Help me with mattresses/beds

[Rambo]

 

[Jr Mouse]

I have no idea at the moment how to find the link, but I read an interesting article a while back on mattresses. A guy spent a lot of time researching the industry and its practices and came away with several take aways.

1. Mattress thickness is often irrelevant past a certain point and is more of a marketing gimmick then anything else. People perceive a thicker mattress as being more comfortable, when often the thickness means little to nothing in this regard. Companies will make mattresses thicker for no other reason then to add to the price tag knowing that the consumer will see it and think it is going to be a better and more comfortable sleep.

2. Manufacturers name mattresses differently for different retailers so consumers cannot price shop models.

3. Pillow-tops are pointless to spend a bunch of extra money on. You can just add a pillow-top/mattress pad for a quarter of the price and get the same feeling out of it.

4. The stores themselves are designed to play people. If you walk into a store and are not happy with prices they will often take you to a back room with some undersized, crappy looking, mattresses and tell you that's your only other option. I know this one for a fact, because I had it happen to me, twice, when I was shopping.

5. Mattresses are ALWAYS ON SALE.

 

[ter1413]

noted

 

[Jr Mouse]

This was the article I read: http://www.slate.com/id/93956/ Select quote:

The secret to mattress shopping is that the product is basically a commodity. The mattress biz is 99-percent marketing. So just buy the cheapest thing you can stand and be done with it, because they're pretty much all the same. And that's all you need to know. But do read on—the world of sleep products is quite fascinating, and I'd like to share it with you.

Trust me, if you are in the market for a mattress, it is a must read.

 

[NorCal]

Time to go down the Rabbit Hole. http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/ Pretty sure they think of the "S" brands the way we think of KC. These are two of the cheaper places I found that sold latex, which is what I will be going with. Custom stacking of different ILD seems to be the way to go. Top with a nice feather bed or cotton/wool quilted topper and if you need height, use hard foam, either natural rubber or mixed, to cheaply get some height or thickness to your bed. By all accounts the second one is the "Allen Edmonds seconds" of the mattress world. http://www.foamorder.com/ http://www.foambymail.com/mattresses.html

 

[Arrowhead43]

I love the fact that there's a person who gets paid to travel around the nation (or world, perhaps) and test out various bedding. I own a local mattress store and always wondered what would happen if I became a tester? I'd probably be too critical or fall in love with one particular bed to be any good at that. What's your guys' thoughts?