If you want to get deep into mattress information overload check out this site: What's the Best Mattress
If I keep reading there I will never be able to make a decision.

HI we tested lots of mattresses when we needed to replace the ones at our shore rental house. We wound up buying Kings Down pillowtops at Sleepys. We have actually gotten compliments from our renters on how comfortable the beds are. AND my sister in law who has a bad back commented that she slept better on that mattress than she does at home. We also bought one for our bed at home.

Simmons Black line. I've had several brands and types and have some back problems........this is the best I've found.

We chose the Edaline since the top was a little firmer. Each can vary in the top layer and the type material they use. Ours has wool.
The model made with silk we found too cool but it would be great in a tropical climate!

Here is a link that might be useful: Simmons Black

Thanks annz - we haven't seen any Simmons around here but I will check on it. And thanks for the link terriks, there is so much info there, some of it new to me...I need to make notes to take shopping. :)

Susan

Simmons black line is their upscale brand, but we've been a bit disappointed in how Simmons in general held up over time. They tend to have a softer, plusher feel and that does mat down over time. This time we splurged and bought a Chatham and Wells. So far(since January) it's great and hopefully durable!

This seems to be the million dollar question! I was just having this conversation with several people tonight. I have a 3yr old Stearns & Foster and it's started getting deep impression marks very early on. It's a Cushion Firm and is not worth the $2000+ price. My sister has a 32yr old S&F that is not sagging one bit - they were made better back then. My other sister has a 1yr old Sealy pillowtop and the mattress already has deep impression marks.

I think I'd be willing to spend almost anything for a good sound mattress that wears well.

One thing that I've learned in my research is to stay away from pillowtops, because they almost always end up with deep impressions in them. The advice that I've read is to get a comfortable mattress, and if you want extra cushioning to add a replaceable topper.
I am really interested in the Latex mattresses from Flo-Beds and Sleep EZ

We have a brand new Aireloom and do not like it. Way too much pillow top, too mushy. Would never buy Aireloom again. Do not like a thick pillow top.

Buying a matteress is like buying tires...you have to throw a huge amount of money at something not very fun :o(

I've been in the mattress market twice this year, and it's painful LOL I purchased a very nice seeley for my son's room, but it's almost too firm (it's a pillow top) so I had to add a foam topper, which is fine. In our room though, we're thrilled with the foam mattress we bought at Costco (king size about 700 dollars). It's really comfortable, and contrary to what I'd read, we find it does not sleep overly warm at all. We can afford any mattress, but we'd buy this one again in a heart beat.

We had a horrible mattress for years and when I finally got DH to agree to a king size about 7 years ago we bought a Sealy Posturepedic. It says Grandview Series "Firm". It's not a pillow top. So far it's held up wonderfully and I still think about how nice it is to have a great mattress nearly every night when I crawl in. Mattresses are such a personal choice though. DH and I luckily both prefer one fairly firm and both preferred no pillow top. So when we test drove them fot the 5 minutes in the stores we narrowed it down to our 2 favorites which were the same ones and finally settled on the Sealy. If I had it to do again I'd go lay on them again but I certainly am pleased with this one.

LOL @ igloo, it is sort of like buying tires!

I bought a Sleepez Latex mattress about a month ago and so far I love it. I've never slept better.

Another vote for latex. We have a Jamison latex - bought it a year ago to replace our old Simmons. (Jamison is a regional mattress co. here in the mid-south/southeast) Like Mammie, we've never slept better.

For those who love latex...

Do you sink down in the bed??? I don't like that sensation of feeling that I'm slowing going lower, even if it is slight. We're past 50 and need good neck/spine alignment.

The salesman at one furniture store yesterday told me that he's NEVER had his best-selling (Sealy, I think) latex mattress returned for poor performance...he's the son of the owner, and I've done business w/ him so I hope he was being candid in telling me that.

Susan

Igloochic is it one that you refer to sold just in store or online too? Is it a NovaForm?

Two months ago we purchased the Simmons World Class plush top. It has 980 individually wrapped coils (queen size) and it has the foam band around the sides for extra support. Its suppose to be the mattress many of the Marriot hotels have. So far we love it. It ran us $1300, so it wasnt cheap but not the most expensive out there either. It came with a GREAT warranty, better than the other Simmons bed warranties. I priced it at three different stores and all three stores highly recommended this bed (even though they all carried it as World Class, they had different names for it....but the way to tell if it was the same one was by the number of coils and the foam band.

We have a Gardner mattress. It's basically a traditional, well-made (moderately expensive, $1800 3 years ago) mattress. We went with one step down from the most firm. We just got back from vacation and the mattress there was very soft. DH liked it, but I didn't at all. I will never get a pillow-top. I don't think they work well for non-petit people (the pillow-top often gets smashed down and indented where you frequently sleep) (and forget the "warranty" on the pillow-top, my father quickly learned it is useless). I might get a 2" foam top for ours and see if it satisfies DH for a slightly softer mattress.

mammie, what configuration did you get in your latex mattress? Did you have to swap out any of the layers?

mpwdmom, I think that you are thinking of memory foam when you talk about the sinking feeling. Latex doesn't feel like that.

When I tried one out at the store, it didn't sink like Memory Foam but I did have the sensation that I was a little lower after a couple of minutes...but it felt good.

Susan

Mpmom - We are also "over 50" and if it helps, I have had back surgery so I didn't take bed shopping lightly. :)

Latex and Memory Foam are 2 completely different animals. Latex does not "sink". We found that firm latex gives great support without feeling "hard". There are several different websites that explain Latex, if you will google that word. (or try "latex mattress")

Latex comes in different firmnesses - it has to do with density and the number of holes. That's why some folks like to layer different firmnesses together to get the right combination. I don't know what Sealy, Serta, and Simmons use. Our Jamison has a 6" 44 ILD latex piece on one side and 2" 22 ILD piece on the other side so if we put the 22ILD side up, it is softer, more like a mattress with a topper.

There is alot of good information online about Latex and the two different kinds of latex, Dunlop and Talalay.

Also, for anyone buying a mattress, please don't take the salesperson's word about what's IN the mattress. Read the "Contents" tag that is sewn into the end of every mattress by law. If it doesn't say "Latex", then it's not a latex mattress. Most that we found were at least 85% latex. (Remember there will be a cloth covering.)

I know nothing about Memory Foam except that we found that it sinks and it smells. Some people do love it though so it's really a matter of personal choice.

I love my FloBeds Latex Bed (almost 100% natural latex except for the two super latex cores I have one on each side of the bed that is a blended latex and does not bother my allergies) that is very firm with just enough cushion on top for side sleeping. I do not sink into the bed since I got to create a bed that has the latex cores that are comfortable for me. My clients told me about the FloBeds.com website where they bought their bed and loved it when my bed had fallen apart 1.5 years ago and I was allergic to conventional bed I bought at Rockaway Bedding. I have two sides of the bed under a zippered comfortable organic cover with no chemicals in it. I have a soft 1" latex topper over a 37 ILD over a 37 ILD over a 46 ILD over a Pine Slat Box with 10" legs. The other side of my bed is a 36 ILD over a 44 ILD over a 39 ILD. I am still tweaking that side since after my car accident last year, I needed a firmer bed than the already firm latex bed I slept on and Dave the owner of FloBeds allowed my 90 day exchange policy to extend way beyond this day due to my car accident. The bed comes with a 2" latex topper but I preferred a 1" latex topper.

By the way a 36 to 39 ILD is considered Extra Firm on the FloBeds site but only Firm on other latex websites. The 44 and 46 ILD latex core is a super firm latex core and even I who LOVE firm beds could not sleep directly on top of this firm latex core. My bed is not bouncy since the latex cores I used are very firm but I do not turn from side to side like I used to on a conventional firm mattress since I no longer have pain on my pressure points from lying on the side.

Wow, I feel like I'm in another country and don't understand the language...someone tell me, what does ILD stand for??

Indentation Load Deflection (= ILD) is the standard numbering system for rating how firm foam is
The ILD rating of your Latex foam will tell you how FIRM your mattress is. The higher the ILD rating is, the firmer the mattress is.

I like a thin soft Latex layer over very firm latex cores for support and side sleeping comfort.

Hi Terriks, I ordered the soft, med. and firm and didn't swap it out. Works for me, thank goodness! :)

The latex mattress I tried out only had a sign with prices. What I need to do is figure out what kind of mattress I want first and then educate myself. Thanks all for the input, it does help. :)

Susan

We just bought a king sized Temperpedic mattress. We really do like it. You have a small amount of feeling like you are sinking down but it is very comfortable. We replaced a 4 year old Stearns and Foster that had divots where we slept. It was a hunk of junk! My husband has Avascular Necrosis in his hip and the change of beds has helped him. My back also feels much better..Remember if you get a new mattress to take a letter from your doctor or chiropractor (like a prescription) and you will not have to pay sales tax on it.
At least it is that way in Florida.

Another Saturday, another matress shopping outing. Am I a glutton for punishment or what?

Today I spent about an hr. in a Select Comfort Store. The three I tried out did seem comfortable, but I was stunned at the prices. I was also a little disappointed that the beds seem (at least the lower end models) to be...for lack of a better word, cheapy.

They're probably functional all the same, but gosh for that amount of $$$, they could throw a little luxury at them. I wasn't convinced, but I haven't excluded them either.

I have a feeling that whichever way I go, I may come to regret it. :(

We bought a Simmons mattress in 2000 that had indentations in it after 6 months. DH started having back problems and in Feb. 2007 we got rid of it and put a latex foam mattress over the box spring. What a difference. No indentations and fully supportive and his back problems from the mattress disappeared. We got the mattress at IKEA. Regular price they are about $1400 (king size) but we got a close out for less than half that. Best mattress we've ever had.

We bought a Simmons World Class a little over a year ago. After only a few months we had big indentations. I called the Mattress Giant we purchased it from and they said I must have the original receipt. Of course that was my fault for misplacing it. But it's not very old and it's awful. The indentations are huge, it's so uncomfortable.

Ayeyeyeye. Mattresses, we went through that a few years ago, what a racket, so I understand what you're going through. We had a Simmons Beauty Rest from the late 80's, it was THE most comfy mattress. So we bought a new one. It was terrible. They have changed their manner of construction, for one thing most of the factory mattresses are now one-sided. The Simmons Beauty Rest very quickly got a big sag in the middle, they sent a rep out who put a piece of string from left to right and measured in the middle how many inches deep the "sag" was and he determined, surprisingly enough, that it was *just within the limits* of not being warrantable. We had to give the thing away and start over.

Next came the SleepNumber. So comfortable in the store, with the adjustable foundation. Got it home -- it was like sleeping on an air mattress. Oh wait! it WAS an air mattress, with some padding on top. Bouncy, air-pockety. You know, when you put pressure on point A, the air goes over to point B and it "pops up." Plus it had a noxious odor for the first week. All I can say, it was very uncomfortable. Back went the mattress but they would not take the the adjustable foundation ($1800) back, so now we had an adjustable foundation.

We finally went to our local mattress manufacturer. We lived in Orange County, CA at the time. Purchased a pure latex rubber mattress and put it on the adjustable foundation. The thing is absolute heaven. I will never have another kind of mattress again. I have not found it to be hot and we now live in the Dallas area where it does get hot. Of course we have AC.

When it is time to replace this mattress I will order it from the store in CA, as they ship worldwide.

Custom Comfort makes beds the old way, which we prefer, and they can do anything you want, any size, softness, etc. We have another one from there that isn't latex and while it's a little too firm for my taste, it's a great mattress and my husband likes it. And BTW we still have that old 80's Simmons in the guest room and it is as comfortable as ever, though is wearing out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Custom Comfort Mattress Company

We bought a mattress a few years ago. They said that it had seperate coils so that my husband's weight would not affect me. NOT!!!.
I am 4 ft 9 and he is 6ft 2. I can not sleep in the bed with him because he sinks the mattress and I roll down to his side. I feel like I have to pull my self out of the thing. The sides have that stuff that they say keeps you from feeling them get out. Well that is a joke. The sides of the bed stay firm and the middle get s soft with real bad indentions.
If I am in the bed alone it is fine but not us both together. I have a bad back and neck and that thing makes me hurt.
What kind of matress can we get that will not sink with him in it and me roling down hill?

tinylady - do you have a king size bed? If not, that would be the first change.

You should not be having this problem with any bed regardless of what it is made from.

My husband has back and neck problems and is enjoying our new Temperpedic mattress. He is sleeping much better.

Bigdoglover, thanks for sharing your experience...wish I was in Orange Co and could go try them for myself. A few of our friends have Select Comfort, and most do like them, but I don't know if I want a bed w/ air pumps, powered by electicity. The idea bothers me a bit, well that and the price.

Susan

If you want a 100% latex mattress check my links above for the Flo-beds and SleepEZ sites.

Susan, oh speaking of having your bed plugged into electricity, that reminds me of something else that happened. The adjustable foundation plugs into the wall and we had a very bad electrical storm here several months ago that hit close to our house and came in and fried some of our electricial/electronic things. It caused the "massage" (i.e., vibrate) funtion of the adjustable bed to go on. We couldn't get it to go off with the remote, so we unplugged it. The bed then (completley unplugged from the wall) continued to vibrate softly for about an hour, on its own.

Leggett & Platt (the manufacturer) told me this was powered by the two 9-volt batteries in the bed, that serve some purpose I don't remember.

But can you imagine being sound asleep and all of a sudden thunder, then vibration? And though manufacturer said electricity could not have come into the bed, I have my doubts.

We did get it fixed since it's kind of handy for watching TV, but don't like to sleep with it plugged in!

What does "OT" mean?

OT = Off Topic

I know this thread is old but wanted to thank bigdoglover for the link to the O.C. company. I'm in So.Cal. and really need a new mattress. Dh and I just spent last weekend at the Bellagio and slept like babes. I'd love to get one of their mattresses, Serta, but the $2500 price tag is making me cry OUCH! DH wants to just click and buy on their home site but I'm determined to check out other mattresses first.

Also, thanks terriks for the mattress info site. Wow, lots to read and learn! I don't think we spent more than 15 min. picking out our last mattress (Ortho) and never even thought about coil numbers. : ) That mattress is now 18 yrs. old and just starting to sag a bit in the middle. Maybe they made them better back then. : )

mpwdmom, did you finally decide and buy a new mattress? Apologies in advance if you've shared the info in another thread.

Diana

I agree that Tempurpedic is too hot for where I live too (Florida). I like my latex bed a lot, I am actually sleeping through the night. Sometimes I wake up in the same position I feel asleep in, which tells me that I haven't tossed and turned. You just sink right into the mattress, but it supports you in all the right places. It was cheap too, I only paid about $130 dollars for a latex mattress topper to go over my old Serta mattress. Great deal and great night's sleep.

Here is a link that might be useful: Latex mattress reviews

Had a mattress with memory foam, it sank, made us extremely hot, woke up with a back ache every morning. Not what I was expecting from a new mattress. I was able to return the mattress after 20 months under the warranty due to the sinking. This time, upgraded to a Sealy Spring Free, latex mattress. Best thing ever. I too sometimes wake up in the same position I fall asleep in. Have not had one back ache since sleeping on it. Never hot (unless due to weather). It has a 30 year warranty on it. Sounds like they are pretty confident about their product.

Tip, if you have a king size, it is virtually square, we turn ours 1/4 turn every 2 months or so.

They are more expensive, but really worth their money.