Too many sleepless nights in NJ

[phoenix]

Hi Eskay,

Anyway, I loved this mattress when I first got it, and considering the $2000 price tag, I should have. $2K for a twin XL should have come with dinner and a movie along with the promise of a good night’s sleep. The first five years of our relationship were good, but now I want out of this relationship more than a Kardashian wants out of a marriage. This obviously angers me (again, lack of sleep) because it was so expensive. It has a ten-year-warranty, so I contacted Sleepys a couple of weeks ago. The third-party inspector came out this past Tuesday and said that while he can only make recommendations to Sleepys, he’s 95% sure they will honor the warranty because my bed had a 3" indentation. He said I really shouldn’t be sleeping on it at all.

At least this part is good news because in many cases a mattress that has softened and lost its comfort or support won’t have the actual impressions that are necessary to make a successful warranty claim.

I’m unfamiliar with how Sleepys will handle the warranty (it isn’t enough that it took a week to schedule the appointment and another week to come out, but I won’t know for 7-10 days about their decision), but I’m really not sure about whether I want to buy another mattress from them. I do feel a little bit better now that I think I have a pretty good idea of what I need. Based on what I’ve read here, I’m thinking a thicker, softer comfort layer and a firmer support layer. I’m a very curvy 5’2 with uneven weight distribution (hello, pear shape!), I’m also a little heavier than I should be. I’m a combination sleeper, side and back, but favor the side. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m thinking a pocket inner coil system for the support layer and high quality latex for the comfort layer. Does that make sense? I’d prefer to have a double sided mattress, but I’m concerned that it will be gigantic next to my husband’s viscofoam mattress in the frame.

They would give you the specifics but you would generally be limited to choosing another mattress from the same manufacturer (warranty claims aren’t refunds) and paying for any difference in cost between yours and the new mattress. This would put you in a difficult position because you can test their current mattresses for PPP but Kingsdown doesn’t generally disclose the quality of the materials they use in their mattresses which means that you could end up repeating the cycle again. Post #2 here has more information and comments to other forum members that were in a similar position (having to exchange a mattress for another one that isn’t the best quality/value, has unknown or low quality comfort layers, or where the options are more limited) that may be helpful.

The two basic approaches are to choose a mattress that is a good match for you in terms of PPP and where you can find out the quality of the layers in the mattress (which is unlikely) or to choose a mattress that is very firm and minimizes the use of low quality or unknown foams in the comfort layers (which are the layers that are most subject to softening and breaking down) and adding a good quality and durable topper as a separate comfort layer instead. It can be a little tricky to choose the best topper unless you can test the combination in the store but it has the advantage that you can choose the quality and type of your own comfort layer, a topper will increase the durability of the mattress layers below it, and it can also be replaced if it softens or breaks down faster than the mattress (which is likely) without having to replace the entire mattress.

My husband has a friend/business acquaintance that manufactures mattresses about five hours away and he has recommended a “mini coil” system. Does that sound familiar? I’m thinking it might just be another term for “micro coils”. He has offered to build a custom bed for me, but I can’t try it out before hand, so I’m a little concerned about going that route.

They are probably the same thing (smaller and narrower diameter pocket coils used in a comfort layer of a mattress). They are a durable component and can be a good choice in the right combination with other materials and components and in a mattress design that is a good match for you in terms of PPP. If you are buying a mattress that you haven’t tried in person then for most people the recourse you have after a purchase (if you made a mistake) would probably be one of the most important parts of your personal value equation. If you have good options available after a purchase either to further customize the mattress or return it and the cost of doing so is low then it may be worth considering.

I live in Central NJ, so if anyone has any recommendations brick and mortar stores, I would love to hear them. I’m still reading through some of the other posts about locations in my area.

If you let me know your city or your zip code I’d be happy to let you know of any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of that are close to you.

Phoenix