So Mrs. Guest and I have finally had it with our current mattress. We’re going to get a new mattress this week and I’m looking for opinions and experiences from you all to help us navigate the “innerspring jungle” and select a new mattress.
A few things right off though, we are not interested at all in a sleep-number bed and not really interested in a memory foam mattress(but are willing to at least consider them). We are also not interested in those mechanical adjustable “hospital” type beds.
Currently we have an innerspring mattress with a pillow top that’s got about 4 or 5 years of wear on it (spent a couple years in storage) that was nice at first, but now causes back aches. I can’t tell you the brand off hand and Mrs. Guest is currently sleeping on it as I post this.
holy cow Chef! That website is great, but almost too much, besides, I actually want a little bit of bias. Usually the good people on here give reasons for their bias, and that can be helpful. That’s why I asked here instead of just shopping around and reading reviews. I trust the biases of the folks here as more reliable in helping me to make an informed choice. I “know” you people.
Well everybody’s back is different, so just because someone loves their mattress doesn’t mean you would like it. I bought my last one on-line, which saved me a bundle (like, thousands), and it had a 90-night guarantee. It happened to be a memory-foam Sealy, but there were lots of other offerings online for around a grand. Similar ones in stores around here start around $3000.
If you dig into the site, it talks about the various goods and bads. I’d avoid a standard box spring mattress. Five years is about it for them before they start causing the problems you mentioned. We have a memory foam (Tempur Pedic) that’s going on 15 years old. I still sleep like a babe in it. Expensive up front, but amortized over the 15-20 years of use, it’s no more expensive than many standard mattresses.
That’s the thing. It doesn’t matter what anyone else likes. One idea, though. Some hotels have name-brand mattresses in their rooms and will sell them to you. So if you stayed at a Westin Hotel, for instance, and found the mattress comfortable, you can buy one. They’ll even sell you the same bedsheets, pillows, duvet and blankets along with the mattress and box spring.
It seems crazy, but I always thought mattress shopping was a weird experience. You’re lying fully clothed (usually even with shoes on) for a minute or so on a bare mattress in a brightly lit store, with a salesguy standing nearby. That doesn’t give you the same experience as actually spending a night on that mattress.
And someone mentioned a ninety-day guarantee. That’s really common in mattress sales, both in store and online. Most of these places will let you return within 90 or 100 days.
I just went through the mattress shopping experience. I started a thread as well. I got my mattress 2 days ago and am going to spend some time using it before a complete update.
My previous mattress was a $600 memory foam mattress. After 5 years it wasn’t holding shape and had notable imprints where I slept. It was hurting my back so the search began.
I intended to go with a higher quality memory foam as the previous was comfortable before giving up on me. I was looking at a store brand for $1100 vs a $2600 Tempur-pedic.
My return trip I spent a lot more time with a staff member. I wanted to see what they’d match me with. The store had a computer that takes measurements, shoulder to hip distance is an important factor, the store rep wasn’t opposed to me getting memory foam but was pretty clear the memory foam mattresses didn’t offer good support for my long torso. She had me try some various inerspring and latex foam options.
I ended up going with a latex foam mattress. $1800 for a queen. It’s rather comfortable so far. It feels much more like an inerspring mattress than the memory foam and it doesn’t need to warm up or trap heat. Because I don’t sink into it, it throws my pillow hieght off. The pillows a have are memory foam. I’m a side sleeper. One pillow is too thin now and two is too high. So I need to find a new pillow to work with this mattress.
I liked the store I ended up buying from, Jordan’s Furniture, they were much more easy to deal with than the mattress stores I’d also shopped. There wasn’t pressure to buy or to upgrade. I expect I paid more for that experience but I’m ok with doing so to avoid the traditional BS.
I’ve been sleeping on a $300 queen size IKEA mattress for going on four years now and it is hands down the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever owned. Since it’s built to European standards, it uses a lot less of the materials that cause unpleasant out-gassing and is much more environmentally friendly than most. I also have down pillows and comforters from IKEA as well, the cost is a fraction what similar items go for elsewhere and all IKEA down is cruelty free so the screams of the ducks and geese do not keep me awake at night.