Visited Quality Sleep Shop in La Grange, IL & Need Help w/ My Soft Bed Search

[phoenix]

Hi aboutabed10,

I’m still a little puzzled about finding a truly soft bed (well, soft to me, as you pointed out) that isn’t going to break down more quickly than a firm one to be honest… I’d much rather have bought a bed from the guy who has actually made them with his own hands for 30+ years. It seems like companies who put their own names on beds (his shop, Steinhafels) will not make super cushy beds because they don’t want to be associated with the breakdowns in the foams - but I am just guessing on that.

It’s true that you will tend to find better construction and higher quality foams in many of the smaller licensees and mattress manufacturers across the country, and it’s also true that many of them will eschew the ultra-ultra-plush materials (even latex) because of the potential for more softening over time, or just their own experience or mattress-building philosophy.

I seriously like the feeling of basically being on top of a massive bag of cotton balls… which exists in the big names (all of which have complaints as they notoriously break down and have body impressions - some within the first year!).

Unfortunately, there are quite a few products manufactured in the ultra-ultra-plush category that you prefer that use very low density, low ILD foams that do not hold shape very well.

You’re right that their core support coils should reverse the lordotic posture when laying (Tim said this too). I am doing everything wrong from an orthopedic perspective when I sleep (turning the neck when sleeping on my stomach, letting my lower back arch deeper down in the mattress) but oddly enough, that’s what is comfortable - until the beds start to really sink down after 2-3 years. Then, it’s very very uncomfortable.

Everyone is different. The good news is that you are familiar with what works best for you and your particular sleeping style and comfort preference. Another option for people in your situation, which I touched on in my previous reply, would be to select a quality base mattress and then procure an ultra plush topper using quality material (such as described in the topper link I provided, for an example a 3" 15-19 ILD Talalay latex), and then you would have the option of replacing that “down the road” instead of the entire mattress, should it prove to not be plush enough for you over the course of use.

Down comforters have stitching at every box, so this breathes - duvet covers stop all breathing - which is not good for me. Nobody else has this problem that I’ve ever heard of. I must sound like the princess & the pea on steroids.

Generally, the fabric itself with be quite breathable that is used with a down comforter, and the stitching is used to create baffles to keep the down from becoming uneven within the comforter. Using a duvet with a cover I’m guessing didn’t allow for the amount of airflow that works best for you.

I checked out the link about the better quality plush polyfoams, and that is what tuft & needle is using now. They are # 1 on Consumer Reports too… and have such a low return rate.

There’s more about the material in the T&N mattress in the simplified choice thread here. The 3" of 2.8 lb high performance polyfoam on top of the 7" 1.8 lb polyfoam core would be better quality materials for most, but the overall thickness and plushness of that upper comfort may may not be enough for the ultra-ultra-soft comfort that you desire. Sweet Dreams (thanks Sweet Dreams!) listed a store that “shows” these mattresses near you, so you may wish to test one out in person (which I still think is a good strategy for you based upon your very specific comfort desires). Sweet Dreams lives somewhat in your area, and while not looking for the same type of mattress as you are, has probably visited every mattress store within a 100 mile radius of your home :lol: (just kidding, but that’s probably a more accurate statement than you might think)!

As for Consumer Reports, you can also see my comments about their mattress ratings and recommendations in post #2 here and in this topic. While they may be a good source of information about more “objective” purchases, as you can see I would consider them to be an unreliable source of information or guidance about purchasing a mattress and their “ratings” are somewhat nonsensical and meaningless. My thoughts are also shared by most of the more knowledgeable people in the industry (see post #5 here for an example).

And true return rates are rarely, if ever, made public. It was interesting in the IPO for Eve mattress they listed their return rate at 15% for FY 2016, and they are targeting less than 15% moving forward. Most with whom I speak estimate returns in the 10% - 25% range for online mattress sales. Obviously this is a very large estimation range, and results will vary by company, and the amount of returns for comfort (versus warranty issues) isn’t necessarily a reflection upon the quality or appropriateness of any one product for any particular individual.

Is anyone else using higher quality plush materials?

Yes, many boxed bed manufacturers are turning to higher-density plush polyfoams, along with latex.

I actually heard latex breaks down faster than it is being described here… not sure if that person was accurate though (someone in a big brand store).

This comes down to a simple case of, “I’ll trust what I know versus what someone else thinks.” B) Comments like this tend to be common from salespeople in big-box stores, many of whom are not very well educated about mattress technology and material. Latex is generally the most durable of all foam materials. While softer foam materials, regardless of type, will tend to be less durable than their firmer counterparts, latex will still be one of the best choices for an ultra plush foam material. There’s more information about the many factors that impact foam durability here, and more about the durability of latex here.

Thanks for making this site and all the work you put in here. It’s quite a lot you’ve done here.

Thank you for the kind words.

Yet another problem with stores that sell beautyrests and those brands (vs quality sleep shop) is those stores have beds up to 2 years old on the floor (American Mattress, Mattress Firm, and some dept stores) - but Quality Sleep Shop beds are all pretty new on the floor. Buying a bed that’s been on the floor for 2 years is tricky because it won’t feel like this in the house for a while. You’re only taking a guess at what you’re buying. I can’t believe the stores let them sit around that long. In some stores, you can even tell the difference between the center and the two sides where people sleep.

Some stores do let their floor models sit out for quite some time. I’ll always advise that what you test on the floor will generally feel softer than what you receive, and it is always a good idea to look at the production date, just to make sure the model is an accurate representation of the item that would be delivered to you (making sure there have bene no running changes in design).

Steinhafels was going ok the first day, but I came back the 2nd day to confirm what I wanted and the salesperson was literally yelling at me “You’re over-complicating this! Just make up your mind! You like this one - you’re sleeping on it the most - just take this one! Don’t analyze it - buy what is comfortable!” - he went off like this out of the blue. I asked questions about which beds were the least likely to have imprints and what foams were more durable, but that’s about it. I was just stunned, like - he’s the exact reason people are buying beds online. Then 2 seconds later he said his shift was over and he murmured something in the background about “having to split it now” (the commission) if I bought it from the second guy. Unreal. Like a parody sketch of a mattress salesman.

I’m sorry you had an unpleasant shopping experience. While I wasn’t there to experience the tenor of the conversation, there’s nothing wrong with requesting information about the materials used within the mattress (as I linked to in my earlier reply to you).

Phoenix