I came across as southerland mattress that is roughly $1200 dollars.
it has a cheap density foam on the comfort layer (2.5 lb i believe) but has a pocket coil system for support and a layer of latex on the comfort layer as well. What is the trade off in cost? i should add that both the layers on the comfort layer are roughly 2 inches. All the foam and latex are in the eurotop i think. After reading it does not seem to be worth the money but I would like your opinion on it.
I did not note the layers while i was at the store but decided to call and ask after i read a few things on this website. The sales person informed me that it says american excellence on the bed and is the mattress style of american excellence on the southerland website. I will make sure of this but can you guys tell me your opinion on this mattress. When trying it in the store it feels great.
I always go by the materials not by the manufacturer to determine the quality and value of a mattress.
They are what is called an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and a forum search on “Southerland ESOP” (you can just click this) will bring up more comments about them. As in all cases though the quality or value of their mattresses (or any mattress) depends on what is inside it and of course on the price it is selling for at the particular retailer you are dealing with.
2.5 lb polyfoam is a high quality foam and 2.5 lb memory foam is a very low quality foam so it would depend on the type of foam you were talking about.
So to know the relative quality and value of any of their mattresses you would need to know the specific details of every layer and component in the mattress … layer by layer. This is the job of the retailer who is selling it to find out and let you know (customers shouldn’t have to track down the specs of a mattress). this means the density and thickness of any memory foam or polyfoam layer, the type and blend of any latex, and the type of cover and quilting.
If you are able to find out the layers of the specific mattress you are looking at and list them here along with the mattress only price and size you are looking at I’d be happy to let you know what I think of it.
Post #4 here includes the better options in the Phoenix area which has some of the best quality and value available in the country including three of the members of this site. From a mattress perspective … you are very fortunate to live there
Thank You for your time and efforts. Really appreciate the reply.
OK so i found the layers of the mattress and another mattress that is in consideration as they are the same price. Do you know what i should expect for what price range? I have no idea at what is a good price range for what kind of layers.
Anyways so after going to a showroom out of the scottsdale area for the same company (scottsdale tends to be quite expensive) I was able to get the same queen set quoted for around a $1000 (200 bucks cheaper). I do not know the price of the individual mattress sorry. Forgot to ask.
Both are the same price now.
The layers for the first one is:
3 lb Gel infused memory foam
a 1.5-1.8 lb polyfoam layer (american made foam, if it makes a difference)
8" individual coils with “zone structuring” encompassed by a foam boundary
The Layers for the second one is:
1" Talalay Latex
2 layers of the 1.5-1.8 lb polyfoam layer (american made foam, if it makes a difference)
8" individual coils with “zone structuring” encompassed by a foam boundry
They both have a limited non prorated warranty and i believe the dip should be more than an inch and a half for them to replace it.
Anyways, I need to get perspective on what kind of price range i should expect this type of mattresses and if its a good buy. the one with the latex is soft initially but than gets better whereas the one with the gel infused foam is more firm at first.
So what do you think about these mattresses and how long do you think they would last. The most important of all questions is that would you consider buying this mattress for that price range. They feel good in store and better than most. I enjoy the no motion transfer of the individual coils.
Unfortunately these specs are still not specific enough and with a foundation included in the price I don’t kow the cost for just the mattress. You need the layer by layer description including the thickness of each layer and the specific density (not a range like 1.5 - 1.8 … its either one or the other). This is the only way to identify any weak links in a mattress and there can be a significant difference between 1.5 and 1.8 lb polyfoam. When you are dealing with Southerland or the retailers that carry then it may be difficult to get the all the information you need but they will generally not be in the “best value” range.
The specs of a mattress are used more to make meaningful value comparisons between mattresses because there are just too many variables in design, thickness, and materials to put a formula together that a specific price mattress should have certain types of materials but a very general guideline is here (and I wouldn’t take this literally). You also want to know the layer thicknesses to help identify any potential weak links in a mattress because even if a mattress has “mostly” good materials a few inches of lower quality materials in a comfort layer can lead to durability and softening issues.
Warranties are not a good indicator of how long a mattress will last for any particular person. Long before a foam has permanent impressions that are more than the warranty exclusion you will have foam softening and the loss or comfort or support which is the most common reason people need to replace a mattress and this is not covered by any warranty. You can read more about warranties in post #174 here.
I don’t have enough information to really know but my overall impression is that they don’t sound like they are in the “best value” range to me and I probably wouldn’t buy them no. There is no way to predict how long a mattress will last for any particular person but if these contained significant layers of lower density polyfoam (1.5 lbs and lower) then I would be very cautious … particularly if it isn’t coming from a smaller local manufacturer.
For the cost and the exact unknown material density for the polyfoam and not knowing the thickness of the polyfoam layer, I am just going to scrap this option.
I was looking at the very budgeted mattress on amazon. The ultimate dreams latex mattress. Now before i purchase this mattress i want to know if you know of a place where i can try similar mattresses to know the feel of the latex mattress and to find out what kind of firmness i prefer in it.
That’s probably a good decision … especially if you are dealing with a retailer who doesn’t know or understand the importance of knowing what is in the mattresses they are selling.
In most areas of the country what you would need to do is call the local retailers and ask them if they have a polyfoam/latex hybrid with about 3" of latex over the polyfoam. Many retailers are not used to these types of questions (that involve the layers in their mattresses) but the better ones that are more knowledgeable will know right away if they carry this type of mattress. Many manufacturers make something fairly similar. The Ultimate dreams has an option to choose the firmness of the latex you use and the local retailers may not know the ILD (firmness) of the latex in their mattress but at least you would be able to get a sense of the general “feel” of this type of mattress even if you may not be able to find out enough details to use them as a more accurate guideline because of differences in design, construction and firmness levels between the ones you test and the Ultimate Dreams.
In your case however you are quite fortunate because you appear to live in Scottsdale and you have some of the best choices in the country available to you because 3 of the members here (including Brooklyn Bedding) are in the general area. They are listed in post #4 here and all of them have some great quality/value mattresses that would be well worth looking at. Brooklyn Bedding generally sells the mattresses they list on their site online only but if you call them to make an appointment they may be able to meet you at the factory to test their beds.
I wish everyone had the kind of local quality and value available to them that you do and you don’t even have to “guess” with an online purchase.
