Hi Phoenix,
Thanks for being so quick to reply to my thread! I can’t believe I missed the linked High Point thread, as it was definitely a good resource.
Over the last two days I visited a few places. I went to the Original Mattress Factory, Furniture Row, and B and L Bedding in High Point.
I visited B and L Bedding first, but will talk about the other two places initially.
OMF only had the one memory foam bed to try, but they did have a spec sheet for the one they sell. OMF’s mattress is the Serenity.
- Double Jersey Knit Fabric Cover with Faux Suede Side Panels
- 4" High Density Memory foam: 1.5" 7.6-8.4 lb/ft^2 Desnity Memory Foam Topper, 2.5" 4.7-5.3 lb/ft^2 Density Memory Foam Topper
- 1/2" Specialty Formulated air-flow foam layer
- Support System: 6" HD Polyurethane Foam Core (No lb/ft^2 listed)
This one felt pretty comfortable and for a Queen was about ~$1400, I cannot remember. The quality of materials seems to be pretty high.
I went to Furniture Row in Charlotte. Inside, there was the Denver Mattress Company. They had plenty of memory foam mattresses of the national brands, along with their own line of MF.
Their MF beds were of much lower price, but according to the spec sheets, much lower quality as well. On top of that, the mattresses weren’t as comfortable, on initial lay-down and after 5-10 minutes.
- 10" Thick
- 1" ViscoElas Memory Foam
- 3.5" 3 lb ViscoElas Memory Foam
- 4.5" ES HybridCore Inner Support System
- 1" ES Support Foam
This is the only information the sales rep was able to give me, as it was listed on the spec sheet above the mattress itself. They had a few varieties, ranging from $200-$600 MF beds. All of the quality was variations on the 3lb memory foam.
When I went to B and L Bedding, it was interesting. First off, to anyone who visits their place of business, don’t be put off by the “off the beaten path” look to the building. It looks a little run down and they have a friendly dog inside that barks when people approach.
I spoke with the owner, Brian Walker, for a long time. They had only a few mattresses available to lay on, the rest of the space was dedicated in the back to actual mattress production. He makes many different mattresses, with any number of variations you could care to ask for. Currently, he is making only one type of memory foam mattress, but the reason for that is he obtained some higher quality gel infused memory foam that Serta/Simmons were using that they decided to stop using. Since he obtained the material at such a cheap price, he is passing the cost on to any customers that “care to find his business and want to buy a mattress direct”.
He also sells latex mattress, inner spring coil mattresses, and any real variation you would like. He noted that if I had the spec sheets for specific layering, he would make that as well. Latex mattresses, which he really was encouraging due to their longevity, he can make in ILDs from 24-36, depending on the customer’s preference.
So, for the MF mattress he is making, it is 3" of 4.5lb gel-infused MF that he was able to buy at a huge discount because Serta found that some of the gel beads were coming out of the foam. He advised that they take better care of making their mattresses so that this doesn’t and hasn’t happened to their products.
The support layer, he said was 2.5 lb poly foam, 6".
The cost of mattress and box spring together would be $450, or $395 for just the mattress. Delivery to anyone in the local area would be an extra $35 or they can help you strap it to the roof of your car if you want to save the cash.
In terms of how it felt, rather than just the materials used, it felt good. However, it might have felt better if it weren’t 20F outside and around 60F inside the building. I laid on the mattress for over 10 minutes, on my side, to test how it reacted to body heat. It conformed well and I didn’t feel any pressure points being tweaked while laying on it.
For the price and quality, I don’t see how it could be beat. Certain name brands felt better in showrooms, but they were properly heated to a good warm room temperature.
I asked, he has no return policy, so once I buy it, I had better like it. He did say that if there was something that went wrong with the materials or construction he would repair or replace it.
I know this is all subjective to my own opinion, but, do you have any input or thoughts on this, Phoenix?