Phoenix, love the site and appreciate both the depth and breadth of knowledge, research, and time you have dedicated to helping out the common person to making a well informed mattress purchase. Was wondering if you have heard of any great places to look at locally in Fresno, CA. Iāve asked around and got a couple of recommendations for a place called āA Better Bedā who claims to make fully custom beds. While thats great and I can follow the tips suggested on this site I was wondering if those who work, live, and breath mattress manufacturing and research have any suggestions for my local area. Of course I have access to the national chains and regional chains but I am really trying to avoid those and stick with local or preferred manufacturing companyās.
There are a lot of āmom and popā manufacturers in Fresno and in talking with most of them ā¦ they focus on ācheapā mattresses and know little about the materials they use. There are very few of them that have inspired any confidence in me and I would seriously hesitate to buy from most of them. Itās hard to believe that there are so many people who make mattresses in the area that know so little. When you ask them what type of mattresses they make they will say things like 8" to 14" or other equally meaningless descriptions.
http://www.abetterbed.com/ in Fresno is an exception to this. When I talked with Bill the owner I was expecting more of the same but was surprised to find he wasnāt. While he is certainly a āschmoozerā ā¦ if you ask more specific questions you will find out that he is very knowledgeable in mattress construction and materials and genuinely knows his stuff. He can make mattresses using most materials and uses talalay latex, 5 lb memory foam, and higher quality polyfoam (from 1.5 lb in quilting layers all the way up to 3 lb HR poly). He has also downsized all his operations so that all the value he makes can go into his mattresses rather than business expenses. While I havenāt done extensive research into all the options in the Fresno area (and Iāll add more to this thread as I come across them) ā¦ at this point A Better Bed would be my first choice.
http://www.manta.com/c/mm2vp5c/visalia-mattress-factory is a factory direct manufacturer in Visalia. In the one brief conversation I had with him some time ago he seemed suspicious about why I was asking him questions about the mattresses he made and when I told him what I was doing he said āI have a son who does thatā. That was the extent of our conversation (we didnāt connect since) so I have no idea what he makes. There is more feedback about them in post #10 here which unfortunately also wasnāt the best experience.
There is a wholesale manufacturer there called Pleasant Mattress (Cannon Sleep Products) but they sell through retail stores. They may also have some better quality and value mattresses compared to larger brands but you would need to call them to find out which stores sell them in the area.
Some local retailers that may have some āpossibilitiesā but would need more research about their level of transparency, service, and knowledge (and Iāve included the brands they carry that may have some better than average value) includes ā¦
There are also some options that are a little bit further away in the Bakersfield area listed in post #3 here and in the Modesto area in post #7 here and in the San Jose area in post #2 here that may also be worth a phone call and/or a visit if you are OK with a longer drive.
Thx Phoenix for the quick response. I think for the time being I might go with an Ultimate Dreams mattress given what Iāve read and amount Iām looking to spend at this moment.
I didnāt talk to them extensively but the rough quote if I was going with a custom bed was more than what I wanted to do. In fairness I wanted a full latex if I was going custom but I dont have the money and I figured Iād get the Ultimate Dreams instead as I have a large amazon gift card and Iād use this bed for two years then get a full latex core mattress after that.
The only ādown sideā I can see is that the Ultimate Dreams will last you a lot longer than 2 years and you may decide that you want to keep it a little longer than that
Hi Phoenix,
Iāve been researching mattresses on your site and felt pretty confident when I went out shopping recently (Thank you!) I visited A Better Bed weekend before last and tried a few configurarations. Bill is a character and definitely a schmoozer as you said. But, he does know his mattresses.
I was confused by the Dunlopillo, which Bill told me was talalay latex, but I have since found the info on your mattress forum that that is correct. I tried a hybrid latex innerspring, but I am too light for that bed. It is reinforced in the hip region so it is convex in profile. So I tried some with latex cores. What I liked was two 24 ILD 3" layers on top of a 28 ILD support core. Each layer is encased in a thin cotton cover, then in a thick quilted zippered cover. So it is reversible and adjustable. Bill claims a ālifetimeā warrantee and says he will exchange layers or repair the mattress if needed. There was a very thin layer of foam he quilts into the cover, thatās the only layer I wasnāt sure was latex. Also, he uses cotton and fiberglass for the fire retardant layer, which I may seek to get a Rx to leave out. $1800 for a queen, plus a delivery fee of $50. Includes, set up and taking away old mattress.
I also visited a Mattress Land in Visalia. I like,the Pure LatexBliss Pamper with a 2" fast response topper, but at $2400 for a queen, on sale, I think I have to pass. This is also an one-sided bed. This is the only latex bed brand (two other models, I think) carried by this store, and it is a recent addition. The store manager, Glen, was very good. He did not know all the answers to my questions (still not sure of the ILD in the topper or bed layers), but did make an effort to get answers for me. Free delivery, set up and take away old set.
Iād be curious to hear if anyone has experience in Fresno-Clovis or Visalia, and if there are other places worth trying. It seems like A better Bed has the better value so far.
Just for reference, The Pure Latex Bliss has 2" of Fast Response Talalay GL in the top layer which comes in 15, 21, and 27 ILD. My guess is that they use 21 ILD which is the closest to the 19 ILD that the old model used to have. The base layer was listed in many places as 40 ILD and I would also guess that the new version is the same.
The mattress your are describing at A Better Bed sounds to me like very good quality and value. I donāt have any direct experience with the other options listed in the Fresno area but based on the research I have been able to do from a distance (which included a couple dozen retailers in the area) they are certainly among the best local value available IMO.
Did you have a chance to talk with Visalia Mattress Factory?
Mattressland doesnāt have the Pure Latex Bliss listed on their site (although they are listed on the PLB retailer search) so Iām grateful that you mentioned they carry them and Iāve added them to the Fresno list as a possibility ā¦ thank you
Did you have a chance to talk with Visalia Mattress Factory?
Not yet. That would be a logical last check before making my decision. G
Mattressland doesnāt have the Pure Latex Bliss listed on their site (although they are listed on the PLB retailer search) so Iām grateful that you mentioned they carry them and Iāve added them to the Fresno list as a possibility ā¦ thank you
Went to Visalia Mattress Factory today. Very disappointing. I had called twice before coming in and he said he had latex bedsā¦he had one and said he sold it today between the time I called and the time I came in, which was several hours. :S
He sells natures spa beds, and they are not fully latex. I brought home a diagram of an Oasis:
Natural FR rayon fiber
Nat wool fiber
1" nat talalay 17 ILD
2" nat talalay 22 ILD
HD support foam
CertiPUR-US Air Core
HD performance foam
4" or 9" wood foundation
$1800 for a queen set, $1600 w/out the foundation.
The foam is soy-based. He says that using the foam in place of latex makes the bed lighter, which does make sense, but I did not want any synthetic foamā¦ It is single-sided, again, not what I wanted. Are these foams actually less toxic to make or use?
Iāve buried the lead, but this is my pressing question: He claimed that not bonding the latex layers of the bed would make it shift, buckle or sag, but this did not make sense to me. A Better Bed does not bond the layers, they are encased in cotton covers, so Iām wondering if there is any truth to the claim that they will shift or sag. I liked this because of the ease with which we could change, replace, or flip a layer.
Iām sorry to hear that your experience with Visalia was not much better than mine. Iāve added a link to your post in their description so people can see your feedback along with my own. If he only sells Natureās Spa mattresses then he is not manufacturing his own.
The Natureās spa is a latex/polyfoam hybrid made by Cannon Sleep Products in Fresno under license of the brand owner which is Paramount Mattress. It is certainly on the expensive side for a polyfoam/latex hybrid. You can see some very similar mattresses here and here which have a similar construction (3" of latex over polyfoam) but much better value.
So called āsoy foamā is basically polyurethane foam which has replaced a small percentage of the petrochemical based polyols (one of the two main chemicals used to make polyfoam) with a chemically altered soy oil based alternative polyol. The percentage replacement is usually less than 20% (which would be in the range of about 10% of the foam ingredients). Calling it āsoy basedā and implying it is either āgreenā or worse yet ānaturalā is mostly greenwashing. Like all polyurethane foams ā¦ it is lighter than latex because it has a lower density and it is also a lower quality and durability foam. While it may be a small step in a more sustainable direction ā¦ soy polyols are also āchemicalsā because they have to alter the soy oil to be able to use it in making foam and there are also other issues involved in using soy (including rainforest destruction) which are not exactly as āgreenā as they are made out to be. They are also not biodegradeable. If they are CertiPur certified I would put them in the same āsafetyā category as regular polyfoam that has also been CertiPur certified.
There is some small truth to this but it would only really apply to a mattress that had unglued layers and the cover was tape edged and couldnāt be opened and that were carried on their side or otherwise moved in a way that caused the layers to shift. Latex is quite āstickyā and heavy and in normal use the layers in a reasonable tight cover wonāt shift over each other. If for some reason they do and the mattress has a zip cover it is very easy to open the cover and shift the latex back again so you would have the benefits of unglued layers (easy to replace) without any of the down side.
