I looked briefly at T&N online, and wanted to know what the ILD was so i could compare apples to apples. I called on a Friday evening, after hours, and they called me back on the next Monday. He didn’t answer what ILD the bed was, just that on a scale from 1 to 10, it was a 7.
He couldn’t translate that into ILD speak, i thanked him for his time, and after i hung up, i thought again about foam mattresses i have tried. I don’t like them. I don’t like the feel of them, and recent recon excursions to see what mattress might speak to me confirmed that i’m happiest on a firm or very firm mattress and that foam mattresses give me the same sinking feeling that beanbag chairs did in the 70’s. Where it can be comfy, but i have to fight to get out. Now, that’s just my experience, which may be vastly different from yours. I know a few people who have foam mattresses and are completely in love with them.
I was very happy with the prompt callback from T&N, and he was very nice on the phone. If someone i knew were looking for a foam mattress, i’d give them T&N as an option they may wish to try.
Ultimately, i decided to go with a different mattress, which shall be arriving in the next several weeks. It’s a model i was able to try out in real life, and i think will work well for me.
There is no such thing as the ILD of a bed or mattress (so of course no manufacturer could provide this) and only individual foam layers are rated in ILD (or IFD). In addition to this … the ILD of individual polyfoam layers would have no meaning for 99% of people because it is only one of many variables that is part of the design of a mattress and will affect how soft, supportive, or suitable a mattress may be in terms of PPP (see post #4 here and post #2 here). Polyfoam ILD’s also can’t be compared to the ILD’s for other materials such as memory foam or latex (see post #6 here).
They are being very wise to not disclose specs that either don’t exist or that for the vast majority of people will likely lead them to believe that they can predict more about how a mattress may “feel” than they can and which would likely cause more confusion and be more misleading to people who don’t have enough experience and knowledge to “translate them” into something meaningful than they would be helpful.
The specs that are important to know are the quality specs of a mattress (not the comfort specs which aren’t useful unless you have a specific frame of reference with the same materials and layers that are comparable) so that any apples to apples comparisons you make can include the quality of the materials.
I too recently purchased a 10 inch mattress from Tuft and Needle. It’s just been six days since I ordered, though, so no shipment yet. Excited to try it out!
Hello all, I actually purchased minutes after the 10 was made available and we received ours last week. I can give my experiences if that is helpful.
So, we have the a twin 5" version that our son sleeps on and wanted a King 10" for us. We waited for the 10 because we were going to get a slatted bed frame (from Ikea) and the support folks said to wait for the 10 because it would be made for that.
We came from a cal king spring mattress made by a local mattress company here Banner Mattress. It had some serious impressions in it so it was time for a change. After a week+ of sleeping on it, reviews are mixed. My wife loves it, the mattress is quite firm and that is very comfortable for her, also since it is a foam mattress, me moving around during the night doesn’t bother her anymore which is nice.
I however am suffering pretty severe upper back pain, sometimes enough to wake me up at night, sometimes I just wake up feeling like my back is super tight. This was not the case with my previous mattress, nor is it the case if I sleep in a hotel or anything. I believe it just may be a little too firm for me. Which puts me in a pickle, my wife likes it, and I desperately want to like it…I am just tired of feeling like this. I emailed Tuft and Needle and they were super supportive obviously letting me know about the RMA if I wanted to return it, but also suggesting a latex (or memory foam) topper to try and soften it up.
Ultimately I think I am going to try and order a 3" soft latex topper and hope it works out. I really want to support Tuft and Needle, and even at $560 for the mattress and $300+ for the topper, it is significantly cheaper than the $2500+ all latex bed we were looking at originally.
I am sure I am the minority, the reviews are overwhelmingly positive for the mattress and obviously our own household is split. I will say that the mattress is nice and cool which is wonderful.
If I can answer any questions, please let me know. Great thread, looking forward to seeing everyone’s experiences.
Thanks for the update and your comments about the 10" Tuft & Needle mattress … I appreciate it
It’s very true that no matter what the quality or value of a mattress … there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” mattress and sometimes some fine tuning can be necessary.
If you do choose to go in the direction of a topper then the topper guidelines in post #2 here and the posts it links to may be helpful with choosing a topper that is “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness to relieve pressure with the least possible risk of alignment issues for either you or your wife.
Thanks Phoenix, as always your posts are extremely helpful. I read through them and I am thinking of going with this
It isn’t 100% pure, but at #22 ILD, I think it will be a good softness for me and hopefully remain mostly firm for my wife. One question I did have for you was a cover for the mattress topper… when I asked our local latex topper salesman (from Escondido Mattress Factory ) he said not to put a cover on latex toppers because you lose the breath-ability. Thoughts?
I am interested in their 10" as well. I have an adjustable bed platform and like to know if their 10" will be suitable as well as how well I can sleep on it.
You can check with them to make sure as they would be the most “authoritative” source of information but an all foam mattress would normally work well on an adjustable bed.
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the only way you will know for certain how well a mattress will “match” your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP is when you receive it and have had a chance to sleep on it. While they have designed it to be suitable for a fairly wide range of people “on average” … there is no such thing as one mattress that is a good match for everyone.
The good news is that they have a great return policy if it turns out that it’s not as good a match for you as you hoped for and it’s certainly a low risk choice for those who are in a lower budget range.
Thanks for sharing! That is super interesting. I hope that is not the case for myself and my guy. I used to sleep on pretty firm mattresses before trying(and becoming miserable) with a plush pillowtop. Many nights my guy and I just sleep on the floor because of how lousy our bed is. The only pain I experience from sleeping on the floor is actually in my legs. I’m pretty much just interested in something that is sturdy like the floor but wont make my muscles sore. So hopefully I’ll have a positive experience when I get mine.
Did you notice that if 5 is softer by any chance? Let us know how it feels with a topper!
My own preference would be to use a breathable and stretchy cover (such as a knit cotton or bamboo) which can breathe and actually help with moisture wicking and temperature control. A good cover can also help protect the latex against oxidation from ozone and ultraviolet light or against damage from handling or other substances (see this list) that can affect latex and shorten it’s useful life. ADMIN NOTE:Retired Website | Archived Footprint: primelineindustries.com/natural-rubber-chemcompchart.html
If you are sleeping comfortable on the floor, you will LOVE this mattress I am positively crippled if I sleep on the floor for an extended period of time, so it is becoming more obvious that I need a bit of a softer sleeping surface.
Tough question about the 5", it is such a different mattress. I would say it feels about the same, I am heavy so if I side sleep on it, I am not comfortable. But if I am on my back, it feels great. We waited for the 10 because T&N said it would work better with slats, that is the only reason we didn’t get the 5".
Still going back and forth on what we are going to do. A lot of the latex mattress toppers that I could find aren’t returnable … and given they are over half the price of the mattress, it is a strong gamble to take. I believe tonight we are going to put our old mattress back on and see how we sleep on it. We might just go through the RMA so we can stop lugging King size mattresses around our room
My 10" Tuft & Needle mattress is being delivered later today! :cheer: I ordered 3/17/14 so it took 13 days from order placement to pickup by Federal Express. Delivery takes 3 days on the West Coast.
It arrived this morning. I have not seen it yet myself but my wife was able to drag the big box inside the house and pull out the mattress easily. She cut off the protective plastic around the mattress and put the mattress to one side to let it air out and expand fully - which it did quickly. From what I hear, there is no smell to the new mattress. It has expanded to about 11 inches thick. The cover appears to be of good quality.
The mattress came with no instructions - why does that matter? On this forum, Phoenix posted the following:
“It’s designed as a one sided mattress with firmer layers on the bottom and softer layers on the top although “in theory” you could sleep on either side if the firmer support layers were suitable for you to sleep on (although the risk of alignment issues would be higher because the softer materials would be on the bottom. It would be very different on each side and if one side was suitable for you to sleep on then the odds are high that the other side wouldn’t be. The 5” and the 10" version have the same top two layers in terms of the softness and thickness of the material so for most people they would have a similar “feel” (the top layers are responsible for most of the “feel” and pressure relief of a mattress) and the difference between them is the thickness of the firmest support layer on the bottom. For some people, depending on their weight, the thicker version will feel softer because they may sink into the thicker support layer more deeply. Higher weights would notice this more than lighter weights."
So if one side is softer than the other, I would like to know that before I sleep on it. I sent an email to the company to get their take on it. I will post their response here.
It will be interesting to try it out tonight. We will place it on the queen-size box spring from our Stearns & Foster mattress set. The S&F mattress quickly wore out but the box spring appears to be in good shape and the top of it is padded enough that it should not harm the foam of the new mattress.
Here is the email I received from Tuft & Needle customer service about how to unpack & deal with a new mattress:
[i][color=#0000ff]Thanks for reaching out! Here’s a little info:
Once you receive the bed, it is best to bring it straight into the bedroom to unwrap it. Take the bed out of the box and place the roll on the frame or sleeping surface. Carefully use scissors (no knives or razors) to cut open the sleeve. Unroll the vacuum sealed bed into it’s position, then break the sealed plastic.
Additional notes:
You can discard all of the plastic and the box. If you find that you need to return the bed, we do not require that you re-package it.
- The zipper goes on the bottom, the bevelled edge goes on top. We want you to have an even sleep surface.
The mattress cover is not machine washable. Using a cover can help prolong the life of your Tuft & Needle Bed—protecting it from spills as well as dirt or allergens. You’ll just want to make sure your cover is both moisture-resistant and breathable.
It’s good to see that some of the 10" Tuft & Needle mattresses are arriving and I’m looking forward to your feedback once you’ve both had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Maybe… I actually bought a bed protector in advance because I just think it’s common sense… plus there is a bed bug problem in NYC and I want to futureproof my investment.
They told me via email that I would easily tell which side is the top of the mattress. Do you think that’s a fair assessment? How many hours did you leave it before putting sheets and sleeping on it?
Once I saw the mattress, it was obvious that the side with the tags attached had to go on the bottom, and the side with the beveled edges had to be the top.
We left it for about 11 hours leaning up against a wall (lengthwise) so that both sides could expand and out-gas if needed before preparing it for sleeping.
During the first night I noticed a “new” smell coming from the foam if I was sleeping on my side with my nose close to the mattress. I think there must still be some out-gassing going on, but it did not give me a headache or make my lungs burn the way memory foam did. If you are chemically sensitive it would probably be best to let it air out for a few days. But if you are that sensitive then you probably don’t want to be sleeping on any kind of foam made from petroleum products.
