Thanks for the info, everyone. I ordered a T&N Original today. We’ll be moving into our 2nd bedroom while we repair/repaint our room and if it doesn’t pass muster, we’ll just leave it in there for guests and fins another option.
Mattress burrito arrived today. Box was beat to hell, but the plastic was undamaged. Unwrapped, unfolded, and cut 'er open. Watched it uncompress in 60 seconds. Crazy.
The whole memory foam thing was so strange to adjust to, right? Your mattress comes rolled up and you have to allow it to expand and outgas for a bit. It was one of the strangest things you go through regarding mattresses and this is all in our lifetime the material has been a thing.
It’s been sitting on the floor in our guest room all night, I haven’t checked in on it yet. But yeah, the sheer amount of compression done to that thing is absolutely insane. One little cut into the plastic is all it takes to get it expanding again.
I’m in the UK, so not sure in brands would align, but we got a mid-range Casper-type mattress that I believe is natural latex. It was ok, but not great, but we added a memory foam topper, and the combinative powers of both now make it the best thing ever to sleep on. Not super helpful, I know, other than knowing you can convert an almost good mattress into perfection.
The only dislike I have with our memory foam mattress is the buildup of heat when sleeping on it. They sleep really well and are comfortable, have very good movement isolation and hold up really solidly, even at the edges of the mattress. But man do they get warm.
I just realized I never responded to a question here. I know 138 already ordered a mattress, but in response: The Casper is very firm, almost like a hotel mattress at a high-end hotel. Like 9/10. Still about that firm after about 10 years, in fact. The edges give a little bit, but not much. I have no problems sitting on the edge of the bed and it holds up without drooping. The mattress is some version of memory foam, with a solid latex covering on the top (it is a single-side mattress). The latex keeps it much cooler than you would expect, it really doesn’t heat up much, and it hasn’t formed itself around where we sleep either. Comes like the one you described, a rectangular box and it unfolds itself. I really wish they put handles on the mattress sides, but other than that, we have been extremely happy with it.
My spring mattress is sagging a bit in the middle and i’m slightly tempted to try one of these new matresses but, i remember camping with memory foam and how much i used to hate memory foam, and also that it just feels like a fad today. So many companies popping up to repackage memory foam in a “millennial” product. I’ll probably just spin the mattress 180d around first and see if that improves things.
I figured I would chip in here and say a few things about the bed I got about 1 1/2 years ago. After years of dealing with various mattress styles and finding that nothing was really working for me I broke down and bought one of those sleep number style air beds. My sister has a good Sleep Number and loves it so on her recommendation I started researching options. I ended up buying what I can unequivocally state is the best damned mattress I have ever owned. Now this is after a year and a half of use. I went with a Select-A-Bed Airpedic 800. One of the big selling points was that instead of the standard 2 areas of air support this mattress has three with an added a lumbar area. Before I bought this bed, I woke up every morning with back pain. In the time I have owned it, not counting the first few days of adjustment and dialing in, I have not once woke up with back pain. Now they are expensive, although less expensive than a comparable Sleep Number. But they do go on sale often ( like always ) and that puts a Queen sized at around $2700. I did buy an adjustable frame as well, although that I got through Amazon. (Theres a story about the frame. It originally cost $800 but I eventually paid under $200 for it, due to multiple delivery issues leading to discounts.) Anyway the combination is awesome. Bottomline if you’re looking to change up your mattress, it is not a bad idea to check these things out. They really are extremely comfortable and very adjustable to your individual needs. I’ll link the page for the one I got for the curious. https://www.selectabed.com/air-pedic-800/
I hate buying mattresses. I go to whats the best mattress forums and read millions of reviews (most linking to places to purchase) and lay on them in stores (most mattresses feel great in the store) and then we buy (King) and 6 months later we’ve got a ridge in the middle and dents on each side. After spending a lot of money.
So, FWIW, our latest mattress purchasing adventure. Due to life stuff (unexpected job loss, me moving to new job while wife stayed behind trying to sell a house in a tiny town in a COVID world, etc) I lived in an apartment by myself for about a year. Needed a mattress but temporary (didn’t know how long.) I purchased a higher end air mattress that feels great and then splurged on a high end Tempurpedic 3" Supreme topper. That combination was, surprisingly, more comfortable than most mattresses we’d owned. I’d top off the air once a week and it always felt new.
We sell the house, my wife moves into the apartment while we look for a house, we decide we need a “real” mattress and I do my homework and we lay on a bunch of mattresses and we conclude we will go with a Casper Wave Hybrid (I think that was it.) Not cheap, but if it lasts, worth it to have a bed that you love to get into.
My mother has a Tempurpedic she purchased a couple of years ago, so when we visited her we tried it out and it was pretty amazing. Great support, not hot at all. Did more research on the actual polymers used (nerd scientist me) and crosslink density and hysteresis resistance, and long story short, we ended up spending the big bucks on a Tempurpedic Pro Adapt medium.
We’ve had it almost 9 months and it feels exactly like it did when we first got it. It really didn’t take much getting used to as it conforms but it is firm enough you don’t sink deeply (we had a 3" memory foam topper on our old King in our previous house, not the Tempurpedic topper, and even though it was billed as a firm we REALLY sank into it and it took a long time to get used to it.) We are extremely happy with our purchase even though it was expensive up front. We’ll see in 5 years.
I swear, waterbeds are way overdue for a comeback. Waveless with fitted top FTW!
A slight detour but pillows also make a big difference to sleep and aches and pains. I’m a huge fan of buckwheat pillows. I have used them for 20 years and the Japanese for centuries. I even take them traveling (non-flight) because I can’t stand the other types. They are cool on the head and hold their shape. They take about a week to get used to. You have to take out or add the amount of buckwheat to match what you find most comfortable. They are also heavy so you will never lose a pillow fight.
OK, I think we’re good with the T&N mattress. It’s much firmer than I thought it would be, yet I’m sleeping great and waking with very few aches and pains.
It’s currently on our old bedframe and boxspring in our guest room while we repaint our room. Once we’re done, we’re thinking of getting a new platform bedframe and using no boxspring (old mattress and boxspring will stay in guest room). Anyone have advice on this? It seems weird to just have a mattress on the flat frame.
We use a slat base, no springs. Japanese style, I am told. Works great!
Are any of those modern mattresses-in-a-box as firm as an old school extra firm coil mattress? Do any of them have solid edge support as well?
About a month or so into our T&N mattress and I was really happy with it. My wife a little bit less so, since it’s was too firm for her tastes. We ended up getting a T&N mattress topper, so now it feels softer and she’s happy. Me, a little bit less so. Oh well…
@Freezer-TPF, it’s more of a medium firm feel. Edge support is minimum. I was skeptical about that, as I’m an edge sleeper, but I have not felt like I was going to roll out of bed. I feel the lack of edge support mostly when I sit on the edge.
Ugh I also hate mattress shopping, online or in store. It seems the time period of better, new technology mattresses for less money is over, and the market is saturated again with BS marketing and untraceable price justification. Just like spring mattresses used to be.
Any recent memory foam mattress anecdotes or opinions?
We just ordered a new mattress. My wife did all the research/shopping. I could sleep on anything, probably even a bed of rocks. I truly don’t care, but she has back issues so whatever she wanted was fine with me.
She ended up going with a Saatva spring/memory foam hybrid. It was 15% off, so around $1900 for a King, including delivery and takeaway of old bed (not including tax). Plus we bought a new foundation (aka box spring) for $430.
It should be here in a week or so. I hope she likes it, but apparently she has a year to decide once we get it, or she can change to another.
Over the years I searched for an acceptable mattress. I tried everything from a basic box spring to a rather pricey Stearns and Foster latex foam titanium spring set. This includes once getting a full foam mattress. All of them disappointed ( although the S&F mattress was great for about 5 years ). About four or five years ago, on the advice of my sister, I looked into adjustable air mattresses. The most popular brand is Sleep Number but I went with Select-A-Bed. Now these beds are not cheap. They run in the same price range as any true premium mattress. But regardless of the price I was convinced to bite the bullet and get one. After years of owning this bed ( I got their AirPedic 800 ) I have zero regrets. I still get the best sleep I have ever had in my life. Its basically a series of air baffles enclosed in memory and latex foam. You get no sag or depressions because you can simply adjust the air volume to your liking and that fixes all of that. Plus the foam portion is made up of a series of replaceable sheets that are similar to toppers. These can be replaced if need at a small cost. I haven’t had an issue with my foam inserts at all though. A few years ago I did have one of the air baffles go out. They company replaced the baffle immediately when I contacted them. Its user serviceable and they provided a video to show how to replace it. It took me about 30 minutes and my bed was as good as new. Anyway, my point is don’t be afraid to try out one of these types of beds. They are expensive no doubt but I am convinced that this is the last mattress I will ever buy. It’s even better if you can get an adjustable frame for it. My advice is don’t cheap out on something you spend a third of your life using. Buy the very best mattress you can.
Side sleeper or back? Due to snoring I have to sleep on my side, I have a Serta all foam that is comfy as far as being pliable enough for side sleeping but it’s quite hot, and it has taken a significant depression set after a couple of years.