My husband and I are in the market for a new king-sized mattress. The one we bought with our bed, which we spent about $800 on (no box-spring, we have a platform bed currently) is starting to get lumpy and misshapen, so we’re in the market for a new one. We may also be in the market for a new bed entirely (depends on if our spare bedroom in the currently nonexistent new house can fit a king), so feel free to suggest mattress/box spring pairs if you have one you really love.
In a related question, how long are you supposed to go between buying mattresses? I saw something that said every 5-8 years, but that was from a mattress store, so I thought I’d take it with a grain of salt. As far as I know, my parents slept on the same mattress as long as I was in the house. I’m sure somewhere between the two, the truth lies.
Tempur-Pedic. The only way to fly for us. Our last mattress, which was about $800, started being uncomfortable after only five years, to the point where I couldn’t get a decent night’s sleep. The TP mattress was expensive, but it has a 20 year warranty, and is still comfy after six years’ use. Added benefit: it’s a hostile environment for dust mites.
King Tempur-Pedic.
Had it for two and a half years now–no regrets whatsoever.
In both cost and negotiation, it was like buying a car, and took some time to pay off.
But every night I get into bed with delicious anticipation, and every morning I stretch and purr like a satisfied cat–it feels that good.
I’ve been told that the Tempur-Pedic mattresses can get quite hot. It’s as if the mattress keeps the heat your body radiates right next to the skin. Have you experienced any warmth related discomfort on such a mattress?
I know several people, including one SO, who love their TempurPedic knockoffs. They work fine on a flat platform. I think they did come with a “box springs” (really just a platform in a box to make the mattress fit a regular bedframe).
I went with solid latex rather than the TP foam. Similar qualities without the heat retention and “can’t get out of this pit I’ve sunk into” problem. OSO hates the TempurPedic and loves the latex.
I’m very happy with my latex. It was customized to my softness specs (I went with a very soft layer over a very firm base, for the best of both worlds).
Both came with 20-year full-replacement warranties. Both of ours are about 5 or 6 years old and going strong. People I know who bought regular mattresses at about the same time have already had to replace them.
The TP “Grand” mattress we bought in 2008 with its “Grand AirFlow System™” does not do that.
FWIW, we keep the bedroom at 70°-72° in summer.
Before the TP mattress we have now, we had a knock-off, and sometimes it did feel a bit warm.
As Athena says, Tempur-Pedic is not for everyone, and while I instantly fell in love with it, it took my husband about a week.
We’ve been sleeping on foam of one sort or another for more than ten years now.
We have a king sized Beautyrest Black line of mattress. Previously, we each had relatively cheap mattresses, and they just plain sucked by comparison (pick your reason). We’ve had ours for a little over three years, and its still really comfortable.
My parents always seemed to have had the same mattress, and they recently bought a new one after like 20 years. If I recall correctly, they mentioned that because the mattress degraded so slowly, they never really knew it was broken down. In that kind of time span, a decrease in sleep quality can easily be attributed to aging or other factors.
To me, the mattress we have was worth every penny (and it was quite a few of them - almost as much as a TP). Worth so much, in fact, that I would not have a problem plopping down that kind of money every 7-10 years.
Tempurpedic. I bought mine about two and a half years ago. Even after sleeping on one at my in-laws, it felt stiff and took some getting used to, but apparently there’s a bit of a break-in period. Now I wouldn’t give it up for anything, except possibly one of those Tempurpedic Clouds I see advertised. The foam AND a soft layer? Why didn’t they have that when I was shopping.
I don’t find it hot, and our bedroom is often in the 80s in the summer.
I second Stearns and Foster, but they ain’t cheap. A few months back I purchased a king size, super deep mattress and boxspring for close to $2,000. The GF and I shopped a bunch of different matresses, couldn’t find anything we liked, and of course the one we both loved turned out to be the most expensive (figures).
BUT… the quality was definitely a case of “getting what you pay for.” I sleep like a baby on the thing, and I expect it to last well over a decade.
That said: the last bed was a cheapo Ikea queen mattress that lasted a decade before it finally started popping springs. Was a GREAT bed, I still miss it :).
Memory foam mattresses can retain cold and heat more than a regular mattress. In fact, ours was delivered in winter and was frozen solid from sitting on the truck all night. Meh: so buy a hot water bottle. Tempurpedic recommends not using a mattress pad under your sheets. It tends to defeat the foam benefit somewhat. One great thing about these is that if it turns out you don’t like it, you can return it for full refund for up to 90 days (depends on where you live, I think).
Both my and my husband’s mattresses are from the Original Mattress Factory. I love mine–it’s firm and just so comfy. I like his a little less–it’s extra firm and a little too hard for me. They have a whole range though, and they hold up well. His is 10 years old and still fine. Mine is about 5 years old and still feels new.
Oh yeah, definitely.
As I said before, it was like buying a car.
My husband (who, when it comes to purchases like this) is a very careful, savvy shopper) and the salesman had a sit-down behind the counter and negotiated everything, with the salesman throwing in two TP pillows, etc etc. We had the new mattress just in time for Christmas.
No matter what sort of mattress you buy, I would not just accept the first offer that comes.
If it hadn’t been a gift, we never would have bought it.
From a comfort point of view, it’s passable. The husband sleeps as well as he ever did, but I don’t think my sleep quality has improved. However, I’ve also lost weight since our last mattress, so maybe I’m sleeping lighter because I’m healthier.
From a cost point of view: no way. Far, far too expensive. As I said, it was a gift and my mom is a sucker for salesmen. So, maybe that won’t be an issue for others.
Heat distribution hasn’t been a problem. We use a mattress pad, which helps with the weird enveloping sensation, but that is determined to creep to the right no matter what countermeasures we use.
The main issue: That f*cker is impossible to move. It’s boneless and heavy and has no handles. The only way to move it is to completely bind it up with rope. We’re seriously considering burning it where it lies the next time we have to move house.
Ours is some sort of Simmons Beautyrest, and it’s…OK. Not great. At first…well, let me back up and tell the story.
We went to our local Denver Mattress Company place to try out new beds when we were getting a bunch of new furniture. We found a mattress that we liked very much, and ordered it. After it was delivered, my wife hated it; she said it was “too firm.” I told her that while it was firm now, it would be more comfortable after a few weeks of breaking in, and if we started with anything softer, it would turn into mush after a few years.
As often happens, the lady of the house got her way. We returned that mattress and got another, softer one, for about $200 more. And of course, about three and a half years later, my side is now mushy and unsupportive.
The moral: go a bit firmer than you think. It’ll last longer.
We did the opposite; we replaced a bed both Mr. Athena and I loooooved because we wanted a king size and it was a queen size (well, we loved it, except for the size.) It was nice & cushy & soft & perfect.
Mr. Athena said “let’s not get the super cooshy king size, because it’ll soften up.”
3 years later, we still occasionally sleep on the queen size (it got moved to the guest bedroom) and it’s still nice and cushy and soft. Our king size is comfy enough, but I don’t think it softened up at all.