The last time I bought a mattress for myself was about 11 years ago. I bought a fairly new full-sized one off a coworker. Four moves and a decade later, we’ve decided it’s time to replace it with an adult (and sometimes an extra toddler)-sized bed. When we started looking, I was shocked at the prices. $3000 for a mattress? What the heck are these things made of? Knowing very little, we went shopping for a mattress and other things on a Saturday morning. The first place, we stopped, Sleepy’s, seemed nice enough. We laid on a few and honed in on the one that we both felt most comfortable in. Meanwhile, Audrey discovered the fun of letting herself fall backwards onto mattresses and did it all over the store. She was giggling and the whole store couldn’t help but look and smile at her. Unfortunately, we soon stopped smiling. When we found something we liked, the seemingly helpful salesman started to get more aggressive. He asked how much we were looking at paying and I made up a number on the spot, something way below the listed price on the bed.
The said he would “talk with his manager” and see if he could get us that price. Then he started asking us if we could commit and have it delivered tomorrow. Anne had walked outside to give Audrey a break by that point, so I said I had to go out and talk with her about it. We talked about it for a bit, then decided we didn’t like the high-pressure sales pitch, so we got ready to leave. I had the car started up when the salesman came out and approached the car window. He then said that he had “talked to his manager” and he could give us the price we wanted AND a free “platinum package”. I said we would talk about it and let him know. We again decided this was sketchy, but to make good on my promise, I went in and gave him my phone number and left. Later that day we went to Jordan’s Furniture, generally known to be a reputable place with reasonable places. The salespeople there were nice and NOT high-pressure. Prices were generally lower, but strangely, we couldn’t find the mattress we found at Sleepy’s.
They had Sertas, but not the one we liked. Being indecisive, we left with a couple new names of ones we liked. Later, we went to Mattress Discounters. The woman there was not pushy and told us about the BBB complaints that Sleepy’s (a 700-store chain) had gotten. We decided to think some more and head home. At home, I did some research online and I found something strange – I couldn’t find much of anything on the mattresses we saw that we liked. I found some mattresses, many of the same brand, but not the same models. I later came to find out that this was completely intentional. The mattress industry is one big scam. There is no way to make an objective decision on a mattress using actual facts. Here’s a few things that the mattress industry does to get you: 1. They mark up their prices 100% to 200%!! No wonder the first guy was able to get his “manager” to give me such a steep discount. They were probably still going to make hundreds of dollars of profits on it.
2. They give the same mattresses different names in different stores or they set up exclusivity agreements by mattress line in certain stores. This makes it impossible to comparison shop because… 3. They make it really had to get actual facts about the mattresses. Stuff like coil counts, materials, overall construction are shrouded in secrecy. But that doesn’t really matter because… 4. There’s no objective measure of mattress quality. Consumer Reports won’t rate them because they can’t get the data and there’s no testing that actually says higher coil counts are better or the number of wires in the coils makes a difference in any way. You’re left to deciding how much you believe the marketing. Is a pillow top made of alpaca hair any better than one made of cotton? Your guess is as good as mine. 5. There’s very little online reviews of mattresses, probably because the model names are so fractured. The ones I did find looked more like content-free sites designed to attract referral credits.
With some more research, I found out that it was somewhat possible to compare mattresses models from different places. It turns out that they really only make one hardness variation in each line. So you can assume that a Plush Firm mattress in the “Classic” line, is the same as another Plush Firm in the Classic line, even if they have different names. was very helpful in figuring this out. We were able to understand which mattresses we saw and how they related to each other. For example, the mattress we liked at Jordan’s was a product line better than the one we saw at Mattress Discounters, even though they came out to the same price! Clearly Jordan’s had the better deal, but US-Mattress had an even better deal. So I did something I never thought I could do, buy a mattress over the internet. I’m pretty sure it’s the same one we saw in the store and the free delivery and frame were a good deal. I’m sure that even if I’m getting it at half the price I saw it listed at elsewhere, they’re still making a decent profit on it.
Anne and I agree that buying a mattress is worse than buying a car. While both have sketchy salespeople, when you buy a car, you can compare them on MPG, size, features, etc. Multiple dealers have the same models so you can compare prices and make an informed decision based on their invoice prices. There’s none of that when buying a mattress. Our mattress should arrive in a few weeks. Hopefully we’ll just find it comfortable enough to have to avoid going through buying a mattress again for at least another 11 years. UPDATE: The mattress arrived quickly and in good condition. We’ve been sleeping on it for several nights and while it feels comfy, I’ve had some upper back soreness which seems to be related to the new mattress. Hopefully it will go away. Otherwise, we’ll have to find another one and do a $100 exchange I guess.We receive free products to review and participate in affiliate programs, where we are compensated for items purchased through links from our site (at no cost to the buyer).
See our disclosure page for our list of comped products and affiliate programs. I slept on the Loom & Leaf Relaxed Firm mattress for several weeks and got a really good sense for it. The mattress is quite comfortable, and overall my experience was positive, though I have a few words of caution. This mattress isn’t for everyone, but definitely an intriguing option for certain mattress buyers. It has a distinct memory foam feel that some people will love while others won’t love. For those that are looking for a memory foam mattress, this mattress can give you a great value. It uses quality materials that you will see in mattresses that cost you a lot more money. Read on for my full Loom & Leaf review (see HERE for a direct comparison to Tempur-Pedic). Who Should Be Interested in Loom & Leaf? You’re Considering Tempur-Pedic– If you are looking at the Tempur-Pedic models or other high-quality memory foam mattresses, I would definitely give a strong look at Loom and Leaf.
The specs of the mattress are comparable to some of the mid-range Tempur-Pedic models. See direct comparison to Tempur-Pedic HERE. You Are Value-Conscious and Luxury Loving– Loom and Leaf provides great value, and is priced well for a mattress competing at the luxury level. The price tag is steep for some buyers, but a steal if you compare it to the major mattress brands. You Are Looking For A Great Comfort/Support Trade-off– The high-density memory foam conforms nicely to the body and supports proper spinal alignment, upholding the known standard for high-quality memory foam. This is great for relieving and/or preventing back pain. At the same time, the mattress is quite comfortable and I think you’ll find it’s a very cozy sleeping experience. You Sleep With A Partner– The high-density memory foam is great for motion isolation. That means when your partner moves around, you generally won’t feel it. You’ll both get a better night of sleep because of it.
You’re Willing To Take A Risk– This is a new brand and you can’t try the mattress out ahead of time. The trial period and return policy should alleviate any concerns you have, but some people would naturally think they are taking a risk in buying such a mattress online. Buy Loom & Leaf at direct from factory prices Why You Might Not Want To Look At Loom & Leaf You Don’t Plan On Owning Your Mattress Very Long– I think Loom and Leaf is fit for someone who wants a great medium or long-term solution. If you are just planning on owning your mattress for 2-3 years, then maybe you don’t want to invest in a mattress of this quality. There are definitely some lower-priced options that will do the job. You Generally Don’t Like The Memory Foam Feel– I have come across a number of people who don’t like the memory foam feel. As good as a memory foam mattress may be, some people will just never like the feel. I’ve seen people make the mistake of thinking that since they’re upgrading to a high-quality mattress they’re going to of course like the feel – but tastes for memory foam rarely change, no matter the quality.
You Like To Really Sink Into Your Mattress– This mattress is made with high-density memory foam. As such, it has a strong sense of stability and you don’t get the feeling of sinking into the mattress. You feel that you are sleeping on the mattress rather than in the mattress. I prefer this, but you may prefer that super plush feeling that a softer mattress provides. Want to see the full specs of the mattress? You can see that the mattress behaves much like a high-quality memory foam mattress, as expected. The foam is fairly slow to respond, similar to what you would expect from a Tempurpedic. This is the medium firm option shown in the video, Loom & Leaf also offers a firm option. Unless you are a stomach sleeper or prefer a very firm mattress, I would go with the medium firm mattress. What Are The Main Things You Should Know About The Construction? High-Quality Memory Foam– The mattress uses 5lb memory foam that is plant-based. The density and quality compares favorably to some of the mid-range Tempur-Pedic models.
Organic Cotton Cover– They used organic cotton and it is really soft and nice to the touch. You probably don’t think that much about the cover when you consider a mattress, but this is a really nice touch that gives the extra feeling of luxury. Gel Layer– There is a gel layer on top of the memory foam. This keep the mattress cool and comfortable (in my experience). I would encourage you to look at the specs of the mattress and compare them with the specs of other top memory foam options. There’s a few objective measures of comparison that make Loom & Leaf an interesting purchase. One Thing That Is Very Unique To Loom And Leaf Is The Cool Sleeping Surface Most agree that sleeping on a bed that feels hot is not comfortable at all. I’ve personally had some terrible nights of sleep while at a hotel or a friend’s place because the mattresses generated too much heat. Unfortunately, some memory foam mattresses experience this effect because of the way they are constructed.
There’s a lot of debate about what companies can do that will actually keep a mattress cool. Some companies will have a spiffy name for some system that is meant to have you think their mattresses will be extra cool at night. In my experience, the two ways to keep a mattress cool are to include a gel-laminated layer within the foam or to use bio-based foams. Studies back up this claim too. Loom & Leaf has both of these features, and from my experience, the sleep surface is very cool and comfortable. As expected of a high quality memory foam mattress, Loom & Leaf does very well in the motion transfer test. This mattress should be a good option if you are sleeping with a partner (especially if they move around a lot during the night). Is Their Claim About All The Cost Savings You Get Accurate? The claim the company makes about its mattress is that you get for $999 a mattress that would cost 2 to 3 times that amount at a retail store. After examining this claim and understanding how the traditional retailer business model works, this claim actually is true.
There are so many costs involved in the retail model that get eliminated with the online business model. The Loom and Leaf mattress really does present an enticing value by removing the physical retailer aspect of the sale. But Isn’t Buying A Mattress Online Risky? This issue always comes up. In this case, you can’t try the mattress out beforehand, but you do get a 75-day risk-free trial period. That’s more than enough time to figure out whether you like the mattress (typically you’ll know after 1-2 weeks). From there, if you don’t like the mattress, you can just send it back. Doesn’t sound like much of a risk to me, especially when you consider all the cost savings you are getting from buying online.No, it’s not risky. So Do You Recommend Their Mattress? I enjoyed the mattress, but it’s definitely not for everyone. If you understand or are used to memory foam, you will love this mattress. If you are looking at Tempur-Pedic or another higher-end memory foam provider, Loom & Leaf provides a great way to get similar benefits of Tempur-Pedic but at a much lower price.