Trying to pick a mattress and sort of stuck on a final two

Hi everyone (and Mme Phoenix):

We’ve narrowed some finalists down for our mattress purchase but we’re stuck and can’t decide on which one. I tried Nest Bedding’s Alexander Signature series at one of their stores and found it quite comfortable. However, the price of one of their kings is twice as much as a Tuft & Needle mattress so we’ve debated whether to try out T&N first and see if we can save some money (do their claims of fewer layers hold any water?) Sapira was our third finalist because I tried it in New York and found it alright, at least for a few minutes, but honestly, they paid off so many people for promotional reviews online that it was a major turnoff.

Anyone know of something that would help break the Nest vs T&N tie, or justify the near double the price premium for the Alexander?

Hi Joe Cool,

I’ll see if I can help a bit with the specification differences.

The Tuft and Needle uses 3" of a 2.8lb high performance polyfoam over a 7" 1.8 lb polyfoam core.

The Nest Bedding Alexander Signature Series is offered in three different versions (soft, medium and luxury firm – you didn’t say which model you tried), and each of these models will use memory foam in their makeup, will be tailored as a “traditional” mattress, and have more “premium” foam overall than the T&N, and this would account for the pricing difference, as the T&N is using polyfoam only.

A closer “match” to the T&N would be the Love & Sleep Mattress from Nest Bedding, which is offered in two different versions, Medium and Luxury Firm, The Medium has 3" of 2.8 lb high performance polyfoam, over 1" of 2.0 lb convoluted polyfoam over a 6" 1.8 lb polyfoam core. The Luxury Firm has 2" of 2.8 lb high performance polyfoam over an 8" 1.8 lb polyfoam core.

You can see the specifications of the T&N and the Love & Sleep in post #2 here.

Like with many claims that manufacturers make, it depends upon how the argument is presented and to what you’re comparing. All foam layers being equal, you certainly will have a higher pcf number with fewer layers of foam. Mixing in other foams will change those results depending upon breathability. Memory foam tends to be to least “breathable” of the major foam types.

The layers closest to your skin will have the greatest impact upon your sleeping temperature. There is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here.

This really comes down to your own priorities in choosing a mattress. Post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

If keeping your price low is a priority, you may wish to focus on the Tuft & Needle or the Love & Sleep. You may even want to throw the Dreamfoam Arctic Dreams into that mix. The Alexander Signature adds more “premium” foams which will provide a different style of comfort, but whether or not that is worth the price to you is again a part of your own personal “Pros/Cons” list.

Regardless of your decision, you’re considering products that use better quality materials and offer good values. All of them also feature a good trail period just in case things don’t turn out as well as you would have hoped. You may already be aware of this, but Nest Bedding and Dreamfoam are members here of the site, which means that I think highly of them and their products.

Hopefully that helped give you an idea of the reasoning for the price difference in the products and can help you make up your mind if one is personally a better option for you versus the other.

I’ll be interested in learning what decision, if any, you decide to make, or if you have any other questions.

Phoenix

Thank you for such a detailed response. I forgot to specify I had tried all three levels of firmness of the Alexander. The firm was too firm. The soft was nice but I felt my hips sagged too much and left me out of alignment. The medium seemed to be the Goldilocks firmness, which is probably why Nest says 92% of people will be fine with medium.

I was hesitant about the Love & Sleep Mattress because one of the things we’re concerned about is motion transfer, and though I didn’t get to try the Love & Sleep I’d be concerned the latex in it would mean a higher level of motion transfer; I move around a lot and we have two active dogs, all of which wake my wife up.

Hi Joe Cool,

Yes, you’re correct. It is their most popular model.

There is no latex in the Love & Sleep, just as there is no latex in the Tuft & Needle ( you can see the specifications I provided in my early reply). Depending upon the combination of layers, latex can do quite a good job at minimizing motion transfer, but memory foam is by far the best at this.

Phoenix

Whoops :frowning:

Any idea - or any way to determine - how those three mattresses would stack (ha) against each other in terms of edge support and motion transfer?

Hi Joe Cool,

No worries!

While you wouldn’t be able to determine that unless each item was next to each other, based upon the specifications the Tuft & Needle and the Love & Sleep should be quite comparable in both motion transfer and edge “feel”, with the Luxury Firm version of the Lover & Sleep probably feeling a bit firmer on the edge. Both of these brands use similar materials. The T&N might have a bit more “localized bounce” than the Love & Sleep. The Alexander Signature would have more motion deadening characteristics than both of these items, but would probably feel a bit softer on the edge because of the extra memory foam in the upper layers of the mattress.

Overall, memory foam is the best at motion isolation but latex and pocket coils are good for this as well (see post #18 here). Having said that … all the layers and components in a mattress will have some effect on the feel and performance of all the other layers and the mattress “as a whole” so the best way to test for motion isolation is your own careful testing on a mattress using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post (with both of you on the mattress) because a mattress that may be “motion isolating enough” for one couple may not be as suitable for another couple that is more sensitive. Post #4 here also goes into more details about some of the things that impact motion transfer/isolation.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,

Just a quick note - and thank you for your responses! - about where I got the idea of latex in the Love & Sleep. I was thinking I was hallucinating until I found this old comparison on the Nest website between T&N and the Love Bed (wasn’t that Love & Sleep 1.0?).

Comparison point 2 mentions latex in their top layer.

Hi Joe Cool,

You have an excellent memory!

While the Love Bed wasn’t the Love & Sleep 1.0 (and the Love & Sleep isn’t the Love Bed 2.0), you are correct in assuming they occupy a similar space in the “lineup” of Nest Bedding.

Excellent question.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,

Our final two changed - still Nest’s Alexander medium, but we’re also considering the Novosbed medium. I’m leaning towards the Alexander, since it seems so well made and Joe from Nest Bedding is so personally responsive to all questions. However, Novosbed has a few business advantages, such as a longer test period, their comfort+ adjustment system, their foundation is returnable (with a 20% restocking fee), and a white glove delivery option.

But I’m curious if in your wisdom about the technology of both, there is something else in terms of heat retention, motion transfer, edge support, and general support for a pair of light combination sleepers (mostly side, some back) that you think should, or could, sway our decision between these two beds. I’m not asking about feel, since it’s clear that’s subjective, but I guess anything in the form of a quick comparative take that would help orient us in choosing between these two seemingly wonderful alternatives.

Hi Joe Cool,

I’m happy that Joe has been able to answer your questions for you in a timely manner. The Novosbed does off 20 more days for their return policy, and the comfort+ system is a unique after-the-purchase customization option, and the White Glove delivery (at an extra fee) will have them bring your compressed mattress into your room, cut I open, and cart away the packaging materials. All things to consider as part of your personal value equation.

You are correct that these would all be subjective things that can only be best analyzed through your own careful personal testing.

Regarding temperature, both items use similar amounts of memory foam, with the Novosbed having their layers closer to the surface (the Nest Bedding has the 1.5"quilt layer). It’s not really possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.

As for edge reinforcement, neither product has a “specific” edge reinforcement system, instead relying upon the polyfoam core to assist with that. Both models have similar layers of comfort materials to compress on top of the polyfoam cores, so again this would be subjective in determination if you liked one versus the other. There are some comments about edge support with foam mattresses in post #2 here and the posts it links to.

Both mattresses use high quality materials that would not be cause for concern for providing enough support for someone in a moderate BMI range such as yours.

The good news here is that you’re choosing between two items using good quality materials and each has a good return policy, so in the end it comes down to making a decision and determining through your own personal testing if the item is a good fit for you.

I’ll be interested in learning what final choice (if any) that you make.

Phoenix

Hello all, and firstly since this is my first post, I want to thank all those who contribute to this site/forum for creating such an informative and helpful place to sort through the mountains of information/disinformation that’s out there.

I found this particular thread as I was running searches on my last couple mattress picks, which are the Nest Alexander Signature Medium and the Novosbed Medium. I’ts been a long journey since I started researching mattresses and nearly bought the first bed-in-a-box I saw with glitsy marketing materials about super cooling comfort phase change yatta-yatta etc…, to now where I have fully researched the different mattress types, tested the types at a local mattress store to get an idea for feel/firmness etc, and then further researched mattresses & companies that might have what I want. After it all, I ultimately decided I wanted a true memory foam mattress, and from what I can gather, these two are likely hands down a couple of the best on the market (and available for online purchase) in the ~$1k price range.

I have been hand-wringing and going back and forth and can’t seem to make up my mind. For me, it really comes down to the fact that these two mattresses utilize the most (thickest layers) of the highest density (4-5lb) memory foam of any I’ve been able to find that also do a sleep-trail and ship for “free” (bed-in-box model), AND are in the ~$1k price range. This was really important to me because I’ve tested and like the “high-end” $4k memory foam beds that are available for laying on at the local mattress stores, and I REALLY like the feel and am hoping to replicate that.

As for the indecision between the two, the Alaxander really addresses the issue of sleeping hot on many fronts (phase-change cover that’s also quilted to give space/breathability above the memory foam layers, gel memory foam, and even the air-flow foam further down), and I really love that because sleeping hot is my one and only reservation with upgrading to memory foam. However, their foam is also lower density (4lb) and looks like it gives up some of that true memory foam feel for springyness/airyness (only have been able to watch videos, so huge grain of salt)). Meanwhile, the Novosbed uses higher density foam (5lb), and in fact it’s the highest density that I was able to find among any of the mid-price online manufacturers, and based on the videos I have been able to find/watch, it’s response/look/feel is the closest I’ve seen to my own testing of the tempur-pedic mattresses I have available to try at the local shops. I also absolutely love the concept of the comfort plus option, to tweak the firmness of the mattress if we find it too had/soft. Yet the Novosbed doesn’t seem to address the issue of sleeping hot as thoroughly - the top layer of foam is perforated, but aside from that, it’s just memory foam. The awesome customer service rep I talked to at Novosbed about the concern of sleeping hot reassured me that I should be fine, and if I do sleep hot that a wool mattress protector (St. Dormeir) would likely solve the problem… Still, I’d really love for the heat issue to be addressed better in the design of the mattress, without the potential need for aftermarket add-ons… But then again, “sleeping hot” on these newer memory foams may just be a boogeyman that won’t really apply to me…

Anyway, Just thought I’d chime in as someone else who had reached the conclusion that it’s gonna be the Novosbed or the Alexander Signature. I’ll be sure to stop back in to follow up on which I choose and how it goes.

In the meantime, I know there’s no way to further help me in this decision, but if anyone has experience with these 2 mattresses and can confirm/refute the various conclusions/assumptions/concerns I’ve brought up regarding the pros/cons of these and/or how they might feel, it might be super helpful!

Hi theGovment,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

The Nest Bedding Alexander Signature Medium uses:
1" polyfoam quilted to cover
2.5" 4 lb gel memory foam
1" 4 lb memory foam
2" 1.8 lb ventilated SmartFlow polyfoam
8" 1.8 lb polyfoam core.

The Novosbed Medium uses:
2" 5 lb AirFlow memory foam
2" 5 lb memory foam
7" 1.8 lb polyfoam core

The good news is that both of these products do use good quality materials, and for those of a more “moderate” BMI range they would be appropriate items. And as you may already be aware, both Novosbed and Nest Bedding are members of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.

As I posted in an earlier reply in this thread, both items use similar amounts of memory foam, with the Novosbed having their layers closer to the surface (the Nest Bedding has the 1.5"quilt layer). It’s not really possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.

Regarding cooling memory foam claims, you can read more about phase change materials in post #9 here and at the end of post #4 here) and you can read more about the various different types of gel foams in post #2 here. In general terms gel foams will tend to have a temporary effect on temperature while you are first going to sleep until temperatures equalize but have less effect on temperature regulation throughout the course of the night.

I think that most people would describe both of these mattresses as having a “memory foam feel”, but of course until you sampled them only you would be able to determine if you had an affinity for the feel of one versus the other. The Novosbed does have the memory foam directly beneath the surface, where the Nest Bedding places a small amount of polyfoam quilted to the covering.

The perforated memory foam in the upper layer of the Novosbed allows for quite a bit more airflow that the same piece of foam without perforations, so that definitely can assist with thermoregulation. Again, you’d want to see my links listed previously about the effect of gels and phase change materials in memory foam. And you are correct, you may not be impacted by either product regarding temperature.

I’ll be interested in learning what you ultimately decide to do, or if you have more specific questions.

Phoenix