Chisue, I have always felt the same way as you with choosing a mattress. This last time, mostly out of desperation, we decided to try a foam "mail order" mattress. Most of them have some type of "try for 100 nights" type guarantee, which I feel is a better indicator of comfort than testing at the store. After much anguish, we ordered a Leesa brand. It is warmer to sleep on than a tradition mattress, but very firm and comfortable. Both DH and I have fewer creaks and aches when we sleep on it. Ours is now 3 years old and still has no sign of sag where we sleep. I'm not advocating for Leesa, as I'm sure some of the others available online are just as good, or better. Just be aware of the option.

Here's a thread dated 2015 on buying a mattress. Link

Clark Howard has an article on buying a mattress: Link

We bought mattresses last year. For our king bed I laid on a lot of mattresses. Wanted a firm one. The store was surprised I did not want a box spring! We bought a platform bed and I wasn’t sure what depth I needed or if I even needed one

decided I wanted a 4” one (actually needed 2 for king. Prices were ridiculous so I ordered a metal one from Amazon. Cost under $50 and was shipped to my door it was 2 pieces, very happy and more $ in my pockets!

then bought new queen mattresses from Sams Club. Should have gotten the box spring from Amazon again.

It’s hard. We need one at home and decided to put it off a little while if we could so we bought a high end mattress topper with cooling memory foam from Costco which we actually like a lot. It makes our bed quite a bit higher however and it’s a good thing we have deep pocket sheets. We have always liked our Beautyrest mattresses but I am open to another brand and type next time.

For your condo I’d probably go with something that is comfy for you but also reasonable in price since you don’t know who is sleeping on it when it’s rented.

I'm seeing a big difference in weight among king mattresses. I'm sure that can be 'fudged', but it does seem to me that a heavier one might be superior -- have more actual material in it. (When our new fridge was delivered the men struggled with the heavy, older model, but breezed right in with the new one -- same model GE.)

The 'coil count' is another variable. I don't see how a king mattress with 800 coils could be as firm as one from the same manufacturer with 1200 coils. (Yes, the higher-coil-count mattress is more expensive, but not by a large percentage.)

This is sort of like judging vacuum cleaners. Everybody likes the brand new, out-of-the-box item, but how do you like it a year later?

Mattress Underground.

A mattress should be built for you, not a one firmness fits all type of mattress.

Our favorite:

Berkeley Ergonomics

I promise you that I will never ever have a sleep number bed if I can help it. Unfortunately that is what came in the motorhome. We hate it hate it! It feels like I am trying to sleep on a blown up beach ball. I have not found a happy place. I would pull it out and replace it if I could right now. It will happen eventually.

I order my mattress custom made by a local mattress manufacturer company. They are small, local and fantastic. The prices are so much less than big box stores for higher quality. I just this weekend went and ordered my new mattress so it will be ready when I need it. I don't want any memory foam at all. I want some latex, I want individual wrapped and tied zoned pocketed coils, I want solid firm support along all sides and edges to not collapse when sitting on the the edge. I like a simi pillow top for a plush feel for my comfort but want a very firm support core for my back and hips. I have learned a lot about mattresses from the guy I get my mattress from. He has cut away mattress samples to show exactly what is inside and how it's constructed and of what. Everything extremely hypo allergenic. I chose the St Regis model this time I believe. I also like the bamboo top layer fabric for great breathability. I am so excited to have my new mattress in the making!

Look into individual zoned wrapped tied coils. Zoned is best.

I've never seen a mattress store that wasn't having some dramatic sale like: "50%off!!!" Which to me means mattresses are dramatically overpriced. I'm sure that at least half of the "cost" of a mattress from one of the well-known major brands is for all the endless advertising the manufacturers run to be well known.

The best bed we've ever bought was from some smaller local place named something like "The Original Mattress Factory" they did as least actually show you how the mattress was constructed on the inside.

My favorite is Hotel Collection/Aireloom but they are a bit expensive. I guess I'm alone in that I hate hate hate firm mattresses. I can't sleep unless it's a cushy pillow top. It's a problem in hotels, which seem to be on the firm side.

I agree chisue, CRAP SHOOT and how do you know REALLY until you have had it awhile. We traded in our waterbed for a double pillow top back in the day. LOVED IT. As far as we were concerned it was good as new 23 years later( we flipped it one of four ways every month) --but we needed a bed for the guest room. Made sense to send ours that way and get us BRAND NEW. Should have been an easy purchase--just go get the same dang mattress!! WRONG. It isn't made anymore!!! My biggest pet peeve is products I love, have come to have confidence in that are no longer made. After spending quite a lot I cannot say we traded up. I hope your search goes better!!

About 10 years ago I researched mattresses ad nauseum, and ended up returning two purchases (both latex) because they quickly developed craters. Mattress inspectors were sent to measure, and I was fortunate to be able to get my money back. The third time (or maybe it was the fourth) was the charm, but I can't recommend the small, independent company that made my good coil mattress because they're out of business.

If I were buying one today I'd probably try one of the foam mattresses available online. My choice would be

Tuft & Needle

A couple of my friends love their Casper mattress, but I'm not a big fan of memory foam.

I wish I could send you a link to the mattress discussion forum I used back then--I learned a lot there--but apparently it no longer exists, at least not at the original address.

It really is a crapshoot to buy one, so i recommend getting one that is easily returned if you don’t like it. I have a few family members who have bought foam mattresses online and they love them, but I could never buy one without testing it first.

I prefer soft and my husband prefers firm. When we got a new one a couple of years ago, we got one that is firm on his side and softer on mine. Brand is Kingsdown. I would avoid them. My side now has a deep depression; his also has one but not as noticeable as mine, and he outweighs me by 100 pounds. We have had the warranty inspector out to measure, but it must be a divot of 2.5” to be replaced. That is really deep! Meanwhile, my back is killing me and our bed looks like we’ve been using it for 40 years. I've complained at the store where we bought it, but they can’t do anything until we reach that 2.5” mark. Our sales person even recommended putting something really heavy in the depression before the inspector arrives next time to make sure we hit 2.5”. Oh brother.

I hate SleepNumber beds. I love LOVE my memoryfoam mattress on a platform (no box spring). I wake up with ZERO aches/pains.

I love my Casper. I put plywood on top of my box spring and it makes the mattress feel great. When I had it on the box springs I felt that I could feel the springs and didn't like that. When you look at Casper, a lot of times the mattress is on the floor (I guess cool and groovy people sleep on the floor) or they are on platforms. To me, it is a solid "waterbed" feel which I really like. No aches and pains anymore. I believe there are some places now where you can try a Casper mattress. Check out their website to find out.

Thanks, all. Some good options for our *home* mattress! Brushworks: I joined the Underground and will probably make better use of it when we get home. Interesting information there!

I'll have to take whatever is available here on Maui. (Talk about a limited choice!) Also, everything deteriorates faster here in the heat and humidity, so...I'll spend less and resign myself to replacing more often. (Current mattress is still OK for the usual one-week guest. It's four years old and was about $1500.)

It really is a crap shoot. You don't know if you like it until you have slept on it for a while. About 1 year before my husband got sick and passed away we bought a new mattress at Sam's club. It was too firm for me but he liked it so I just put up with it. Getting into our bedroom was quite a feat also because it wouldn't go up the stairway in our old house. He and our sons put it in an upstairs window using a highlift. After he died I thought I was just stuck with it but then I discovered latex mattresses that come compressed and rolled up. I got a queen sized Dreamfoam mattress for myself and also got a full sized one for a guest room. Both are really comfortable.

20+ years ago we purchased one from a local manufacturer which was great. Three years ago purchased a second one except this one is a one sided one because I can not flip mattresses any more. It already has divots. For a firmer mattress you probably need one that the springs are tied together not just a lot of springs. You would have to talk to store about how each coil is tied to the next one. The ones that are tied diagonally seem to be firmer. Or at least to my back and body.