New bed

[stephenson]

Hi All—we are considering replacing our king bed. We have been happy with our hybrid mattress, but not sure if a newer bed is warranted. There are lots of frames and beds on the market and it’s difficult to sort and decide not only on mattress types but frames as well. (And, as everyone knows, different beds have different names depending upon who’s selling it and what part of the country you live in.)
Because there are many options, we would appreciate opinions on regular frames vs split frames vs motorized; what mattresses work best with what frame (not a fan of all foam) and which brands offer best warranties.
We would appreciate your experiences with purchases that you have made.
Thanks!

 

[REWahoo]

Sounds like you could benefit from a subscription to Consumer Reports. They did extensive testing of 238 different mattresses.

 

[Aerides]

I recently sprung (no pun intended) for a hybrid king from Helix. We went with the Midnight Lux, which is their firmest model, but compared to my old tempurpedic it feels like a marshmallow. And yet somehow till super supportive. 6 months in I'm very happy with it.

As it was a 14" mattress we don't have a box spring, but got a king frame with slats, in a platform style bed.

If you haven't yet narrowed down between a single mattress vs. splits and motor options, you have a lot of homework to do.

 

[SecondCor521]

When I was looking at this someone referred me to sleeplikethedead.com, which I thought was a very good site. I don't think they discuss frames, though.

On the warranty side, my cynical self suspects that most mattress brands have approximately the same build quality and approximately the same amount of returns over time, so a longer warranty is going to be attached to a higher price, not necessarily higher quality. You're just prepaying for the privilege of having a longer period of time to make a return.

 

[Dash man]

I like Stearns and Foster mattresses. I’m not a fan of the foam mattresses out there. BeautyRest is another good brand. We have split king sets and like them. I need semi-firm mattresses because of my back problems. I can’t see paying the price for the adjustable frames when I can use pillows for the same thing.

 

[njhowie]

We've purchased 3 of these from Amazon over the past few years. We've been extremely happy with them, obviously, as we've bought more over time. It works well on any type of frame. We have a king on our old box spring. DD had a queen on a platform, and currently has a full on slats.

It comes rolled up tight. You cut the plastic wrap, lay it out, let it expand for a day or two, and then it's ready to go.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010GO33I0

 

[foxcreek9]

Love our purple - base model. Have had it for 3 years now.

 

[finnski1]

When I was looking at this someone referred me to sleeplikethedead.com, which I thought was a very good site. I don't think they discuss frames, though.

On the warranty side, my cynical self suspects that most mattress brands have approximately the same build quality and approximately the same amount of returns over time, so a longer warranty is going to be attached to a higher price, not necessarily higher quality. You're just prepaying for the privilege of having a longer period of time to make a return.

I second sleeplikethedead. We ended up choosing an all natural latex mattress with an organic cotton cover and a wool layer underneath that for breath ability.
Have had it for 7 years already and the comfort and durability have been great.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Mattress shopping is a bewildering experience. My research told me there are 3 or 4 national mattress manufacturers and as the OP said, they play games with the names and stores that get them.

I bought a new mattress in 2017. I went old school and bought a coil spring model from a local custom manufacturer. The local manufacturer had a higher coil density than the name brands, heavier materials overall, and cost about 20% less.

King size, coiled spring pillow top mattress finished on both faces, meaning the mattress is flippable, which should extend the life. Dual box springs. The mattress was hinged in the middle so it could be folded and compressed for getting it up the stairs.

I wish I could be of more help.

Next up for you in your future--buying sheets! Another fun research project.

 

[pacergal]

The best beds we've ever slept on were a (Q)Sterns and Foster and a(K) Temperpedic.
Both lasted over 10 years, supportive and comfortable. Still have the temperpedic.
The King size has been more comfortable as far as each having sleeping-stretching out space.
We have had regular steel frame and now have wood platform frame. Both have been comfortable.
Unfortunately, bed and frame hunting can be a long process, you really need to try them out, lay on them for at least 15-20 minutes in the stores. And that can be frustrating when the salesperson is there hounding you!

 

[qwerty3656]

Following - we are in the market for a new mattress. Our current mattress is a sleep-number bed and we've been happy with that. I was thinking I would just get another sleep-number bed, but if there is a better technology...

 

[aja8888]

Another good research site is "mattress underground":

https://www.themattressunderground.com/

I used it a few years ago and was glad I did.

 

[qwerty3656]

Does anyone have a Sleepovation mattress? It looks like it would be comfortable.

 

[Midpack]

I hesitate to “vote” as it’s a very individual choice. Some people are comfortable on most mattresses, some are not (unfortunately me). The irony is, we almost always sleep well on hotel beds. So with a grain of salt…

• We had a Stearns & Foster that was way too firm, left us with aching joints in the morning. Bad choice, our fault.
• We had a Sleep Number bed but didn’t get along with that at all due to hammocking which cases backaches. If we firmed it up to prevent hammocking, aching joints in the morning. Tried every setting from 35 to 100.
• We had an all natural 3 layer latex mattress, tried two different layer configs but left us with sore joints. Finally put a 3” memory foam topper on it to make it tolerable.
• Now have a Saatva luxury firm innerspring mattress. It’s definitely the best fit so far for us, though I may experiment with a memory foam topper again.

Again, I may be a bad example for choosing a mattress.

We’ve always had box springs but our Saatva is without. Just a thick (14.5”) mattress sitting directly on bed frame.

 

[RobbieB]

The only way to know is to go to a store and lay on a lot of beds.

 

[Jerry1]

The only way to know is to go to a store and lay on a lot of beds.

Not exactly. A pain in the butt for sure, but you can have them sent to your house to try them out. I think most give you 90 days or so to try them out.

Personally, I have my eye on the Saatva line. Trying to figure out whether to put it on my existing box spring or figure out if it will fit on my frame. The frame seems a little scarce on the support beams but I need to get the mattress and box springs lifted and take some measurements so I can figure out options.

 

[braumeister]

I hesitate to “vote” as it’s a very individual choice. Some people are comfortable on most mattresses, some are not.

I guess that's us, so we count ourselves lucky. I got a discount on a Casper mattress about six years ago and we've been extremely happy with it. We're also generally comfortable in hotel beds, although they tend to be a bit softer than we're used to. I do sympathize with those who struggle finding the right one.

 

[Aerides]

My suggestions would be to do a lot of "best mattress" reading, including articles for your specific situation: Couples, side-sleeper, snorer, back pain, etc.

That's basically what we did. I then put together a list of the top 5 from recommendations and reviews, weighed out the pros/cons/prices of each. Also important was delivery time... I didn't want one that was going to promise 3 months and end up being 6. Costco also has a number of decent options. I don't think a mattress store is helpful because anything can feel great for 30 seconds. Hotel beds often do until day 4 when I'm like... ugh...back is sore.

All the new DTC brands ship with a 100 night trial, and most all have a 10 year warranty. Personally I don't care about a longer warranty than that as I plan to invest in a new one at 10 years either way. We let our old one go way too long because there was nothing wrong with it, but we realized we just weren't feeling great waking up. Sleep is too important to not have the best thing for you.

The one thing I remember from most of the articles I read: If you think you need a new mattress, pretty much any new mattress will be better than you have now, if it's at least 5 years old.

 

[REWahoo]

We like a moderately firm mattress and purchased a Ghostbed* Classic last year as the ratings indicate it is a 7 on a 1-10 firmness scale. It fits our need perfectly and we liked it so much we purchased a second one to replace the mattress in our guest bedroom.

Had houseguests just prior to the Omicron outbreak, and they liked the Ghostbed so much they also purchased one. Maybe I should get a commission...


* My guess is when Marc Werner (of Werner Ladder Company) chose a name for the mattress company he started 20 years ago, he was having a little fun with the top competitor at the time: Casper.

 

[Midpack]

The only way to know is to go to a store and lay on a lot of beds.

Ten minutes doesn’t translate to how we’ll feel after 8 hours sleep. Believe me, I wish it did.

 

[Rocket Man]

We currently have a Sealy king extra firm mattress. No plush top. About 7 years old. I wake up with a sore lower back like someone has been punching me in the kidneys. DW, who has some back issues, likes it. Had a good memory foam topper on it for a couple years, which helped me, but bothered DW. Obviously, we need to go to a split king. Hopefully, in the near future! Getting some good feedback here. Thanks!

 

[cbo111]

We recently put a 3" memory foam topper on our 6-year old Sealy Posturepedic which gave it a new life. Very comfy and should extend our enjoyment for a couple more years for about $150.

 

[SecondCor521]

We currently have a Sealy king extra firm mattress. No plush top. About 7 years old. I wake up with a sore lower back like someone has been punching me in the kidneys. DW, who has some back issues, likes it. Had a good memory foam topper on it for a couple years, which helped me, but bothered DW. Obviously, we need to go to a split king. Hopefully, in the near future! Getting some good feedback here. Thanks!

Uh, could you just get a single/twin sized memory foam topper and just put it on your side of the bed? It may look wonky but would resolve the discrepancy in your opinions perhaps.

 

[Rocket Man]

Uh, could you just get a single/twin sized memory foam topper and just put it on your side of the bed? It may look wonky but would resolve the discrepancy in your opinions perhaps.

Thanks for the suggestion! We have thought about it. It would look horrible, but my name is not Ricardo Montalban!

 

[tb001]

We’re looking for a new bed too. I think we’ve decided on a split king with motorized base, though I don’t love the separation between the mattresses. I like the wall hugger feature of some of the bases, though I’ll admit the tempurpedic base that automatically raises when it hears snoring seems awesome.

We’re looking at personal comfort as an alternative to sleep number. They offer a 100 day trial with refund if it doesn’t work out, but I like how modifiable the mattresses seem to be.

The other thing that looks interesting to me is the chili/eight pod temperature regulators. I always need a warm bed in the evening, but want it cold at night. People who have them seem to love it.