Other threads were old and about where to get a cheap mattress. While that information would also be valuable, I want to know what you guys recommend.

I'm looking for probably a queen size and am willing to invest a decent amount of money into a quality mattress. I have been sleeping on absolute shit my entire life and I have pretty bad lower back pain issues. Being able to have sex on said mattress is also a consideration (i.e. do memory foam mattresses really make it more difficult / not enjoyable?)

3/2/2015 1:00:01 PM

what's your budget? (ballpark)

do you sleep hot or cold? like firm or soft? okay with latex? side sleeper or back? are you or your partner light sleepers?

[Edited on March 2, 2015 at 1:17 PM. Reason : .]

3/2/2015 1:17:08 PM

I have a mattress from one of the cheap national chains - mattress warehouse or whatever it is. I sleep just fine. Bought that one and one for my guest room with a groupon.

3/2/2015 1:26:49 PM

^^up to about $2,500

I never sleep on my back. I'm more of a side / stomach sleeper. Also, I'd rather be too cold than too hot. I have a ceiling fan and I have fans on both night tables to blow air in my face / create white noise.

[Edited on March 2, 2015 at 1:38 PM. Reason : hot/cold]

3/2/2015 1:37:33 PM

I must be missing out. I got my 2 current mattresses for <$800 total

[Edited on March 2, 2015 at 1:38 PM. Reason : .]

3/2/2015 1:38:40 PM

$2,500 is iffy for latex (at least it was a few years ago when we shopped)

if you don't like to be hot i would recommend against memory foam and just get a regular mattress (you can always add a 2" or 3" memory foam topper later if you want).

Get a mattress with individual coils (different brands call it different things) so that motion doesn't transfer, it will also make the bed less bouncy so it will feel a little bit like memory foam in that regard.

I've got a Stearns and Foster Lux Estate and would definitely buy it again. Ours is hybrid (coil+foam), and it does get a little warm, but they also make a regular innerspring with no foam. I'm happy with it but we picked it after spending days trying mattresses, so you should just go to a few stores and lay down on a bunch of beds until you find what you like. Don't buy without laying in the bed for a long time.

3/2/2015 1:47:41 PM

I bought a memmory foam mattress from A Good Night Sleep Store...paid about $1,500 for the mattress and $1,500 for the base. The base makes the deal, as it adjusts like a hospital bed - great for leaning back up on Saturday mornings to watch TV in bed. I also had lower back issues and was seeing a chiropractor for 2 months before buying the new bed. The new bed solved my issues. The adjustable base allowed me to raise my feet about 2 inches (back sleeper), which took all the pressure off my lower back. Is still comfortable for side sleeping like this too.

Regarding heat/sex - no different. It is just as cool as a standard mattress and firm enough that you can make good whoopi. Best decision and $3K I've ever spent.

3/2/2015 2:32:17 PM

Just picked up a tempur-pedic cloud lux breeze (memory foam) with some cool gel tech that pretty much negates the too warm argument for memory foam. I would reccommend if you go to a Mattress-Firm type place that you ask if they have anything in clearance. They'll sanitize/bake and sell off floor models or returned mattresses for about half the brand new price.

Just so you know, most people (myself included) need an adjustment period on a memory foam mattress. You might wake up a little sore in your back for a couple weeks (to a month) before your body settles into it. After that it's great.

[Edited on March 2, 2015 at 2:52 PM. Reason : ]

3/2/2015 2:36:14 PM

I need a place that sells mattresses for a good price and isn't overly priced in Raleigh. And offer finance options that doesn't do credit checks. I went to the place by Ollies in Cary and was great but if I could find something a little bit cheaper would be great. It's a king and they had it for 629. I just need the mattress only. I have box springs and bed frame

3/2/2015 3:25:20 PM

a few months ago switched to a tempurpedic cloud surpeme - extremely happy

we bought a mattress 8 years ago at rooms to go and it started getting lopsided on one side - like some of the springs had given out or something - they sent someone over and agreed to replace it under their 10 year warranty program - so we used it as a credit towards the tempurpedic

3/2/2015 4:03:33 PM

stearns and foster

3/2/2015 8:28:36 PM

We got a "Firm" Sealy Posturpedic Optimum. Well within your budget. Easily the best money I have ever spent. It's very similar to the Tempur-Pedic, but much more cost effective. When I go on vacation, I miss my mattress, maybe even more than I miss my husband.


-No issues having sex on this mattress.
-Does not trap and retain heat like other memory foam mattresses.

[Edited on March 2, 2015 at 8:44 PM. Reason : ]

3/2/2015 8:43:35 PM

Anyone recommend a Triangle mattress store to browse and try different mattresses? The smaller, specialty stores have proven to be 1) far outside my budget (600-800) and 2) lacking in a diversity of brands.

I think I'm likely looking for a medium mattress (side and back sleeper), and probably can only afford innerspring or hybrid--probably won't go full memory foam because of heat concerns. I have greater heat concern than most because I sweat like nothing else when I sleep.

I've been consulting this list, which seems to have a LOT of cheap options:
http://bed.us-mattress.com/nav/sleepposition/sidesleeper/rating/50/0

3/2/2015 10:30:59 PM

We got a whole bed set at rooms to go no interest for 24 months. Thing is the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in!

3/3/2015 1:02:51 AM

Does anyone have any experience with Serta iComfort series? I, too, am in the market for a new mattress.

3/3/2015 7:42:35 AM

3^ seriously, mattress warehouse/firm/etc. any national cheap retailer. Look on Groupon/Amazon Goods/Living Social/etc for a coupon.

3/3/2015 9:10:04 AM

I just bought an iComfort ($2100 or so). I like it because I like firmer beds, sleeps cool, comfortable. Its not the overwhelming feeling of OMG THIS BED IS AWESOME that you get from a soft bed, but I end up sleeping harder and better.

3/3/2015 1:09:54 PM

^which model did you get?

3/3/2015 3:02:07 PM

I just bought a King from Casper we have been happy with it 2 months in at first a little firm but we really like it now.

3/3/2015 4:47:18 PM

^my friend recommended a Casper

I've also heard of The Original Mattress or something like that?

3/4/2015 10:36:05 AM

The original mattress factory is made local, but they only make standard construction mattresses and no individual coils if that is important (or at least they used to). Other than that they have a great reputation and make a quality product.

[Edited on March 4, 2015 at 11:03 AM. Reason : .]

3/4/2015 11:02:52 AM

^ This

My previous mattress was one of theirs and it was great for many years, though the plushness definitely degraded quickly after the standard mattress life went past (7 years)

3/4/2015 11:26:04 AM

we bought a simmons beautyrest recharge shakespeare plush from sleepy's for ~$800 after tax and delivery: http://www.sleepys.com/SI6692.html

we went to all of the chain stores (mattress firm, mattress warehouse, sleepy's, etc) and the original mattress factory and sleepy's had the best deal...the other contender was a serta iseries, but it was going to be $300 more and it didn't feel that much more comfortable (and after you've laid on that many mattresses in a day, it gets hard to tell)

i was disappointed in the original mattress factory's mattresses...theirs are the "traditional" style and you can feel it immediately

3/4/2015 12:05:37 PM

So buying a new mattress.. I've always been a pillow top guy but the soon to be wife thinks she likes memory foam. Will I eventually appreciate memory foam after spending the extra money? Or should I try to convince her to come to the traditional mattress side?

Deciding between the icomfort visionary--$2499
- or- Stearns and Foster Pillow top - - $1799

3/4/2015 8:09:12 PM

http://www.amazon.com/Density-Elastic-Memory-Foam-Mattress/dp/B006Q6B0SI/

I bought this in 2013 for a few dollars less and couldn't be happier. Upgraded from a pillowtop to this and it is miles better by far. You can get a quality memory foam mattress cheap as long as you don't care about name brand attached (though I'm sure these all come from the same factory in China). sex takes some getting used to (you/her will have to do more work if you're used to a really springy mattress) but it isn't much different than doing it on a couch.

the only problem is it can run a little warm; I sleep with a fan on to counteract this. lighter sheets will also help.

3/5/2015 7:56:02 AM

^^ i was a "firm" kind of guy until we started laying on the different mattresses and i found i preferred plush

my wife preferred pillowtop, but i convinced her we could buy a pillowtop or 2-4" memory foam pad/topper if she wanted something softer after a week

$56, 4.5/5 stars, 3000+ reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Pinzon-Basics-Overfilled-Microplush-Mattress/dp/B000VESM46/
$71, 4.5/5 stars, 1500+ reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Joy-ViscO2-Ventilated-Mattress/dp/B000LQD88E/

it's been (5 months?) and she said she thinks she prefers the plush, so we haven't gotten one...i was especially nervous about the idea of memory foam because i get hot easily, but the pad at least is ventilated and has good reviews to that effect...i don't think i could do a full mattress of it

[Edited on March 5, 2015 at 9:48 AM. Reason : .]

3/5/2015 9:47:14 AM

anyone ever heard of Tuft and Needle?

https://www.tuftandneedle.com/mattress

saw it on Digg today

3/5/2015 1:58:05 PM

^Yeah its similar to casper. I think Casper and Leesa are the best in the online only mattress market right now with Leesa getting slightly better reviews.

3/5/2015 3:20:28 PM

I bought a $150 memory foam mattress off walmarts website that is fantastic.

It was recommended by a friend who used to sell over priced mattresses. He uses one as well.

3/5/2015 11:00:10 PM

Anybody bought a Casper, Leesa or other online only mattress lately?

3/12/2016 12:04:34 PM

WALMART. Just buy the fucking Walmart mattress.

3/12/2016 12:54:25 PM

^^We just bought a Casper this week. It's still sitting in a box though, picking up our bed frame tomorrow.

3/12/2016 1:43:17 PM

My wife and I bought a casper about a year ago and have been very happy with it. It is a little firmer than we expected.

3/12/2016 6:50:19 PM

^ you can get a memory foam topper for cheapish that might help, kinda like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Infused-Ventilated-Memory-Mattress-Topper/dp/B00PBIVT7Y/ref=sr_1_3?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1457827576&sr=1-3&keywords=memory+foam+topper+gel&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin%3A362282011

3/12/2016 7:06:34 PM

First night on the casper. Seems firm but has some give. I definitely dont think it needs any sort of pillowtop. The top couple inches have a good amount of softness.

3/13/2016 10:43:32 PM

any companies make extra long mattresses and sheets, that aren't air or foam?

3/13/2016 11:28:45 PM

I've been sleeping on a Yoga mat lately at the recommendation of a friend and its better than any mattress I have ever slept upon.

3/14/2016 4:38:17 AM

i too, am in the market for a new mattress.

3/14/2016 9:04:34 AM

I capitalized Yoga because evenness of mind is the only path to Krishna

[Edited on March 14, 2016 at 9:13 AM. Reason : but all paths lead to no where]

3/14/2016 9:13:03 AM

Wife and I went to a bunch of mattress stores and spent multiple days laying on mattresses. We initially bought a simmons memory foam phenom mattress because the salesman said it would not get softer and had excellent air flow. Well, over the course of 9 months, it got significantly softer (and we both prefer a firmer mattress). We returned that shit.

I then said fuck listening to the crooked salespeople and just used consumer reports. The "firmest" mattress they found was the traditional mattress by serta (but each seller calls it something different). We ended up getting the serta iseries traditional mattress and have been happy with it.

My parents have a temperpedic memory foam mattress and i had to sleep on it for a couple months last year. It is damn comfortable when you first lay on it, but if you roll over in the middle of the night you have to wait for the foam to reform and it sometimes feels like you get "stuck" in the foam. I did sleep well with that though.

3/14/2016 10:37:56 AM

jeez, Groupon has a ton of mattresses.

3/14/2016 11:00:24 AM

Why sleep in a gravity well that's billions of years old when you could fork out a few more bucks and sleep in a zero gravity float tank?

3/14/2016 11:36:42 AM

I didn't read this thread at all, I'm just here to evangelize the love of Tuft & Needle.

3/14/2016 12:30:20 PM

I ended up with the Serta Majesty hybrid and I love it.

3/14/2016 2:29:09 PM

I don't recommend a hybrid foam/coil. It was so hard to my wife over time so I went to get a 4" memory foam topper from Walmart and it's way comfy now. We used to have a pillowtop mattress. After 8 years it became indented. We did rotate the mattress often.

3/14/2016 2:50:20 PM

I mean, how many years do you expect to get out of a mattress realistically?

3/15/2016 2:14:14 PM

They say 8 years is the life of a mattress.

3/15/2016 2:27:53 PM

Quote :

"Anybody bought a Casper, Leesa or other online only mattress lately? "

I looked at all these (plus Tuft and Needle and Dreamfoam) and finally pulled the trigger on Dreamfoam's parent sister company Brooklyn Bedding. I'm fucking thrilled it's been the best "adult" purchase of my life thus far. It's an incredibly overwhelming chore to try and get reviews for mattresses online though. It's basically so subjective that in the end I just said well it has to be better than what I"m sleeping on now which was an innerspring that's 20 years old and i could feel the coils.

The main thing that helped was this forum and the owner Phoenix. I donated $20 dollars to his site after I finally made my decision and the amount of knowledge about the industry as a whole is just insane. I learned so much. Maybe it can help you too.

Basically you're going to want to focus on trying to find out what the manufacturers are using for each of their foam layers and if you can't find that out then look elsewhere. I'll try and curate the threads that led me to my purchase, but I'm a big dude so I was more concerned with not tearing it up in a year so materials were of a huge concern for this type of investment.

http://www.themattressunderground.com

I also used http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/ but ultimately it was speaking with the guys of Brooklyn Bedding/Dreamfoam and Phoenix's breakdown of their materials that helped me out. SLTD just told me what I didn't want.

Quote :

"Phoenix, I have let Chuck @ Dreamfoam and Mario@BrooklynBedding both know that my recent purchase was 100% because of the information on your forums. I don't know if that will go anywhere but I just wanted to personally thank you for an overwhelming amount of information. I'm 6'5 280 and thought I would need 13" Gel Dreamfoam. Then Chuck recommended the Aria or the 12" UD for my size. I was almost going to pull the trigger when I saw that the BB Hybrid Latex wasn't as far off from those other two as I had thought and I'd had a chinese memory foam before but I wasn't absolutely thrilled on it. I knew all the subjective reviews wouldn't necessarily help me so I finally just decided to take the risk. You did however have one post about the Brooklyn Bedding base foam being a higher density than what DF had so I felt more comfortable ordering the latex. On top of that I picked up a set of 4 steel slats from Amazon to replace my split King foundation. I also picked up the California King foundation that Dreamfoam Bedding carries. The mattress was delivered well before anything else and I couldn't wait so it's sitting on a split king foundation right now which hopefully doesn't hurt the mattress for a few more days. It's the best I've slept at home in a long time. I went with Medium so the real test will be whether or not my weight is a factor on extreme sagging, but I could literally feel the innerspring coils on my old 20 year old mattress so I'm just hoping to get 5 years out of it at least. Thanks again and donation is incoming."

Update: I received the slats and the foundation a week later (mattress came in 1-2 days Amazon Prime). Had minimal off-gassing and it's been 3 months and I don't have any noticeable sagging.

The other method suggested is to go to a big box store and find something that you like in the tempurpedic line and then find the comparable dreamfoam or brooklyn bedding (perhaps others) counterparts or "sleeps like" model and save a fortune.

Hope this helps.

Start here:
http://www.themattressunderground.com/mattress-forum/general-mattresses/8240-how-to-look-for-and-find-the-best-mattress-for-you-read-first.html

Here:
http://www.themattressunderground.com/mattresses.html

Mentions some of the brands in this thread but centered around Phoenix, AZ, It still helped me.
http://www.themattressunderground.com/mattress-forum/general-mattresses/679-thoughts-on-eco-foam-beds.html#682

-----
Basically just go nuts on that forum, it's all easy to follow with links to responses and such and searchable. The manufacturers and dealers can only be invited to join by this dude (I put away my conspiracy theories of kickbacks I think he's just that passionate about the industry). There's also like freebies and such if you jump through an easy registration hoop and you can get different perks like free sheets or pillows from some.

[Edited on March 15, 2016 at 10:46 PM. Reason : more links]

3/15/2016 10:31:56 PM

^All I need to go to sleep is that big ass block of text

[Edited on March 16, 2016 at 8:18 AM. Reason : is 1 mic]

3/16/2016 8:17:52 AM

I'm glad you were able to find a mattress that you liked. I went with a sterns and foster with latex and it's been very nice.

Ended up putting a latex topper on it and it's now amazing. Just the ventilation was a winner, but the extra support ended up being the best thing about it.

It's like sleeping on a supportive cloud. You don't get in bed unless you want to fall asleep. It's that comfortable.

3/18/2016 6:32:44 PM