Mattress Forum

Im sure it would be really confusing and people would probably run out the doors if I just told them what the specs were on a mattress. 

like someone lays down on a bed and says 'this feels good what's in it?"

1218 independent pocket coils, 15.5 gauge of wire, 12cm tall, 7 turns in the coil, foam encased, 2" foam underneath the coils, 2" "firm foam", 2 1" layers of soft foam, half inch latex, half inch memory foam, 2" super soft convoluted foam, 33oz hollo fibre! 

But what people should be made aware of...at some point.

1. Coil mattresses (from normal brands) are quilted with various layers of polyurethane foam.

2. Polyurethane foam breaks down.

3. The more polyurethane foam you have the more serious your permanent body indentations will be and the sooner they show up. 

4. A half inch of memory foam or latex does nothing to prevent the other 6" of poly foam in the pillow top from breaking down. 

From here, I can show people alternatives.  I myself am not a specs guy, I know the specs very well, and actually so well to the point that I realize the important specs are never provided by a manufacturer which is how long will the mattress last, how well will it breathe, will it conform to the body and relieve pressure, will it be firm enough to keep your heavier regions from sinking too much?  These are things that a spec sheet alone cannot tell you.  When it does come down to buying a coil mattress which quite frankly is the most confusing type of mattress to buy, you should buy the TYPE of coil that works best with your body, you shouldn't buy the coil count or the gauge of wire. 

Just thought I would give you another reply on this one....I think if you want to get a really good quality American made mattress and mostly filled with cotton batting.  You really ought to check out a brand called Royal-Pedic.

http://www.royal-pedic.com/

One of their reps actually made a visit to my store to see if we would carry their product.  I have to say if I didn't have spacing restrictions at the moment I was ready to floor atleast a couple of their beds.  And some day I may re-consider the possibility.  I had access to their american pricing sheets, I think they would work out to be much better priced than a Shifman and are truly made to a very similar standard of quality.  I know that they have been regarded by many to be the best mattress made in the US.  They also make organic versions of most of their beds if this is a concern to you as well. 

Absolutely fascinating thread guys! 
Constant low back pain is so debilitating it is just awful.  I suffered with it for a long time myself.  I know exactly what you are talking about.  Doctors sent me to physical therapists who hurt my ligaments with their testing, and promoted back exercises to help me strengthen my back.  Did not help. 
I knew in my gut it was from the bed(s) I slept on.  Went through quite a few, spent way too much money uselessly.  Felt horribly frustrated.  Where to turn...every bed promises what it does not deliver.  I was going through new beds every three months.   My husband thought I was kinda nuts, called me Princess and the Pea.  Beds didn't bother him. 
Finally visited a hotel where to my great surprise, slept on a mattress that healed my back in two nights.  It was amazing.  I did my research and found it had offset coils, and a box spring with springs.  It was an S brand, but I was not going to pay $5K for one similar to it, no way.  I had one made to my specs.  I like it, my back is good. I did not choose the foam that I knew I needed so have had to work with it a bit, but my mistake.  Overall, great bed.
Find a mom and pop bedmaker and get one made that you like.  Or do mattress surgery if you have good coils and a brave soul.  My mattress surgery result is at my stepdaughter's house...she loves the bed, but I did not care for marshall coils.  Cutting it open did no damage other than cosmetic. 
As to why it is this way...profit, baby profit!  It's all about right now, in hand, promise a better mousetrap, profit!!!  They don't care about how we sleep really. 
Good luck.
Kait

Budgy - WOW! That sounds like a really great mattress! May I ask what the asking price is? Not that I am going to drive to Canada and bring it home from your store, but just to have an idea in case a friend wants to buy such a mattress. Do they have a web site?

That brings me to this question:
Although right now my mattress seems to be Great, with the Talalay layer replacing the HR foam I had there, I wonder if it might be even better (though I'm not likely to change it any time soon!) if I had a different box spring.

I am using my old Sealy box springs under my Englander springs/diy mattress. I never really felt that the box springs matter much, but I've heard it say that they can. I assume that if you had some really custom built mattress and box then it might well make a difference, but on a Sealy/Englander/etc. type set up, probably not.

As I recall, these 7 year old or so Sealy Box Springs are just a box made from wood and on top is some kind of metal wire system going across it but basically it's wood, with maybe just a LITTLE give. I wonder if I should try putting something like a firm piece of wood in between me and the box springs. But what kind of wood would I use if I did? (this question is for the DIY'ers among us) I could try putting it on the floor one night but I really have NO place to store the box in the meantime if I do, I would literally have to stand it up in the living room and then move it back and forth til I decided!

Anyway, just curious as to how you feel about cheap mattresses and their need for box springs? Until I had the Sealy I never even used a box spring, I just put the mattress on the floor. I never liked bed frames - the metal frame kind - either! Too bouncy for me. So I have the box springs sitting on the floor.

Oh... one more question for Budgy:
Why did the S companies give up completely on making good mattreses, in your opinion?
What I mean is this: Okay, the wanted to make them cheaper so people would not get "sticker shock" and be able to still "get a good bed for $1000". Okay, fine.
But what I don't get is, why couldn't they have at least made a bed something like mine (basic springs but with all latex on top instead of Peee-Yew foam and a cotton or wool top). Wouldn't that have been a quality product they could produce for not all that much more money? I mean, I'm only using 2" of latex on top of a VERY firm 1/2"layer of HR foam on the bottom (I wonder if this layer is even necessary).
So I don't see why they wouldn't at least try to make something like this, with no pu foam in it? Wouldn't they be able to sell such a mattress at a price point that some people would pay?

In other words, why throw out the baby with the bath water?! It seems they just threw in the towel and are not even TRYING to make long-lasting quality mattresses anymore, not even as a "top of the line" item.