Hello Pete,
During hours of research, I found your blog then website. What a wealth of information you provide.
In an attempt to keep this short I will get to the nuts n bolts of my situation.
I am 52 years young 6’3 235 pounds with a Med history of minor lower back surgery and minor heart.
I am a side stomach sleeper.
My young cheerleader trophy wife (and junior high sweet heart she was a year younger) lol is 5’3 145 pounds with lower back issues arising. She is a side back sleeper / tosser.
We are both intrigued with lowering exposure to unnecessary allergens and chemicals.
After spending $3,500 on a Stearns and Foster 4 years ago and now looking for a new bed due to an exorbitant amount of sagging / poor sleep are frustrated.
We are looking for Quality plush comfort with great support with an adjustable base prefer head and foot lift “zero gravity” for decompression after long days.
I believe you get what you pay for our budget is $10,000 + for a king size combination of bed /frame / topper.......
So please explore/explain all options. If you have a need for follow up questions, please email.
I appreciate the service you provide especially in this day of paid reviews, coined responses, and unlimited trim levels /options.
Sincerely, Daniel
Hi Daniel,
My first piece of advice is to never tell a salesman you’re willing to spend that much money for this. You’ll end up spending all of it on a dog worse than that S&F.
We used to be a S&F retailer...back in the day when the were “The Cadillac of the Industry”. They had been that for several decades.
When Tempurpedic bought them in 2013, they turned into nothing more than expensive junk, literally, over night....thanks to the memory foam upholstery.
We stopped selling them, at that time, and had to go shopping at the industry trade shows for a high quality alternative.
All of the name brands have been sold and all are upholstering their mattresses with memory foam. So, it wasn’t easy find brands that have no memory foam in them.
Prior to the memory foam craze, that started 20 years ago, most mattresses were upholstered with polyurethane foam.
What we did find was better than expected.
A mattress company in Canada, Natura, uses Natural Talalay Latex and some polyurethane...with no memory foam.
Latex has been the best upholstery material for the last 100 years, but was too expensive for most mattress manufacturers to use and compete with brands using the lesser expensive polyurethane, which worked well.
Over the last 20 years, all latex mattresses have made a comeback.
And, more of it is being used by some manufacturers...although, not many.
A well made mattress, especially those upholstered with latex, last a very long time and produce extraordinary comfort.
Memory, by contrast, wears out quickly and loses its initial comfort even faster.
It is specifically designed to cause a mattress to need frequent replacing.
This result has created a boon for the mattress industry...selling more mattresses more frequently to the same people.
This is why almost every store is a sea of mattresses upholstered with memory foam.
There’s way more profit in selling mattresses upholstered with memory foam than in the old days when mattresses lasted 10-20 years.
Memory foam sleeps hot and once it starts to wear, throws off the natural alignment of the spine, causing back pain.
Memory foam is the only upholstery material that temperature sensitive.
As it warms from your body heat, it softens, allowing you to sink into it.
Of course, it’s the heavier torso part of the body that sinks the furthest, reducing blood flow to the extremities, causing numbness in the arms and legs.
And, as if all that weren’t bad enough, memory foam off gasses the toxic chemicals from which it’s made. Memory foam is a chemical soup, consisting of 61 different chemicals. A couple of the more toxic chemicals are formaldehyde and benzene.
(Just to add insult to injury)
So many manufacturers have gotten away with poisoning the consumer because there is no one policing the industry.
What once was a legitimate industry focused on making quality products, is now only consumed with profits.
The mattress I’m recommending for you and your wife if the same mattress my wife and I sleep on at home...it’s the best, most comfortable I could find. The Natura of Canada Greenspring Ultra Plush.
We’re each over 200 lbs. After having had this mattress for more than 5.5 years, it’s still in like new condition.
What’s more, I sleep and wake without back pain, despite having several disc problems in my back.
Here is a link to that mattress.
You’ll see it priced with an adjustable bed base that is also high quality.
And, you’ll notice that it doesn’t cost anywhere near the 10K you have earmarked for this purchase.
The Magniflex adjustable bed bases ship via UPS .
The mattress comes with white glove delivery, which includes set up in your bedroom and removal of your old mattress set and all packaging materials.
Delivery is free and there’s no sales tax.
Here’s a link to that Magniflex adjustable bed base.
(MATTRESS NOT INCLUDED)