| I've been shopping around for a bed now for quite a while. I ended up buying a pillowtop mattress about 6 months ago that I find to be way too soft now. It just doesn't provide my back the support I am looking for unfortunately. So I have narrowed down my selection to the Sealy Springfree Plush model and the Simmons Beautyrest Black Olivia Plush/Firm model. In the back of my mind I am also considering the Simmons Black Josephine Firm. Problem is that I like the feel of all these with the first two being my favorites, but I don't know how they will feel over a period of time and I don't know which will theoretically be more reliable. I've heard that latex is typically more reliable than coil mattresses, however the Sealy I believe uses a synthetic form which is not supposed to last as long as the more expensive tallalay mixture. Any imput on this would be greatly appreciated. |
| Latex is not necessarily more reliable than steel springs. The issue with most spring mattresses is really what they put on top of the springs....quite honestly because you had a pillowtop mattress im not surprised that it changed dramatically within 6 months. I am trying to find some more detailed specs on the Olivia mattress, it is a tight top which means less upholstery although I know they still use standard polyurethane foam in the mattress which is exactly what breaks down the quickest in all mattresses that use this material. Sadly Sealy Spring Free mattresses often use a fair bit of polyurethane as well. I think you really need to look at the detailed specs on each bed to determine which one has the least amount of polyurethane foam in it, because that is likely going to be the more durable of the two. In the end you might find that both still use more than you would like. |
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Thank you very much for the response. The Olivia Plush/Firm uses alternating rows of 13.75 gauge coils and braided 17 gauge coils from what I have been told. The salesman at one of the "more" trustworthy shops says that the Black line uses upholstery grade foam for cushioning layers. It is listed as visco memory foam and transflexion foam, not sure what that consists of. From what I understand pretty much every mattress made uses some polyurethane foam. It seems to me then that it would depend on the quality of the foam, which unless someone were in the industry it would be pretty hard to know. I like the idea of the Springfree latex, but I am getting a little turned off by some of the reviews I have read and by the fact that they use dunlop latex instead of talalay. |
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theres nothing wrong with Dunlop latex so long as it is actually natural. there are beds out there that do not use PU foam at all, just that simmons and sealy do not make them anymore. honestly between the two I don't think one is going to significantly outperform the other in terms of support or longevity. So if you have decided already that it is between one of the two, go with what you feel is the most comfortable. If you are still open to some other suggestions, you might want to look at other latex mattresses not made by Sealy...I think you will find in the end that they simply are not competitive in that arena, especially in terms of the quality. |
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Mike22 wrote: Thank you very much for the response. The Olivia Plush/Firm uses alternating rows of 13.75 gauge coils and braided 17 gauge coils from what I have been told. The salesman at one of the "more" trustworthy shops says that the Black line uses upholstery grade foam for cushioning layers. It is listed as visco memory foam and transflexion foam, not sure what that consists of. From what I understand pretty much every mattress made uses some polyurethane foam. It seems to me then that it would depend on the quality of the foam, which unless someone were in the industry it would be pretty hard to know. I like the idea of the Springfree latex, but I am getting a little turned off by some of the reviews I have read and by the fact that they use dunlop latex instead of talalay. You see, the major S.Co. mattress companies are insistent on using low quality pu foam for a couple of reasons: 1) it keeps the price down so people feel they're getting a "good deal" 2) it breaks down quickly so people are back soon to buy another mattress, and since ALL the S Co's (read : Simmons, Sealy, Stearns, Spring Air, - all the major manufacturers) use cheap pu foam, then it's good for all of them (more business from replacing sagging mattresses). Oh, and as for the 10 or 20 year "warranty". Don't believe it. Getting an S Co mattress replaced under warranty is like finding the end of the rainbow. Chances are it ain't gonna happen. They require that it has something like a 1 and 1/2" dip in it, and believe me you couldn't even sleep one night on such a mattress! They almost always come out and look at it, then say, "Sorry, it's not replaceable under warranty." Then if you really REALLY FIGHT them, they might give you a discount on a new mattress, nothing more. Now, as to "one of the more trustworthy" salesman: I don't know the man in question, so maybe you're right and he is trustworthy. But man, I can't tell you how many of these guys lie to your face! I've seen it time and time again. There are trustworthy mattress industry people - we have Budgy here on this forum, for example - but finding a trustworthy and knowledgeable SCo mattress salesman is like finding a needle in a haystack, in my humble opinion. Do I sound bitter and totally anti-SCo mattress sales? Yes, I am. I've heard and seen too many examples of bad mattresses and bad mattress salesmen, in my years of mattress buying and my years here on this forum. So this is just so say, be wary, do your research, demand specs and answers, and only believe what you see in writing. If you really do have a trustworthy and knowledgeable salesman then he should be willing to GET YOU THE SPECS on the mattresses you are inquiring about. You should be able to get the ILD and density of each of the layers of foam, and if it's latex, whether or not it is synthetic or natural, Talalay or Dunlop-processed, and thicknesses and ILD's. If you do your research here on this forum you will find what all that means. Remember that you hope to spend about 1/3 of your life on this mattress for at least the next 5 years or so, so put the effort in and make sure you get one worth the $ you are spending. I think what Budgy was getting at is that you CAN get a typical spring mattress that does have quality materials but it will cost quite a bit more than what SCo mattresses go for. You get what you pay for in terms of materials. The problem is many of these high end quality mattressses do not offer "sleep trials" and return/exchange privileges. That's why many people go for a latex mattress from a place like flobeds or sleepez where they offer exchanges and refunds on quality latex mattresses, or many of us do our own "mattress surgery" to create mattresses with high quality materials on top of an SCo spring base. Good luck. I don't mean to lecture you, but am just trying to help with knowledge, experience, and educated opinions. |