Mattress Forum

It's not that it's a bad mattress, in fact it was well built.  I could tell the boxspring was high quality.  I'm sure the individual coils are also high quality.

I think the main issue is it uses 'conventional' foam in the comfort layer, a type of polyurethane foam they call 'Variable Response Technology' foam (catchy term, huh).  This foam did compress down somewhat in just a matter of days, so the mattress firmed up a little bit.  For me, that is a problem because I'm a side sleeper and my right shoulder will always be a little painful from an old injury and surgery.

I could sleep on the mattress.  Left side was fine.  No backaches.  But overall it was a little harder than I would like. I find the advanced foams like Latex and good memory foam have the cushiness I'm looking for.  I'm pretty interested in Latex and will seek that out on the next bed.

Some of the Stearns and Fosters higher end models use a thin layer of an advanced foam like Latex.  The 'Mulberry Green' pillowtop has a layer of it, but that layer is pretty thin (I think less than 1").  But, that bed also has regular polyurethane foam, and that's what I've seen tends to compact down somewhat. 

All that said, I drove over to Palo Alto, CA last just to see if I was blown away by these 'organic' mattresses in a place called the Natural Mattress Store.  They use all natural Latex for comfort layers with some wool for fire barrier, cotton covers.  I tried one with coil spring support layers, 3" latex.  I was blown away by the comfort.  Price is steep, but if they're still around next time, I buy.

That first link says the mattress has 'memory foam' in it.  I don't think that is true.  I don't memory foam is used in 'firm' mattresses.

That Foxbridge should be equivalent to Sears' 'Hearthstone Luxury Firm'.   This sites price seems quite high.  At Sears, Hearthstone Firm twin is $972 for the set with 9" or 5" boxspring.   Their price of $1500 for twin set is high.

Even if that mattress is next level up which was 'Queen's Gate', that Sears price was about $1100 twin.  The top model was 'Mulberry Green' which I think was around $1300 twin set.   But that ad says 11" mattress height, so it seems to be the entry level Hearthstone.

Not to pick and pry, but are you (and SO) side sleepers?  If so, just keep in mind hips and shoulders like cushiness.  Keep in mind these mattress will firm up because of the conventional foam which packs down somewhat and indents to a body.

The Stearns and Foster silk infused fabric is nicer than the knit covers on the Posturepedics.  Not that it will matter all that much with a pad and fitted sheet on.

I tried a Posturepedic with memory foam layer.  Those twin suggested retail are about $1800 twin, not cheap.  It was ok.  The plush was not Plush enough for me.  I can't speak about how durable they are. 

http://naturalmattressstore.com/

This is not just made up from some internet store.  This is the place I visited last week.  Been around since 2007 and reviews are almost all 5/5.

"Conventional mattresses versus Eco-Cloud organic mattresses

Eco-Cloud organic mattresses are covered with organic cotton fabric and padded with all natural latex and organic wool. Big name brand mattresses are not. Regardless of the brand name, their construction and materials used are fundamentally the same. These days they are all one sided which means they cannot be flipped in order to even out the wear in the polyurethane foam. Whichever brand you buy, your mattress will be made with about two inches of hard poly foam below the springs and several inches of varying densities of polyurethane foam above the springs. If you choose a top of the line version, it will have even more polyurethane foam with an inch or two of memory foam or blended latex on the top. It will also have some form of chemical fire retardant laden fabric or fibers under the cover. The polyurethane foam itself will be rated FR meaning that it is blended with fire retardant chemicals. The blended latex will have a percentage of natural latex mixed with a petroleum based material called SBR that will off gas. The reason conventional mattresses are made with polyurethane foam is simply because it is incredibly cheap. A one inch thick queen size layer of this material costs the manufacturers of the mattresses about a dollar. The price of the same size layer of natural latex is close to $100. Latex will keep its shape and be resilient and comfortable for more than 20 years. Polyurethane will compress and stay compressed in a matter of months. Which would you rather have in your mattress?"

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The salesman indicated the $1 for layer of poly foam is probably more like about $20.  But it's not $100 / layer Latex foam.

Hope I didn't confuse you too much :)

 

The link with S&F seems off.  $1500 for a twin set?  It could be Sears 'Hearthstone Lux Firm' equivalent which is $972 year round there.

The Posturpedic 2011 'Bellezza Firm', the only model I've seen around here with DSI individual coils was tagged $999 at Sleep Train.

I wouldn't say S&F is just a glorified posturepedic.  Their box spring is really good, very strong and solid.  My Hearthstone was very well built.  Coils seemed awesome.  It was just the regular polyurethane foam (Variable Response Tech) foam that brought it down a bit for me. 

To the OP, I think be careful with internet dealers.  Buying something you haven't tried is risky.  Also, if you need an exhange or refund, will they do it?  I don't know which is best.  Whatever one you like the most.

budgy wrote:

Actually, Budgy is quite right. Stearns and Foster is, in fact, a brand owned by Sealy. It's considered an upper-end Sealy product, it appears. Check out this SEC filing.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/748015/000104746911000234/a2201619z10-k.htm

So no wonder it starts with "S"!

Seriously? ...  I know S&F is a part of Sealy.  I'm would imagine most like myself go to www.sealy.com to easily find Stearns and Foster as one of their product.

Per Sealy's webstie, they have Posturepedics starting at $599 queen set.  S&F's start at $1,299 queen set.  Whoever wants a $599 Posturepedic set, knock yourself out.  Maybe you can proclaim it to be just like an S&F.

My point above was only 20% of Sealy's techs are certified to make the S&F mattresses in Sealy factories (we have one in 25 miles N. in Richmond, CA).

Also, every Stearns and Foster has individual coils, and the newer lines have the intellicoils.

Most Posturepedics on floors to date do not even have individual coils.  There is a whole truckload of 'Posturepedic' Sealy mattresses with wide variety of coils, materials and cover fabrics and some of them are over $1600 for a Queen. 

It's rather silly to say a Stearns and Foster is just a glorified Posturepedic.  Gurantee you an entry level S&F at Sears Roebuck ($1k twin set) blows away an entry level Posturepedic (<$500 twin set) with SS coils and some cheesy fabric cover.  I'm seen them both a few times.

Okay - I didn't see anyone mentioning Sealy and S&F in the same breath. You evidently know more about it than may some others do, and I really appreciate your posts. I've learned a lot from you!  I know Budgy is very knowledgeable since he has worked in the field for many many years, so I think his opinions are worth considering, as well. One might question the way he phrased it, I guess, but I suppose he was making a point worthy of some consideration and not just spouting off!. He's definitely one of the main long-time contributors to the knowledge base on this forum, and I'm grateful for his contributions, too.

I believe - correct me if I'm wrong - that Sealy is kind of famous for its individualized "pocketed" coils. I'm not entirely clear on what the difference would be with "individual coils" and what "intellicoils" are. I really haven't looked into what goes into a "posturepedic" mattress, either. I'd be interested in some further enlightenment, or I can do some research, but at this point, after lying on a posturepedic a month or so ago, it was okay but not overwhelming.  Anyway, we're all here to learn! That's what this is all about! Maybe some day we'll all be mattress experts on every kind of mattress that exists! .

The beds also used to come with a card that was supposed to be signed by the person that made the mattress, never saw one card signed ever. I can assure you these are production line assembled in much the same way as the regular mattress line.  The boxsprings that we had a couple years ago were also no different from the regular Sealy bases, they contained one extra strip of a thin metal reinforcement running head to toe, I had one of these bases fail under the weight of one heavy couple as well.  

I am not trying to piss on the brand, yes there are differences between a $1299.00 S & F and a $599 posture pedic, the differences are not nearly as vast as Sealy would have us believe.  I am just trying to provide some insight as to why the brand has lower customer satisfaction ratings than the less expensive posture pedics....better in some ways yes, but not worth the price difference IMO.  If you ask anyone around here I am always an advocate of good quality expensive beds, but they have to be justifiable. 

The main problem I had with the entry level 'Hearthstone Luxury Plush' (tight top) from Sears was the foam indented in hips and shoulder areas in only several days.  I know we've heard that a million times.  It was a good looking mattress and the cover fabric was nice, but it would have been nice to have really durable and 'springy' foam.  The box spring was decent.  I pressed down on it fairly hard and it was solid under there.

I guess it's a moot point for me to plug S&F because it didn't work for me.  Maybe a pillowtop would have worked, but I don't plan to get one. I'm much more interested in high quality latex comfort layers.

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weewilly - It was Simmons that's been using 'pocketed' individual coils since like 1928.  I know S&F only started using them a couple years ago and 2011 Posturepedics have them.  I don't know if Sealy has waffled back and forth using and not using individual coils.
 

Thanks for setting me straight, Slpngoc! And to Budgy too for for more info on S&F. Really appreciated!