Need to Sleep on a Budget
Dec 6, 2010 6:29 PM
Joined: Dec 6, 2010
Points: 16
First off, let me apologize up front for jumping the gun by posting this request for help right away.   I've read through random posts over the last 6 pages of this forum, but being as tired as I am its hard to make much sense of it and to go on reading more.  I was pretty close to making an uninformed purchase yesterday or today.  I was gonna go with either a $700 Serta Trump Home mattress (this was what I considered the high end of my price range) or just go really cheap for now with a lower end $400 Serta mattress.  Then I found this forum with the general consensus being that S-brands are crap and now I don't know what to do.

The problem is it seems, from what I've read, to get a decent mattress you have to spend $1000+ to get even a decent mattress.  That's a little out of my price range, I'm 26, single, and fresh out of college and don't really have that sort of money to spend on a mattress right now.  I just need something cheaper that will be nice and comfortable for a good 5-6 years.  Anything will be better than my current situation, a $100 8-inch futon mattress that I've had since September.  I haven't had a good nights sleep in weeks, I wake up every hour or 2 because its so uncomfortable and I have to to readjust.  I took the mattress off the frame the other week because the bars were poking through, but now I just feel the floor through the mattress. 

For the six years before that, I slept on another $100 futon mattress, but it had springs and was at least comfortable for about a year.  Before that I slept on a twin mattress my parents bought me from the age of 3 to the age of 19.  So in my 26 years of life, I've had a pretty crappy sleep history. 

Sorry for going off-topic there, just wanted to share how desperate I am for a good nights sleep.  Here are the qualities I'm looking for in a mattress:

- Firm to med-firm core (I'm a stomach sleeper)

- Reasonably soft upper layers, but don't want to sink into them too far.

- Something that doesn't get too hot.  I live in Phoenix and I had a girlfriend with a memory foam mattress and couldn't stand it, it got way too hot. 

Right now I'm leaning towards the cheap $400 mattress, I mean it will last me a couple years at least right?  I really don't think I can make it through another week of research, I am just too damn tired.  I realize this is my fault for waiting to the last minute.  Anyways thanks in advance for any input.

Re: Need to Sleep on a Budget
Reply #27 Jan 1, 2012 12:58 PM
Joined: Jul 14, 2011
Points: 15
I got the EcoSleep Madison in August on a comfort swap and couldn't be happier with it. As I'd read in the reviews - its the perfect combo of firm support and cushion for pressure points. Also like knowing that its free of flame retardants. One thing to note for reference: I find the feel of this bed quite different and more solid in a futon sort of way than an equivalent foam by mail setup. I'm still trying to figure out why this is - perhaps the fact that the 6" 33 ILD core and the 2" 24 ILD latex are contained in a non elastic wool padded bamboo casing as opposed to the stretchy cover reccommended for the FBM DIY setups. My boyfriend has a similar setup from FBM - 5" of 36 ILD poly core and 1" of 33 ILD latex (spare bed) and it feels a lot squishier than my bed which SHOULD by numbers be notably softer at 33/24. I personally LOVE both the beds though when first settling into the FBM bed I find the squishiness slightly unsettling. I am 5'4" 110 mostly side sleeper with mostly shoulder/arm/carpel tunnel issues to address when choosing a bed.