Which mattress? (merged threads)

Tim_Deegan

spacemonkey95 wrote: »

Hello everyone,

I have read this entire thread (as well as a few others relating to mattresses), and have found most of the information here to be incredibly useful. However, I do have a couple of questions relating to my own particular situation and I hope that someone here will be able to help me.

I currently have a single bed with a flat base which I want to keep, but I need to replace the mattress. This is becoming quite an urgent concern because I keep waking up with back and shoulder pains, and I (and my doctor) are quite certain it is the mattress causing it. The current mattress was quite a cheap open coil sprung mattress which was given to me, so I don't know where it actually came from.

Anyway, I have been looking around at various places. I visited Dreams to get an idea of what kind of mattress gives me the most comfort, but I certainly won't be buying from them.

My budget is quite low (I don't really want to be spending much more than £100 for a single mattress), and having read the advice here I think I want to be looking for quite a firm open coil sprung mattress. I tried a mattress in a local bed retailer (not a chain) which cost £80. It was by far the most comfortable I have tried so far, but when I searched online for the mattress manufacturer (they are called Sleepwell), I could find no reference to them anywhere. Should this be a concern, or does that mean I'm more likely to actually get a quality product? The mattress itself is described as a Sleepwell Hand Made Range, from the Yorkshire Range, but again, I put those terms into Google and found nothing.


My other alternative so far is the following:

http://www.mattressesworld.co.uk/p/Airsprung_Ortho_Comfort_Mattress.htm

That seems to be quite a decent mattress, from what seems to be a well known brand, and quite a reduction too. However, I'm really quite wary of buying something online which I haven't been able to physically try - partly because of the hassle if I have to return it, but also because I don't really want to waste time going through all this process again if it turns out not to be right.

Oh and also, I was interested to try a memory foam pillow as I've heard good things from people who use them. A shop local to me is selling some for about £13 (reduced from about £30), but I've just found the same thing here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitlines-UK-Contour-Memory-Pillow/dp/B000F2DEQ0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1219928335&sr=8-6

Now I've looked more closely, I'm not convinced it's actually memory foam, and if that's the case, how much can I realistically expect to pay for a real one?

Lastly, I do realise this is my first post and I have put links to another site, but I really am just someone trying to buy a mattress! I hope I haven't done anything wrong there, but I would really appreciate some advice.

The Airsprung mattress appears to be towards the budget end of the range. The reason I think this is because the stitchbond fabric is usually used on budget mattresses, but better quality mattresses are usually covered in damask. It doesn't say how deep it is either. For around £100 you should be able to get a top of the range open coil sprung single mattress that would be 10" deep.

As for the pillow, I couldn't really comment as I don't know that brand. Have you read the review?

Personally I prefer the memory fill type of pillow rather than the moulded type.

Wistful_2

moike wrote: »

Original Poster

Moike,

Thanks.

Tim_Deegan

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Does anyone know where we can get a cheap superking size mattress from? Or even a 6'x7' one?

We got a divan bed base from freecycle in great condition but they needed to keep the mattress. So at the moment we've got a double mattress on a SK bed, which is a bit silly.
Not many places seem to do them, so those that do tend to be expensive...

A super king size mattress is 6' x 6'6", so what size is yours?

Superking size do tend to be a lot more expensive than kings size. This is mainly because the spring manufacturers don't yet regard them as a standard size, but as a luxury instead.

Tim_Deegan

moike wrote: »

Tim, I've seen you mention this a few times, aren't the same springs being compressed/released regardless of which way up the mattress is?
Regards

No because you will never be exactly over the same springs. Also the springs tend to compress mainly from the top.

You should alternate between turning the mattress over and rotating it lengthways.

lolly5648

Instead of buying a sprung mattress with memory foam on both sides, can you not just buy a good sprung mattress and then a memory foam topper which would mean you could turn and rotate the mattress and then put the topper over it?

Tim_Deegan

lolly5648 wrote: »

Instead of buying a sprung mattress with memory foam on both sides, can you not just buy a good sprung mattress and then a memory foam topper which would mean you could turn and rotate the mattress and then put the topper over it?

I think this question has been asked a couple of times in this thread.

Toppers are good to use if you already have a mattress, but decide that you would like memory foam on top. However there is a great deal of development goes into designing mattresses and making sure that all the components don't just work together, but also compliment each other, and give you the best support possible.

It's a bit like buying one of those cup holders for your car that clips onto the door.........they are ok, but the factory fitted built in ones are better.

Also what would be the point when it could work out more expensive to buy a good quality pocket sprung mattress, and a good quality memory foam topper than it would to buy the mattress with it built in?

BernardM

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

Reflex foam/memory foam will last longer than springs (as long as they are good quality). However what you gain in durability you lose out on support, and over heating.

You can take any two sided mattress and never turn it over, then hey presto you have a non turn mattress. They don't do anything to the insides of the mattresses to make them last longer when you don't turn them, but you can't turn them to prolong the life of the springs.

Again the Which? test found no loss of support compared to a spring/ foam, they did mention you may feel warmer in summer but gain in the winter.
Do you sell Healthbeds Tim, I was wondering if you could beat Back in actions price for a double .
I am not getting any sleep at all on a Silentnight Cherish mattress the base below it just creaks and creaks at the slightest turn.

JimmyTheWig

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

A super king size mattress is 6' x 6'6", so what size is yours?

Superking size do tend to be a lot more expensive than kings size. This is mainly because the spring manufacturers don't yet regard them as a standard size, but as a luxury instead.

The silly thing is I don't quite know.
The guy on freecycle said it was a superking size but also said it was 6'x7'.
And I'm not sure where my tape measure is right now!

It looks to me like two singles fixed together, which suggests 7'?


Will obviously measure it before making a final decission, but I'm sure we'd cope with an SK if that was significantly cheaper.


Agree that they seem to be a lot more expensive. That's why I'm asking here...

spacemonkey95

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the advice. I see what you mean about the damask being a better quality than the fabric. I have found the following two options which look like good options:

http://www.mattressesworld.co.uk/p/Perfect_Night_Ortho_Mattress.htm

http://www.mattressesworld.co.uk/p/Joseph_Titan_Ortho_Comfort_Mattress.htm

However, there is one more fly in the ointment. That website, (and most like it) all say that you can only return the mattress if it is in its original packaging. Presumably that means that if I unwrap it to use it, and a few weeks later decide I need to return it, I can't.

The local retailer where I found the Sleepwell mattress (and I still know nothing about Sleepwell) have the same policy and their mattress seems to be of comparable quality but £20 cheaper and free delivery (instead of £20 delivery from the website).

On that basis am I better off taking the risk with the local shop, or is there something else I am missing?

Thanks

Tim_Deegan

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

The silly thing is I don't quite know.
The guy on freecycle said it was a superking size but also said it was 6'x7'.
And I'm not sure where my tape measure is right now!

It looks to me like two singles fixed together, which suggests 7'?


Will obviously measure it before making a final decission, but I'm sure we'd cope with an SK if that was significantly cheaper.


Agree that they seem to be a lot more expensive. That's why I'm asking here...

Even two singles woudn't be 6' x 7'. A single mattress is 3' wide by 6'3" long. A super king size mattress is 6' wide by 6'6" long.