Hi Phoenix.
I know you have tons of info on mattress shopping and I have read quite a bit. I just want a super comfy mattress for side and back sleeping that won’t leave a dip where my butt lies. Willing to spend between 1k and 2k Canadian. We will also need a box spring for our old fashioned bedroom suite. Expecting to get a good 10 years out of it. Can you please message me with suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
Shelley
Hi shermitte,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
If you’ve read quite a bit on this site, then you’re already aware that I only provide “how” to choose, not “what”, in a mattress, and I don’t make specific recommendations for anyone. It’s just not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components, because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
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Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
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Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight/BMI range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress (see the durability guidelines here).
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Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
There is a list of online mattress sources for Canadians in post #21 here.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix. Thank you for your reply. Wow! Mattresses have to be the most difficult thing to buy. I will do some more reading I guess, lol.
Shelley
Hi shermitte,
The mattress shopping tutorial really is quite helpful if you take the time to read through it. Many of the manufacturers/retailers in the Canadian link I provided can also be assistive. If you’re near a larger metro area in Canada, you can provide your postal code and I’ll see if I am aware of any brick and mortar options near your home.
Phoenix
I’m in Toronto… what suggestions do you have for inner spring mattress locations here? Durability is key. THanks!
Hi LJsleep.
Welcome to our Mattress Forum!
Subject to first confirming that any retailer or manufacturer on the list that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article ) and to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets your criteria and the quality/value guidelines here … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Toronto, ON area are listed in post #1 here which has some listings and suggestions I used to offer for this area, however, I have decided to discontinue the provision of listings of potential retailers in various geographic regions (unless they are already Trusted Members of our site), because of the difficulty in maintaining such listings in a retail landscape that is constantly changing, and most importantly the confusion it was creating with the consumer members who incorrectly assumed that these businesses had gone through the strict qualification process and were approved as members of The Mattress Underground.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
Boy am I glad I found your website.
It’s a godsend and I have learned so much!
It was all a mystery before and now it’s not.
And still I am a bit overwhelmed and unsure of what to buy.
I have looked at every website you recommend on your “trusted” pages, read thru the how to buy posts, many many ask the experts pages, and I feel somewhat certain about what I need until I get to the sites where you buy them. Then it all gets confusing for me.
Like a 9 inch, a 7 inch and 12 inch…how do I know what to buy?
What’s best for me I know is a subjective answer, but right now I am looking at a Willow 12″ Eurotop Latex Mattress from www.dreamfoambedding.com and looking at Pure Green™ Natural Latex Mattress 9 inch from www.sleeponlatex.com and a 9 inch at www.latexforless.com. I have no idea which would be better and why. Yet I know what the parts are about I dont know what the sum total means for me. I can’t be buying and return a bunch of mattresses. I’m barely strong enough to contemplate one arriving at my door and the hubster and I dragging it in and setting it up.
Here’s my other issue…what’s called medium for one and medium for another is baffling and how they make up the layers is the place where I get lost. What’s better for me? That’s subjective, right? So how do you know what to choose?
Is there a standard by which everyone goes when they say medium, soft comfort layers can be this big or that big. ARGH! Do I just go without it and buy a topper? How soft is a topper? I have some I bought from costco and they are garbage. I know there are standards and measurements for densites but I can’t keep all that straight in my head it seems.
How soft is soft, how medium is medium? How much better (or not) is a 12 over a 9 inch?
I’m so confused.
I keep reading more at the forums and I think I know what I need, and then I get there and I just get confused all over again because they will differ a bit here and their in descriptions or assembly.
I’m in Orange county calif. in Fullerton.
I think I may need to go into a retail store, but that’s subjective too cuz it takes a while for a bed to break in and those have been bounced on quite a bit. I just dont know what to do.
Here’s what I am trying to solve.
I bought a bed 4 years ago knowing nothing about beds.
It’s already shot. Wah.
Oh well, live and learn.
So, I have a torn rotator, right arm, and a bad neuroma in my right foot with arthritis also, soon to have surgery on foot…
Bad foot made me walk off balance. Soon my hip was out. I have to sleep on my right side to keep the arm from hurting as it needs pressure against it, but my hip starts to burn from lack of support on that side after a few minutes. SO how much pressure does one need? Do you go by weight and height?
I am 5’1" 180 lbs. Yup. I’m a fattie now. Been in this bed for about 3 years due to foot. Lots of time in bed. Cant sit in chairs, sofa, nuthin works out because of the arm. It can’t hang down and has to be elevated or it hurts like hell. So I spend a lot of time in this bed.
Do I go to firm or stick with medium? How do I figure out how to make up those layers?
I just dont know.
I was thinking of going to www.costplusmattresses.com store because they have a show room and I’ve read such wonderful things about the owner Paul Niederer. When I went to his website there were only a few latex mattresses but maybe I dont need a latex only mattress.
It seems he’s so knowledgeable and fair minded he might be able to solve this problem and poof! No more shopping on the internet.
I couldn’t find any other retail stores that sounded near to me with a showroom that might put in the care that Mr. Niederer does in serving his customers fairly and with such deep knowledge of his business and the crafting of the beds he sells. But Laverne and Ranch Cucamonga are quite a ways from me so I’d have to add in a delivery charge. My budget is $1500. and i’d like to get a queen size. Also a box spring or whatever is best.
Your thoughts? Or suggestions, or advice if you can, would be much appreciated.
I might just know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to be smart about this whole thing.
I just know I can’t buy another crap bed, like the one I’m in almost 24 hours a day, ever again.
Thank you for your time, insight and kindness in the ways you have helped so many here.
And no worries, I’ll keep reading to get more informed. Just need someone to steer me in some good directions. Any other retailers you’d recommend in O.C. nearer to me?
Thank you very much for reading this long dissertation!
In good humor and faith,
Catte Adams