|
Hi All,
I will be spending the next few days/weeks looking for a new mattress. My fiance' and I are tired of sleeping on the mattress I bought in college about 5 years ago. At the time it was a good deal as I needed a bed, and the idea of "individual pocket coils" seemed great. I can say now that they do not suit us at all, and I am paying for it with 2 months of insomnia. We are primarily side sleepers, although my fiance' does occassionaly sleep on her stomach. We generally sleep close to each other, and never move to the extreme edges of the bed (Queen). We are both of healthy/lightweight build of average height. We both prefer a firmer feel, and the bed we have no has grown much too soft. I'm not sure a pillowtop is right for us since I don't want to get too hot. Now with my budget, I am not expecting to get an amazing mattress that will last me 15 years - but I don't need it to. We are looking for a mattress that will last us 2-3 years of primary use, and another 5-7 as a "guest bed" where it will see rare use for traveling family/friends. I am only really familiar with traditional mattresses, and had some good feedback from friends that bought memory foam. After reading here, I believe that memory foam is NOT what we would like. I have 2 huskies, and they sometimes end up on the bed, adding extra body heat and dust/dander to the room. I like to sleep in a cool room, and it is usually 55-65 in there, depending on the season. There seems to be a lot of positive feedback on the latex foam mattresses here - but from my research, we can expect to pay quite a bit more than my budget. Am I looking in the wrong direction? I am not opposed to buying online, but I would definitely like to see a mattress of similar build/type in person before I buy.
Lastly, I must apologize for posting without more knowledge - it is against my normal habit and not proper forum etiquette~ but my fiance' and doctor have demanded that I find something soon so I can sleep better and clam the tossing and turning. (She also suffers from minor back problems from our bed)
Any help is much appreciated, and as always I will continue to read!
EDIT: My budget is for a mattress ONLY. I have a platform bed with a solid plywood bottom, no need for box spring here. This message was modified Apr 9, 2011 by onlytrueromeo
|
|
Thanks for the links!
Sorry, I am located in Albany, NY.
I am 160lbs, 5'9" and she is 120lbs, 5'7". |
|
Here are a couple of other threads you may find interesting: http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/my-foambymail-8-latex-mattress-actual-setup-pictures/9029-0-1.html and here: http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/1200-spend-please-dont-laugh/18361-A-1.html |
|
Went to Olender's Mattresses today, and were very disappointed with the sales staff. Found a comfortable bed, but it is topped with soy based poly, not latex. They oly sell Englander mattresses, and they did not have prices listed, the guy recalled them from memory. Just so happens this mattress was $800, which would put us over our budget with taxes. They were not knowledgeable and just wanted me to buy into their "100% US made, all natural eco friendly beds". They did have a 20 year warranty "non-prorated" but the lady told me that body impressions were normal?? and would not give me a depth for it.
Overall, I was not impressed, but I did like the one mattress. Also, got to lay on my first latex bed, it was 100% natural so nothing I would consider buying, but it was certainly comfortable. Had a very different feeling than traditional spring mattresses like I'm use to. |
|
I'm sorry, but I don't have time to read through all the linked threads to see what they cover. But the trend here is generally toward smaller regional mattress companies that make traditional 2-sided mattresses. Stay away from one-sided styles, all of the major "S brands," choose a mattress that is heavy gauge tempered springs like a 12ga wire or maybe as thin as 13ga or 13.5ga. Avoid the Simons pocket coils because they just have no durability and soften over time. Avoid mattresses with lots of foam padding built in, and steer toward sturdy mattresses that are 2-sided with minimal foam then use whatever toppers you like. The pillow tops, Euro tops, and other padded mattresses usually have probs with foam breaking down or mattress getting body indentations or the pillow top starts to go concave and roll people to the center. If you use toppers, then you just replace them or change them to suit your needs and the mattress cam be used for years like that. A company I like is Imperial Bedding out of Huntington, WV. They make a model 640 that is a pocket coil feel and has that isolation and movement dampening like the Simmons, but seems to hold up a whole lot better. That set sells for about $1100 here in queen size, but you might get just the mattress within your budget or might find an Internet dealer or a local distributer that will give you a better price. If you call Imperial, they will talk to you, personally, and answer questions. Imperial makes its own innerspring for the 640, if I recall correctly. I have an Imperial full size set from the late '80s. It's a Bonnell spring and is named ultra firm and it is ultra firm, lol. I put a 2" memory foam topper from Wal-Mart on it and it's perfect, because I want to sleep on something that's only slightly less hard than the floor. hehe So, check the yellow pages and Thomas Register, etc. and see if you can find any regional company that makes 2-sided mattresses. There are some in PA and OH, so NY ought to be within trucking distance. If bedding stores give you the runaround about wanting old style 2-sided and how all the mattresses are 2-sided now, just tell then that the public is fed up with their lack of durability and lost of people want the old long-lasting technologies again. Bedding stores in NW PA down to the WV line have even started carrying 2-sided products again, so the members of this forum are not the only ones demanding some better performance for all of that money. Oh, and you say your mattress is 5 yeaqrs old, but I think I've read that the sweet spot for queen mattress sets, pricewise, that vendors try to hit is the $600 -$700 range and that 4-5 years is probably all you should expect to get out of that set. This message was modified Apr 10, 2011 by TC2334
|
|
Went to 5 different mattress places tonight, some good and some bad. Found 2 mattresses that we thought were very comfortable for reasonable prices. One Sealy (I know...) and one King Koil. The bad news is there is so little information on this stuff, I can't find reviews on either mattress.
The Sealy is "Sealy (Posturepedic?) Grassleaf Ultrafirm. Minimal padding on top, but has a foam border around the sides, blah blah. Supposedly has extra stiffeners in the center of the bed where we normally sleep. Price delivered was $520 for the mattress after tax. Not too sure I want to go back to another "S" brand, but this is definitely firmer than my beautyrest and is NOT pocked coils. This is the cheaper of the 2. Sales guy here was awesome, and actually listened to what we said. Also reiterated 10x that he doesn't want to be undersold, and knows that he doesn't carry every bed in store, encouraged us to come back to price match if he could. The store backs up the mattress warranty, and it's 10 year, non-prorated, and covers any impressions over 1". All other mattress stores only covered impressions over 1.5". The salesman stated that another over 0.5" is not normal and that we should probably be able to get a warranty claim through their store. Other thoughts: Would probably need a mattress topper, but would not know for some time. This would obviously add to the total cost. The 2nd mattress is a latex foam mattress - I was very surprised it fell in our budget, and I think that is just because it's a discontinued model. It's a King Koil Natural Elegance Key West Firm. It's supposedly 100% natural latex. Very comfortable and would not need a topper, since there is a latex one built in that seemed to suit us fine. We really liked most of the latex mattresses we tried, and this seemed like not only the best one, but one of the most reasonable. Price is $755 plus tax (NY) and $30 shipping. This just exceeds our $800 budget, which we are not too happy about - but it IS foam. They offer a 20 yr non-prorated warranty, but it only covers impressions over 1.5" in depth. Any insight on these two mattresses or companies/mattress lines would be great. There are no other big mattress stores within a 20-30minute drive, and I don't want to go crazy far to see more mattresses. Both mattresses seem to be built well, and we could tell a big difference in trying cheaper mattresses and the more expensive ones. Is the latex one worth it? I'm also interested in trying the latex to make sure I will want another latex for the future when I buy a king set in a couple years. We have never spent the night on a latex mattress. This message was modified Apr 12, 2011 by onlytrueromeo
|
|
With limitted budget it is nice you've found something you find acceptable. Not an expert here by any means so take my comments for what they are worth. From your last post I read it as saying the store will provide some additional coverage if something goes wrong or at least act on your behalf to get the issue taken care of. A couple questions you need to get answers for are, What is the likelyhood this store will still be in business 9 yrs 360 days after purchase. Based on the answer, the stated additional coverage may not be worth much. Another question is, what kind of protection of the mattress is required for warranty coverage to be honored? I think you will find a mattress protector is required and if so, any specific protector. We did some asking and were told if there was a problem with the supportive components and there were ANY stains on the cover, no warranty coverage. Just be sure of any requirements. As to the King Koil mattress, does the "100%" apply to "natural" or "latex". At the price you mentioned I'd be very surprised if the mattress was 100% latex. One store we visited tried to sell us an Englander latex mattress (do recall the model). Saw they had a cuttaway of the mattress and out of the 12" or so of mattres thickness, only 2" of foam was latex and in was buried in the middle of the stack. Rest of mattress was some other cheap foam. Personally I'd not over look pocketed coil construction. There is a big difference between generic design and implimentation of that design. Good concept and bad implimentation still leaves us with a bad product. Our last mattress was a Simons Beautyrest, at least 15 yrs old and still comfortable but cover was starting to tear. They may not be the same qlty today as they once were but the design concept was and is a decent one. A great implimentation of a so-so design may end up being better than a great design concept poorly implimented. Hope you find something suitable for your needs and within your budget. |
|
Thanks for the response!
Yes, we would need a mattress protector ($70) for their "comfort guarantee" and such. You raise good points, and I hope to clarify them tonight when I go to the stores AGAIN! I called the place to price match, and he offered me a Serta Trump Home All Latex w/ bambo top thing, who knows. I need to go see it myself. It's ridiculously discounted at $650 compared to the $1500 I find online. Again, I cannot find ANY information on this mattress online. All major manufacturers really like to spread misinformation and keep people uninformed it seems. Kinda sucks...
Hopefully seeing it in person and asking more questions will shed some light. I get a 2 week trial on any mattress I buy from them, so if I don't like it I can pick another. |
|
Regarding the bambo cover, tis the latest and greatest thing in mattress covering. Usually found on higher end products. That's not to say some mfgrs aren't offering lower end models with some kind of bambo material, another marketing deal. This was a new one for us when we went shopping last yr. The cover on the mattress we bought is a bambo material. Very soft and absorbs body moisture easily. Only time will tell how well it holds up. Doing some generis reading on bambo fabric leaves one with a good impresssion of the material. IMO mattress retailers come from same school as used car salesmen. Gotta do a lot of looking to find one you'd want to trust. |
|
We don't live too far from where you live onlytrueromeo and are in the same boat oddly enough. Queen sized bed, and similar budgets though we sleep more towards the edge of our bed, so edge support is more of a big deal for us. Thanks for the warning about Olender, they sound more than a bit shady. So far we've been to Taft, The Old Brick, Big Lots, BJ's wholesale club, and Macys. We still have to go to Sears, and Huck Finns Warehouse. Have you been to these places yet? And have you found any other places worth looking at? Thanks. |
|
We really liked the guy at Metro Mattress off of Central Ave. in Albany/Schenectady. He dropped the prices a ton if you ask what the best he can do is (we talked to Ken) and they also price match or beat competitors. We also liked the selection at Capital Mattress and Waterbed. Lots to look at, but they weren't as flexible on their prices. If you find a mattress you like somewhere, go other places to check them out.
The Olender place we went to had a few problems: Dirty - its located downtown schenectady, and was not that clean inside or out. Dirt on the floor, beds, and junk inside. Small selection - only sold englander beds, and insulted "the other guys" who sold other beds. Rude staff - the 2 people that were in there (and we were the only customers) couldn't really care when we asked questions, and didn't know the prices on 13 mattresses in their store off the top of their heads. They said they would price match, but I didn't feel comfortable shopping there.
Biggest thing you have to worry about is people LYING. The salesmen are slick, and talk out their asses. They will tell you "no one offers that" and "trust me this is the best" all the time. Be wary, and remember to do research before you go and don't jump right into things. Also, Taft was super expensive
Even the guy we bought our mattress from told us stuff I knew not to be true - but I believe he did so out of his own misinformation. Either way, I was prepared ahead of time and knew what to look for. We ended up buying the cheaper Sealy Posturepedic since it was one of the only stores that offered a "comfort guarantee" and it was the cheapest mattress we found that we liked. Its ultrafirm, and is not for everyone. Got delivered today so I cannot comment on it yet, as I have not slept in it. We bought a 2" latex topper from sears (no holes in it, it doesn't say the type so I have no idea what it is) for super sale at $50 AFTER tax. It's really comfy so far, we slept on it last night on our bed with sinkholes and it definitely improved our sleep. I still woke up with pain/tightness but I did not toss/turn for the usual 2 hours before sleep. I'll give you an update in the next few days. The other mattress we REALLY liked was at Capital and it was the King Koil Latex one on sale for $755. If for some reason I hate the mattress I'm on now, I will return it and take the fee to get that one. If you go to Metro on Central and talk to Ken, try to get an extra discount by saying I sent you, haha. |