My back is telling me we need a new mattress. Keep reading about memory foam mattresses. Anyone got one? Any recommendations?
I slept on one for a few weeks at a friend's house. After I got used to it I found it very comfortable and the only downside was that it was a little hot. When it came to renewing my own bed I thought about it but ended up buying another ViSpring which are fantastic beds and worth the crazy money. The memory foam seemed too much of a risk.
I have no experience of memory foam. What I do know is you get what you pay for. Last Christmas we went from a ~£500 mattress to a pocket sprung mattress with 5200 springs that cost £2000+. The difference is like night and day. A good quality, hand stitched, British made, pocket sprung mattress is incredibly supportive and comfortable.
Slept on one in a hotel room and had the best night's sleep of my life. Although this may have been down to leaving the 3 month old twins at home.
I bought a new bed recently and its an absolute minefield to try and workout what you are paying for. The conclusion I came to after much research was that Latex is far superior (and more expensive) than memory foam which as mentioned can be quite hot.
I ended up with a Slumberland Gold Seal Kingsize which is fantastic and just fitted in my £1k budget thanks to a local independent shop in cirencester that was selling them for a good price (cheaper than I found them on the internet). If you want to spend more dunlopillo are awesome beds. The aforementioned vispring beds are also very good and used in most london's top hotels.
If you are brave you get get a bed made for you from here:
http://www.factory-beds-direct.co.uk/
I had to be able to see it before I was buying it though. I did find the info on their website very useful.
I have one, its comfortable but I wish I hadn't bought it, it's too hot, it seems to reflect heat back and I like a cold bed. I seem to spend a lot of time searching for the cold spots.
I bought myself a memory foam mattress and as others have said they do make you feel a bit hotter than a conventional mattress.
I just use a lower tog quilt to help compensate. On the plus side they are very comfortable and supportive and don't require turning.
I don't think that you need to spend silly money on a memory foam mattress my double cost about £120 of ebay.
For comfort per pound spent I don't think you can beat them but having said that if money were no object i think I would go with a traditional one. But to achieve the same durability and comfort I think you would be looking at spending 5 times the amount.
We bought one that had a mattress cover on it in a special material that helps to regulate temprature (made for NASA accoding to the salesman.. :) ).Originally Posted by adrianw
Anyhow, we certainly don't find it too hot and it is very comfotable - once you get used to it.
We bought one 3 weeks ago and I'm having the best sleep that I can remember,as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm out cold until the alarm goes off and my back feels great whereas it was giving me a bit of stick on the old mattress.not cheap but worth every penny for me but the Mrs really can't get used to it at all
Cheers,Mick
We got a Tempur one a few years ago and find it the most comfortable mattress we have ever slept on. It did take some getting used to, as it seems hard and unyielding initially. A quick lie-down in a showroom won't give you a true picture of what it is like. You might want to find a try-before-you-buy deal somewhere.
It is very firm when cold, so takes a while to mould to your shape in the winter. Once warm though it is very insulating; there's always a nice warm patch to return to if you have to get up at night!
Bought 2 recently for some a single & double bed in each spare room, so they only get occasional use however everyone that has slept in them has found them extremely comfortable, and they were not that expensive, £250/£300 or so each
I have had a Tempur for a few years now. It cost me £950 in the sale. It took a bit of getting used to and can be warm. A lower tog duvet was the answer to overheating.
In it's defence with cost, I should point out the tempur came with a 15 year guarantee
I found mine too hot, plus after a while it got used to the shape of my body and didn't adapt when I turned on my side in the night. Result was backache.
I now have a Heals pocket sprung one and it's superb. I was lucky enough to get it new with a Heals bed for £500 all in on ebay. Definitely worth spending money on your mattress.
"A man of little significance"
Went through a similar scenario years ago - bad back and neck. Finally settled on a water bed. Moulds to your body instantly unlike foam and is so unbelievably comfortable. Comes with its own heating system so you can have it cool or warm as you choose and it stays at that temperature. Far superior to springs or foam. I wouldn't have anything else now.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
I think it's all down to personal preference... It's different for everyone.
I've used springs, water and (cheap) foam (not really memory tbh)
Cheap foam suits me the best by far as you don't 'sink' into it so much and it doesn't move when you do. I can't sleep on anything which is constantly shifting beneath me or doesn't support my back. But then I can quite happily sleep on a wooden floor
They don't work as far as I'm concerned, every morning I wake up and can't remember anything that happened in the night.... :lol:
We got one a couple of years ago and haven't regretted it for a second. We are always pleased to get back to our mattress when we've been sleep elsewhere for a few nights.
I think the mattress itself cost about £400. I can't remember the make, but it's not Tempur, which was about double the price.
Be aware that even memory foam comes in firm and soft varieties. We also have memory foam pillows and while I like mine quite firm, my wife prefers a softer one.
"I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked ... it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed."
We bought a Tempur about 6 months ago, and we love it. My wife and I have differing tastes for what constitutes a "good mattress" so the Tempur was a surprising purchase for me. We went to the shop, tried a few out, and she said "get the Tempur." It had a 30-day money-back guarantee, and came with free Tempur pillows.
Have not looked back-best mattress we've had bar none. I think a compromise *might* be a high-quality firm mattress with a thin, high-quality memory foam topper. However, IMHO the Tempur leaves all the rest behind.
I relish my sleep, and with a full OR schedule, and a month-old daughter, I crave every minute, and I'm asleep soon after my head hits the pillow on this bed.
i have a povket sprung with a memory foam topping and although it was expensive it was worth every penny. after all you spend a third of your life in your bed!!
in the summer my wife and I stayed at a great self catering cottage in Wales. We slept fantastically well and found out that we'd been sleeping on a memory foam mattress. Our mattress at home was due for renewal as we'd both been waking up with aching hips and backs so we took the plunge and bought a memory foam mattress and upsized to a king size bed whilst we were at it.
Pro's
Incredible comfy.
No backache at all.
No turning the mattress.
Bought some shaped memory foam pillows too which has drastically reduced my snoring according to the missus. I was oblivious to any snoring and just blame the cats :lol:
Con's
A bit too warm for me. I like getting into a cold bed and I don't like being too warm at night. We've still using a really thin summer duvet and I'm plenty warm enough. I was using just a cotton sheet in the summer.
Having said all that the wife likes a warm bed and is very content, although she didn't get on with the shaped pillow.
Sorry I've no idea what make the mattress is, it was bought with the bed of ebay so I doubt it's a high street brand.
Cheers,
Gary
We got one about 6 months ago.
Mixed reports here, I love it and don't have any back pains in the morning now. The wife isn't so keen, but when we got it, she was pregnant so guessing it's moulded to her pregnant shape rather than the current one!!
Malc
Dont think I could have one, my wife is very hot in bed :lol:
I talked the wife into a twin mattress waterbed (proper thing and cost a LOT of money ten years ago) she then moaned (?) about it until I got rid and THEN wanted to know why had we got rid? It was by far and away THE best bed I have ever owned.
We now have a pocket spring affair with a foam topping now and it is the second best.
I went for two single memory foam matress as I wanted it to be individual and so far so good, took about a week to get used to each other and now I sleep like a log.........I wake up covered in insects!
RIAC
Had a Tempur lookalike for a few years, on the plus side it was sooooooo comfortable. The downside was it was far too hot. Would I buy another? In a heart beat if they could turn down the heat or if I lived north of the Artic circle.
Definitely worth the money. The two things in life to spend money (beside watches :D ) on are your shoes, and a bed.
Rod
We have a memory foam topper, I can't really feel any benefit from the thing. Always hot in bed now because of it.
Tempur are not memory foam, that's a name given to cheap wannabes.
I have a very bad back, 3 prolapsed discs. Bought a £1300 Tempur and it's no exaggeration to say its been life changing. Getting a decent nights sleep is enough to make you cry with happiness.
Not strictly true - Tempur is the original memory foam mattress and is a high density visco-elastic memory foam - there is little difference except the make up of Tempur's foam may differ slightly.
I have a prolapsed disc from a bad bike crash over 20 years ago and some spine issues after falling down a flight of stairs a few years again - getting sleep, or even comfortable is a luxury!
I tried one for a while around 5 years ago - and I couldn't sleep on it properly 6 nights in 7- too warm for me and I move around a lot which is not what these mattresses are good for - as they take time to mould to your body each time you move - not something I can wait for.
My current mattress is a very large pocket spring with a memory topper with airflow supposedly to keep it cooler- it was slightly cheaper than the Tempur but suits me a lot better - still hotter than a normal mattress but worth the compromise to me. I manage a good night's sleep about one night in three - the rest of the time I just get up for 2 or 3 hours and try again.
It's just a matter of time...
They are memory foam, just hyped up a whole heap to cost far more than others.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
...because you are always in one or the other. :lol:
We have a cheap(ish) memory foam and I like it. Not too warm, or least I haven't noticed it being so, comfortable and quiet. Yes it takes a week or so to get used to, but every time I stay away in a hotel, I tend not to sleep so well now.
They are great
we have a latex mattress but my good lady thought it was a bit firm so we purchased a thick memory mattress topper.
problem solved. I would not go back to springs. in fact if we are away the thing we miss is our own bed. we have not found ours too hot.
you need to shop around and try out some before buying. Remember we use them every night for along time - having a good sleep is vital.
john
[quote=Chris_in_the_UK]They are memory foam, just hyped up a whole heap to cost far more than others.[/quote:31kz1aty]
I wish that were true-we tried a bunch of the others, and there IS a marked difference.
Perhaps there are some similar, but we've not found them. Tempur's makeup of their memory foam (density, weight, etc.) is simply superior to any other we tried.
Also, not sure if it's just with Tempur, or us, but we've also not found ours hot at all. It's really worth the price, as hard to hear as that might be. I certainly didn't want to pay it...
I have a Tempur Original 27 HD mattress and it's like sleeping on a cloud. I refute the fact that memory foam mattresses are alike, that's not true. A decent, deep Tempur mattress from their newer ranges (avoid the 17 inch depth ones you can get on ebay as those are discontinued hospital models and nowhere near as good as the 22/27 inch depth) and it's well worth it. I haven't noticed the heat - if that's an issue best go for a Hungarian Goose down duvet as that keeps things cooler.
Dunlopillo latex for me. Cost a lot but great mattress, I ditched the memory foam as it was too hot and my sweat stank it to death, :lol:
We have a topper and the wife has a pillow as well. She loves them, I'm not so keen - too hot, too firm - the pillow especially (for me) and I can't get used to the feeling.
I bought one from Ikea for a Super King. Cost something like £400. Ikea test them to death, and it's phenomenally comfortable.
Never would have thought about Ikea for a mattress until reading European reign magazine reviews. Saved me a grand over what I was otherwise about to buy.
Highly recommend giving them a try.
Ours was fine till it developed amnesia.
I bought mine about 6 years ago and it's fab. However, It's three quarters sprung and a quarter memory foam, then I've put a fairly thick mattress protector on the top of that to prevent me getting hot. Never had any issues too hot/cold and no more back ache. Perfect solution for me. It wasn't any more than about £400 at the time...
The same for me tend to sleep on my front and am a fidget apparently, prefer a good normal. We have tempur one so it's here for a while and the Mrs loves it
The wife of a friend of mine works for Tempur. On visiting their house, I sat on a Tempur sofa. Their child sat on a high chair with a Tempur booster pillow. My host sat on an easy-chair, entirely made from Tempur. I assume they had a Tempur mattress but I didn't feel the need to enquire. We went out for a cycle later, and to my amusement, my friend had a thick, luxurious, Tempur saddle cover :lol:
Pocket-spring fan myself, no problems. My kids have bamboo mattresses, which are really thin. When I tried these my first thought was "this is truly awful", and my second thought was "hopeless, will never work". I don't recall my third thought, as I drifted into a blissful sleep :)
I do think that whatever you go for, some decent sheets ( especially ), pillow cases and duvet-cover are quite essential. I cannot stand scratchy or hot unbreathable sheets, whatever the mattress.
Paul
A girlfriend had one and I loathed it. It seemed to sort of hold on to me and stop me rolling over in the night. The mattress, not the girlfriend.
I know someone else who bought one and couldnt get on with it, eventually getting rid of it and going back to a conventional mattress.
Mark
We got a Tempur a couple of years back and it originally felt like you were laying in a sort of thick clay as it moulded to your body, quite pleasant.
However after we have given it a good thrashing I don't think it is as good as it was new although I may have just got used to it.
We change our beds every three or four years as a matter of course but would probably get another.
Cheers,
Neil.
That reminds me of the other downside of foam matress, Jiggy Jiggy is not as good in it you dont get any bounce :-)
I have one but dont ask me if its any good
i cant remember"
We have a big, deep kingsize, and what we did was buy an 8" thick conventional mattress and then put a 12" memory foam one on top. It seems to work very well.
They do take a little getting used to, but I have never had a single ache or pain after a night's sleep on it.
So clever my foot fell off.
We have had a '' memry foam matress for about 4 years- love it and not too hot.
Think we paid about £550 for a double matress
If you are near Ikea they have a 90 day "love it or exchange it" policy on most mattresses. Don't know if they do memory foam version though.
I agree on the memory foam and conventional air sprung mattress combination. Sweet dreams!
There is nothing 'memory' about a Tempur or any other mattress, they remember nothing. Its just a clever word used by cheaper products thats all. Tempur are amazing things for many people, made a huge difference to me with a prolapsed disc, changed my life being able to sleep. So they are cheap for what they do. But it's clearly a very personal thing, guy posted earlier he has a prolapsed disc and can't sleep on one.
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