I was planning on buying an iComfort bed in the next week. Searched for some reviews, and when I found this website I was blown away by all of the recommendations counter to what I would have ever expected. Buy from local “mom and pop” type shops? Stay away from the big brands with brand awareness? I have no idea what to do right now.
For some background: My wife and I wanted to upgrade to a King size bed. Bought a plush pillowtop from Mattress Warehouse and my wife started having back pain. Exchanged to a more firm mattress by the same company, and she was having aches and pains still - way to firm.
So, I figured we should look at a memory foam. Considered Tempurpedic and iComfort and was going to save some money and go iComfort. That seems to fly directly in the face of recommendations here.
Whatever I buy, I want to be able to try it for a while with the option to return it. We’ve been through a couple of mattresses already, so I will NOT buy something that I can’t return in 60-90 days if it isn’t helping.
I’ve read about finding local manufacturers. Can someone help me out? Where should I start?
Many of the better local or independent manufacturers are much larger than just local “mom and pops” although some of these make great quality and value as well. Some are local, some are regional, and some are even available nationally. They range in size from very small to some manufacturers that are quite large (tens of millions a year or even larger) but they all tend to be privately owned and run by what I call “mattress people” instead of “money machines”. Some sell factory direct (locally or online) and some sell only wholesale through better local sleep shops or retailers that tend to specialize in smaller more independent manufacturers that are more open about what they use in their mattresses and use higher quality materials and components at every price point.
The best place to start is post #1 here which will give you a step by step process and link to information that can help you find the best possible quality/value mattress that is most suitable for your individual needs and preferences. It can also help you avoid “information overload” by linking to the most important information you will need.
In case you’ve read this already, I also just realized that one of the links was incorrect and instead of leading to an article on this site with 10 very helpful guidelines … it was linked for some reason to the Latex International website (the link is now corrected). It also now includes a link to information about most of the individual needs and preferences that may be important to each person and help them make more meaningful quality and value comparisons between different mattresses in more “objective” ways.
Once you’ve read this … if you haven’t found a “list” on the forum for your area … if you let me know the city or zip where you live I’d be happy to let you know about the better local manufacturers, sleep shops, or other better possibilities in your area.