Bed Buying advice

In My Humble Opinion
1

Our bed is 6 months younger than our marriage. That’s pretty old. The wife has some back problems that I think are being exacerbated by the bed (yeah, she’s been MRI’d, disks aren’t bulging but things aren’t happy…this is not a medical advice thread)

The old bed was a California King Sealy Posturepedic with pillowtop on both sides. A monster. And $1600 from a storefront shop. 6 months after we bought our bed, the boxspring started squeaking. Every single damn movement is noisy and transmitted. I do NOT want that again. I suspect we got taken.

Our local Ubermega furniture mart (American Furniture Warehouse, home of Jake Jabs) ran a deal around new years where a ‘not-Tempur-Pedic’ foam bed, king size, was $550, delivered. It felt okay to me, but she was uncertain.

I used a sleep-number bed during a sleep study and HATED it.

It seems like the bulk of the ‘conventional’ beds these days are one sided…billed as ‘not needing flipping’…that’s code for ‘we only have to make the top half of the bed’.

So, what have you found? What did you pay?

2

I’m going to go on record and say get a (good quality) memory foam mattress. I thought I would just like it okay, and my husband thought he would hate it so we started with a 4 inch topper, but loved it so much that we quickly upgraded to the mattress. Soooooo comfy. I had some unexplained shoulder pain (like sleeping on it funny, not an injury) that went away almost instantly and my husband never wakes up any more like he used to and has had noticeable improvement in his back pain (that he attributed to heavy lifting and getting older).

Shop around for a good deal but Overstock.com carries some nice ones for a little cheaper than in the stores and $2.95 shipping (sometimes free shipping). If you need the actual bed/frame as well I would also heartily recommend checking overstock.com (not affiliated, just love them ;)).

Our bed though is a waterbed frame (Cal. King size) in which we had placed a conventional mattress. It works just as nicely with the memory foam mattress…I am very in love with my bed now. :slight_smile:

3

We bought a Tempurpedic, which was expensive but which has the following advantages:

*It’s a hostile environment for dust mites
*It returns to its shape when you get up
*There is little-to-no transmitted movement: when you get up, your spouse stays asleep
*You never have to flip it or turn it
*If within 90 days you don’t like it for any reason, you can return it for full refund
*It has a 20 year warranty (I think)
*There is no box spring to wear out.

Disadvantages:
*It’s extremely heavy. If you ever have to move your bed for any reason, you’ll need help.
*Some people complain that it retains the cold more than a regular mattress. So buy an electric blanket already.
*You’re not supposed to use a mattress pad with it, as it sort of defeats the memory foam effect to some degree.
*You must buy the Tempurpedic platform for the mattress or the warranty is void.

We’ve had ours for about five years now and it’s holding up beautifully. For us, it’s a much more restful sleep and supports our backs.

4

I have a king-size solid latex mattress. I’ve had it several years now and still love it. I think it cost me around a grand, which was way more than I’d ever thought about paying for a mattress, but I had to do something so I could get out of bed in the morning without needing help. My back immediately improved.

It came with a 20 year warranty, from a long-existing local business that makes their own mattresses. They had different firmnesses you could test, and then they made a mattress to your order. Mine is extra-extra-firm, with a very soft layer on top. It sits on a platform, no boxsprings. We try to remember to rotate it, but it doesn’t get flipped due to the top layer. (If we hadn’t done that, it could be flipped also.)

It’s similar to the Tempur-Pedic-type foam, but it’s not heat-activated and not quite as “solid” feeling. (My first thought when I tried a Tempur-Pedic mattress was “it’s a soft rock!”.)

I didn’t go with the T-type foam because several salesmen mentioned that it tended to be a very warm mattress. The foam is heat-activated and tends to hold/reflect your body heat. Since I’m a heat pump, that seemed like a bad idea.

My ectothermic partner bought a knock-off Tempur-Pedic-type foam mattress a few months later, and loves it. They were a bit cheaper than the latex (maybe $800?), and again came with a 20 year warranty, this time from the manufacturer. It came with a platform that looks like a box spring, so it could go onto a regular bedframe.

My other partner hates the T-foam, I think it’s fine. It does have a tendency to hold you in place once you’ve sunk into it. Since he’s a restless sleeper, it wakes him up all night when he tries to roll over and can’t get out of the hole he’s sunk into. He absolutely loves the latex.

I prefer mine, and would buy it again, but if I couldn’t get that I’d probably go with the T-type foam.

OTOH, we’ve had a number of friends test both mattresses. I think most of them like the T-type better. I know the one couple that have actually purchased a mattress went that route. It’s been a couple years and they still like it AFAIK.

We didn’t find any regular mattresses that we liked, and we looked at everything available. At the time, I think Tempur-Pedics were running around $1600, and regular mattress/box springs sets were anywhere from $600 up to the roof. I’ve always hated pillowtops (I like firm), and the Sleep Number things sucked big green eggs.

5

I have had my current bed for over a year and love it. It’s a Miralux, which I believe is a Sit and Sleep store brand, but it’s a really good bed. It has the individually pocketed coils, and while it’s not impossible to feel other people moving in the bed, you don’t really get much movement. (Our bed is an Eastern King)

When looking for the bed my wife and I spent hours at various stores trying various types of beds. We even booked a hotel stay at a hotel that had the Tempurpedic matress.

I am among those who hate the freaking memory foam. It’s like sleeping on sand. Wet sand. We did like the Latex Mattresses, but for the money we didn’t like them any better than the pocketed coil mattress we ended up with.

My best advice is to dedicate some time to each shopping outing. You want to spend at least 20 minute laying on any of the mattresses you are really considering.

6

Take your time shopping and, as others have said, try them out. Perhaps your wife would do better with a softer bed. Many people assume that back trouble means a firm mattress; not necessarily so. While travelling, we had a hotel room with a Tempurpedic and I hated it; the wet sand analogy is a good way to describe it. Hubby and I compromised on our last mattress – I prefer soft and he prefers firm, so we ended up with something not real soft and not real firm. :mad: I still have to sleep in a semi-fetal position on my side, or put a pillow under my knees. In another hotel, we got a sleep-number bed, and I thought “oh boy, I can try this out and maybe we’ll get one and satisfy both us.” Damn thing didn’t work. Sleep habits and beds are very individual choices and I recommend you both try any mattress at the same time, including the sleep number and the Tempurpedic – just because someone else didn’t like those mattresses doesn’t mean you won’t. Good luck.

7

I slept on a memory foam mattress over the Summer and liked it, but wife thought it was a little firm for her tastes, but I’m sure there are a number of firmnesses available. I guess I’m wondering what the deal with pricing is…it’s kind of like car buying was before the internet…there’s no real knowing if you’re getting your money’s worth, or what a good deal is. I don’t wanna pay $1100 for an $800 bed, or $1600 for a $1000 bed. Or even $1600 when $800 would be perfectly good.

8

For some people, Tempur-Pedics take a while to get used to. Not me! I loved it from the start. We’ve had ours for about ten years. I have osteoporosis and this mattress is very kind to these old bones.

9

I would avoid buying a bed from places like this.
I’ve had much better luck with a store that sells only mattresses; stores associated with a matress factory.

10

I like a softer mattress, but the woman who sleeps next to me prefers a firmer one. We got a “Bragada” brand four-inch memory foam topper and put it on top of a regular firm mattress. We both love it. It’s good for cuddling, too, as your lower arm sinks in but doesn’t get the circulation cut off.

11

Ikea has a wide range of beds and mattresses. They consistently test good on Consumer reports, are a lot cheaper then the competition, and all matresses can be tested out for 90 days at home.

12

I had come in to recommend the IKEA mattresses too. They have a little tool on their website to use to find out which mattress best fits your body type and sleeping style. They have a 25 year warranty and pretty nice prices.

13

Nearest IKEA is Tempe, AZ… 832 miles. :frowning:

14

Can you be more specific? American Furniture Warehouse is the single biggest (by a margin) place to by furniture, While a lot of their stuff is of marginal quality, I’m not sure how a big rectangular chunk of foam would be different from another big rectangular, chunk of foam.

15

.
Ikea sells online, as well.

16

You wanna buy a bed, unlaid upon*, sight unseen? :smiley:
*= getcher mind outta the gutter!

17

I got a Sterns & Foster in 2002. It was a floor model at Sears, no warranty, but 60% off. They’re described as “the Mecedes Benz of mattresses”, so they tend to be expensive, but they’re worth every penny. I haven’t regretted it yet. It’s just right for my weird sleeping positions, doesn’t make my back hurt, and the cats like it, too.

18

So as a former road warrior I have slept on many a brand of bed.
The best bed I have ever slept on bar none was the Westin Heavenly Bed.
To. Die. For.
So comfortable, I did not want to get up in the AM. I cannot recall ever getting a better night’s sleep.
They aren’t cheap, but you might want to book a night at a Westin and check it out.

19

Queen memory foam dealy from overstock.com for around $700. I read all about the memory foam mattresses and how they can be hot for the sleeper (because, I guess, there is no way for air to circulate between you and the mattress) but this seems to me a plus for me. I can sleep in a cooler bedroom and still be warm in bed.

And foam mattresses aren’t “bouncy” like spring mattresses. It’s nice that I can toss and turn on my side without causing any waves on the other side. I also like the fact that visco-foam mattresses are a less hospitable environment for bed bugs, dust mites and similar micro-critters.

It was delivered all squished-down and rolled up into a cylinder. I couldn’t even believe it was a mattress when it arrived. I unpacked it and it started to expand. A few hours later it was a queen-sized mattress.

20

There can be a huge difference between chunks of foam. Even for same-sized mattresses, there can be significant differences in firmness and longevity. While a less expensive mattress may seem firm enough at the start, it will likely deteriorate quickly. In a year, a cheap mattress will likely have a large Unintentionally Blank shaped depression.