I don’t remember where I first saw an ad for Tuft & Needle, but it was online somewhere. I clicked through because I was a few months from moving and knew I wanted to switch to a memory foam mattress ( yes I realize the T&N is not memory foam). At that point I added it to my list of products to research… Almost immediately the Leesa mattress also found its way onto my list. (Love the Leesa cover, but a newfound concern over foam density kept it off my list of finalists)
As with most purchases I make I hit Amazon to see what folks are saying and to look for other options, of course there are many. I had previously purchased two innerspring mattresses through Amazon and wasn’t at all hesitant about online shopping. My requirements were simply comfort and price. As I will likely only be using the mattress for 3-5 years, I wasn’t too concerned about durability issues, still I didn’t want something cheap that would have to be replaced in months. So, I went to a couple of other sources of info.
Sleeplikethedead.com and themattressunderground.com were my primary resources. Sleeplikethedead appears to be a bit more independent, but the data is just a compilation of user reviews and comments. themattressunderground is very infomative, and the go to place for real information about mattress construction, Phoenix tries to avoid recommending specific products, however his bias for Arizona based manufacturers shines brightly. A couple of other sites, like sleepopolis got some of my attention, but they seem to be running more as writing “reviews” as money makers than independent sources of information.
As I mentioned my impression is that “Phoenix” is definitely biased towards the Arizona companies… It’s probable that’s genuine analysis, but the sheer volume of material he personally adds to his site is more than a full time employee would be expected to produce for marketing products. It makes you wonder where the time comes from. He doesn’t come across as a shill, but the pure volume of info is a wonder. I certainly don’t have the time to even read the material let alone publish it. He stays well on the side of credibility and it’s hard not to trust what he says. But this is the story of why I bought the Tuft & Needle.
After poking around for most of this year I had narrowed my choices to Ikea, Sleep Innovations, DreamFoam, and Tuft & Needle. Initially, I was really leaning towards the Sleep Innovations and DreamFoam because I had convinced myself that 10" was not a thick enough mattress for my 250lb athletic frame. Ikea was on the list because I could go to a brick&mortar and actually try it out, not for any other reason… In the case of Ikea, I went, I tried, I wasn’t impressed. But the other three remained as options.
Phoenix probably had the most influence on me in eliminating the Sleep Innovations, with his analysis on the quality of the different foam layers. Although I wasn’t really concerned about durability, I made the judgment that that specific mattress’ quality was more of a risk than I wanted to take, especially with better and comparably priced options.
The 13" DreamFoam I was considering had been compared to a specific TempurPedic model, so a trip to a retailer showed me the mattress was WAY too soft… so I changed DreamFoam models narrowed my choices to the Tuft & Needle and the 12" DreamFoam Ultimate Dreams Supreme Gel.
Making it difficult was the inability to try either of my choices. With two mattresses that appeared to meet my requirements at the same price, I could have tossed a coin and been happy, but Tuft & Needle got my business for three specific reasons. First of all, the customer service interaction was much friendlier and responsive from T&N. I tried to phone both companies and only got to speak to T&N. In chat and e-mail exchanges Chuck at DreamFoam was curt… not quite rude, but not friendly and helpful, especially when compared with the seemingly true desire of T&N to be both friendly and helpful while satisfying their shoppers. Point One to T& N.
Secondly the delivery time factored in. I had procrastinated as long as possible and wanted to have the mattress delivered to my old place so the movers could move it up the stairs and into the new place. I had a 5 day window, DreamFoam said it would be 7-10 days BEFORE IT WOULD SHIP. Although it wasn’t necessarily a deal breaker, it seemed a bit odd that it wasn’t in stock and ready to be shipped. It was as if he answered my question for a latex mattress that has customizable options, which I was not interested in. Tuft & Needle, on the other hand was able to ship on the same day… So, both the first and second points went to T&N.
Most importantly, the return policy became the deciding factor. I knew I was taking a risk with either mattress ,as I had no way to try one out before spending the money. So I decided if I was going to have to return one, I ought to buy the one with the best return policy first.
I love Tuft & Needles decision to donate returned product it’s genius, and definitely won the day in my mind as the easiest and smartest way to handle a difficult problem. It sealed my decision to give them my business… at least to give them the first chance… And four nights into my T&N experience I’m glad I did.
I mentioned on another thread an added benefit to the T&N over the DreamFoam… the inflated mattress size is a full 80"x76". Research had me believing all mattresses were going to be short, and Chuck at DreamFoam definitely said theirs were not going to be what I thought was a Standard King size. The benefit , which was unexpected was the way my fitted sheets fit the 10" thick T&N. I was worried it would be a loose, sloppy fit, but it fits even better than it did on the old 13"inner spring… Got to love that.
So, the bottom line is I am very happy thus far with the T&N. The 10" thickness is not a real issue. The support on the edge of the mattress is much better than I had hoped., There was virtually no off-gassing odor. It was only detectable with my nose pressed into the mattress. I’m finding the initial firmness is much more to my liking than I’d have expected. Although I have a few new aches and pains, I’m attributing the source of them to a weekend of moving and lugging boxes up and down stairs. I’ll update this after a week or two, but I’m confident I made a great choice. Special Thanks Phoenix for a terrific site, whose membership got me a 6.5% discount from T&N.
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