Mattress Forum

First, I post about the wonderful comfort of our waterbed mattress every chance I get.  We've slept on hard side waterbed mattresses for about 22 years and are now on our fourth one in that time.  As with most things engineering and design improve with time and the same is true with waterbed mattresses which are NOT the squishy things people played on in the early 70s.

Before buying our latest model first of Jan. this year we did about four months of serious and dedicated looking and research into all types and styles and models of mattresses including innerspring, foam including tempur-pedic and latex - we sat on them,  lay on them, asked friends and family and read tons of online testimonials.

Tempur-pedic seemed way, way, way over priced and we read negative comments from users who said within a year or two their tempur-pedics developed permanent indentations of varying depth - makes sense to us, regular weight on any springy material plus gravity should result in compression and indentation over time - same thing happens with springs (a.k.a. mattress coils) - from the first day weight and gravity compress springs causing loss of shape over time.

At the end of it all we bought our fourth waterbed mattress and have found it to be the best so far - waveless with extra firmness so it gives great support without feeling hard.  We combined it with a Cloud9 three inch 4.3 semi firm topper - so far this topper is a very comfortable accessory to our waterbed core or base but we won't testify to its' endurance until after at least six months of use.

Fact is, high quality hard side waterbed mattresses cost about $300 online which usually includes shipping and often no sales tax is billed.  We decided it was time to buy a new heater so for under $500 we had our new mattress, heater and topper - we figure our total mattress costs over past 22 years to be about $1100.00.

Have you considered buying a nice waterbed frame/bed?  We have used the same bed over the 22 yrs - made of solid oak and still looks great.

Summary - waterbed mattresses never develop indentations or other structural failures - yes, they can be punctured but that is a minimal risk as the mattress is surrounded on the sides by wood and covered by sheets, bed pad - optional topper and comforter - we have NEVER had puncture or leak. 

Strongest features (to us) firmness is easily adjusted - most mattresses cannot be adjusted - the bed has a heater and can be as warm or as cool as the user desires - my bride has multiple permanant back problems and she loves the rest without pain she gets on our waterbed and the cost is just a fraction of the prices of traditional spring or foam mattresses.

Okeedoekee - you asked for waterbed testimonal and here is ours - We don't understand why most all mattress forum type sites don't include waterbed as acceptable competitor to spring, foam and latex but we can tell you from our over two decades of personal experience that the modern waterbed delivers as much comfort and more features than most all other types at a much lower price.

Best of Luck with your qwest for the perfect and affordable sleep platform for your personal preferences - we have found ours.

Risk of Puncture by claws (or other sharp objects) will vary depending on how the each person sets up their waterbed mattress.

22 years ago we were younger and simply put sheets on the mattress and slept comfortably.  Over the years and as we got older we have added more to our personal formula that gives us a lot of comfort.

It's a good idea to put a layer or two between the humans and the mattress vinyl - body perspiration/body oils over time can break down/damage vinyl.  We now first put a nice mattress cover on the mattress surface.  On top of that we have the 3 inch 4.3 Cloud9 topper.  Over that we have sheets and, finally, a comforter.  It would be difficult, IMO, for a cat to get a claw anywhere near our mattress vinyl.

MATTRESS SIZED - waterbed mattresses are made to all the standard mattress dimensions.  We use a California King and the dimensions for it as well as regular king, queen, and twin all seem to be the same as the dimensions of other types of mattresses.

HEATER? - We've always used a heater and usually have it set at about 85 degrees however with the mattress pad and then thick three inch topper we have tested sleep without the heater and don't feel much of a difference.  Without layers between you and a vinyl waterbed mattress you will probably be cold and not comfortable.  Your body heat will warm a regular mattress but - again, IMO, a waterbed mattress will suck heat from your body without a heater so if you choose to not put a heater under the mattress or to leave it off (as we usually do in the summertime) you will need some insulation layering between your body and the cool waters of the mattress.

BED FRAME EXPENSE - There are all kinds of waterbed frames on the market - modern, plain and simple and antique styles and we have seen prices in a nearby store for $200 for a simple solid wood pine frame with low pedestal to over $1000 for a fancy headboard and a 14 inch pedestal with storage drawers.  We bought an oak bed with a nice but relatively simple headboard and 14 inch pedestal with underbed storage 22 yrs ago for, I recall, around $800.00.  Frames are simple to assemble and even modify if you are at all handy and comfortable with simple tools - For example, we decided we needed slightly taller frame to allow extra height for our foam topper and I figured out how to add 2 inches all around the frame - pretty easy to do and can't be seen under the padded rails we have.

Please understand that we are not trying to say that a waterbed mattress will be superior to all other types for the comfort of all other people.  What we are trying to share is what we have learned from our personal experience and 22 yrs of satisfaction is a pretty large amount of experience for a user testimonial.

The waterbed mattresses of today have new engineering and design unknow back on the early 70s yet many people seem to think that they haven't improved in the last 40 years and that is simply not true.

Waterbed mattresses are truly 100% motionless/waveless and different models have varying amounts of extra firmness and support.  Compared to all other conventional mattress types they are inexpensive ($300 for our latest) yet come with 20 yr warranties (ours has 100% replacement warranty for first five years and pro-rated for remaining 15 years).  There are no springs to sag and fail and no foam to indent and fail.  BEST of all is firmness is easily adjusted as is temperature.  Our last mattress was seven years old and in seeming perfect shape - we replaced it as we wanted a bit more wavelessness and support and as we only paid $250 for it we felt no "pain" simply tossing it and buying a newer better one.

It's hard for me to admit that I qualify as a Senior Citizen and my bride is right behind me in that regard yet we both find our waterbed mattress with the topper to be supportive and firm without ever being hard and we don't think you can find another mattress of any type with topper combo for under $500 with all of the features and comfort that we have found sowe try to tell people as best we can that a waterbed mattress is certainly worth a tryout.

Best of Luck and Good Sleeping!!

I stand corrected on the issue of size - we have a Cal. King mattress which matches other types of Ca. King relative to size.  Sorry I posted incorrect information relative to size and appreciate the correction.  How nice that other sizes of waterbed mattresses - like queen - are bigger than other types with that same size name.  Nothing wrong with bigger - to most Americans bigger amounts to better!! - LOL but it's true!

I stand by everything else posted.  The hardside waterbed mattress - in our opinion - is a very acceptable competitor to all other types of mattress in areas of reliability, comfort, and price and also in our opinion superior due to ease of ease in adjusting firmness and temperature control if it is desired. We think our over 22 yrs of waterbed personal experience gives us a credible basis for testifying.

Best wishes to all and Good Sleeping!!