Mattress Forum

I dug up an Imperial catalog here and it might have more models that the Imperial Bedding (http://www.imperialbedding.com/)  site shows:

 http://barronsleftovers.com/showcaselist.php?type_id=1150

Barron's

Address:
Leftovers Furniture and Bedding
400 S. Conococheaque St
Williamsport,MD 21795

Website: barronsleftovers.com

This http://www.beddingcomponents.com/innersprings.asp is Leggett & Platt's site with their innerspring and other mattress materials product information.  Many small manufacturers use L&P springs.   Kinda takes some of the mystery out of it, lol.

Model 640  10" Tempercoil:   Has a layer of foam on the top.  Feels a little stiff, not hard or harsh, but definitely not plush.  I still think I might like this set with a foam topper added to soften it slightly, unless it breaks in with use.  The cover was kind of tan or gray & black, and patterened, not white like the online catalog shows.  It's a stretchy fabric.  Also not a quilted flat-top like the catalog shows.  That quilted foam layer on top is obvious to the eye.   Good very firm mattress.   They called it Temperpedic Absolute Pearl-Lux.   Price was $1100 or maybe $1199 for the set. 

   (fwiw, and maybe not much, the salesman said he liked the #640 but his mate liked the #780 better, so they bought the #780.  He says they've had it two years, and have no problems and no indentations.  But, he would have preferred the #640 set.  He didn't exactly agree with me when I said "and add a topper to tune it," but I didn't read disagreement in his body language, lol.)

Model 780 Tempercoil:  10" Tempercoil, and has loads more foam on the top.   You sink into the foam, but not far.  It's not as firm as the 640, and has quite a different feel to it.   I can see where some people might get pressure points from the 640 and might find the 780 more to their liking.   It still has great support.    Price was also $1100 or maybe $1199 for the set.  I have tried that #780 three different times now.  When I had a musclesore back, I didn't like the softness of it.  The other two times, I hadn't been working out moving big furniture, and that softer top layer felt great.  I'd probably opt for the #640 and tune it, since #780 borders on too soft.

Both of those models are 2-sided.   Imperial uses polyurethane foam only.   The Tempercoil does dampen movement and isolate the other person from it.   Either of these seems like a good value to me, considering they are 2-sided and I think the design has been around a while.  I believe Imoperial makes the Tempercoil spring and it's not made for them by someone else.

  I could probably live with either of those sets, except that the store was pretty much charging me full retail, which makes me definitely want to comparison shop.  I want firm, and lots of isolation from the person on the other side of the bed, hehe.

Other Imperial sets:

"Bed of Roses"  probabably Bonnell coil.  Says Crown Bedding and is made by Imperial.  -- Sells for low price $379 queen set at that store.  390 coils, which kind of sounds like one of their Bonnells.  Was not too bad for a single person, doesn't have the isolation against movement like the Tempercoils do.  Not much foam in it.  Was comfortable for me.  I don't know the materials of construction or the wire gauge.  For $379, it would be a good budget-friendly choice for a student, a single, a guest bed, etc.    If I were buying something to use short-term, I'd consider it.

some Lura-Flex model that was supposed to be firm:   I didn't like it.  Too soft for me.  It was labeled "Orthpopedic Excellence."  Has 805 coils, and sold for $599 for the set.  I need a firmer mattress than that.  I tried a twin size vs. a queen of the same model, and the twin felt firmer only because it was less of a width to span.   Lura-Flex might be right for people who like a softer mattress and want to do that without a lot of foam, maybe?

--------------------

Now, here's the kicker:

I then went to the store that sells Simmons and Sealy.   What I liked the best, as-is, with no tampering or modifications, as the Simmons Beauryrest NxG "Alexandria" Plush Firm, 1000 coils.     Salesman said $1495 for the set and I could get a split box foundation for that price.  The foundation, as he described it, is not a box spring.  It's a metal frame.  I loved the way that mattress felt, better than anything else I tried except the friend's Original Mattress Factory $600 set.  I am shocked and dismayed that I liked a Beauryrest the best, lol.   Service life and whether the mattress stays the same consistency over time are my major concerns with that one.   In comfort, it was just right.  It was between #640 Imperial the #780 Imperial, and just fit me the right way.   Day-um, I thought all of those S mattresses are junk.  Sure didn't feel like it.

(edit 8/28:   That mattress had NxG and also latex in it.  The store (Sleepy Hollow in PA) literature said NxG on the tag, and 1000 coils and Plush Firm.  I wonder if it's an overpriced Beauryrest Worldclass Fontaine plush firm or something, after looking at ccmattress.com's site.   True NxG mattresses are much higher than $11400 - $1500 per set.   Yep, look here:   http://www.mattresshotline.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.prodInfo&prodId=58248    1000 coils and latex and NxG foam on top.   I can get it there for $1100 shipped.  No wonder the salesman was pressuring me to buy that set on the spot.)

I also tried Beautyrest 800 coil extra firm, and man, was it FIRM.   I tried the 800 Plush firm and hated it, absolutely hated it, because it has a spongy feel.   Either of those sets were priced at $899.  I think they were the Classic series.

(edit 8/28:   These were probably the Alessandra Extra, Luxury, and Plush firms.    $679 shipped from mattresshotline.com)

I tried a Beautyrest Plus Firm that was probably the Anniversary line, but I really liked the Nxg Alexandria the best of anything I have tried.

-----------------

Since $1500 is a lot differerent price than $600 to $800, I just have to make the drive to Pittsburgh to check out the The Original Mattress Factory models, especially since I slept on one multiple times and thought it was the best thing I've used.    If they can get me the same comfort and support for $600 or $800 per set, then I'll buy theirs and stop looking.  I am not going to put $1000s of dollars into a mattress set when I can be happy on an inexpensive extra firm with a piece of foam laid on top of it.  I'm a smaller woman, but I HATE soft mattresses.

I do find myself wondering whether doublesided would really be that much of an advantage if one were buying a very firm one, since it does double the amount of foam inside the mattress that can break down and sag. 

Imperial Bedding
Orthopedic Ultra Firm
Model 49 with cover A26, I believe.
It has the matching box spring, can't see the springs, but there are 6-7 slats and it's only a full size set.

I'm sure about the model number; I think I remember the cover number right.  Peach color woven jacquard, and I love that slick cool fabric and I hate all those sleazy knitter foamy synthetic covers that mattress-makers use today.

Model 49 is no longer on Imperial's web site, just to save you checking.  I am planning to call them and see if it's still made, or what today's equivalent model is, since I don't need to buy my queen set yet.  I bought that full size set in Nitro, WV, back in the late '80s sometime,and only paid $125 or something for it!   I bought it for a guest bed, and I used it full-time for a couple of years after that.  It has no sag, and no body indents.

To avoid pressure points, I put a 2" Simmons mattress topper on it, and a thicker quilted mattress cover over the whole thing.   The 2" topper came from WalMart, and I think it's what's called memory foam now, but it wasn't memory foam back inthe early 2000s when I bought it.

In a full size, the Bonnell or whatever spring is in it has excellent motion dampening.   But I've found that springs that are great in twin or full might sway when you get to queenor king, so always try the size you will be buying, if possible.

*********************************

Added 12:45PM    Imperial Model 49 is still made, with a few changes since the '80s.  Based on a #312 Bonnell innerspring, but 13 ga now instead of the 13.5 ga wire that mine (probably) has, and the current innerspring spring is also a little taller for some initial softness, I was told.  Cover is 1/2" quilt.   Box spring foundation has a module or modular wire spring now, and the one I have might be a coil.   Mine really gives you  that old fashioned ultra firm & little foam feeling.    This mattress set is now taller than it used to be, but I didn't ask the dimensions.  It's still not a heap of foam, so maybe it's 1" different or something.

The "Bed of Roses,"   Model 59 or 69, is the same spring system as Model 49, but has a 7/8" quilt on it.   It's an upgrade to the Model 49, and you might be more likely to find it in stock somewhere than you would the #49.   I have tried it and liked it, and it was really inexpensive.  But I liked the #640 Tempercoil set better in queen size.  As those matts get larger, I think they need stiffer wire as well as more springs.   I thought that the Lura-flex springs felt great in a twin, but they swayed 'way too much for me in a queen.

The wire in the Model 780 and 640 Tempercoil springs is 15 gauge, and Imperial makes their own Tempercoil.

That Barron's site is a good place to page through the Imperial lineup.  You can't even get THAT much information from Imperial's site, lol.

Here is the "All" page:  http://barronsleftovers.com/showcaselist.php?type_id=1150

That "Bed of Roses" set is a much soifter spring than this older full size set that I have.  They have change the moel 49 since I bought mine back in the late '80s or early '90s.  (I've been trying to fugure out what the equivilent is now, so I don't waste any money on the wrong thing.   It's nice haveing a decent bed to sleep on while figuring out what new bedding to buy, hehe.)