I’m not sure how best to phrase my question, but would you buy a more expensive mattress and expect it to last a long time or a cheaper mattress expected to last less time that you theoretically would have to replace sooner? We’re looking at a latex/pocket coil bed from Berkley Ergonomics at Scott Jordan, but the one I like is close to $3,500 which is more than I had expected to spend. The current alternative is a Keetsa (I know, I know) which is closer to $2,500. The Berkley Ergonomics one has a replaceable top layer which they suggest would need to be replaced at minimal cost after 10 years. Is it reasonable for me to expect that this mattress could last for say 15 years (or doubly long as a typical mattress) making it a better long term choice than the $2,500 one I would replace after 7 or years? Thanks for all of your insights! I was on the verge of making a hasty purchase at Sleepy’s…
Hi brklynkim8,
I would keep in mind that the price of a mattress may have very little to do with it’s durability or how long you will sleep well on it and I certainly wouldn’t assume that the price of a mattress (either higher or lower) is a reliable reflection or indicator of it’s durability.
While price is certainly one part of the value of a mattress purchase … I would tend to choose a mattresses based on it’s “value” rather than on the price alone. There is more information about the 3 most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here 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 suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase to “fine tune” a mattress or the exchange/return options that are available to you).
Outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new).
While there is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for a specific person or predict exactly when you will decide to replace it because it is no longer suitable or comfortable for you (because this is the only real measure of durability or the useful life of a mattress that really matters) because there are too many unknowns and variables involved that are unique to each person … if a mattress is well inside a suitable comfort/support range and isn’t close to the edge of being too soft when it is new (see post #2 here) and you can find out the specifics of the materials and components inside it (see this article) and confirm that they meet the minimum quality/durability specs that are suggested in the guidelines here then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer.
The Berkeley Ergonomics mattresses all use higher quality materials than the minimums that I would suggest in the guidelines and there are no weak links in any of their mattresses so it would be reasonable to assume that they will maintain their comfort and support for 10 years or longer.
Component mattresses such as theirs also have some additional advantages because they allow you to “fine tune” the comfort or support of a mattress both before a purchase and after a purchase (either by rearranging layers or exchanging layers or components) and if one of the layers softens or breaks down before the others (usually one of the softer upper layers) or if your needs or preferences change over time you can just replace a single layer or component instead of replacing the whole mattress.
Many of the Keetsa mattresses use lower quality/density materials that would be less than the minimums that I would normally suggest so it would be reasonable to assume that they would last you for less than 7 years and possibly much less (depending on your individual circumstances and the specifics of the mattress you are considering).
Phoenix