Hastens - Yay or Nay

[pingable]

I dunno if it's the horsehair topper or the mattress/spring bedspring combo but it's a winner !

Whatever it is, I like it more than the Dux or Shifmans I tried
Love both the 2000T and Excelisor . The 2000T is like instant comfort and the Excelisor takes about 30 seconds for the comfort factor to sink in.....at a $8000 discount.

For those who have been in the same boat.....what other alternatives should I be looking it.
At this point, let's say 12 years at $1333 cost per year out of life of a good mattress, I'm willing to do that .....

 

[ecd90651]

I would say Yay, and Double-Yay!
We purchased the 2000T from SleepEtc./Svenska beds in CT last December, and sleep has been wonderful every night. We also looked at the Excelsior, which is another excellent Hastens choice. We probably would have bought it, if we had not tried the 2000T which is "deeper" and even more comfortable. The all-natural materials and excellent construction of either would serve you well for years to come. Hastens really knows how to make a great bed. No smoke and mirrors with this company. Just quality materials made to last decades. This seems so much smarter than buying a series of disappointing beds during the same time frame to litter our landfills. Hastens gets it "right" the first time. No fussing with figuring out toppers or zones or anything else. Life is complicated enough! ;o)
Think about calling Jeff or Anthony at SleepEtc. They are very informative, helpful, and professional. Unless you are in CT, buying from them will at the very least save a lot of sales tax!
Erin in So. California

 

[IanS]

IMO the finest mattress sold in the USA today. I have now had my Hastens Naturally for almost 4 years and it has been wonderful except that I went with soft when medium would have been a slightly better fit for me. These mattresses are so comfortable you just want more and more, but you need to remember that most need the support of a medium.

The only real problem is the price. Back when I was auditioning them The prices ranged from $4,000 for a Naturally King to $11,000 for a 2000T which seemed obscene at the time but was doable if you went for a queen and made a deal. (I only paid $3400 for my Naturally Queen) Today at double+ those prices Hastens sadly seems to be only for the wealthy. This is particularly unfortunate as the "S" companies are only making complete junk and I find latex is nether comfortable or healthy.

Hastens only real competition for comfort and construction is VI-Spring, which I find a little to firm for my taste and is just as expensive. The C.H. Beckley Bristol competes on construction and destroys Hastens on price but is much less comfortable then even the Naturally, much less the others. Hypnos, McRoskey and Shifman all are wonderful mattresses but they fall short compared to Hastens. (McRoskey is probably the best buy of all of them, but very firm.) No one else comes close.

Best Wishes to you.

 

[mccldwll]

"Hastens really knows how to make a great bed. No smoke and mirrors with this company. Just quality materials made to last decades. This seems so much smarter than buying a series of disappointing beds during the same time frame to litter our landfills. Hastens gets it "right" the first time. No fussing with figuring out toppers or zones or anything else. Life is complicated enough! "

The 2000T may be great if you have an extra $12K to throw at a problem, only to have to replace the topper in 5-7 years (your figure, see below), but many are a bit more frugal. As you noted in your December post below "[m]any here have bought various comfort tops made of down, wool, horsehair, latex, and/or foam to put over unadorned mattresses and are very happy with them. You can always change out a worn out topper later, while keeping your mattress." And it's a lot cheaper than $12K or so. As IanS noted "[t]oday .... Hastens sadly seems to be only for the wealthy." That's a reasonably objective statement, especially since a comparable sleep experience can be created with a bit of work (better, in fact, since sounds like IanS now has a mattress which is a bit too soft). However, the statement about latex not being healthy is extremely subjective, and shared by very, very few, especially here.

BTW, surprised that your former Airloom, which lists at around $10K (though available for less than half) didn't make it past 10 years.

Your December post: "We just retired our Aireloom Rip Van Winkle Euro top mattress. It had a wool top on one side and a silk top on the other side. After 10 years, the body impressions were there to stay and the bed became not-so-comfortable. The mattress was hand stitched, and the box spring was 8-way hand-tied, so the construction was good. I think if it had not had a Euro top, we'd still be sleeping on it.
As many in this forum have discovered, comfort tops eventually break down, even though the mattresses underneath are still in good condition. Many here have bought various comfort tops made of down, wool, horsehair, latex, and/or foam to put over unadorned mattresses and are very happy with them. You can always change out a worn out topper later, while keeping your mattress.
We have been sleeping on our new Hastens 2000T for almost two weeks, and are enjoying it very much. It has a separate horsehair, wool and cotton topper which should be replaced every 5-7 years or so, but the mattress should last much, much longer."

 

[mccldwll]

Followup:

Everyone looking for a mattress should spend some time on the sites of Hastens, Dux, etc.. But look for the big "take away" and ignore the b*llsh#t. The big take away IMO is 1) to focus on the high quality support systems, 2) avoid junk, easily compressible materials, 3) recognize that even the best materials can breakdown and need replacing (maybe 5-7 years on the Hastens topper). Replacing a topper may be OK, but spending $$$ in a relatively short period of time after you've spent $$$$$$ in the first place doesn't work for me. And, the b*llsh#t is stuff like the following from Hastens:

"You have probably noticed how much less sweaty you feel on a warm summer day when you wear a shirt or blouse made of cotton rather than one made from a synthetic material. This is due to cotton’s ability to ventilate and wick away perspiration and high humidity."

That's not what cotton does. Cotton is comfortable. It may wick away), but it also absorbs and holds. And if you sweat under cooler conditions you get clammy and cold. Cotton pretty much sucks compared to the latest merino wools (sold by Patagonia and others) or even the average quality wicking fleeces. I have a 10 year old spun polyester lightweight T (also Patagonia) which will run circles around any cotton T on a hot, humid day. It will wick away moisture and keep you dry, while the cotton T will absorb moisture, and hold it while you stew in your own juices. And while the newest high end merino wools (such as Patagonia) are great, they're not any better than the much cheaper synthetics. What they do offer to Patagonia, and others, is product/price differentiation. You can get ubiquitous poly fleece at Target, but you still have to pay $$$ for the merino from Patagonia. So recognize the marketing crap on the high end sites when you see statements such as that above. And also recognize that, as a poster above experienced with her $10K mattress-- handmade, silk, hand tied, gold plated, etc. won't necessarily make the mattress any better, because comfort materials will soften. And as you read everywhere about how everyone now is willing to spend $$$$$ on beds, which has resulted in the rapid growth of high end mattress companies, recognize that many newspapers are running these "independent" feature stories NOT out of the kindness of their hearts to inform the readers, but as incentives and support for those papers' advertising departments. When people read that others are spending $20K on a mattress, $2K for the locally available piece-of-crap $-brand seems like a real deal. And I'm sure everyone remembers how newspapers are chock full of mattress ads.

So if you want to spend $20K on a mattress, go for it. But you really don't have to do it, and you can obtain a good sleep experience for far, far less if you realize what's important, and what isn't.

 

[BeddyBye]

Also, cotton fiber attracts mold and dust mites. The woman from McRoskey told me that their mattress is not for someone who has a lot of moisture or mold in their home, particularly in the bedroom.

mccldwll wrote:
Followup:

Everyone looking for a mattress should spend some time on the sites of Hastens, Dux, etc.. But look for the big "take away" and ignore the b*llsh#t. The big take away IMO is 1) to focus on the high quality support systems, 2) avoid junk, easily compressible materials, 3) recognize that even the best materials can breakdown and need replacing (maybe 5-7 years on the Hastens topper). Replacing a topper may be OK, but spending $$$ in a relatively short period of time after you've spent $$$$$$ in the first place doesn't work for me. And, the b*llsh#t is stuff like the following from Hastens:

"You have probably noticed how much less sweaty you feel on a warm summer day when you wear a shirt or blouse made of cotton rather than one made from a synthetic material. This is due to cotton’s ability to ventilate and wick away perspiration and high humidity."

That's not what cotton does. Cotton is comfortable. It may wick away), but it also absorbs and holds. And if you sweat under cooler conditions you get clammy and cold. Cotton pretty much sucks compared to the latest merino wools (sold by Patagonia and others) or even the average quality wicking fleeces. I have a 10 year old spun polyester lightweight T (also Patagonia) which will run circles around any cotton T on a hot, humid day. It will wick away moisture and keep you dry, while the cotton T will absorb moisture, and hold it while you stew in your own juices. And while the newest high end merino wools (such as Patagonia) are great, they're not any better than the much cheaper synthetics. What they do offer to Patagonia, and others, is product/price differentiation. You can get ubiquitous poly fleece at Target, but you still have to pay $$$ for the merino from Patagonia. So recognize the marketing crap on the high end sites when you see statements such as that above. And also recognize that, as a poster above experienced with her $10K mattress-- handmade, silk, hand tied, gold plated, etc. won't necessarily make the mattress any better, because comfort materials will soften. And as you read everywhere about how everyone now is willing to spend $$$$$ on beds, which has resulted in the rapid growth of high end mattress companies, recognize that many newspapers are running these "independent" feature stories NOT out of the kindness of their hearts to inform the readers, but as incentives and support for those papers' advertising departments. When people read that others are spending $20K on a mattress, $2K for the locally available piece-of-crap $-brand seems like a real deal. And I'm sure everyone remembers how newspapers are chock full of mattress ads.

So if you want to spend $20K on a mattress, go for it. But you really don't have to do it, and you can obtain a good sleep experience for far, far less if you realize what's important, and what isn't.

 

[Need4sleep]

To me is just a piece of very expensive marketing thing. Proof is that sellers are usually able to make good discounts on them.
I was about to buy an Excelsior few months ago wich was initially 12.000 Euro,with all the discounst the final price was 7.700 Euro. Still,I felt it was a bit too much for just a bed. Especially when I saw that for real. On their website/papers they all look elegant and squared,when you seen them in person they look like some sort of chequered bags filled with cotton balls. Sure they are comfy,but you can have the same comfort by saving tons of money. And still....isn't it nice to change things after a while,just to test new products ? Even if I would spend that money on a mattress I know it wont be my last mattres...and i know someday I will spend those money on a mattress....Hastens or not.

 

[confusedbedbug]

I have to say we are still really enjoying our CH Beckley Bristol bed. It did take some fussing with toppers but we ended up with a firm, supportive yet comfortable bed that is showing no depressions after more than a year. We have a two inch piece of memory foam on top of the mattress and then the Hastens topper and mattress pad. Total cost for queen size was about $3300 including all the toppers and pad.

 

[pingable]

Is anyone else on the market making a horsehair topper like Hastens ?

I dunno if it was the combo of the double springs - mattress and box, but the topper was divine as well.
It has some give but has some resiliancy to it as well.

 

[mccldwll]

I was looking for something and stumbled on a website--apartmenttherapy.com--or something like that. Below are a couple posts--one from a dealer and one from some extremely "unhappy campers." The site is worth perusing.
[BTW, there was a poster on there who sounded a lot like confusedbedbug's setup (just guessing)].

"Hi Everyone!
I just came across this site and felt compelled to add a comment regarding Hastens beds. My wife and I purchased a 180cm x 210cm Continental in June this year. We based our decision on a number of factors including price, construction (we wanted an all-natural, non-toxic bed), longevity, and most importantly our own past experience sleeping in a Hastens bed. We had a positive experience in a hotel. We saved money for 3 years to buy a Hastens. The bed cost around $12,000. We spent several hours during multiple trips to the store trying diffent beds before making our choice.

Shortly after receiving our bed we found that the construction was defective. We ordered a Medium, and one side was very soft, while the other was somwhere between soft and medium. We immediately contacted Hastens and they sent a representative to inspect the bed. Two weeks later she arrived and agreed that the matress was not constructed properly and agreed to replace it. We waited another 5 weeks t before the replacement matress was delivered.

There was no improvement in the matress that was delivered as replacement. We notified Hastens 2 days after delivery that we wanted to return the bed and get a refund. They actually argued with us and tried to tell us WE were wrong and the bed was fine. This despite the fact that we were both now feeling back and shoulder pain which had never happened before. They again offered to replace the matress. When we decilned to have it replaced and asked for a refund their attitude changed significantly. After weeks of telephone calls and several letters, they finally agreed to upgrade our purchase by replacing our bed with a higher quality model. We agreed to allow this on the condition that if there were any problems, we would be able to return it for a full refund.

We went to the store and selected a 2000T as the replacement. The store manager phoned her boss and got the approval to do the exchange. We left the store feeling satisfied, albeit a bit uncomfortable with the quality of service (I'm leaving allot of detail out here concerning the store personells attitude, suffice it to say it was not nice).

I sent a short letter confirming our agreement and asking for a timeframe to deliver the new bed. The next day I recieved a call from Hastens saying they would not replace the bed. Needless to say we were shocked. We immediately went back to the store where we spent the next hour negotiating for a refund. They finally agreed to refund 85% of our purchase price within 5 days. That was 7 days ago and we still have not seen our money.

We now have to get a lawyer to help resolve this. It has turned out to be a nightmare. We wish we would have read this and many other threads concerning Hastens and their problems before making this purchase. We have subsequently been in touch with many other unsatisfied customers who share our experience. Our advice from firsthand experience is that although there are many satisfied customers of Hastens, there are also many unsatisfied ones such as ourselves. Think long and hard before you buy from them, and be sure you get everything you agree to in writing."
posted by dlglobal1 on 2007-09-30 08:48:56
view dlglobal1's profile

 

[mccldwll]

Followup:
Here's the dealer's post. Of course it's self-serving, but it confirms what we have discovered/discussed re: support:

"Hello all, I am a retailer of Hastens and Carpe Diem Beds of Sweden. I also sell other brands such as Stearns & Foster, Englander, Sealy, Tempur pedic, and more. Hopefully this post will answer a few of your questions. It is possible to simulate the feel of a premium quality bed like Hastens and Carpe Diem, but unfortunately, no one can give you the support and comfort together, not to mention the longevity of their beds. 
As you probably know most U.S. mattress manufacturers are building beds with one sided construction. Very convenient for us, since we all hate flipping our mattress. These manufacturers are loading up one side of the bed
with tons of foam and other upholstery materials to achieve a soft comfortable feel. The problem with that design is that we as people hold the majority of our weight in our rear ends. Even though the bed feels great, the spine is not in its natural position. Your butt will sink in more then the rest of your body as the support (spring system) is way at the bottom of that big one sided mattress. What happens is you fall asleep fine, but you wake up with soarness or still tired despite the 6-8 hours of shut -eye you just got. The reason being, since your mattress failed to evenly distribute your weight, your muscles, instead of sleeping, were called to the job. I have heard various complaints throughout my years in this industry, but most of them came when mattress manufacturers decided to make half a bed. Two of the biggest complaints are; that 6 months after purchase, the bed feels signifantly softer than when they first took it home, and the other are those 1 1/2" body impressions that develop rather quickly. Both of these examples are normal according to the manufacturers of these one sided, more convenient sleep sets.
Hastens and Carpe Diem beds are built not only to be the most comfortable beds in the world, but to offer decades of support as well. They do this with all natural materials and the most advanced spring design to date. The spring in these beds is what is supporting your back and giving you the comfort. Both companies use an individualy pocketed coil which has twice the amount of turns
per coil than the best Amrican bed. This allows each coil to conform perfectly to the part of the body that compresses it with out affecting the performance of the coil next to it. The bed actually evenly distributes your weight so perfectly without applying pressure that the sleeper almost experiences a sense of weightlessness. With the bed containing no foam that detiorates, Hastens and Carpe Diem promise 
decades of comfortable restorative sleep. You don't need to spend 20 or 50k to experience this, ever Hastens and Carpe Diem bed offers this starting around 5k. 
If interested, I have some Hastens models that I would discount from 10% to 40%.
I hope this has been helpful, if you would like to contact me, please do so at: [email protected]"

 

[confusedbedbug]

Yup, that was me! It is an interesting site to read up on the Hastens' stuff.

 

[pingable]

ConfusedBedBug -

Just curious.....were you able to ever come something amicable with your Hastens ordeal ?

 

[confusedbedbug]

I am not the writer of the post with all the Hasten's horror stories - just the brief comment about using the Hastens' topper with the Beckley bed - which we like.

 

[mccldwll]

Correct. BTW, for everyone's edification, how thick and how much (if you don't mind) are the toppers?

 

[confusedbedbug]

Sure, the queen topper was, if memory serves, about $1300 and it is about 3" thick with horsehair, cotton and wool. 2" of memory foam was from Healthy Foundations and was about $200. Expensive toppers but they give the feeling of a very comfortable bed with good springs and horsehair at a fraction of the cost of the hastens or McRoskey for that matter. Is it as good as a Hastens - who knows? I loved the feel of the 2000T for the little time I got to spend on it in Chicago, but it is not in the budget right now. As well we are larger folk and we have back issues and seem to need a firmer mattress so, I'm quite pleased with what we put together for the money and enjoy crawling in every night!

 

[IanS]

Just for the sake of balanced reporting. As an owner of a Hastens (I don't work for them or their competition) I believe some of these ant-hastens comments about construction to be without merit. I have owned my Naturally for almost 4 years and have had no mold, no bed bugs, no sign of wear in the topper, and no flaws in the construction. The comment about the medium vs. soft only exists because Hastens actually gives folks the option of firm, medium and soft at each price point which means you have to pick wisely. This is a good thing.

The cooling effect of the cotton works exactly as advertised and this is one of the best features of the bed. While it's true that there are some artificial materials the may "wick" moisture away as well or better, that would defeat the point of a Hastens, which is to use natural materials. Pour a bucket of water on any bed and you will have a wet bed.

Hastens topper is another great feature. Instead of promising a 10 year life for a one sided foam monstrosity that doesn't last 10 months like the "S" companies. Hastens warns (in writing) that their toppers may not last as long as the rest of the mattress and makes them removable, flippable and replaceable. This is called honesty and is also a good thing. As I mentioned, after almost 4 years there is no sign of wear in my topper so i will get more then 5 years out of it.

Hastens are way too expensive for the average purchaser and this I can't debate, but they are wonderful mattresses otherwise.

Best Wishes,

Ian

 

[mccldwll]

I provided a positive and a negative view, and suggest that going to apartmenttherapy would be worthwhile. I'm sure the great majority of Hastens buyers love their mattresses (they had better) but it sounds like a large number may not. Regarding wicking, you've turned the point on its head. Hastens claims that cotton so much better than synthetics. It's not. In fact it's worse. Cotton is a great material, but not for moisture transfer (other than absorption). And it's not the best natural material for that purpose either. That language is just marketing fluff. But if someone finds the topper to be great, and doesn't mind spending @$1300 after 5 years to replace it, that's OK. Personally, I find that too steep on top of the initial price (and I hate any high priced product which can be found "on sale" for 40 to 50% off--that shows how much mark up is there to start with).

Confusedbedbug--what do you know about the coil system used in the Beckley? Who else uses that Holland coil? Is it manufactured by L&P (L&P manufactures roughly 75% of U.S. coils)? Thanks.

 

[confusedbedbug]

I don't recall who makes the Holland coil - I remember Steve H talked about them a bit on the old forum. I suggest you call Tim or Ted at Beckley - they are very willing to talk about their beds and their process. Call the factory number and they can direct you to them.
Yes, I have to agree my Hastens topper is very expensive - but it makes the bed for us and we regulary shake it up and in fact step all over it (on the ground) and it goes back to original shape very nicely and feels brand new all over again. It makes the bed softer without giving up the horsehair springy feeling that the Beckley also has.

 

[kimmcgov]

Bedbug, I'm wondering about the 2 inches of memory foam under the Hastens topper. How does that contribute to the feel? Was the Hastens (topper) by itself not enough?

Your mattress looks and sounds like the perfect thing for someone to "customize" themselves. It's simple, low profile and definitely something I'll look into next time around...