Any advice in choosing new Mattress?

[smileydog]

I am looking for input on what type of mattress to purchase. I've been looking around at the memory foam types as well as other pillow top models. Costco has a pretty good deal on a memory foam model that is pretty inexpensive (compared to the Temperpedics and others). As one who experiences lower back problems from time-to-time I would like to make a careful choice.

Opinions welcome.

Thanks

 

[jIMOh]

I had a sore back a few years ago persistent soreness, aches and pains (and I was 32 yo). We bought a king size bed when we moved into our new house in Dec 05, and put a foam mattress on the bed. Best night sleep I ever had every night. Wish I discovered it sooner. Worth whatever price you pay for it.

Hotel beds are so uncomfortable now.

 

[TromboneAl]

Check out this thread:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/best-new-mattress-23921.html?highlight=mattress

 

[bright eyed]

go to a mattress store and lay down on the foam ones to see if you like it. i didn't when i tried it out.

we got the simmons beautyrest for the individual coils that are not connected by a top spring layer - this does reduce the residual bouncing if your mate is jostly around, you don't feel it on your side.

i also think a lot of mattresses have gone nuts with the pillow top layer. if it is too fluffy, it will eventually make a dent, so i avoided the 5 inch pillow top ones!

 

[pfpelican]

We just bought a tempur-pedic. Best sleep we ever got...and that's 40+ years of mattresses. Be aware that tempur-pedic's are warranteed for 20 years, about 10 more than "normal" mattresses.

 

[Martha]

I have discovered since reaching the hot flash years that the memory foam is too dang hot for me. As Al has mentioned, memory foam retains heat.

 

[pfpelican]

DW suffers from that affliction. She picked out the tempur-pedic and loves it.

 

[calmloki]

We've been on a Costco foam/memoryfoam king mattress (comes in store in the blue roll around chest) since 6-1-07. $665. Very pleased with it thus far, figure if the foam starts to degrade and we have to change it every three years it will still be a better deal than a Beautyrest or other mattress. We sleep with open windows year 'round, overheating hasn't been a problem for the gal, who does temerature modulation by blanket tossing. Really like that motion is not transmitted if one of us gets up or is rolling around.

Hint: open the mattress where you are going to use it. Moving it can be done by dragging it on edge on a plastic tarp, but it's 120# of floppy awkwardness.

 

[Martha]

but it's 120# of floppy awkwardness.

 

[Rustic23]

I hurt my back in 1978. I thought the ejection seat in the AC I was flying had something to do with it. You were forced to sit somewhat hunched over. It persisted after I retired until 1992. We purchased a Serta Perfect Night. Three weeks after we bought this mattress the back ache was gone. We have replaced that mattress with another Serta Perfect Night and still no back ache. Could be a coincidence, but as long as the back ache stays away, I stay with Serta.

 

[REWahoo]

I hurt my back in 1978. I thought the ejection seat in the AC I was flying had something to do with it. You were forced to sit somewhat hunched over.

Ahhhh yes, I recall that sitting position. If you had to pull the levers it made it much easier to kiss your @ss goodbye...

 

[smileydog]

Thanks for the great responses - Some of the newer models of the Costco conforming foam models now tout a cooler feel. Nice thing about a Costco purchase that if you don't like it you can return it.

In our area we have a store called Mattress factory - I replaced my Posturpedic with one of their top models and after 5 years - somethings gotta give. We have not been happy with our choice. Our style is to shop / compare but buy for the long term.

You can't find much objective advice (for some reason) on mattress selection.

Thanks for the input.

 

[calmloki]

Thanks for the great responses - Some of the newer models of the Costco conforming foam models now tout a cooler feel. ....

Be advised, when we were buying I looked into that and the cooler feel is accomplished with a less dense but thicker memoryfoam. What i recall learning is that the less dense foam degrades more rapidly, giving the hollow spots we didn't like about our innersping mattresses. We had used the Costco memory foam mattress toppers for several years and could tell that the foam was losing it's supportive memory. That drove our purchase of the cheaper Costco mattress (9" foam base + 3" memory foam) with the thought to view the mattress as a consumable rather than a decade+ long term comittment

 

[CybrMike]

I've had great luck with Select Comfort (sleep number) beds. I had consistent back aches before purchasing this bed and after, they are gone. The nice thing is that since it fills up with air, it will never sag, you never have to flip it, and you can adjust it to the firmness at which you desire.

 

[pfpelican]

From the FAQ on the tempurpedic web site ( TEMPUR Retail# )


"Will the Tempur-Pedic mattress make me hot?
No. The cells themselves are open and breathable, so the material is self-ventilating. Unlike innerspring mattresses which cause pressure points, the TEMPUR® material relieves pressure resulting in better circulation. Due to the increase in circulation throughout your body, you may discover you need fewer blankets to sleep comfortably. "

 

[mickj]

From the FAQ on the tempurpedic web site ( TEMPUR Retail# )


"Will the Tempur-Pedic mattress make me hot?
No. The cells themselves are open and breathable, so the material is self-ventilating. Unlike innerspring mattresses which cause pressure points, the TEMPUR® material relieves pressure resulting in better circulation. Due to the increase in circulation throughout your body, you may discover you need fewer blankets to sleep comfortably. "

FAQ from tempurpedic

Do your mattresses suck?
No. They are the best thing since sliced bread. Worth every penny.

;-)

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I've tried several memory foam mattresses and they all retained and produced more heat than a regular mattress with a good topper like wool. Its simply not plausible to have any kind of foam compete with an open woven cloth material.

My wife likes it, i'm a little iffy on it, but thats the whole "women cooler than men" issue.

By the way, I opened a pair of them downstairs and then had to carry one up two flights of stairs with a 90 degree turn and the other up three flights with two 90 degree turns. That was some bunch of floppy 120lb goodness...

Tempurpedic is the Mac of the mattress world. If you have a certain stratification of identically designed and weighted foam layers, paying twice as much for one vs another is just a matter of subjective brand preference.

 

[tryan]

Once you go foam you'll never go back ...

 

[joesxm3]

I love my temur-pedic

Paying for it broke my heart but after the first couple days getting used to it I would have nothing else.

It seems that your spine need s a few days to realign and 10% do not adjust which is why they give the 90 day return period.

As others have said, paying a lot for something you will keep a long time and use constantly can be the correct plan if the quality is better.

I have three sets of friends that feel the same way.

 

[ERD50]

We've had one for a few years. Got it through:

Memory Foam Mattress

but that now re-directs to:

Isoform Memory Foam Mattress

Cheaper than the tempur-pedic, and from reviews at the time, seems just as good. At the time, they just started dealing retail, they supplied hospitals before then. Their customer service was pitiful at that time, but we did get our order OK after one messed up delivery. So, check how they are doing now if you consider them.

We love it. It is warmer, but it seems we got used to that.

-ERD50

 

[grumpy]

I have chronic low back pain and five years ago I bought a VERY firm brand name mattress thinking it would help my back. It never was that comfortable until I bought a 2" thick memory foam topper for it (on line). Now I sleep great on it. The topper was only $80 so I figured it was worth a try.

Grumpy

 

[joesxm3]

foam warmer?

Some have been saying that foam (off-brand?) is warmer, but my impression has been that tempur-pedic has been cooler in the hot weather and warms up nicely in the cold.

 

[Janet H]

Not a fan of memory foam but.. I have a latex foam mattress from Englander that is several years old and LOVE it. It feels more like a traditional mattress w/o/ that "sink into the sand" feeling that memory foam seems to have. It's not hot or cold that I've noticed and DH is happy with it as well.

 

[Danny]

Went with Serta Perfect Sleeper Pillow-top...we sleep much better now - more reasonable than the higher tech beds

 

[F-One]

I think it depends on issues you have (back, etc) and what kind of sleeper you are. Do you sleep on your back or side or stomach? Do you need to move during the night or stay in one position all night? We tried foam mattress and pillow top but both give too much in wrong spots (we are stomach sleepers) and need a firm mattress. Ended up with sleep number bed, and after some adjusting of the firmness, both DW and I love it. She has a chronic back issue and really loves this bed.
But again I think the issue in selecting a bed for you is to figure out how you sleep and find bed that works with that.