have now introduced their new simplified choice mattress which has replaced their previous models and have also become a member of this site.
You can read more about Amerisleep and their sister companies and their so called “expert sites” that pose as being independent review sites in post #2 here and the posts it links to. A forum search on Amerisleep (you can just click the link) will bring up will bring up all the forum posts that mention them.
The specs of their mattresses are listed here and their Colonial uses 2" of 4 lb memory foam which is a good quality material but there is 4" of 1.65 lb polyfoam underneath the memory foam which is “better than average” compared to most mainstream manufacturers but is also a little lower quality/density material than I would normally suggest in the guidelines here for a one sided mattress.
Assuming that you decide to pull the trigger … congratulations on your new mattress
I’m also looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Then I guess my last questions are. Do you see any glaring weaknesses with the Novosbed Harmony? Where on the spectrum would you place the quality of this mattress? Thanks.
I don’t have a “spectrum” because there it’s not possible to quantify exactly how long any mattress will last for a specific person or predict exactly when you will decide to replace it because it is no longer suitable or comfortable for you (because this is the only real measure of durability or the useful life of a mattress that really matters) because there are too many unknowns and variables involved that are unique to each person.
Having said that … if a mattress is well inside a suitable comfort/support range and isn’t close to the edge of being too soft when it is new (see post #2 here) and meets the minimum quality/durability specs that are suggested in the guidelines here for your weight range (which it does) then it would certainly be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years.
There is also much more detailed information about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to different people in post #4 here.
NOTE ADDED JAN, 2016: They have now introduced their new simplified choice mattress which has replaced their previous models and have also become a member of this site.
