tempur-flex prima.....no flex!

after sleeping in a hole for the last 5 years, on a very inexpensive pillow top mattress, my back could no longer take it. I went to my local Sleepys store and picked up a $2000 Laura Ashley “Euro Top” mattress and after just a few weeks I had a sink hole in my side that exceeded 2".

We were forced to keep the mattress in house for 30 days before we could exchange. After the 30 days I decided we should choose something different. My wife and I went back to the store and tried many mattresses, the ones we like the best where the Beauty rest Phenom plush/firm (hybrid) and the Beautyrest Legend traditional soft mattress. However the sales person recommended against a soft mattress because I would sink in too far and eventually have the same problem.

My wife tried and really liked the new Tempur-Flex Prima bed…which is strange for her since she does not like the “squishy clay like feel” of memory foam… The Prima is a hybrid with coils and memory foam and is advertised as med/firm leaning more towards med. the floor model felt soft enough for both of us, so we kicked in another $1500 and went for it.

The mattress was delivered 2 days ago and it feels WAY firmer than the one in the store…so much so that even I am having a hard time sleeping in it @ 205lbs. my poor wife @ 110lbs says it’s like sleeping on the floor and is very disappointed. and I don’t blame her…we just spent over 3k and are in pain…

I’m hoping the mattress will soften up some as we use it. I called the store and they said: “don’t worry it will break in, and feel just like the one in the store…give it about a month.”

my concern is I just don’t know if we can sleep on this rock for another month…I have been thinking about purchasing a topper to soften things up a bit until the mattress “breaks in” or we return it… But I don’t know what type of topper to look at? she doesn’t like the “clay” feel of memory foam, and I don’t like heat, so I was thinking Latex…but they can be pricey (king size) and if I end up returning the tempurpedic then I’m stuck with an expensive topper…

Any advice is greatly appreciated…saving money doesn’t come easy and we feel like we just flushed over $3,500

Hi katooom400,

[quote]My wife tried and really liked the new Tempur-Flex Prima bed…which is strange for her since she does not like the “squishy clay like feel” of memory foam… The Prima is a hybrid with coils and memory foam and is advertised as med/firm leaning more towards med. the floor model felt soft enough for both of us, so we kicked in another $1500 and went for it.

The mattress was delivered 2 days ago and it feels WAY firmer than the one in the store…so much so that even I am having a hard time sleeping in it @ 205lbs. my poor wife @ 110lbs says it’s like sleeping on the floor and is very disappointed. and I don’t blame her…we just spent over 3k and are in pain…

I’m hoping the mattress will soften up some as we use it. I called the store and they said: “don’t worry it will break in, and feel just like the one in the store…give it about a month.”[/quote]

There is more about the Tempurpedic Flex mattresses in post #4 here.

It’s not unusual that a new mattress will feel firmer than the same mattress that you tested in a store because there will be a break in and adjustment period for any new mattress or sleeping system as the mattress loses any of it’s “false firmness” and the cover stretches and loosens a little and the materials settle and your body gets used to a sleeping surface that is different from what it is used to (see post #3 here). This would typically be a few weeks but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specifics of the person and the mattress. Some of the comments in post #2 here may also be helpful.

I would generally try to give any new mattress at least a couple of weeks (if possible) before considering any changes or additions to the mattress.

[quote]my concern is I just don’t know if we can sleep on this rock for another month…I have been thinking about purchasing a topper to soften things up a bit until the mattress “breaks in” or we return it… But I don’t know what type of topper to look at? she doesn’t like the “clay” feel of memory foam, and I don’t like heat, so I was thinking Latex…but they can be pricey (king size) and if I end up returning the tempurpedic then I’m stuck with an expensive topper…

Any advice is greatly appreciated…saving money doesn’t come easy and we feel like we just flushed over $3,500 [/quote]

Choosing the type of topper or the type of material in a topper would be a preference choice rather than a “better/worse” choice because different people can have very different preferences. The most reliable way to know which type of topper material you tend to prefer in general will be based on your own local testing either on different toppers or on mattresses that use similar materials in their top layers as the topper you are considering.

There are many different types and chemical formulations of memory foam and some of them are less temperature sensitive and “clay like” and have a faster response time than others but all memory foam has a very low resilience (springiness). Some types of memory foam are also more breathable than others and have less effect on sleeping temperature but memory foam in general tends to sleep warmer for some people than other types of foam materials (latex foam or polyfoam). There is more about the different properties that can be formulated into memory foam in post #9 here and post #8 here.

Latex in general is a much more resilient (springy) material than memory foam and is also more breathable and “temperature neutral”. There is more about the differences between memory foam and latex in post #2 here.

Polyfoam tends to be somewhat in between memory foam and latex but would be closer to latex because all memory foam has little to no resilience at all. Most people are familiar with the feel of polyfoam in general because it is the material that is used in most couch cushions and upholstered chairs (although polyfoam in furniture that is designed for sitting will often be firmer than polyfoam used as a mattress topper).

If a mattress is too firm then a good quality topper can certainly be an effective way to add some additional softness and pressure relief although the only way to know whether a specific mattress/topper combination is a good “match” for you in terms of PPP is based on your own careful testing or personal experience on the combination. If you can’t test the combination in person then there is always some risk and uncertainty involved in adding a topper because the specifics of the mattress itself along with your own body type, sleeping position, and preferences can affect which specific topper would be a suitable choice on any specific mattress.

There is more information about choosing a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to which along with a conversation with a reliable supplier that can provide you with good information about how their toppers compare to each other or to other toppers they are familiar with that are available on the market can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success. It also includes a link to a list of some of the better online sources for toppers I’m aware of and a link to the online suppliers that have good exchange/return policies as well.

If you do end up making a suitable topper choice and a mattress/topper combination turns out to be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP then it also has the advantage that it allows you to replace just the topper without replacing the entire mattress if it softens or breaks down before the upper foam layers in the mattress (the upper layers or a sleeping system tend to soften or break down before the deeper layers) or if your needs or preferences change over time and a topper can also help extend the useful life of the mattress underneath it.

I would also keep in mind that adding a softer topper on top of a mattress that has memory foam in the comfort layers can reduce the amount of heat that reaches the memory foam and if the memory foam is more temperature sensitive it can firm up the memory foam underneath the topper (or at least lengthen the time it takes for the memory foam to soften with your body heat) so you can end up with a somewhat unusual combination of having a softer top layer and a firmer layer underneath it at the same time.

Overall though … if you are purchasing a topper “blind” and you don’t know what it will feel like on your mattress then I would limit your choices to retailers that have a good exchange/return policies just in case your topper choice doesn’t work out as well as you hope for.

Phoenix

wow, thanks for the detailed and very useful reply!

I was actually thinking some of the same thoughts before even reading your reply. I was thinking about picking up a topper at Costco since their return policy is awesome.

I will try and tough it out for a few more days and see if the mattress softens up some.

I did call Tempurpedic directly to ask about this and they also said it would take some time to break in and should end up exactly as it felt in the showroom within 1- 1.5 months. They also said they receive this question quite often.

I really appreciate all of your great advice!

Thanks,
Andy

well, another miserable night…wife woke me up at 2 AM crying…she just can’t take it…she went to sleep with our 16 year old son…even I’m in pain at 205lbs, I don’t think I can take it for 27 more nights either…I don’t think there is any way it’s going to soften up enough to be acceptable. @ 205lbs I don’t even make a dent in it

I called Sleepys and they said no way I can do anything before 30 days in the home.

guess I’m going to look for a topper that I could easily return when I exchange/return this mattress…or maybe use in our travel trailer. I’m not sure which way to go on the topper, there are so many options and I guess I need something soft to offset the rock hard mattress underneath. I’m also a bit hot in the prima and worried another 3" of MF topper will add more heat? Latex makes sense but I can’t seem to find one locally to try out and they are expensive as heck. $500-800

Hi katooom400,

The Prima is the firmest of the three Tempur Flex mattresses and if you are that uncomfortable with your mattress then it’s certainly possible that it’s just too firm for you and that the break in and adjustment period won’t make “enough” of a difference,

The information and link in my last reply should help you decide on a topper that has the least possible risk and the best odds of success (and of course the return/exchange policy will be the biggest part of lowering the risk of a purchase that you can’t test in person).

There are some good quality 2" or 3" toppers available in the component list that are less than $500 and if you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.

Sleepys also has some toppers as well that may be worth trying since you could test them on the same mattress that you purchased.

Phoenix

Thanks, I’m located in 07438

Hi katooom400,

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of that are reasonably close to you are listed in post #2 here and the lists it links to but you would need to call them to find out which of them sell toppers that you would be interested in testing.

Phoenix

thought I would post an update since it’s been a while and our nightmare continues:

we never could get comfortable on the Tempurpedic, so we ended up with a 3" latex topper just to get us through the 30 day waiting period. and while that made the bed sleep worthy and very comfortable we felt that it was quite a waste of money to have the expensive mattress on the bottom of an inexpensive topper.

Being that we had up to 90 days to return or exchange the Tempurpedic we went back to the store after 60 days to pick a new mattress and chose the Beauty-rest Legend Plush mattress. It was delivered a week later but had a ripped handle, so they left it and scheduled a replacement to be delivered.

Now we had time to evaluate the Legend Plush and in addition to the ripped handle, the mattress had a sag in my wife’s side…not mine! And she is a very petite woman! We believe that this was an exchanged mattress that had sagged on that side from someone heavy sleeping on it for a period of time. Or it could simply have been a defective mattress?

So before they came with the replacement we went back to the store and expressed our concerns about the Legend Plush either being used, or simply poor quality and likely going to sack out quickly… They suggested we try the Legend Firm and it felt even firmer than the Tempurpedic we had gotten used to.

At that point we had decided to just go back to the Tempurpedic even though it was too firm, it was fine with the Latex topper and we knew what to expect (additonaly the store model felt much softer than the one we had) The replacement Tempurpedic was delivered a couple days later. This time it was delivered with a stain on the cover and they insisted they needed to schedule a replacement be delivered in order for the warranty to be maintained…so now he we are waiting for a replacement Tempurpedic (our 3rd) and we have noticed something that we never realized might be related to the mattress:

if this saga isn’t bad enough,…around the time the original Tempurpedic was delivered, I had developed and “tickle” in my throat and a subsequent cough…I didn’t think anything of it and just thought maybe I had a cold as it was December in NJ. The cough went on for 6-8 weeks before I decided to see a Dr. who thought it could be from reflux or post nasal drip…I’ve never had a problem with either of these ever and he put me on some medication for each…which didn’t help.

Then when the Legend was delivered and the tempurpedic removed from the house my cough had cleared up within a few days, and was completely gone the entire time we had the Legend. Now I did not really put two and two together until the new Tempurpedic was delivered. That very same day the cough returned and that’s when the “light bulb went on” : I’m having some kind of reaction to whatever is in the Tempurpedic!

Now, in order to prove this I’de have to remove it from the house again, and being that we have a replacement coming I’m thinking this is my final chance to get away from the Tempurpedic memory foam mattress.

So now I’ll have to see if I can convince them to let me swap it out for either another Legend Plush, or Firm. I love the feel of the plush but after the first one was sagging we are gun shy and feel we have no choice but to try the firm as at least we can use the Latex topper if it’s too firm for us.

according to the specs listed on the retailers website the firm uses 13.5 guage coils and the the plush uses 14.5 guage coils and some more padding to achieve the nice plush feel which we love but are afraid won’t hold up…and we are not overweight people!

We don’t know what to choose as I feel I have to try and get away from the Tempurpedic and don’t want something that is going to sack out quickly but also don’t want something too firm.

Does anyone have any experience with the Beautyrest Legend line which is an exclusive to the retailer, but I believe may be the same mattress as the Beautyrest Black line?

Hi katooom400,

I’m sorry to hear about all the difficulties you have encountered in your search for a suitable mattress. I can understand that it must be frustrating.

The only reliable way to assess the “safety” of a material in more general terms is based on any laboratory testing and certifications they have for harmful substances and VOC’s (see post #2 here for more information about some of the reliable “safety” certifications) and Tempurpedic is not CertiPUR certified. There are also some cases where people can have a sensitivity even to certified materials that most people would be fine with. Anecdotally Tempurpedic has the most complaints about their smell and sensitivities to their material (see here) but they are also the most widely sold memory foam mattress as well so some of the frequency of complaints would be the result of the sheer number of mattresses they sell.

All the major brands (such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta) tend to use lower quality materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (and the major retailers that focus on them) along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).

Like many of the members that are in a similar situation you are in a somewhat unfortunate position where you need to exchange a mattress and are “locked in” to a store that sells lower quality/value mattresses that I would normally suggest avoiding in the first place and where there may not be any particularly good quality/value options available to you.

Having said that … there are some suggestions and ideas in post #2 here about the two main strategies that you can use that can help you make the best of a difficult situation.

Since you already have a topper it may be worth exchanging for a firmer mattress (that feels similar to the Tempurpedic Flex you already have) with the “least possible” amount of lower quality or unknown materials and then using your topper on top of it.

Phoenix