I was in the need for a new bed and I decided to splurge a little and get a memory foam mattress. I have been researching foam mattress online for quite a while and have heard mostly good things about visco-elastic memory foam mattresses. All was good with these except for the price. Lucky for me my new job gave us Costco memberships…so I checked out there site and saw that they had Novaform Memory Foam mattresses in their online catalog. With a little bit more research I decided to purchase one. I would have gotten it right from the costco store, but they only had queen size beds, and I wanted to stick with a full/double size since all of my bedding was already that size. I waiting until the conversion rate between the US and Canada favored the US dollar and ordered the Novaform mattress online at costco. The price was 669.99 plus taxes Canadian, and it included shipping. Include PST and GST and the price was up around $100 more…still a bargain for a memory foam mattress regardless of brand or store!
Costco had good email communication and shipped the mattress the next day. 2 days later it was scheduled for delivery and I was ready to get the mattress. My excitement quickly turned into rage once I found out the douchebag driver at UPS decided not to drop it off that Friday night when it was scheduled. Of course here in Canada they do not do fuck all on the weekend, so I had to wait until Monday to sleep in this new memory foam bed. Well Monday I go to work and the Novaform was delivered. It comes in a giant box, it was like 3.5 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet and weighed around 80 lbs. If you purchase the queen sized bed at a costco store the price is a bit cheaper (no shipping) and it comes in a sweet box with a metal frame on the bottom with casters so you can roll it around. Well I lug this bitch into my bedroom, open the box…Inside there is this giant mylar/tinfoil looking bag that is vacuum sealed around the foam mattress. I read the instruction and carefully cut this open.
Inside is another bag containing the mattress and is also vacuum sealed. Well the second you cut this bag open it whistles as air is sucked in and the mattress starts to grow. I open it the rest of the way and the stick of toxic fumes hits my sinuses… I read reviews that the smell was intense for a few days and reminded people of gasoline…it smells more like paint thinner…and it is pretty strong. Well I unfold the bed and wait 24-36 hrs for it to completely grow. The smell goes away after a few days and the bed grows to its full 12″ thick size. For those of you that do not know the mattress is 12″ thick, 9″ of regular foam, and 3″ of high density heat sensitive memory foam. It is then covered in a removable cover. Now for the best part…the sleep. The bed is amazing, better than any bed I have ever slept on, it is firm yet soft and gives just enough support but had enough give in it to not make your neck or back hurt when you wake up. I also bought a Novaform memory foam pillow for 22 Canadian and the thing is equally brilliant.
If you cannot buy the bed, do yourself a favor and go to costco and buy the pillows…they are great. Overall the Novaform bed gets a solid 9 rating and probably a 10 for value, at least compared to other memory foam mattresses. I would be careful of the stink of the mattress and would not recommend getting it in the winter…wait until you can air the room out for a few days…the smell was STRONG, but it goes away and the sleep that you get is more than enough to make up for the smell. Another sweet feature is that if your partner gets up in the middle of the night, you sleep right through it. It is simple amazing. Do yourself a favor and go get one of these “space age” Novaform heat sensitive memory foam mattress at costco.I would personally say you have to look for a good mix comfort / strength and durability. A mattress that will hold your back and neck but also keep you comfty all night. The topper will not make the full work of supporting your body and thus you should look for at least a depth of 10 inches of full mattress.
uses, really hits the nail. They’ve spend a tremendous amount of time perfecting the surface with natural fabrics and connecting the different layers to make a very good place to sleep. They have followed the same Direct-To-Consumer model as the new tech-sleep companies, allowing them to sell at a very competitive price while delivering right to your door on an easy to carry box. Definitely worth checking them out. They currently sell in Mexico but are expanding rapidly Honestly speaking, not in the slightest.The only benefit of a mattress topper over a memory foam mattress[1] is it saves you a bit of cash (in the short term at least). However, the money saved is not going to win over the fact that your sleep, health and potentially your back will suffer because of it.If you are in need of a new mattress then take the financial hit and get one, they are worth every penny and once you begin to justify the potentially hefty price. For example, how important a mattress is to your health and sleep, the fact that they are long-term investments, expected to last at least 5 years, if not 10 years!
Also, mattress toppers are not going to solve any issues you may have, its like buying a cheap car that you know is going to breakdown, simply because you need to get from A to B.These days as well, with companies like Casper and other bed in a box brands, they’ve really hit the market well and now offer very good memory foam mattresses at quite reasonable prices. Wait a few months, save a bit more money and then buy a Tuft & Needle, Eve or Leesa mattress.Footnotes[1] 2017 Update - Best Memory Foam Mattresses of 2016 & 2017: ResultsTo briefly answer your question, I feel that a quality memory foam mattress topper with appropriate density can be better than a full memory foam mattress.I give a much lengthier explanation in this blog post where I discuss different types of mattresses. You can't put a price on a good night's sleep... or can you? If you're shopping for a new mattress, chances are you've noticed that there's a huge price difference between your basic innerspring mattress (starting at around $70) and a high-end memory foam mattress (the top-of-the-line Tempur-Pedic GrandBed costs up to $8,599).
While the cost can certainly be steep, memory foam mattresses have high owner satisfaction ratings: 81% of memory foam owners are satisfied with their mattress, while only 64% of traditional innerspring mattress owners say the same. But just because those owners are satisfied doesn't mean you will be, because what makes for a good night's sleep is very subjective. Let's look at general memory foam and Tempur-Pedic reviews, materials, and prices, to see what these mattresses offer. Then you can decide whether memory foam's cost makes sense for your budget. While innerspring mattresses are made up of metal coils covered with layers of fabric and padding, memory foam mattresses are made of polyurethane foam. The foam reacts to pressure and heat, conforming to your body when you lie down. Memory foam makers say this provides support while keeping your spine in proper alignment. For anyone suffering from back or other joint pain, memory foam can ease pressure points and may improve sleep.
Tempur-Pedic is generally recognized as the first company to make memory foam mattresses, and while there are lots of other choices for memory foam, its offerings are still considered the best on the market. But they're priced accordingly. Tempur-Pedic beds start at $1,199 for a twin-size Tempur-Cloud Prima and go up to $8,599 for a king-size GrandBed. On average, a queen-size Tempur-Pedic mattress will set you back $3,400, which is no small investment. But if you think memory foam is a good choice, you don't have to spend that much. Big mattress brands like Serta and Sealy offer their own memory foam mattresses that average around $1,850 for a queen. On the discount side, both Costco and IKEA offer lines of low-cost memory foam mattresses. Costco's mattresses are priced in line with Sealy and Serta, while IKEA has the bargain option, starting as low as $399 for a queen. But how do these stack up to a $3,400 Tempur-Pedic? Looking at the price ranges for these mattresses, you might be tempted to head to IKEA and pick up a low-cost mattress.
However, not all memory foam is made alike. Its density can be a key factor in the quality of the mattress; with higher-density memory foam, the mattress typically has a longer life span. The density of the foam may be measured by weight (how much a cubic foot of memory foam weighs). Low density is typically 3 pounds and under; medium, from 4 to 5 pounds; and high, higher than 5 pounds. Indentation load deflection (ILD or IFD) is another measurement you may come across, and refers to firmness. The higher the number, the firmer the foam. The trouble with comparing mattresses by their density is that different manufacturers will denote this differently or not at all. For example, Tempur-Pedic does not list any density ratings for its mattresses, though they typically run from 14 to 15 ILD, with densities estimated at 3 to 7 pounds. Alternately, IKEA specifically lists foam density on its website, even specifying the density of different layers of foam (typically from 1.7 to 3.1 pounds).
Furthermore, not all of them are made entirely of foam. Many mattresses, especially those at lower price points, only have a small layer of foam on top of a more traditional innerspring mattress. These may be advertised as foam mattresses, but a thin layer of foam, as little as an inch, won't give you the same benefits as an all-foam mattress. When shopping, pay attention to just how much foam a mattress contains. In addition to offering a comfortable night's sleep for those suffering from back or other joint pain, memory foam mattresses have other pluses. Traditional innerspring mattresses can be noisy, and any movement may be felt across the entire bed. If your bedmate is a restless sleeper, both of these things can be a problem. Memory foam is quiet and isolates motion, which can help you rest no matter what. But memory foam mattresses aren't perfect, either. Because they respond to body heat, they may warm up overnight; for some, they may be uncomfortably warm to sleep on.
Many manufacturers offer layers of gel on their foam mattresses to cool them, while Tempur-Pedic has its own cooling technology called SmartClimate and Tempur-Breeze. If heat is a concern, look for these features when shopping. Another complaint is that memory foam can be hard to move around on. Because you sink into the foam, shifting can be difficult. While that's an inconvenience for adults, it can be a serious problem for infants and small children. Manufacturers warn against leaving young children unattended on memory foam mattresses, since they may find it difficult to turn over, which can leave them in danger of suffocating. Electric blankets are another no-no where memory foam is concerned. Some say they are a fire hazard; others say that they can affect the temperature of the foam. Regardless, foam mattress manufacturers discourage using electric blankets. Because comfort is very much a matter of personal opinion, mattresses are a good product to check out in a showroom.
While this won't provide a perfect representation of what the mattress will be like once you take it home, it will give you an idea of how it feels. If you're testing memory foam mattresses, remember that they seem firmer when you initially lie down, so spend some time to see what they really feel like. Beyond that, look for mattresses with trial periods and good warranties. Tempur-Pedic offers one of the best you're likely to find, letting you try the mattress out at home for 90 days (if bought directly from the company), alongside a 10-year warranty. While you're still responsible for shipping costs if you decide Tempur-Pedic isn't for you, that's a lot better than being stuck with a $3,000 mattress that you don't like sleeping on. The 81% owner satisfaction rating we mentioned earlier covers owners of all brands of memory foam mattresses, not just the high-end Tempur-Pedic. While Tempur-Pedic does make quality memory foam mattresses with solid, high-density foam, even people who have more modestly priced memory foam mattresses are happy with them — and you might be, too.
If you think memory foam is the right mattress choice for you, find a local mattress store where you can try out a Tempur-Pedic mattress in person, as well as competing memory foam models from Sealy and Serta. Not everyone likes Tempur-Pedic's dense foam, so you may find you prefer softer foams or thinner layers of foam on lower-cost mattresses. And if the budget's tight but you really want that memory foam mattress, try IKEA, which offers mattresses made entirely of foam — rather than just thin layers of it — at more affordable prices. But bear in mind that a good mattress will last for 10 years. Even if you buy a $3,400 Tempur-Pedic, that comes out to less than a dollar a day over the life of the mattress. And if a Tempur-Pedic mattress feels comfortable to you, that's not a bad price for a decade of good sleep. Readers, what do you think about Tempur-Pedic and memory foam mattresses? If you have a Tempur-Pedic, do you find that it's worth the higher cost? Let us know in the comments below!