I live in Red Deer, which is a little over an hour either way to Calgary or Edmonton. We are both side sleepers. I tend to sleep with 2 pillows. The pillow under my head is a side sleeper latex pillow and then I have a larger pillow I use kind of like a body pillow.
I am a little hesitant to buy a mattress online, for sure, but I am not sure I would know the right mattress for me even if I was lying on it.
Hey Phoenix,
Your posts are extremely helpful which is why I value your opinion. I have done a lot of research and can not make a decision on what to purchase. Right now, my wife and I are leaning towards the iComfort Genius at Mattress Firm for $1699 for the King Mattress only. She is 5â4" 110 lbs. She is a nurse and former gymnist/dancer so has lower back problems. I am 6â4" 200 lbs. I can really sleep on anything but she has been recommended the foam for her back. She really liked the iComfort in the store as well.
As far as money, we are OK with paying extra for comfort and quality but it is hard to get facts from stores. We live in Cincinnati, OH and Mattress Firm is all I can think to go for the foam. Would you recommend the iComfort or Novaform at Costco, or is there something else we should look at?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks. No back issues though, I have a sore shoulder, hence the username.
Well, if the foam is just under 5lb density with the micro gel beads, I would guess it might be a 4lb memory foam. It felt aslightly easier to compress than Tempurâs 5.3lb. foam.(had pieces for comparison)
The Tempur-Cloud does use two thinner layers on top that are different densities, whereas the iComfort uses the 2.75"-3"(it measured three in the store with a tape measurerâthe piece)
I am very leary of buying both site and feel unseen. I also am not real interested in shipping back a bed if it does not work for me as opposed to possibly paying a small fee for a local to pick it up and bring a new bed.
I would love to save money, but I would need to be âsureâ that an online bed was at least as good if not verifiably better than local big store options. I had, for a very short time, considered the Walmart Aerus bedâŚbut I believe that is a low quality âthrow awayâ bed.
You mentioned that a bed above was using Aerus 5lb foamâŚI thought Aeurs was weighed to 4lb density??
I made some calls this morning to SertaâŚ
âŚThe top comfort layer is 4lb foam with the gel beads making up the other 1lb of counted density. This is striaght from the horseâs mouth. I am waiting on the ILD(or IFD) of the polyfoam base core of the mattress. I was told they will call me with that information, but weâll seeâŚ
Phoenix,
I just spoke to a retailer that sells mattresses from Carolina Mattress Guild. This is what their website says about the bed they carry:
Sanctuary from the Natural Living Collection:
Knitted bamboo ticking, silk, and wool fiber naturally regulates your bodyâs temperature allowing faster and deeper sleep cycles
Visco-elastic soy memory foam, or NASA foam, is heat sensitive and reacts to your bodyâs unique profile - providing pressure relief where itâs needed most, and support along the rest of your bodyâs sleep posture. The result is a very luxurious, and cradling sensation that results in falling asleep faster, and once asleep - staying asleep deeper and longer.
A layer of ComforLatex provides pressure relief along the surface of the bed. ComforLatex provides a layer of unique latex feelingâŚas though you are floating on the surface of the bed.
A layer of convoluted natural latex adds to the support and pressure relief of the ComforLatex layer, with convoluted waves that gently cushion and support you
Plush QuiltFlex comfort foam adds just the right amount of soft support and cloudlike feeling so your body is cradled in the quilt of the mattress
Tri-Zone comfort foam layer breaks your sleep surface up into three zones of comfort specifically designed for your upper torso, your lower back and hips, and your legs. The surface is âconvolutedâ in supportive waves that gently cushion and support you in the quilt.
Thick soy foam core layers provide support beneath the memory foam layer. The soy foam support layers minimize motion transfer between sleepers, so that the person on the left side doesnât feel the person on the right side roll, turn, or leave the bed.
9.0" Coordinated Stability Foundation
This really does not mean much to me and before I drive to see it, I wanted your thoughts. Thanks- Jill
Hi jmbramblett,
This is more of a list of general ingredients but it doesnât say the order of the ingredients, their thickness, or in the case of any polyfoam or memory foam ⌠the quality (density) used. A good retailer should have this information and would normally provide it to you. A mattress that contained memory foam as a main material in the comfort layers wouldnât really be called a latex mattress but rather a memory foam mattress or a hybrid (which can be well worth trying).
Once theyâve given you this information I would look more closely at the following.
This mattress seems to have a polyfoam support core so I would want to make sure that the density was a minimum of 1.8 lbs or better. A polyfoam support core can be a lower cost alternative to a latex support core for those that want the feel of latex in a comfort layer but are not in the budget range of a latex support core.
It has a mix of memory foam, latex, and polyfoam in the comfort layers and the quilting. I would want to know the density of any polyfoam and any memory foam and I would also make sure there wasnât more than an inch of polyfoam in the upper layers of the mattress (including the quiltflex quilting). I would also want to find out what type of latex they were using (natural or blended talalay or natural dunlop would be the better choices).
The CMG flex line seems to be more focused on using just latex in the comfort layers and would probably give you a better sense of what latex by itself felt like.
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IMO you are wise to do most of your initial work on the phone and asking questions like this will save you a lot of travel time, testing time, and frustration.
Phoenix
10 ILD on the 3" - 4lb gel bead foam for the iComforts.
Hi Soreshoulder,
Thanks a lot for taking the time to call them :).
I have to say Iâm impressed and you had better luck than I did. When I started this thread I did some calculations and figured out that it was about 4 lb base memory foam with the extra density coming from the gel to make it just under 5 lbs but itâs nice to see that this has been confirmed.
What this also means IMO is that even though the âfeelâ will be closer to a 5 lb denser memory foam, the durability will be comparable to 4 lb memory foam and possibly a little less because particulates in the foam that are not part of the polymer matrix will usually decrease longevity. This is part of the reason that I believe the iComforts donât have the best value for the prices they are selling. Iâm somewhat surprised that the ILD is 10 however ILD with memory foam is not that relevant and will change with humidity and temperature and other factors including the speed of compression.
The higher models also include their Kool Comfort memory foam over the gel foam and according to several sites this is also a 5 lb breathable memory foam (although when I looked at a sample it certainly didnât seem to be the same density as the gel memory foam but this could have been a sample mixup). In addition to this the various higher models also include other foams including slow recovery latex (of an unknown quality but it is not pincored as I have also seen a sample of this) and polyfoam (of an unknown but low density).
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Iâll also be interested if they provide you with the density of the base layers as well but this wouldnât be as critical and it would almost certainly be HD foam probably in the range of 2 lb density.
Thanks again for getting the information âfrom the horseâs mouthâ. Thereâs always hope that the majors will see the light and start providing this kind of information about every material they use ⌠although I wonât hold my breath 
Phoenix
Am I right i nassuming that with the Insight, the 3"-4lb gel foam with the beads and the 10ILD would not hold up well and for anyone of some weight(say over 175) would most likely make that 3" bottom out very quickly?
I am only 140lb, but stillâŚ
CincyBearcat,
My wife and I also like the icomfort but after ready the great info from Phoenix, we are a little hesitant buying one. We came across the place up here by us in Yellow Springs, Design Sleep. I havenât made it over there yet, hopefully this week.
Look at this thread, Phoenix gives some other places that are in our area.
I will provide some feedback on Design Sleep after our visit.
Matt
Hi Soreshoulder,
I missed this post yesterday,
I certainly donât blame you here and if I was buying a mattress online I would certainly do some local testing to find a rough âprototypeâ as a model for an online purchase. I would also make sure I knew what the cost of either returning a mattress was or the cost of exchanging layers (which I believe is a very good option for an online purchase).
[quote]I would love to save money, but I would need to be âsureâ that an online bed was at least as good if not verifiably better than local big store options. I had, for a very short time, considered the Walmart Aerus bedâŚbut I believe that is a low quality âthrow awayâ bed.
You mentioned that a bed above was using Aerus 5lb foamâŚI thought Aeurs was weighed to 4lb density?? [/quote]
Like all types of memory foam or polyfoam ⌠Aerus can be made in many densities. It is typically found in 3, 4, and 5 lb densities although they can pour it in other densities as well. 5 lb of course is a higher quality than 4 lb and would be more durable.
[quote]Am I right i nassuming that with the Insight, the 3"-4lb gel foam with the beads and the 10ILD would not hold up well and for anyone of some weight(say over 175) would most likely make that 3" bottom out very quickly?
I am only 140lb, but still⌠[/quote]
Itâs difficult to speak in absolutes because the actual testing done on foam is not usually released and even when it is it doesnât usually relate perfectly to real life experience. Part of the reason for this is that different people stress their mattresses in many different ways and the different sleeping environments can also play a role.
It would be safe to say though that 4 lb memory foam is not as durable as 5 lb memory foam (density is the single biggest factor in durability although there are others) and the odds are also very good that any particulate material that is embedded in foam (even though it increases density) will also reduce its lifespan. Polyurethane foams (which includes memory foams) degrade in 3 different ways. There is an initial more rapid softening over the first 90 days or so ⌠followed by a more gradual softening over the longer term ⌠and followed by a more complete breakdown and deeper body impressions.
So whether someone feels like they are âbottoming outâ depends on the thickness of the layer (all memory foam is soft but the different densities and types have slightly different levels of softness and speeds of compression and recovery) and on what is underneath it. As the foam softens either initially or over the longer term, a layer that was âperfectâ in the showroom can become too soft over time and the qualities and feel of the mattress may no longer be suitable for the person that bought it. In lower quality foams this can happen very quickly. Higher quality foams will take more time to soften and degrade.
Your lower weight would usually mean that any foam will last longer than it will for a heavier person.
Phoenix
Hi Shari,
If you are an hour away from Calgary, there is no doubt in my mind that I would put my focus on the 3 manufacturers or retailers there who are members of this site (see the Calgary list here). I invite some manufacturers or retailers to become members when I have talked with them enough to be completely comfortable with the quality and value they offer and they are also comfortable with the goals and values of this site It also doesnât hurt that when they become members they also offer consumer members of the site an additional 5% discount or a bonus with any mattress purchase.
While they each make different styles of mattresses ⌠there is some great quality and value available there and they would give you better choices than anything that is available in your local market that I am aware of.
Phoenix
Do you know anything about the Kingsdown latex mattresses? I went to Sleep Country (biggest mattress retailer in Canada) today and they have stopped selling latex beds. I thought that was unusual. The salesman told me they were just a fad! I also went to a company called Mattress Mattress, not sure if you are familiar with them. He was pretty excited that the competition had stopped selling latex, although he couldnât believe it. He said that latex/foam is the way of the future and over half of their beds are latex or memory foam. In any case, my husband didnât like the icomfort but he was quite fond of a bed they called the Kingsdown Vivarri. I guess it is exclusive to this company. Not sure if other businesses sell it under a different name or not. I canât remember the exact details of the layers but it sounded like all the layers were very high quality talalay latex with a 6 inch core and a couple of other 2" in layers of talalay and some HD foam. 11 inches altogether with foam around the edges for support. The only problem is the price. $3500 for just the king mattress!! I could pay that but I donât really want to. Your thoughts? I can go back to the store and get the info on the exact layering if you wish. They did also have a cut out sample of the mattress.
I will give the other guys in Calgary a call in the meantime.
Hi CindyBearcat,
I personally wouldnât recommend either as being particularly good value. Some guidelines that may be helpful in eliminating most of the worse choices in your mattress search are here. As you can see I would avoid all major brands and chain stores.
Some of your better choices in and around Cincinnati (50 miles) include some good factory direct manufacturers. Some of these are a repeat of the thread mentioned by Matt (thanks :)) but has a few other options because I centered the search around Cincinnati rather than Yellow Springs.
http://www.sleeptitemattressfactory.com/ Franklin, OH Local factory direct manufacturer who make a range of latex, memory foam, and innerspring mattresses.
Find an Original Mattress Factory Store Florence, Cold Spring, KY. Regional factory direct manufacturer who also make a range of latex, memory foam, and innerspring mattresses.
Denver MattressÂŽ - The Easiest Way to Get the Right Mattress Florence, KY. Regional factory direct manufacturer. They also make a range of latex and innerspring mattresses.
https://designsleep.com/mattresses/7-zone-natural-latex/ Yellow Springs, OH Retail direct outlet for Berkeley Ergonomics. I think highly of their knowledge and service. They carry a range of latex, latex/innerspring, and latex/microcoil mattresses.
http://www.bowlesmattress.com/ Regional factory direct manufacturer that makes their own and Lady Americana mattresses with many outlets throughout KY and other states. The closest stores are listed on their google map here.
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https://marksmattress.com/ Richmond, IN. Carries their own line of private label memory foam and latex mattresses called Sleep Natural that may include some better quality/value options. I would avoid the major brand and liquidation mattresses that they also carry.
Shop Affordable Home Furnishings & Home Goods - IKEA West Chester, OH Sells a Dunlop latex mattress using 85% natural Dunlop and an innerspring with the same material on top. See post #3 here for some of the other mattresses they carry. The Dunlop core could be a good option to add a talalay latex topper on top.
These would certainly give you better choices and better value than the major brands and the chain stores (like mattress firm) that are available in your area.
Hope this helps.
Phoenix
Thank you Matt and Phoenix.
Original Mattress Factory is definitely a place we are familiar with and have looked on their website. I just did not know the quality of their memory foam mattresses. We will check them out and ask questions about the quality based off topics I have read from your posts.
Thanks again!
Glad I found this site.
Phoenix, also my college mascot. I was hoping for some help. As with many others on this site, my wife 5â3 and I 6â4 have been looking at new mattresses lately, the Icomfort brand included. Local Mattress king store has a âsaleâ on these and theyâve been reduced a bit but are still quite expensive at $1299 up to $2599.
We live in the Nashville, TN area. Do you know of any local yokal or factory direct stores around us that we can research?
Phoenix,
I can get a natura crown bed for 2200 and it normally retails for $3700. I was wondering what your opinion would be ingesting this as to get it factory made would be 2000 from one of the people on the list. If you could let me know that would be great. Thanks
Hi Lankynonyankee,
Nashville isnât the best area in terms of local factory direct manufacturers but there are still some better choices in the general area. Post #7 here includes the better options that I am aware of.
Iâm not sure what size youâre looking at for the price reference ⌠but even at a small discount I wouldnât consider the iComfort to be very good value ⌠even though it is very popular (there are a lot of people who are buying them based on their âshowroom feelâ rather than on the quality of materials or the value of the mattress).
Hope this helps
Phoenix
Hi Shari,
Kingsdown is one of the larger national brands and are not particularly good value IMO. They certainly donât compete well with most local manufacturers such as the two in Calgary. Itâs really not possible to know anything about the quality or value of a mattress without knowing the layers that are in it and many manufacturers make very minor changes in their models and then change the names in order to make meaningful comparisons very difficult. I would doubt that the Kingsdown is all latex and the odds are very good that there is at least some polyfoam in the comfort layers and/or the support layers. HD foam for example is polyfoam and could be either the material they use in the 6" support core or it could be a layer of polyfoam above the latex. If you check the law tag you can find out for sure as it will tell you the percentage of each material even though it wonât tell you the thickness of the layers or where in the mattress they are. Even if it is was high quality mattress though and was all latex ⌠the value is still not good and there are many mattresses that are all latex at lower cost.
The person who told you that latex is a fad is very funny and clearly knows little about the industry or about foam. Latex is the fastest growing part of the specialty sleep market and Talalay latex has been around for over 60 years and Dunlop even longer (longer than either polyfoam or memory foam). Thatâs some fad
In any case I would avoid any chain stores or national brands as they just donât compete with smaller factory direct outlets in terms of the quality of materials or value. They may be good as a reference point for comparison purposes but they are not the best place to spend much of your time ⌠and make sure you check the law tags if you are considering any âlatexâ mattress!
Phoenix
Hi 22bmarsh,
The Natura Crown certainly uses good quality materials and the price is much better than it normally sells for but there are some things that I believe are much more important than price or even quality.
What I would consider first is ⌠does it provide you with the pressure relief you need? Next I would make sure that it gives you good alignment in all your sleeping positions. Without a âyesâ to both of these ⌠no mattress is worth buying no matter what its price or quality. After that is the consideration of your preferences. Do you like how it feels, are you comfortable with the amount of wool in the quilting, and does it provide the other preferences that are important to you.
Without knowing the construction and specs of the mattress you are comparing it to, itâs impossible to know how it compares in terms of value but I personally would put a premium on buying a mattress that I have actually tested and that I know is exactly what I want over a mattress that I hadnât. When that premium is too big though ⌠then an online purchase would of course be much more attractive. If you have actually tested both mattresses and they are both close to âperfectâ, then I would take a look at which had the better value in terms of the materials that were in them and which provided the better after sales options if this was an important consideration for you (such as layer adjustments or exchanges if necessary).
Phoenix