I need a bed

[Mercutio]

We've been talking a lot about appliances and, as an apartment dweller, I don't have much to add.

But here's what I do need: A bed.
I sleep on a twin mattress. Unless I'm mistaken it's the same one I had when I was a kid. The frame certainly is.

So it's time to grow up a bit and get something new. Does anyone have any particular hints for frame and mattress shopping?

 

[LunarMist]

Everybody has different comfort levels. You really need to test them out in a store and see if there is anything online about durability of particulr models. Sagging and noise are the main complaints. The better models have fancier spring technologies and various tops. I'm not the fan of the memory foams which often do not stay the same in the long run. I usually buy a moderately firm, high-end Queen and replace the mattress once before the box springs.

 

[timwhit]

I wish I had a memory foam mattress. I would at least try one out.

 

[Will Rickards]

We bought an ikea bed frame. And the mattress is sort of home made. Is is 5" base foam, 5" premium memory foam and 2" of latex on top. Ordered online and then assembled and a mattress cover to contain it. Very comfy. This was some years ago, probably 5 years ago. For the box spring part I just have plywood over the horizontal planks for a solid flat surface.

If I was to do it over again. I would probably not buy the ikea bed frame. Not that the ikea isn't nice. It isn't one of the cheaper fiberboard ones but actually made of wood. Still every time I see the hardware holding it together and compare it to the heirloom type bedroom set we were given from a great aunt, I think it is out of place.

For the mattress, I would have searched for the bottom base more and gotten a higher quality. I will probably replace this layer eventually. Secondly I would have glued the latex to the memory foam. It shifts when not glued. And requires a bit of work to get back into place since it is contained in a mattress cover.

These types of mattresses are also heavy, very heavy. And ours is king size.

 

[Bozo]

We bought an ikea bed frame. And the mattress is sort of home made. Is is 5" base foam, 5" premium memory foam and 2" of latex on top. Ordered online and then assembled and a mattress cover to contain it. Very comfy. This was some years ago, probably 5 years ago. For the box spring part I just have plywood over the horizontal planks for a solid flat surface.

Do you have any recollection of where you ordered it from?

Merc, try looking at a Temperpedic mattress. Everyone that I know that has one loves them.

 

[timwhit]

Merc, try looking at a Temperpedic mattress. Everyone that I know that has one loves them.

Tempurpedic is memory foam. They are overpriced in my opinion. You can get a different brand of memory foam mattress that is the same density as a Tempurpedic for less money.

 

[Will Rickards]

Do you have any recollection of where you ordered it from?

Different places. Most of the information came from a thread on fatwallet.com. Base was from jcpenney.com Item RN725-5813A (no longer available). Memory foam was 4" not 5" Sensus from sleepwarehouse.com. The latex (2" Talalay Latex 24 ILD) was ordered from foamsource.com.

 

[Mercutio]

I was giving serious thought to an Ikea MALM frame. I can't tell if the one I'm looking at needs a box spring or not.

 

[Stereodude]

My wife and I sleep on a King size memory foam mattress we got from Costco. We like it.

 

[Will Rickards]

We bought a MALM bed for my son. Bad move. The sides were fiberboard and you screwed the seemingly flimsy metal rails to the side. Then set the wood planks on them, then the bed on top. Kids like to jump on beds. The screws would come out. The flimsy metal rails would then slip and the inner bed falls down.

Maybe they are better now. But as it was that frame had two problems: 1. screws that secured to a weak surface. 2. Metal rails that would bend. As it was a twin it did not use a center rail. The larger sizes probably do. That probably helps mitigate these side issues.

 

[Will Rickards]

And as for a boxspring, you can just use thick plywood on top of the planks. It provides a good flat surface which is all a boxspring is designed to do (aside from adding height). But I wouldn't put a mattress on top of the planks directly.

 

[ddrueding]

...try looking at a Temperpedic mattress. Everyone that I know that has one loves them.

I hated mine. Returned it well within the 90-day money-back guarantee. It doesn't keep it's shape, it is firm when you get on it but you wake up in a hole. If you tend to shift in your sleep you will feel trapped. It doesn't breathe at all.

Ended up getting a W Hotels Posturepedic pillow top. Not bad, but next time I will strongly consider a sleep number.

 

[Will Rickards]

The ikea bed frame we got is no longer sold.
Here is a link with a small picture. And here is the ikea manual.

 

[MaxBurn]

I really like my Comfortair Cerulean, hard when you want it hard and soft when you want it soft. They say they came before the select comfort but I just like their prices. If I had to do it again I would skip the pillow top and get one of those memory foam toppers from Costco or something.

http://www.comfortaire.com/

 

[Mercutio]

I've heard that the select comfort beds can have problems with mold. Plus: My bed is a solo-bed. It's going to be firm and stay firm.

 

[time]

And as for a boxspring, you can just use thick plywood on top of the planks. It provides a good flat surface which is all a boxspring is designed to do (aside from adding height). But I wouldn't put a mattress on top of the planks directly.

The problem with a solid sheet base is it restricts the airflow through the mattress; you want to turn your mattress frequently when you use that arrangement, or try drilling about a hundred holes through the ply.

It also takes away some of the shock absorption when people sit on their bed, but given how much you save, you can probably afford to change your mattress more frequently anyway.

Some mattresses are designed for use with slat bases. I suspect any single-sided mattress is suitable, i.e. with foam on one side only. If in doubt, use more slats to reduce the size of the gaps. The slats provide a little bit of shock absorption, but more importantly allow the mattress to breathe.

 

[Howell]

I have a twin memory foam mattress on top of a twin futon frame. I like the memory foam pretty well.

What size are you thinking?

 

[time]

I skimmed a consumer-feedback site and made some observations:

* All mattress designs have unhappy customers. There is no single mattress that satisfies most people.

* As a feature, the pillowtop attracted a consistently high degree of negative feedback - good in the showroom, lousy to live with. They're particularly problematic in a hot climate, where people found them overwhelming.

* Durability of modern mattresses is highly suspect. Some deteriorated within weeks.

Some people like memory foam, but many don't. You really want to try it out before committing to it.

Latex is pretty much the opposite of memory foam: fast-response instead of slow-response. Most people like latex, and it's very durable, but there are some negatives:

* It's incredibly expensive
* It's hotter than an innerspring mattress
* You need to protect it from moisture (same for any mattress, but after paying several thousand dollars, you really want to protect your investment).

I'm particularly enamored with Will's mattress. The highest quality foam possible (latex) on top with layers of increasingly stiff foam underneath - really should have been laminated properly though, as he discovered. I'll definitely consider that for my next mattress.

There are two main types of innersprings: interlinked and pocketed.

* Pocketed are usually more expensive, more compliant with body shape and best at minimizing one person's movements disturbing another. Nevertheless, some people find the available products (eg. Simmons Beautyrest) too soft.

* Interlinked has subcategories, the main thing to watch is the amount of steel in the mattress, as evidenced by coil count, turns, gauge etc, or probably just price! A mattress can still support someone in the showroom while using fewer and/or thinner (but stiffer) coils - not a good long-term proposition.

The biggest problem is the laminated foam layers on top of the springs. This is where you will find the main difference between cheap and expensive models. Unfortunately, the difference is durability, and you can't determine that in the showroom.

We currently have two Simmons Beautyrest mattresses (one on a box spring base, one on slats), a Sealy Posturepedic (on slats), a custom foam mattress (on more foam!) and some random innerspring (also on slats). Unfortunately, we have observed a direct relationship between price paid and longevity. Eg, the Sealy cost half as much as a Simmons and needs to be replaced after 6-7 years. Based on experience, I expect to get 10-15 years out of the Simmons, and we only got about 3 years out of a mattress that cost half as much as the Sealy. Sadly, Simmons mattresses have been declining in quality for years, more so recently according to user feedback.

 

[Howell]

The Tempur-pedic HQ is in the same city as our HQ and the company standard hotel is all foam beds. I liked them too.

 

[Howell]

I like the idea of building your own foam mattress too but then I see the prices of foam. I've never spent more than $100 on a mattress which is less than I spent on my sleeping bag.

 

[BingBangBop]

I like the idea of building your own foam mattress too but then I see the prices of foam. I've never spent more than $100 on a mattress which is less than I spent on my sleeping bag.

When did you last buy a mattress the early 1900's or was it used?

I really don't know much about mattresses but I do know that they cost much more than one would expect. The only one I have bought was in the mid 1990's (about $500) and it is still going strong. I just went from store to store till I found one that I liked. It is a conventional inner-spring (Beauty Rest).

My experience with a variety of hotel mattresses is that regardless of mattress, as long as you have a reasonable back, you get used to the mattress over a few days no matter what your original opinion of the mattress was to start with. You may have some uncomfortable nights, but eventually sleep wins and your body adjusts.

 

[Howell]

When did you last buy a mattress the early 1900's or was it used?

Used!

 

[LunarMist]

Eeewwww! uke-r:

 

[mubs]

Most of what Time said. It's very much an individual thing.

Memory foam / latex: mileage varies enormously. I plunked down a good bit of money for a memory foam mattress and pillows and hated them and gave them away.

What works best for me is a very firm mattress with a pillow top; good support and the pillow top prevents sore bones. And I live in the tropics.

 

[Mercutio]

Thank you for that, time.

I'm looking for a queen size mattress. I don't like sleeping on a king. It's just too much bed for one person. I suspect I'll end up with something either very firm or extremely firm. I have a foam pad thing that someone gave me a while ago that's meant to sit on top of a mattress as a sort of replacement for a pillow top. I've never used it.

I was sort of hoping that I would not actually have to spend time shopping, but the lack of objective standards in product descriptions makes that unlikely.

 

[timwhit]

I've never heard of a latex mattress before, but it sounds like a good option, I'd like to try one out. I read a bit about them and if you go that route try to find an all natural latex rather than a synthetic or synthetic blend.

 

[Stereodude]

Memory foam / latex: mileage varies enormously. I plunked down a good bit of money for a memory foam mattress and pillows and hated them and gave them away.

You'll get my memory foam pillow when you pry it from my cold dead hands. I love my memory foam pillow. My memory foam bed I like, but I'm not that attached to it.

 

[paugie]

Wow, so many specs for beds.
I could sleep on a bench if needed. Or on the floor, if there was nothing else available.
We have a 3" thick foam mattress which we lay on the living room floor at night and which we fold up in the morning.

 

[mubs]

You'll get my memory foam pillow when you pry it from my cold dead hands. I love my memory foam pillow. My memory foam bed I like, but I'm not that attached to it.

SD, please keep it and enjoy it; I don't want it. I'll not even try to pry it out of your cold dead hands, I promise

 

[LunarMist]

I had a bad experience with foam about 4 years ago. :crap: Are they better now?

 

[CougTek]

Foam, springs, latex, that's for pussies.

Here's a bed for a real man :

 

[LunarMist]

Is that some kind of stove?

 

[Bozo]

Foam, springs, latex, that's for pussies.

Here's a bed for a real man :

Odd, I thought you would enjoy one of these. :smile:

 

[LunarMist]

:dunno:

 

[Stereodude]

SD, please keep it and enjoy it; I don't want it. I'll not even try to pry it out of your cold dead hands, I promise

Good! I wouldn't want to have to come back and haunt you for stealing my pillow. :errr:

 

[LunarMist]

I could have sent you mine a few years ago rather than trashing it. :}

 

[time]

All pillows turn into memory foam eventually ...

 

[LunarMist]

But do they make you sweat and suck the vital energy from your brain cells? :smurfin:

 

[sechs]

I was sort of hoping that I would not actually have to spend time shopping, but the lack of objective standards in product descriptions makes that unlikely.

What's more fun is that each chain has it's own models from each manufacturer, so you can't directly compare.

You might find one that you like at one store, and another store won't have it. But they'll have something comparable -- but subtly different in some way.

 

[LunarMist]

Merc,
What did you buy?