Hastens - Yay or Nay
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I dunno if it's the horsehair topper or the mattress/spring bedspring combo but it's a winner ! Whatever it is, I like it more than the Dux or Shifmans I tried Love both the 2000T and Excelisor . The 2000T is like instant comfort and the Excelisor takes about 30 seconds for the comfort factor to sink in.....at a $8000 discount. For those who have been in the same boat.....what other alternatives should I be looking it. At this point, let's say 12 years at $1333 cost per year out of life of a good mattress, I'm willing to do that ..... |
Re: Hastens - Yay or Nay
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Sure, the queen topper was, if memory serves, about $1300 and it is about 3" thick with horsehair, cotton and wool. 2" of memory foam was from Healthy Foundations and was about $200. Expensive toppers but they give the feeling of a very comfortable bed with good springs and horsehair at a fraction of the cost of the hastens or McRoskey for that matter. Is it as good as a Hastens - who knows? I loved the feel of the 2000T for the little time I got to spend on it in Chicago, but it is not in the budget right now. As well we are larger folk and we have back issues and seem to need a firmer mattress so, I'm quite pleased with what we put together for the money and enjoy crawling in every night! This message was modified Feb 27, 2008 by confusedbedbug
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Re: Hastens - Yay or Nay
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Just for the sake of balanced reporting. As an owner of a Hastens (I don't work for them or their competition) I believe some of these ant-hastens comments about construction to be without merit. I have owned my Naturally for almost 4 years and have had no mold, no bed bugs, no sign of wear in the topper, and no flaws in the construction. The comment about the medium vs. soft only exists because Hastens actually gives folks the option of firm, medium and soft at each price point which means you have to pick wisely. This is a good thing. The cooling effect of the cotton works exactly as advertised and this is one of the best features of the bed. While it's true that there are some artificial materials the may "wick" moisture away as well or better, that would defeat the point of a Hastens, which is to use natural materials. Pour a bucket of water on any bed and you will have a wet bed. Hastens topper is another great feature. Instead of promising a 10 year life for a one sided foam monstrosity that doesn't last 10 months like the "S" companies. Hastens warns (in writing) that their toppers may not last as long as the rest of the mattress and makes them removable, flippable and replaceable. This is called honesty and is also a good thing. As I mentioned, after almost 4 years there is no sign of wear in my topper so i will get more then 5 years out of it. Hastens are way too expensive for the average purchaser and this I can't debate, but they are wonderful mattresses otherwise. Best Wishes, Ian |
Re: Hastens - Yay or Nay
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I provided a positive and a negative view, and suggest that going to apartmenttherapy would be worthwhile. I'm sure the great majority of Hastens buyers love their mattresses (they had better) but it sounds like a large number may not. Regarding wicking, you've turned the point on its head. Hastens claims that cotton so much better than synthetics. It's not. In fact it's worse. Cotton is a great material, but not for moisture transfer (other than absorption). And it's not the best natural material for that purpose either. That language is just marketing fluff. But if someone finds the topper to be great, and doesn't mind spending @$1300 after 5 years to replace it, that's OK. Personally, I find that too steep on top of the initial price (and I hate any high priced product which can be found "on sale" for 40 to 50% off--that shows how much mark up is there to start with). Confusedbedbug--what do you know about the coil system used in the Beckley? Who else uses that Holland coil? Is it manufactured by L&P (L&P manufactures roughly 75% of U.S. coils)? Thanks. |
Re: Hastens - Yay or Nay
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I don't recall who makes the Holland coil - I remember Steve H talked about them a bit on the old forum. I suggest you call Tim or Ted at Beckley - they are very willing to talk about their beds and their process. Call the factory number and they can direct you to them. Yes, I have to agree my Hastens topper is very expensive - but it makes the bed for us and we regulary shake it up and in fact step all over it (on the ground) and it goes back to original shape very nicely and feels brand new all over again. It makes the bed softer without giving up the horsehair springy feeling that the Beckley also has. |
Re: Hastens - Yay or Nay
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Bedbug, I'm wondering about the 2 inches of memory foam under the Hastens topper. How does that contribute to the feel? Was the Hastens (topper) by itself not enough? Your mattress looks and sounds like the perfect thing for someone to "customize" themselves. It's simple, low profile and definitely something I'll look into next time around... |
Re: Hastens - Yay or Nay
| IIRC, the Holland coil is more a process/design without a specific manufacturer. What I'm wondering is if L&P makes one and whether it's used by other mattress manufacturers. Even though the Hastens topper is expensive, if that's what works for you it's clearly worth it. Same for the Beckley support system. It's a quality coil system, which many here are looking for a a support system on which to place whatever topper works for them. I'm not in any way knocking the other aspects--handmade and certain materials--but others might not find those necessary. |
Re: Hastens - Yay or Nay
We tried many different things, latex, which my partner just finds terrible for the back, and feather beds. We go into great detail between myself and several others if you can still access Beckley threads in the old forum. Essentially we found that just the Hastens topper was still a bit too firm for us. Feather bed felt good but needed fluffing up every night which was a pain because we wanted it underneath the Hastens so we could still feel that horsehair springy thing. So, trial and error, - another poster, Beach Lover, found that memory foam worked for them so we gave it a try. 2" is perfect, more would make things (hind quarters  ) sink in too much, so we ended up with a good solution for us. Very customized as you say and very easy to live with. The Hastens' mattress pad has those elastics around it so it is very easily removed so you can shake up the topper itself when remaking the bed. The memory foam just stays in place underneath it all. Once a month or so we flip the Beckley mattress - it's pretty solid so that's always fun! |
Re: Hastens - Yay or Nay
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I used to post on this forum alot, but haven't for awhile. I still say Nay to Hastens despite all the claims about the bed. The fact that their mattresses are so outrageously priced, way over the budget of the average American, confirms my feelings about their mattresses. And even though the materials are natural, the fact is pocket sprung mattresses are not for everyone. They can be very firm. Also, the wool and horsehair can be an allergy problem for people with skin sensitivities. I made sure to try out the Hastens (and Carpediem mattresses) last summer when I knew I"d be wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts. What I discovered is that after lying on the topper for five minutes, I got very very itchy. And it happened in two separate stores. What I would do is what confused bedbug did. As long as it feels comfortable in the store, I'd buy the topper and try it out first. If you are not allergic to wool or horsehair and you like the springy feel, I think the addition of the topper would be a plus for any mattress. I finally found the perfect bed combination and I'm very happy and sleeping well. It will surprise everyone though. BonnieBeth |