AlisonH
It’s worse than buying a car. At least with a car you get to drive it home.
We’ve been saying for over a year that we needed to replace our mattress. It’s a Stearns and Foster and we’ve had it for 26 years and it’s held up–made all the more marvelous by the fact that the previous one did for all of two before neither of us could stand it anymore–we were totally burned. The current one is still pretty comfortable for me after all this time, but not for him anymore, and it used to dampen movement but really doesn’t anymore. At all.
Which is bad when you’re a light sleeper and the big guy isn’t.
I spent hours, on several different occasions over those months while we debated, trying to learn everything about buying a mattress. The first thought was, go high end again: nobody expects one to stay that good for that long but our expensive one did and it more than paid for itself vs the costs of replacing again and again and again.
And then I read that S&F got bought out.
And a review by someone saying they weren’t what they used to be.
Now, I don’t know if that’s true nor fair but it stopped me–I knew no serious alternative. Not when you want zero off-gassing.
But last night was sleepless. It was time. I went back to Consumer Reports, only I decided not to look at individual ratings–I looked at their ratings of the brands themselves.
And then at the top mattress of their top company, because my 6’8″ husband is not lightweight and I wanted not to have to deal with all this again.
Charles P. Rogers “Estate Lifetime.” Gotta love a name like that, and yeah, it’s all marketing, but–I have a talalay pillow and know how comfortable it is and it is the only pillow I’ve ever heard of with a ten year warranty. (Maybe down pillows do? I wouldn’t know.) The Fourth of July sale was still on, and since Stearns and Foster’s ends tomorrow one can only assume Rogers’ does, too because you know they know who their competition is.
The movement dampening was a particular claim, both on their part and at Consumer Reports.
My sweetie and I talked about it. I asked many questions via the company’s chat.
I walked away, let it percolate for awhile, came back, talked to Richard some more, and then we sprang for it.
And now all we can do is hope.
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I bought an S&F a little over a year ago – firmest one I could find. Salesman thought I was a bit nuts, but I like to be able to roll over on my bed without first needing to climb out of a ravine.
The first couple of nights I wondered if I’d made a mistake, but now that it’s broken in, I love it.
My one complaint about modern mattresses is that you can’t flip them like you used to. Now you can only rotate,
Comment by Anne 07.14.20 @ 1:28 amWe have had a sleep number mattress for years now and have thought about replacing it recently. It was (and still is) a great option for us since I am large and heavy and he is slight and light. We can each adjust the firmness of the mattress individually and so far (after about 25 years or so) there is very little movement on my side when he moves or on his side when I move. When we finally decide to get a new one, it will be another sleep number. My months on the boat immediately faded when I climbed into my bed at home. Sleeping on the boat is on a 4 inch firm foam pad and while the rocking motion of the ocean is soothing, there is not a whole lot of comfort otherwise.
Comment by Christine L Pereira 07.14.20 @ 7:46 amI came home from 2 weeks at my son’s house last summer and promptly started mattress shopping. I had bought my last mattress with my late husband…. oh…. probably 20? years before. I ended up getting a memory foam mattress and, after the adjustment period, my partner and I both love it. It’s the first time in many years I have woken up without pain and stiffness. Just amazing what a difference a new mattress can make!
Comment by Pegi F 07.14.20 @ 7:53 amI hope you love it! Mom and I just ordered new mattresses too, and I can’t wait for mine to come: it was so comfortable in the store, and I’ve been more and more achy on my old one.
Comment by ccr in MA 07.14.20 @ 1:33 pmIt’s clearly mattress season. I spent part of the afternoon hauling the 20″x20″x48″ box that can’t possibly contain a king-sized mattress up the stairs (except that by its weight it could be two king-sized mattresses!). Now we have to make space for it…
Comment by twinsetellen 07.14.20 @ 5:01 pmWe bought a couple of Black sheep mattresses, made by hand in Alberta, last fall. Like you, we had been sleeping on the same mattresses for over 20 years. (We have two pushed together to avoid the motion problem.) I wanted something natural and “locally made” and ours are made with springs, wool, and cotton. It has been great. They are very heavy, but can be turned and flipped, and the moment that I made my bed for the first time, one of the dogs tested it out immediately. It was obviously a winner. 🙂
Comment by Joanne 07.14.20 @ 6:26 pmLeave a comment
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