I’m mattress shopping, and everything I read says to go with memory foam. Reviews of memory foam mattresses regularly use phrases like “life changing” and “never go back”.
So why do I hate them so much? What am I missing? I brought a well-reviewed memory foam topper once, and I couldn’t get it out of my house quickly enough. I hate, hate, hate the squishy quicksand feeling. I hate the lack of firmness. I hate the feeling of sinking in. I want a mattress that is firm and delightfully springy, that presses back at me when I press on it. Even the cheapest spring mattress feels better to me than a foam one.
Mr. Athena and I fell for the advertising many years ago - maybe 15 by now. We ordered a Tempur-Pedic (no local dealer at the time) and expected to looooove it.
We slept on it for 2 weeks before we both looked at each other and said “I hate this thing” and we sent it back.
Replaced it with a super-soft pillowtop that has been my all-time most comfy mattress EVA.
I just bought a memory foam twin for my son, it’s the firmest mattress we have now in a house full of firm mattresses. It’s the first foam mattress I’ve bought but it’s already got me thinking about getting one to replace our “extra firm” spring mattress. I’m not going to say it’s life changing, but I think foam density runs the gamut, same as spring strength.
We’ve also got one of the super firm memory foams with a pillow top kind of thing on it. For me it’s just nice and solid and doesn’t move for my wife she has the soft pillow layer and she loves that. It’s like those beds that let everyone sleep on their own firmness but without the crack in the middle. The thing we’re happiest with after trips is coming home to our bed.
Another hater here. I tried a topper on my old mattress. It was supposed to be “cooling gel” foam because I always get hot while I’m sleeping and I kept waking up drenched in sweat. I didn’t like the “sinking into quicksand” sensation either. I ripped it off the bed in the middle of the third night and just lived with my lumpy old mattress until I could afford a nice new spring one, which I like very much.
I had a memory foam topper on my air bed (which I love, it’s great for my sciatica), but the darn thing was only good for cold winter nights, otherwise it was just too hot.
My wife despises memory foam mattresses. Any time we’re in a mattress store, or whenever the topic of mattresses comes up, I hear a lengthy rant on the topic.
I love my memory foam mattress, but they vary wildly in firmness (and overall quality). I don’t think a mattress topper is a very good indicator of whether or not you’d like a full memory foam mattress.
BUT, of course, YMMV because my partner still prefers the good ol’ spring mattress we have in the guest room which I think is too damn soft.
Have had a memory foam for 12 years, and really like it, never noticed a quicksand feeling, or it being too hot. Cost a pretty penny back then, and their prices have only gone up since. I wonder why they haven’t gotten cheaper? I guess when they are THAT expensive you don’t have to sell many to make nice living. It supports in all the right places too. I get the feeling it was designed for people who are side sleepers though. And it’s totally cool to see it “inflate” once I’m out of bed. And no, I haven’t tried the red wine test.
Tempurpedic is crazy expensive but there are other brands that are just as good at a fraction of the price. I got mine from, I believe, Signature Sleep. Read the reviews to find a good one for you!
My grandparents got two foam mattresses. Grandma being a cheap bitch, hers was obtained as a present from her daughters and is good; his was the cheapest. Both are still in use: hers gets mixed reviews; half the family likes it a lot, half the family prefers anything that doesn’t have more lumps than mattress. His, the only one who likes it is my mother.
My idea of a good mattress is where, when I sit down on it, it doesn’t budge, almost as if I’d sat down on a slab of marble with a 4 inch layer of cotton batting wrapped around it. My spine doesn’t appreciate beds that bend and reshape. I’ve been in hotels where I ended up yanking the covers and blankets off and sleeping on the floor instead.
ETA: I have no explicit experience with memory foam. For all I know, it matches the descritpion but it sounds awful.
I think people who are getting the squishy quicksand feeling aren’t testing a firm enough memory foam mattress. I get that feeling with the soft ones but not more firm ones.
I’ve never even considered them. Well, I mean I have considered them and immediately thought “I am a hot sleeper, and I like a firm mattress” so I don’t know why I’d choose one. Maybe if I had a restless sleep partner or something?
I’ve said in other threads that Memory Foam is great if your purpose is to ship yourself cross country and you want to arrive intact, if not alive. As a mattress, it’s the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever lain on (or “in” in its case). I’ve slept more comfortably on a bamboo mat laid over a concrete slab.
