Hi, I’m having a terribly frustrating time finding a comfortable mattress. I find memory foams and latexes to cause back pain by morning. Too much foam of any kind breaks down by 6 months. What I would like, but can’t seem to find is a older-style traditional mattress (like what you could buy in the 80s or 90s or even 2000s, before the idea that beds needed to have 17" of foam)–a basic beds with innerspring and a low amount of foam. The springs keep you lifted up but give a bit. I only ever seem to find this when someone has kept an old bed, or at a motel where they haven’t changed beds yet. Most people who have them have had them for years cause they were made to last. I haven’t a clue where to get one. I have tried the two bed manufacturers that are in a reasonable distance from where I live, with no luck. Can anyone help with this? Are there any bed lines that make the old-style beds? Suggestions welcome. I live in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Hi carlou,
I’m sorry to hear that, but hopefully I can help point you in a positive direction.
Of course, this depends upon the overall configuration of the mattress, but I’m sorry to hear if what you tried personally caused you discomfort in the past.
OK, I’m sensing your frustration through the exaggeration.
The durability will again come down to the quality (not necessarily quantity), of foams being used, along with the method of construction.
Back in the 80s/90s, latex and polyfoam were the predominant comfort layers, and overall the polyfoam used tended to be a higher density than what we see today. Bonnell, Marshall, Continuous Coil and LFK springs were all used. The mattresses were also two-sided, and used coil box springs or torsion modular systems underneath them. There was also more widespread use of compressed cotton layers or compressed pads in the mattress. And while there certainly were some very plush and thick mattresses, more “traditional” firmer mattresses were more common than they tend to be these days. The real “old school” mattresses that mostly used compressed cotton felt were more popular in the 50s/60s.
Believe it or not, there are still companies who produce products that have that old style of comfort, but they tend to be more easily found from the smaller, more regional mattress manufacturers.
As you can see from post #4 here and the rest of the thread … there aren’t a lot of great options in Saskatoon or Regina but I do think highly of Barb and Sleepers Mattress Factory and they would be the direction I would tend to lean if I was in Saskatoon. They make some “traditional” mattresses in their Essentials, Heartland and Dimensions line, and they use cotton and the beds are two-sided. They offer quite a few different constructions and it certainly would be worth a phone call to them.
Let me know what you’re able to find or if you have any other questions.
Phoenix