TOPIC:

My husband & I have been looking for a new mattress. We want a queen size firm mattresses as we both suffer from back problems. We have always had a coil mattress but have heard about how good memory foam mattresses are. We both tend to sleep on our sides/front & we always seem to wake up sore & not rested.

While shopping around I found a Tempurpedic mattress at The Brick here in Nanaimo. It had been returned as apparently the customer found it too firm. I was told it was an original Tempurpedic mattress, an Advantage model. The price is very good & the warranty & return policy of 60 days remains intact.

Since shopping around I found this website while doing research. Another blog discussed buying locally at either The FoamGuy or John's Bedroom Barn. Now I am trying to compare what they have to offer against this deal @ The Brick. Prices are fairly close with the Tempurpedic being almost $800 off. Are you familiar with the Advantage model & can you possibly tell me how they all compare?

I would appreciate any help as I seem to be getting more & more confused. Thank you.

Hi Branti,

While $800 off a $2000 mattress set (queen) seems like good value (or at least it puts the tempurpedic in the range of other options of equal quality) I would still look at a few things before I went in this direction.

Have you slept on a memory foam mattress before for more than a night or two? Are you comfortable the tradeoffs involved with choosing a memory foam mattress over other options and materials? When you test this mattress ... does it give you the pressure relief you need and the spinal alignment that is important? Do you tend to sleep hot on some memory foams?

In post #2 in the "Victoria" thread here , there are three outlets listed (including the 2 you mentioned) which I believe provide the best value in and around Nanaimo. I would certainly compare the mattresses they are offering with the Advantage and then make your choices based on which ones give you the best pressure relief, the best alignment, and are closest to your preferences of how a mattress should "feel" (less or more lively, ease of movement, breathability and heat etc). The Aerus foam at The Foam Guy is very breathable and among the "coolest" of all memory foams.

At the price of the Advantage ... I would certainly include it in the running ... but it still may not be the best choice in terms of what suits you best even though the value is much better than normal. On a personal level it wouldn't be my first choice but that has more to do with my own preferences and the types of layering I would choose to "compensate" for some of the weaknesses of memory foam if I were to include memory foam in a mattress.

The good news is that you have 4 choices for good value when most of the people in Nanaimo would only have 3

Phoenix

Thanks Phoenix, appreciate any & all help. We have a hold on the Tempurapedic mattress (which ends today) but I think we will slow down & take the time to check all other options. Even with that low price you are right, it may not be the right mattress for us.
I am so glad that I found this site...have been spending much time reading through various posts. So much info and a lot seems to depend on where you live as to what is available. At least we have 3 other options open to us here. I did notice that most of the mattresses that I could find on 2 websites had only 5 year warrantys. I know you say that warrantys aren't the thing to be looking at but that seems rather short compared to the 20 year warranty for Tempurapediic. Would this be because they are using less dense memory foam & polyfoam in their mattresses?

Sorry is these questions are redundant but I'm new to your site and still haven't been able to read all that has been posted.

Hi Branti,

It's hard to say why any particular manufacturer chooses a particular warranty but it may well point to the use of lower quality materials ... although the actual specs of the materials in the mattress would say more than the warranty. Sometimes increasing the warranty length is used as a way to upsell customers on buying more foam ... errrr ... I mean a "better"/ thicker (cough) mattress.

I would ask why the warranty is only 5 years and see if there is a legitimate reason. A typical conversation (in a mass market outlet with a "less than knowledgeable salesperson") may welll go something like this ...

Q. Why is the warranty on this mattress only 5 years?

A. Because its a lower quality/cost mattress.

Q. What makes it a lower quality/cost mattress?

A. They use lower quality/cost materials and/or "its not as thick and comfortable"

Q. What type of materials are in it?

A. It has an innerspring and polyfoam (or polyfoam and memory foam etc)?

Q. What type of polyfoam/memory foam and what's the density of the layers?

A. I think its my lunch time (coffee break etc) ... just believe me its lower quality!

Phoenix

I went out today to check into the 2 local manufacturers. I was quite impressed with The Foam Guy, very knowledgable & forthcoming. The mattress that I am going back with my husband to see seemed to have all the qualities (if I have understood correctly) that you mentioned. It has 2" of latex 32, then 1 1/2" Aerus 5#, 2 1/2" Actvus med. & lastly 3 1/2" Actvus firm. Hopefully these names & numbers mean something good. I wasn't able to test it today as that gentleman from Victoria that posted on this site bought the floor model. I did ask about the warranty & I can't now recall his answer, although at the time it seemed appropriate. I am getting overwhelmed with all this info, way too much to have to know. The 2nd manufacturer, John's Bedroom Barn, had some good quality mattresses as well & the salesperson I spoke with said she would get the owner to answer any questions she couldn't. Both of these companies & owners have been around Nanaimo for many years.
Just to let you know, I have been reading a lot of posts and trying to take notes. Kind of reminds me of being back in school. Only difference here is that the info now is very pertinent to me.

Thanks again.

Hi Branti,

I'm that guy from Victoria. My wife & I went up to The Foam Guy on Saturday and fell in love with "The Bentley" model, and brought it home. It is awesome! Do yourself a favour and go see John again when he gets another one in. I'm confident that you'll love it too. I was ready to spend $1800.00 on a Serta iComfort Revolution, and I feel that I got a much much better mattress for considerably less money. There's also something to be said for supporting the local guy too.

Hi Branti,

Yes ... I would consider all the different foams (latex, memory foam, and polyfoam) that are in the mattress to be high quality. As far as whether it would be suitable for you would depend on testing it for PPP (pressure relief, posture, and preferences). Your weight and body shape as well as your sleeping positions are a big part of what would make any particular mattress construction or layering suitable for an individual, even if it uses very high quality materials.

It's always amazing to me how much mattress construction involves both science and art. I think that's part of the reason I enjoy it so much since it appeals to both my left and right (or some people might say no) brain There is always more to learn and I'm always grateful to the many people who have shared their many years of experience and knowledge with me ... and continue to do so.

Phoenix

Was wondering what did you buy? Just curious. This thread doesn't have an outcome.

Phoenix

I have to agree with Anonymous. What brands should we consumers be focused more on? I understand the point of driving away from the big names and supporting the small name brands due to the conditions of the economy. However we all have different situations, like my self I am a person whom has to move a lot so a warranty or something to that extent has to be nationally recognized for my case. Mainly due to all the different circumstances and questions we are all continually ask you on different types, circumstances etc. I think that you should talk about the different types of companies to say your two cents on these brands meaning 1. Stay Away 2. Ok 3. Recommend. This will allow us to better ask you questions after we are able to see the differences you speak about if applicable by trying them at stores near us seeming how we are all spread across the country. I am just trying to make a way for you to save your hands from typing large amounts of the same information in many different ways. This should allow you to spell out exactly the things you like about these companies etc. Thanks again for your help that you doing us all with the knowledge and information you are sitting on this topic.

How are you locating these independent mattress companies in each state and things like that will also allow us to assist ourselves and assist others in this forum as we all focus on that perfect night sleep.

I do not mean to come across in a rude manner but rather a means of self helping us from the knowledge you know and this will allow us to ask questions that are a little more thought through rather then giving you specifications of are body dimensions. This will allow us to ask you more direct questions on the questions we then have based on are experiences on that type of mattress or brand. I'll get off my soap box, but just trying to help give a little more direction on how we can self help ourselves, from your extensive knowledge.

~JonnyBBravo

Hi Jonnybravo,

What brands should we consumers be focused more on?

None. Focusing on brands and misleading information to promote "brand differentiation" is a big part of what is wrong with the industry.

I understand the point of driving away from the big names and supporting the small name brands due to the conditions of the economy.

This has nothing to do with the conditions of the economy but with buying higher value and quality mattresses. The smaller independent brands as a whole make better mattresses at lower cost in any economic environment.

However we all have different situations, like my self I am a person whom has to move a lot so a warranty or something to that extent has to be nationally recognized for my case.

Warranties in general are a marketing tool used to sell mattresses to consumers who usually don't realize how they work ... not something that will benefit a consumer to any meaningful degree. Manufacturing defects will generally show up early in the life of a mattress and the softening or degrading of the foams in mattresses is not covered by warranty as it is normally part of the warranty exclusions. All manufacturers have a warranty and the smaller independents will generally be far more focused on honoring legitimate warranty issues than the major manufacturers who focus more on finding reasons not to.

I think that you should talk about the different types of companies to say your two cents on these brands meaning 1. Stay Away 2. Ok 3. Recommend.

There is not a chance that I would go in this direction more than I already do. When I invite a manufacturer to be a member of this site ... it is because I they build higher quality/value mattresses. That to me could be considered my highest recommendation as they are what I consider to be the best of the best. I also make comments in many of my posts about specific manufacturers in specific areas that I have talked with that I also consider to also have higher quality/value and I believe and hope that many of these will also become members when the time comes to invite them when I know them and they know me better but this is also not a specific recommendation.

Over time I will certainly do more "analysis/reviews" of many mattresses made by major manufacturers but they will be focused on materials ... not on the brand itself. Even a recommended "brand" says nothing about a specific mattress that may be suitable to a specific person. If there is a brand that I would highly recommend ... it is called "off brands" by the major manufacturers and major outlets. I use it as a compliment. They use it in a derogatory way.

Focusing on brands rather than materials and construction makes no sense and would contribute to the problem rather than the solution. It is not the label on a mattress which makes it pressure relieving, supportive, or provides the preferences that people need and/or want. It is the materials and construction inside it.

Let me give you a few examples to illustrate what I mean ...

Simmons ... a major brand ... made a mattress called the Natural Care Elite (note the "elite"). It uses all talalay latex and has 2" of polyfoam in the bottom of the mattress which is insignificant. This is a very high quality mattress using very high quality materials. It is almost always significantly overpriced in comparison to a mattress with the exact same layering and materials which could be made by many smaller manufacturers. If this mattress was available to someone at a significant discount ... I would recommend it in terms of the quality of the materials (in some of them). Unfortunately this would be very rare.

Several Restonic licensees make latex mattresses in some areas of the country which are all talalay latex. They too are generally overpriced. If they were available in the same price range as an independent manufacturer who made virtually the same mattress using the same materials ... I would recommend them as well in terms of the quality of the materials (which again has nothing to do with whether a mattress would be a suitable choice for a specific person).

Englander also makes some good quality mattresses and in some rare cases they too don't use too much cheap polyfoam above the latex. If the price was competitive with local manufacturing ... I would recommend these as well in terms of the material quality.

Eclipse makes some mattresses which have 2 or 3" of latex over polyfoam. These too at the right price represent good value ... all other things being equal.

If a major manufacturer suddenly decided to use HR polyfoam in the comfort layers of their mattresses and then reduced the prices significantly over what they are now (rather than increased them because they were using more expensive materials) ... then on a mattress by mattress basis ... I would probably suggest that people consider them as well because they might then compete with local manufacturers. I think everyone in the industry knows however that this will never happen.

How are you locating these independent mattress companies in each state and things like that will also allow us to assist ourselves and assist others in this forum as we all focus on that perfect night sleep.

Many long days of ongoing research and many long phone calls. While I probably have over 95% of them listed ... I am still finding new ones that I didn't know about both through various lists available online and through manufacturers telling me about the "competition" they respect that sometimes doesn't even have a web presence. In time as this website develops .... the resources that are available on it will grow significantly. Nothing is ever as fast as I want it to be. Even a post like this can take several hours as I am trying to put good quality information in the forum which will act as a resource for more web pages and other "parts" of this project that are part of my long term plans. In the next year ... the questions on this forum and the increasing scope of the information on the site will result in many enhancements to the site where I can just refer people to pre-existing information which answers their questions. For now it is still in the early stages of its growth in many areas.

I do not mean to come across in a rude manner but rather a means of self helping us from the knowledge you know and this will allow us to ask questions that are a little more thought through rather then giving you specifications of are body dimensions.

All of this will come in time ...although the articles on the main site itself already includes a lot of information which covers much of this in quite specific detail. Also don't forget ... that if the focus moves too much in technical areas ... then in some ways it becomes self defeating. It is much more important to work with a manufacturer who can tell you this information which can then be tested with a mattress on their floor than to focus on "theory at a distance" which can only provide general guidelines. While I can certainly "translate" peoples experiences in mattress testing into suggestions ... without the testing there is no real way to know what an ideal layering would be like for each individual except in terms of a starting point (which is already covered in the articles on the site). There are just too many subjective and objective variables to be able to predict with any certainty what any particular person will do well on.

If I can help a consumer to walk through the front door of a high quality and high value manufacturer in their area ... then my help or even the resources of this website wouldn't even be needed as they would have it right where they were testing mattresses. The biggest problem is getting credible information out to the public and to help them stay away from the influences and advertising that dominates the industry.

I don't take any genuine questions or comments as rude. All of this will happen in time as part of the plan for this site is to make it more "automatic" so I can spend more time with my family and work more "normal" hours. There are many things that will appear here over the next few years but the base has to be built first. I welcome genuine comments ... and even some that have appeared here that are not quite so "genuine".

I knew when I started this that it was a long term project and that it would take a great deal of time and effort to get it to where I wanted it to be and to a point where it would actually make a difference in the industry. I am far ahead of where I thought I would be in 8 months or so even though there is a very long way to go

Thanks for your comments, and I hope that the long reply dealt with your "concerns" or gave you a sense of why I focus in the directions that I do. While I am the actual person who wears the hats that run the site ... there are dozens of people who have shared their knowledge and insights with me about mattresses and the industry in general that are the reasons behind whatever I may know and the directions I am going.

Just to end this long reply here is a sad webpage of a larger regional manufacturer who just went out of business after 47 years that was a "victim" of both the economy but more even than that ... the direction of the industry itself lemoynesleeper.com/

There are many more which have gone under even in the time this website has been in existence. If I can make a difference and help consumers understand where real value really exists ... then some of these multi generational manufacturers may continue to exist and thrive. That would please me to no end and make what I am doing worthwhile.

Phoenix