Phoenix…so glad I found your outstanding & informative site before we pulled the trigger on our mattress purchase.
We’re fortunate enough to have a flexible budget and aren’t reluctant to pay for a quality mattress considering the amount of time one spends sleeping and the importance of getting good rest. But why do manufacturers and retailers make buying a mattress such an ordeal? For the same reason car dealers and airlines work their voodoo I suppose.
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I’ve spent quite a lot of time going through the forums and understand much more than I did before. But may I ask your opinion on a specific mattress we are considering? It’s one of the “exclusive” (right…) Comforpedics carried by Macy’s and is called “Calming Sleep.” The breakdown given on the display card is as follows:
Could they have any more goofy trade names thrown in there?
Anyway, as it happened there was a Simmons factory rep there who explained a few things about the technology, for example that the 5.5" core is prestressed (I think that was the word) or in other words, pre-crushed to help it last longer. Also, he explained the airflow channels and all that made sense to us. He gave me his card and I plan to email him to ask specifics on the foam density and so on. Before I do, are there any questions you suggest I ask beyond the foam density?
We live in metro Atlanta and I found the post with the suggested outlets in our area. I plan to research those but if you have any recommendations right off the bat as to apples-to-apples comparisons to a mattress such as the Calming Sleep I would much appreciate hearing them. We really liked that mattress but your advice about none of the major brands matching the value available elsewhere keeps ringing in my head.
On another note, this site is impressive. It has no doubt taken years of hard work and dedication to build and countless people have surely saved money and slept better because of it, so thank you for that.
Hopefully you’ve had the chance to read it but just in case … post #1 here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines along with links to many of the most important posts on the forum that are the most helpful. Simmons is on the list of manufacturers I would tend to avoid because they generally won’t provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision.
These specs have no meaningful information about the quality/density of all the foam layers so unless you are able to find out the density of any memory foam layers or polyfoam layers (such as the support core) or the type and blend of any latex (such as the independent support technology) there is no way to make any meaningful comments about a mattress or make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses. You would be making a completely blind purchase and the odds are high your mattress would include lower quality materials or be overpriced compared to other options you have available.
The factory reps are good at sharing their marketing stories but they usually don’t know much of the more important information about their mattresses. With polyfoam, memory foam, or gel memory foam the type of foam and its density is the most important information you would need. In the case of latex you just need to know the type and blend of the latex.
Thanks for the kind words … and hopefully the site can help you make the best possible choice as well
