How to Pick a Mattress

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21

[quote]karma wrote:
It’s frustrating to spend 3k on a bed that he loved in the store but is just “ok” with at home.

)[/quote]

Ah chiwawa!

For penny pinchers, I bought one off Craig’s List which I later realized is kind of gross with dead skin and all working its way down into the mattress so I worked it over with a carpet cleaner. For the next one I called Select Comfort and asked them what they do with the beds that get returned before the 30 day trial is up. Turns out the sale them for half price!

It also helps to get the basic model, then but a memory foam topper from Costco.

22

[quote]chillain wrote:

[quote]Tyler23 wrote:
I would look into latex mattresses. As comfortable as tempurpedic (I think better), is cooler and doesn’t have the flame-retardant chemicals that all other mattresses now have by law (unless you smoke in bed, this is a non-issue). Only downside is you need a prescription to get one. This should not be a problem though; we just got one for our 4 year old son. His pediatrician was happy to do it after I explained it all. [/quote]

That’s interesting, wish I would’ve known this about two weeks ago.

I finally bit the bullet two weeks back and sprung for a Tempur-Pedic DeluxeBed. Easily the best mattress I’ve ever had and the best my body has felt for long long while, but I am curious how these latex mattresses stack up, especially price-wise.
[/quote]

I believe a queen is around $1,200 and king about $1,500. This is from a custom mattress maker in Portland OR.

23

[quote]on edge wrote:
Ah chiwawa!

For penny pinchers, I bought one off Craig’s List which I later realized is kind of gross with dead skin and all working its way down into the mattress so I worked it over with a carpet cleaner. For the next one I called Select Comfort and asked them what they do with the beds that get returned before the 30 day trial is up. Turns out the sale them for half price!

It also helps to get the basic model, then but a memory foam topper from Costco.[/quote]

I know, it was kinda pricey. We tried the knock off brand for about 1700 but it totally sucked. We’d been sleeping on a hand-me-down POS for 3 years and we were both at the boiling point with shitty sleep and decided to just get the shit straightened out and be done with it. Went in planning on the P6 but ended up with the I8 (hubby just loved it in the store). At the time we got it (Feb, I think), I was working and 3k wasn’t a big deal - we’d spend that on shopping and mini-vacations every month. Haven’t worked since April so it feels like a bit of a waste - especially since he’s not in love with it. There’s definitely cheaper routes to take, we just didn’t need to at the time!

24

Many thanks to all for some good suggestions. Since powerlifters get paid so much, price isn’t an issue

/sarcasm

25

For those advocating the Sleep Number beds, did any of you have issues with the mattress losing air over the course of the night? Like where you got to be with it at one setting and wake up with it much lower? I’ve read about that problem online and my parents complained about the same thing when they tried one. Not sure if they tried a knock-off or not, though.

Regarding latex mattress, I tried one but ended up giving it back. It was WAY too firm for my liking. Not comfortable at all. I would only buy from a place that allows you to return it. Otherwise, you might be sorry. They ain’t cheap.

26

[quote]eic wrote:
For those advocating the Sleep Number beds, did any of you have issues with the mattress losing air over the course of the night? Like where you got to be with it at one setting and wake up with it much lower? I’ve read about that problem online and my parents complained about the same thing when they tried one. Not sure if they tried a knock-off or not, though.

Regarding latex mattress, I tried one but ended up giving it back. It was WAY too firm for my liking. Not comfortable at all. I would only buy from a place that allows you to return it. Otherwise, you might be sorry. They ain’t cheap. [/quote]

Have not had those issues at all. My parent have had 2 of them over the last 10 years (upgraded to King) and they have never experienced that either.

27

[quote]eic wrote:
For those advocating the Sleep Number beds, did any of you have issues with the mattress losing air over the course of the night? Like where you got to be with it at one setting and wake up with it much lower? I’ve read about that problem online and my parents complained about the same thing when they tried one. Not sure if they tried a knock-off or not, though.

[/quote]

Mine predates the Sleep Numbers, it’s 14 years old, so it’s the type you just simply pump up to where you like it. I actually like it better than the Sleep Numbers because it’s quicker. With the SN you have to select the number then lay real still while it does it’s thing. Anyway, to answer your question, since mine is old the air hoses are a bit temper-mental and if they are not set just right I will wake up to a saggy bed in the morning. Otherwise I need to add air once every couple of weeks. Never had trouble with the bladders. My wife’s side and the two beds for the boys stay the same for months on end.

28

2 thoughts…

  1. My current mattress is my favorite and it was the least expensive. I got the firmest, cheapest (great sales), low end mattress I could find. Then I bought a very nice memory foam top for it off Overstock for about $90. It’s been about 3 years and the mattress is still in great shape and the top makes it really comfortable.

  2. Haggle. I bought a mattress in Colorado one time and talked the guy down quite a bit. I found a similar mattress at 2 different places that were close to each other. Then I just called each one and told them what the deal was at the other place and offered to let them beat that. After about 5 phone calls, I had gotten the price down by $100 with a free frame, free delivery, and free take away of the old mattress.

29

[quote]eic wrote:
For those advocating the Sleep Number beds, did any of you have issues with the mattress losing air over the course of the night? Like where you got to be with it at one setting and wake up with it much lower? I’ve read about that problem online and my parents complained about the same thing when they tried one. Not sure if they tried a knock-off or not, though. [/quote]

That, and “hammocking” was the reason the knock-off SN bed sucked. It went back 2 weeks after we got it. Haven’t had any issues with the SN in the handful of months we’ve had it.

[quote]biglifter wrote:
Many thanks to all for some good suggestions. Since powerlifters get paid so much, price isn’t an issue

/sarcasm[/quote]
Gee, I apologize for missing the part where you were looking for the cheapest option or where you listed your budget. I just saw that you wanted info. My bad.

30

[quote]karma wrote:

[quote]eic wrote:
For those advocating the Sleep Number beds, did any of you have issues with the mattress losing air over the course of the night? Like where you got to be with it at one setting and wake up with it much lower? I’ve read about that problem online and my parents complained about the same thing when they tried one. Not sure if they tried a knock-off or not, though. [/quote]

That, and “hammocking” was the reason the knock-off SN bed sucked. It went back 2 weeks after we got it. Haven’t had any issues with the SN in the handful of months we’ve had it.

[quote]biglifter wrote:
Many thanks to all for some good suggestions. Since powerlifters get paid so much, price isn’t an issue

/sarcasm[/quote]
Gee, I apologize for missing the part where you were looking for the cheapest option or where you listed your budget. I just saw that you wanted info. My bad.
[/quote]

That might have got lost in translation. The sarcasm part was only about powerlifters getting paid. I really do appreciate all the info.

31

Cool, no worries. Hope you got the info you needed. :wink:

But seriously, you PL for a living? I had no idea there was any money in that, let alone enough to call it a ‘living’… I’m rather oblivious to this whole BB/PL for money stuff.

32

I’m going to preface this by saying I do still work for Sleep Number, selling the beds. I also own a couple, and they’ve helped my broken back TREMENDOUSLY.

Go to a store, try one out.

Haggling at most furniture places works great; at this company, it’s not an option. All prices, all discounts are preset. There’s simply no way to adjust price. Anything that’s “thrown in,” a freebie, etc, is something you would have already been getting, once your ticket was done.

I have the c2, and the p5. For me, they’re great. Most people won’t like the c2, because it’s firmer. I recommend the p5 and p6. You can get the cooling stuff that’s on the i8 for $150 separate. I sell to chiropractors, athletes, bodybuilders all the time. The most popular bed is the p5. It’s $2600 for a king size, less when on sale.

Just don’t fucking haggle; that shits annoying, and there’s a whole lot of “process” hoops the sales reps have to jump through anytime the concept is mentioned. Then, THEN you get back to the original price.

But yeah, p5 or p6, sleep number. They rock.

33

Thanks to the Sleep Number (or air mattress) folk for the replies re: the mattress losing air. I asked my folks and they said it was a Sleep Number that they had trouble with. I would go bat-shit crazy if every night the mattress lost air like that.

[quote]Vash wrote:
I’m going to preface this by saying I do still work for Sleep Number, selling the beds. I also own a couple, and they’ve helped my broken back TREMENDOUSLY.

Go to a store, try one out.

Haggling at most furniture places works great; at this company, it’s not an option. All prices, all discounts are preset. There’s simply no way to adjust price. Anything that’s “thrown in,” a freebie, etc, is something you would have already been getting, once your ticket was done.

I have the c2, and the p5. For me, they’re great. Most people won’t like the c2, because it’s firmer. I recommend the p5 and p6. You can get the cooling stuff that’s on the i8 for $150 separate. I sell to chiropractors, athletes, bodybuilders all the time. The most popular bed is the p5. It’s $2600 for a king size, less when on sale.

Just don’t fucking haggle; that shits annoying, and there’s a whole lot of “process” hoops the sales reps have to jump through anytime the concept is mentioned. Then, THEN you get back to the original price.

But yeah, p5 or p6, sleep number. They rock.[/quote]

Thanks for sharing, Vash. I am pretty curious about them. I have tried latex, memory foam, and a regular mattress. Honestly, a regular mattress was the best of the three: Latex was way to firm and expensive. Foam was comfortable but was too hot and after a year it started to wear out.

I am interested in trying a Sleep Number bed, though. Assuming it doesn’t loose air, they seem very comfortable. And as someone with bad allergies to dust mites, the air mattress would probably make things a lot easier to deal with.

Vash, in your experience, how many people return them for failing to hold air? And what kind of return policy are we talking about?

34

eic;

In the last two years, I’ve seen 2 beds get returned for losing air. I have seen three beds lose air, though.
One was not returned because it was over 10 years old, and the Sleep Number setting had never been changed; customer tried to change it, and the valve locked in the open position.

One thing: set your number, then forget about your remote. If you move around on the bed and look at it again, it’ll display a false setting.

The return policy is: you have to keep the bed for 30 days. After that, you have 15 days to contact the company to setup your exchange or return. You don’t get money back on the shipping. You do pay return shipping, which is $36 a box.

35

[quote]Vash wrote:

I have the c2, and the p5. For me, they’re great. Most people won’t like the c2, because it’s firmer. I recommend the p5 and p6. You can get the cooling stuff that’s on the i8 for $150 separate. I sell to chiropractors, athletes, bodybuilders all the time. The most popular bed is the p5. It’s $2600 for a king size, less when on sale.
[/quote]

I didn’t even catch the cooling stuff on the website. Is that just a nice to have add-on or do the p5/p6 tend heat up like a foam mattress? Thx again for the info.

36

It’s just nice. All the beds except the p7 are cool to the touch, and stay that way.

37

[quote]Vash wrote:
eic;

In the last two years, I’ve seen 2 beds get returned for losing air. I have seen three beds lose air, though.
One was not returned because it was over 10 years old, and the Sleep Number setting had never been changed; customer tried to change it, and the valve locked in the open position.

One thing: set your number, then forget about your remote. If you move around on the bed and look at it again, it’ll display a false setting.

The return policy is: you have to keep the bed for 30 days. After that, you have 15 days to contact the company to setup your exchange or return. You don’t get money back on the shipping. You do pay return shipping, which is $36 a box. [/quote]

Ah that makes sense. I asked my folks if they felt that it was losing air or if they went by the remote. Mom said she may have felt a little like the mattress had lost some air but mostly it was the reading on the remote. Mom also added that she’d read there were some concerns about mold in the air chamber . . . any word on that? I am crazy mold allergic.

I may have to seriously look into this.

38

I have a Tempurpedic that a buddy sold off the back of the truck to me. 300 bones. He actually robbed my friend so I never paid him, so technically I have a free queen size Temp.

To be honest, my most comfortable bed was the futon mattress I got when I bought my college futon at IKEA. Hard as shit but I slept like a fucking baby on that thing.

The Tempurpedic, not so much. I didn’t know there were multiple models but I find this one too soft. I sleep on my stomach a lot, so I get back pain. Also, trying to give the ladies a little doggie action is kind of difficult as you sink into the bed so much. It becomes a balancing act. That’s not really that big of a deal but just an observation. hahaha.

That said, I like the bed. I think a lot of my back pain stems from my own mobility problems I need to work on. This thing is like sleeping on a damn pillow…

39

[quote]eic wrote:

[quote]Vash wrote:
eic;

In the last two years, I’ve seen 2 beds get returned for losing air. I have seen three beds lose air, though.
One was not returned because it was over 10 years old, and the Sleep Number setting had never been changed; customer tried to change it, and the valve locked in the open position.

One thing: set your number, then forget about your remote. If you move around on the bed and look at it again, it’ll display a false setting.

The return policy is: you have to keep the bed for 30 days. After that, you have 15 days to contact the company to setup your exchange or return. You don’t get money back on the shipping. You do pay return shipping, which is $36 a box. [/quote]

Ah that makes sense. I asked my folks if they felt that it was losing air or if they went by the remote. Mom said she may have felt a little like the mattress had lost some air but mostly it was the reading on the remote. Mom also added that she’d read there were some concerns about mold in the air chamber . . . any word on that? I am crazy mold allergic.

I may have to seriously look into this. [/quote]

Vastly overblown. There was a story out of Texas that got picked up, and “consumer reports” websites ran with it.

I’ve literally filled the things with water, then let them sit in our store-room for months, never saw mold. They use some stuff that keeps it from growing. Keep in mind, you can always pull the bed apart, and see exactly what’s going on inside the bed; every component is modular, and user-side removable. So, if you’re OCD like me, you can shop-vac the inside every year. So far, I’ve never found anything, dust, mold, or vermin.

40

get something firm from these guys…lots of choices. call them, tell them what you like. i got mine, a simple hard foam pad with a cover, i love it. prices right, and they will make some good recommendations depending of what you tell them. good luck.