The Search For My Next Mattress (Greensboro, NC)

Hey, Phoenix, your site is a veritable treasure trove of information and has certainly helped me in learning a lot of good information, instead of the marketing slang thrown around at big mattress stores. I wanted to thank you for putting together this valuable resource.

I will confess to an almost information overload with all of the knowledge you’ve compiled. I’ve read a lot and compiled a lot of choices, but the best qualifier is how I would feel on the memory foam mattress I plan on buying.

I walked into a big furniture store, Ashley’s, in fact, and was testing some of their mattresses and managed to teach the sales person more than they ever knew about memory foam mattresses. I was disappointed with the inventory and the prices. I stopped in to a few other stores in the area and was equally disappointed. I did enjoy, like many others on this forum seem to, the Serta iComfort Revolution mattress for the time I laid on it. But, I’ve read your thread(s) on the Serta iComforts and want to steer clear.

In one of the stores, I tried out a Pure Bliss latex mattress, the cheapest one felt very… bouncy/hard. The two levels up definitely felt better, softer, than the lowest. However, I still think I’d like a memory foam mattress.

I would tend to lean towards getting one of the Novaform or Spa Sensations mattresses, as the price is definitely right, but am leery of some of the things you’ve mentioned about them.

My information is as follows, 5’10", 230lbs. Side/stomach sleeper. I’ve slept on a Tempurpedic mattress before, for many nights, and loved the sleep I was able to have with it, though it did sleep hot. Currently, I am on an older innerspring mattress, with back pain, but I am not sure if it is related to my current sleep setup, though. I also wake up several times a night, not really restful the next morning.

I know you recommend checking out local manufactures if they are available in my area. I found one thread mentioning some locations in High Point, NC, but it was for a person a few hours away.

Can you recommend places to call and/or visit within driving distance of Greensboro, NC?

Any help that you would give me is greatly appreciated

Hi SleepEasy,

In case you haven’t read it … the best way I know to help bypass the information overload that can come from a site like this is to follow the steps in post #1 here and scan the information it links to. This is perhaps the most important post on the forum. The key is always to connect with the experts either locally or online (for those that choose to go in this direction as well) and to know just enough to be able to identify them. This way you will have the help and guidance of people who already know what you would otherwise need to learn.

Half the battle sometimes is knowing who and what to avoid :slight_smile:

Serta clearly hit a “home run” with the “showroom feel” of their mattresses and their marketing and advertising efforts but unfortunately how a mattress feels in a showroom may have little to do with how it will feel when you get it home (if your testing was more subjective than objective) or in a year or a few years down the road (if they use lower quality materials that will soften and degrade much more quickly than higher quality more durable materials that will keep their feel and performance for much longer). Most consumers also believe that a warranty protects against this but the truth is that a warranty has little to nothing to do with how long a mattress will last because the loss of comfort and support that comes from foam softening is not covered by any warranty even though it is the biggest reason people need to replace a mattress.

Talalay latex (which is what they use inside) is a very high quality and durable material but as in all things different people can have very different preferences in terms of how certain materials perform and feel regardless of their quality. The key is alwys that no matter which materials or combinations you prefer that you know the details of what is in your mattress so you know the quality and durability of the materials inside. All types of foam for example comes in higher and lower quality versions and you can’t tell the difference between them based on how they feel in a showroom.

I would be leery as well. The key is always to know the quality of all the layers in your mattress so you can make apples to apples quality and value comparisons between mattresses. Lower quality materials are cheaper than higher quality materials but in the longer term they can also be much more costly because they don’t last nearly as long. The guidelines I suggest if you are looking for a memory foam mattress are in post #10 here.

Regardless of your height, weight, sleeping position, or preferences … a good local retailer will know how to help you “match” a mattress to your needs and preferences. The first post I linked will help you recognize who they are. If you do decide to go online … then the knowledge and experience of the retailer or manufacturer you are working with becomes one of the most important parts of buying a mattress because they will know which of their mattresses “on average” will tend to match your body type, sleeping positions, and preferences. This is more risky because nobody can know for sure whether you fit the “averages” of their customer base but many of them have exchange policies or layer exchanges that can reduce the risk.

No matter what the quality or “raw value” of a mattress … if it isn’t suitable for your own needs and preferences then it would have little to no value to you. The quality of your sleep is one of the most important parts of our overall well being and if you buy a mattress that doesn’t provide you with what I call PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) then anything you spend is wasted … or at the very least you would need to exchange it for something else and in some cases start all over again from the beginning. When you are starting out … finding the experts that can give you the help and guidance that you will need and that sell high quality and value mattresses is one of the most important things you can do. Where you buy can be just as important as what you buy.

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Greensboro area are listed in post #2 here (the Hickory list you may have been looking at includes these as well).

Phoenix

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?

Hi SleepEasy,

These definitely use high quality materials and IMO are good value. As you mentioned they only make one but at least it’s good quality/value.

If these are their Green Choice mattresses, they are only carried at some of their stores and they don’t make them but import them from China. As you can see here … I would tend to avoid them.

While the foam is not my favorite type or highest quality of gel memory foam available (I don’t believe it will be as durable as other types that either mix the gel as a liquid or use much finer particles that are more evenly dispersed) … there is no doubt that this is great value and the base layer is very high quality as well. Compare this for example to the Serta Insight here which uses a very similar construction except much lower quality base foam (1.5 lbs) and it’s clear that this is great value. It also is very similar and compares well to the Ultimate Dreams 10" gel mattress here which is among the best values in the country.

Value is always about the quality of the materials relative to the price you pay along with the options and benefits that come from dealing with a particular manufacturer or retailer as well and If you have tested it for PPP and it works well and it fits your personal value equation … I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it at the price he is asking, particularly if he is there to back it up if you have any problems with it.

I think it’s a great find :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Thanks for the quick reply, Phoenix.

As I do recall, they were the Green Choice mattresses. What you said falls right in line with what the salesman told me, as well.

I value your input on the local manufacturer. The quality of his materials seems pretty high, especially for the price. I think I’ll go with his product.

I will report back once I’ve taken delivery!