buying the right mattress

pixysticks

Hi folks,

I could really use advice from those that have good double mattresses. I'm on the heavy side and my current mattress is causing me back and shoulder ache.

After a little research, I was convinced I needed a 'zonal, pocket sprung, memory foam' mattress. I was going to buy the silentnight carina dream mattress; however, having read the reviews on this forum I'm not convinced.

From what I have gathered here:

- no turn mattress don't last as long as ones that need to be turned
- memory foam can get quit hot so latex ones are better for moulding to the body/relieving pressure
- zonal mattresses are just a gimmick
- silentnight aren't the best quality

I don't have a local good quality bed store that can offer advice nor do I have the time to trail through the high street stores. I'm looking to spend no more than £350 and could really use some sound advice.

What should I be looking for given the information above?

HELP!

Tim_Deegan

pixysticks wrote: »

Hi folks,

I could really use advice from those that have good double mattresses. I'm on the heavy side and my current mattress is causing me back and shoulder ache.

After a little research, I was convinced I needed a 'zonal, pocket sprung, memory foam' mattress. I was going to buy the silentnight carina dream mattress; however, having read the reviews on this forum I'm not convinced.

From what I have gathered here:

- no turn mattress don't last as long as ones that need to be turned
- memory foam can get quit hot so latex ones are better for moulding to the body/relieving pressure
- zonal mattresses are just a gimmick
- silentnight aren't the best quality

I don't have a local good quality bed store that can offer advice nor do I have the time to trail through the high street stores. I'm looking to spend no more than £350 and could really use some sound advice.

What should I be looking for given the information above?

HELP!

You are right in what you say apart from the fact that memory foam getting quite hot. There are two main reasons why people say this:

1. Most memory foam mattresses on the market are reflex foam with memory foam on top. This is because loads of companies (who weren't really bed companies), have jumped onto the memory foam band wagon, and this is the easiest type of memory foam mattress to manufacture. All they do is take a slab of reflex foam, then glue a layer of memory foam to it, then put them in a cover. They then often vacuum pack and roll them up to make them cheap to transport. The problem with this type of mattress is that air can't circulate under the memory foam layer to dissipate the heat. This also applies to reflex foam encapsulated pocket sprung mattresses. With mattresses that contain full size steel springs with memory foam on top, then this isn't a problem.
2. Some manufacturers use a layer of memory foam that is too deep. So you sink deeper into, and become too hot. You should ideally be looking for a 2" deep layer of memory foam

Memory foam is slightly wanmer than a normal mattress. So if you are sensitive to heat, then there are climate control fabrics available like Climasmart or Outlast. Only if you are really sensitive to heat would you need to go for latex.

You won't get a good quality 2 sided double memory foam mattress for £350.

Vuze

Wow lots of helpful information there Tim, how do you know all this stuff about mattresses?

I'm going to be looking for a mattress too and didn't know where to start. I thought that Ikea had some good deals on quality mattresses.. apparently they invested a fair bit into research and development to get them right so I thought that would be a good value for money option.

Tim_Deegan

Vuze wrote: »

Wow lots of helpful information there Tim, how do you know all this stuff about mattresses?

I'm going to be looking for a mattress too and didn't know where to start. I thought that Ikea had some good deals on quality mattresses.. apparently they invested a fair bit into research and development to get them right so I thought that would be a good value for money option.

I'm in the business. But I'm not on here to sell, so I give honest advice rather than sales hype (which I hate).

I was actually at Ikea today. It really cheers me up to look at the samples of the their mattresses, because the construction is laughable.

Don't be convinced by all their adverts showing the testing carried out. All furniture has to go through similar testing to comply with British standards. Most of Ikea's products are actually very quality.

There are quite a few bed manufacturers who sell large quantities of continental size mattresses just because so many people buy Ikea beds, but then hate the mattresses, and want to buy UK made ones.

Vuze

Thanks for the information.. can you make a recommendation on a (double? approx sized) mattress? I would think something not too hard and not too soft but something in between (but slight bias towards soft).

If you can recommend some good brands that offer comfort and also good value, and since I'm requesting it, can you give some pointers on places to buy mattresses online (including yours)? Thanks.

Tim_Deegan

Vuze wrote: »

Thanks for the information.. can you make a recommendation on a (double? approx sized) mattress? I would think something not too hard and not too soft but something in between (but slight bias towards soft).

If you can recommend some good brands that offer comfort and also good value, and since I'm requesting it, can you give some pointers on places to buy mattresses online (including yours)? Thanks.

I'm afraid I can't give recommendations on MSE as it could be viewed as advertising.

If I were you I would stay away from big brand names and big chain stores if you want good quality at a low price, and shop on line from a seller who gives a proper satisfaction guarantee that allows you to actually unpack and sleep on the mattress. This way it is in their interest to make sure that you make the right choice the first time.