can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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I know these mattresses are kind of all over the place. Initially I discarded the idea of a foam mattress such as temperpedic or comforpedic but we are revisiting the idea. The analysis I received put as at the #2 for the bodysystem style of the Kingsdown. This is about 2700 for a King size. The Beautyrest also seemed comfortable and offered the least expensive option but I am concerned about the pillow top factor (deterioration). Moving onto the comforpedic which I was attracted to over the temperpedic because I am concerned about getting hot in the summer time. Those mattresses I found the most difficult to evaluate as a sleeper. Sure it felt good while I was laying on it. How will that translate into 8 hours every night? I also had a really tough time figuring out which one would be suitable for me.....going by the 'get what you pay for' the top of the line Comforpedic was 4000, out of our price range and possibly not even necessary for us. So I was hoping if I tell you a bit about our body types if you could direct me towards which level of the comforpedic we should need, if we decide that route. Husband and I are both 5'10" and I am in the 135-140range and he is around 165. Since my pregnancy (baby is now 9mo) I have aquired lower back pain and I have been unable to return to stomach sleeping in that time. DH also has lower back pain but his is sciatic, mine I don't think is related to sciatic since I don't have any of the leg pain associated with the lower back pain. We have made the mistake in the past of an overly firm mattress (S&F) that is now overly sagging and way past the point of uncomfortable. I want to keep close to 2500, this should afford us a nice supportive mattress I would think. I am not interested in doing mail order build my own foam mattress. Do you have input as to what specifically we should be looking for as far as layers in the comforpedic brand, or input on the mysterious kingsdown body system? Is it a mistake to go with a traditional inner spring type of mattress? |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
| i have spent more time perusing this board than you give me credit for. And yes, I can definitely identify some members who seem more than willing to share their knowlege. I do think it's a shame that as a new member I was received with a kind of negative attitude. Instead of perceiving me as an overwhelmed prospective buyer looking for some solid direction, you perceived me a lazy consumer unwilling to do any research. A poor, and unkind, assumption to make. |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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LPAD wrote: thanks. When you all suggest something with good springs, do you mean to avoid the "Big S" brands? What are some brands you would recommend? Why is Kingsdown a mistake specifically? I searched for toppers on this board but there are just too many posts to go through. Where to start with good brands of toppers? Why are the build-your-own foam beds so much better than the temperpedic or comforpedic? You don't necessarily have to avoid the S brands to get good springs, it's just that they may not have the best ones. You will have to do some research to find out who has good springs. Even the Big S springs are probably okay, but by looking closely at the various manufacturers' stats you can see the coil thickness and count and judge by that. DON'T get Simmons - the springs are fragile-ly tied and they tend to come to ruination easily. As to toppers, look at the Brylane thread here. Stick with topppers of 1" or so, that way they won't cause your back to sag and you can always buy 2 x 1" ones to TRY 2" and see if you like it then take one off if it's too much. Some like latex toppers, some like memory foam toppers and you can also just try PU or polyurethane toppers but they wont' last very long. Latex lasts 15-25 years generally. It doesn't matter where you buy the toppers, really, what matters is what they are made out of, as per above. Brylane has a great deal on a latex topper that some say is very soft. Memory foam can be found on many sites. I'd get the 5lb type or 4lb but not the 3lb. You can mix memory foam and latex but don't go over 2" of toppers - even that might be too much. Sometimes you can get 3/4" memory foam toppers. The reason I say "get good springs" is that when the bed no longer feels good, you can use an exacto knife to open up the top on 3 sides, pull out the crappy foam they put in there and replace it with good foam - HR foam or latex and/or memory foam. Never use more than 2" of memory foam - if that. It does not provide support. I don't care what Tempurpedic says. |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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LPAD, I agree that you were greeted with less than helpful and respectful responses. But it is really hard for anyone to make a very specific recommendation. We all have our nuanced opinions that may or may not be appropriate for you. You might not be able to find what you are looking for locally. You might be forced to look into buying from the internet unless you are lucky enough to live near a retailer that sells what you are looking for based on your research. If you are looking for positive recommendations and comments about mainstream brand mattresses, you probably came to the wrong place. Most people here would not recommend those kinds of mattresses - especially the three S brands. I've never heard of Kingsdown. Most people here would not recommend any mattress from Sealy, Simmons or Serta for a lot of reasons. Check out the reviews and forum discussions. My biased opinion is toward latex. There are a lot of threads about latex on this forum. You are generally young and healthy and don't seem to have any serious back problems, you probably can't go wrong with a good latex kit bed from a good manufacturer. You would most likely benefit from the ability to customize layers to your weight and preferences and to split the layers in case you like a different firmness than your husband does. You might also want to be careful about off gassing of memory foam and fire retardant chemicals with a new baby. Many people dislike how hot memory foam gets. A lot has been written about that here. You might want to read some of the recent Dunlop vs. Talalay threads. I am very biased toward Dunlop latex. Others prefer Talalay. You can read my "Savvy Rest report" thread and my review of our Savvy Rest Serenity mattress review in the review section. Savvy Rest does list local retailers that carry their mattresses on their web site at savvyrest.com. You might be close enough to a local retailer to try it and buy it locally. Many people here like FloBeds.com because they have a good layer exchange and return policy. They also sound like they have a very nice knit mattress cover. Check out FloBeds.com, SleepEZ.com, SavvyRest.com, http://thenaturalsleepstore.com/organic-mattress.html - many other sites that sell latex mattresses for information about kit beds. You might be able to find something local to try. I did not buy my mattress from this retailer but I found this description of how to choose a natural Dunlop mattress helpful: "Most customers seem very happy with a soft/med/firm layering (the mattress arrives with a zip-cover and 3 layers, so you can put whatever layer you want on top, rotating the layers to find the softness that feels best). If you wake up feeling sore or if you sleep on your side, you likely need a soft layer on top to relieve pressure points. Light-weight people also usually need a softer mattress (due to not having enough weight to allow the mattress to mold to the body shape and relieve pressure points). My sister and I both like the soft-soft-medium layering best for ourselves (we are in the 100-150 lb range and suffered from back-aches in the past when we used innerspring mattresses). Our husbands weigh more and prefer a firmer mattress for their side of the bed, for example soft-med-firm (at 180 lbs) or med-med-firm layering (at 220 lbs). Generally larger people will need firmer mattresses than lighter weight people (something that feels soft/squishy to a 220 lb person can feel really hard/firm to a 100 lb person). The queen and king size mattresses can be ordered with split-layering (different layering on one side compared to the other). If you'd like that option, please just let us know after ordering (it's no extra charge). The split layering offers the greatest flexibility for changing the firmness once the mattress is at your house (you can rotate the layers around until you find the softness that works best on each side of the bed). " |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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thank you mattressmom. Funny enough, when we went out (yet again) for some mattress shopping we both agreed that we like a latex bed. We looked at the Stearns and Foster tropical oasis line as well as the king koil. I'm not convinced about the king koil yet because the firmest one was too firm and the plush one *may* be too plush. Both of the King Koil models kind of felt like I think a waterbed might feel like (having never been on a waterbed I can't be sure but that was my impression when I laid on it). I am intrigued by the mail order kits but I'm not sure I really want to go their either. I would have to do this all on my own time as DH already thinks i'm insane (he lays on a mattress for 10sec before determining if he likes it or not, *and* he doesn't even think we need a new mattress now- which we definitely do). I'm just not sure I can add any more complications to my life right now......anyways, i'll give it more thought and continue reading here as I have been. I was definitely impressed with the springyness of the latex mattresses. It took a while for me to understand that the sales guy was telling me those mattress didn't have coils. I kept saying "oh, there's a latex topper on this spring mattress?" It felt quite like a coil mattress in that regard. We definitely do not like the memory foam feel. we like some spring-y ness. |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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We looked at the S&F Oasis line too. It is pretty much the same as the Sealy SpringFree line. S&F is Sealy's high end brand. The latex in both is Sealy's newish all synthetic Talalay latex that doesn't have a lot of track record. The Oasis/SpringFree mattresses use the same basic latex core with different amounts of "stuff" on top of them. If you liked that mattress, chances are that you would like the FloBeds (or similar) mattress. The beauty of kit beds is that you can choose your firmness, customize each side, etc, And they don't use Fire Retardant chemicals which some people feel might be carcinogenic. In a way, a kit bed is easier to deal with than a big traditional mattress - especially a heavy latex mattress. It is in smaller, manageable pieces. Getting the first layer in can be a little tricky but once that's in the mattress cover, it is really easy. The split half layers are much easier to handle and a lot more convenient for tweaking. The FloBeds mattress cover is a nice, flexilble cotton knit with wool batting. Choosing the right cover is almost as important as choosing the right latex firmness. It does take a lot of time to decide what mattress to get - but it's better to do the research before you buy something that you might not like. A bit off topic but - you and your husband might want to get a referral to a good chiropractor for low back pain. Even doctors that don't normally believe in chiropractors will acknowledge that they offer a lot for people with low back problems - especially sciatica. I had horrible sciatica when I was pregnant. Seeing a chiropractor probably prevented me from having a c-section. Good luck! |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
| Mattressmom, I can vouch for the FloBed zippered cover that is confirming and is a wonderful sturdy and comfortable mattress cover that not only feels good but looks good. I also like how I can move the latex pieces around and get a new comfort level since my car accident changed what feels good on my back. I am glad I went with the FloBed Latex kit and their wonderful customer service. |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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"Even doctors that don't normally believe in chiropractors will acknowledge that they offer a lot for people with low back problems..." Let's keep chiros completely out of this forum. I'm sure there are some good ones out there who have helped people with lower back pain (and other issues), but hanging lizard tails from your baseball cap worn backwards sometimes works too. :) |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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"thanks. When you all suggest something with good springs, do you mean to avoid the "Big S" brands? What are some brands you would recommend? Why is Kingsdown a mistake specifically? I searched for toppers on this board but there are just too many posts to go through. Where to start with good brands of toppers? Why are the build-your-own foam beds so much better than the temperpedic or comforpedic?" LPAD. The above, and specifically "...there are just too many posts to go through. Where to start with good brands of toppers," is what set a couple of us off. Please reread your post and realize how much information was requested. Also realize that everything has been addressed here in the past month or so, and it takes a lot longer to thoughtfully write a book than to read a book. And in the end, only you know what you really are looking for. Also realize that there really aren't any "brands of toppers'" to be recommended. If you spend an hour or two reading back posts in general (not necessarily on the subject of toppers) you will realize the open-ended nature of the requests. You need a better idea of what you want to give the board a better idea of what you want. |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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mccldwll wrote: "Even doctors that don't normally believe in chiropractors will acknowledge that they offer a lot for people with low back problems..."<BR><BR>Let's keep chiros completely out of this forum. I'm sure there are some good ones out there who have helped people with lower back pain (and other issues), but hanging lizard tails from your baseball cap worn backwards sometimes works too. :) You really do enjoy your role as the forum curmudgeon, don't you? I'm guessing you've never been pregnant OR had intractable, excruciating sciatica - and certainly not at the same time. I'm just saying..... There are chiros and there are chiros. LBP is one of the things they have a good reputation for. My bigger point is that I think some of the back problems described on this forum need more than the perfect mattress. I think some people might need to exercise, use the right pillow or combination of pillows, see a physical therapist, etc., etc. I'm not sure that the quest for the perfect mattress is the ultimate solution to everyone's back problems. OTH, I think some people would be happy enough on a wide variety of mattresses. |
Re: can someone help me narrow my mattress choices? Kingsdown, Comforpedic, or Simmons Beautyrest
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i guess the problem for me was when I performed the search function there were too many *irrelevant* posts that came back. Not to be a newbie and start off complaining about the search function. However, I was able to more easily just read through the posts by page, after all there are only 6 pages of posts in the last 6 months...... Anyways, I think I have found the direction I want to go in, and that is latex. I really like what savvy rest had to offer but I *believe* I can get something very similar in the S/F Oasis or Sealy Springfree (and for a lower price). While they are not adjustable post purchase, they do offer several levels of firm to plush choice, and I think I will be able to find one that we both can be happy on. I believe that I am one of the people who can probably be comfortable on many different mattresses. After all, my current S/F did last for a good 5 yrs, and that is pretty ok with me. I am definitely going to be aware before my purchase of what is the return policy, restocking fees, etc. |