You’ve already weighed your options between memory foam, latex, airbeds, and innerspring mattresses. You’ve chosen to go with a memory foam bed, but you’re still not sure which brand is “the best bang for the buck.” Take it from me: you’re not alone! As a person who suffers from insomnia, sleep is hard to come by for me. I had spent years trying out various models that would provide me with the best night’s sleep.
Determining which brand is a tough decision to make, especially considering there are a variety of different ones out there. Luckily, I stumbled across the right brand accidently… and you probably wouldn’t believe where it came from!
1. Which brands don’t absorb heat?
In 2012, I purchased my first original Tempurpedic double. At the time, it was difficult to justify the expense… but sleep was a priority for me and I needed to find a better alternative to my old innerspring. Although I found the bed quite comfortable, there were some issues that left me restless most nights.
I frequently found myself waking up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, and regretting my choice to pay nearly $800+ more for a memory foam model. After a couple months, I finally couldn’t take it anymore and sold it to a nearby reseller. As far as I was concerned, I was completely done with memory foam. It was just too darn hot!
However, my opinion about memory foam absorbing heat changed completely when I slept at my cousin’s house a few years later. Apparently these brands and models absorb heat very differently. After having a great night’s sleep on one of the most comfortable mattresses I’ve ever rested on, I asked her which brand she had purchased. She told me she had found a model online called the “Luxuria” made by a company called Select Foam.
My response: Are you out of your mind?! How could you ever make an investment on something like this online without trying it out in person first? This leads me to the next important decision factor…
2. Which brands offer a trial period?
Select Foam offered her a 90-day free trial period. In the event that she was dissatisfied with her purchase, she could return it to their company and have her money refunded. Therefore, my cousin was willing to take the chance on Select Foam because they were confident that their model wouldn’t be returned. And they were right. To this day, she still has her Luxuria in her guest bedroom.
There are other brands out there that offer trial periods, but they can be hard to come by. If you’ve ever considered buying a mattress on Ebay or Amazon, you’re better off going directly to the vendor. Most of these “memory foam” beds are misleading because they put other substances in the foam that can severely damage the integrity of it over time. Thus, we need to consider durability.
3. Which brands last the longest?
Both Tempurpedic and Select Foam offer a 20-year warranty on their mattresses. You won’t find many models on Amazon or Ebay that offer a warranty this long, and you’ll see even fewer that offer one at all.
The reason why this is important is there are a lot of manufacturers that use other substances, such as clay and other fillers, when they produce their models. Over time, the clay breaks down quicker than the natural memory foam fibers and your bed begins to “sink” in, leaving depressions and an uneven surface.
Long-lasting durability is important for these types of mattresses because many of the “knock-offs” simply do not last. Finding the “cheaper alternative” on Ebay or at a local store can be a complete waste of time and money. This is why you must consider what type of warranty is being offered. If the brand you are looking at doesn’t have a legitimate and lengthy warranty, you may be better served looking elsewhere.
4. Which brands don’t “stink?”
In addition to heat and durability concerns, another major problem with a lot of memory foam is that it can smell… In fact, some of them can smell extremely awful. A few friends of mine who had purchased from other brands couldn’t sleep on their beds because theirs smelled like rotten eggs!
Neither my Tempurpedic nor Select Foam models had any type of smell. However, I did purchase a memory foam topper from Serta at one point that smelled absolutely horrible.
After doing a little investigating, I found out that this particular topper was made in China. You wouldn’t believe what some of these Chinese manufacturers use in their memory foam. Apparently, much of the material that they use is petroleum-based… and it made sense!
My topper smelled like a gas station and the smell never went away. Alternatively, Select Foam and Tempurpedic have more natural, plant-based materials that they use in their models. It became pretty clear to me that you need to look at where these brands are producing their beds, as well as what materials are being used in them. Remember: stay away from any memory foam that is petroleum-based!
With that being said, there’s still one more point that we need to cover. This is probably the one detail that you’ve already discovered: Cost!
5. Which brands offer the best value in terms of cost?
Sure, places like Ebay and Amazon offer memory foam mattresses and toppers at a huge discount. Yet as we already covered, the brands being offered on these types of websites are taking big short short-cuts to offer such “unbelievable” prices. They’re manufacturing in places like China, where they frequently use substances such as clay and petroleum that compromise the overall quality and integrity of their beds.
Tempurpedic is the market leader because it was the first major brand to gain exposure all those years ago. However, their beds tend to be VERY pricey. I spent close to $1,000 on my first mattress… Today, that same mattress goes for about $1,500. Why spend more when there are better alternatives?
From personal experience, the Select Foam model was the best value for me. Many of their models that are comparative to Tempurpedic go for about 50% the cost. It really is a no-brainer. Tempurpedic takes advantage of their exposure and brand affinity by upping their costs significantly. Can we necessarily blame them for that? No, but luckily we have the internet to help us conduct research and find the best values online.
Therefore, my recommendation would be to look at Select Foam when choosing your next memory foam mattress or topper. Through my experiences with other brands such as Tempurpedic and Serta, Select Foam had the superior value. Perhaps there are other solid brands out there though, which is why I’m offering my personal expertise on this matter…
My Recap
As you continue researching and browsing for more information about your upcoming purchase, remember to consider the following factors:
- Which brands don’t absorb heat?
- Which brands offer a trial period?
- Which brands last the longest?
- Which brands don’t “stink?”
- Which brands offer the best value in terms of cost?
It is my personal belief that you will find the best value by looking at the above factors when weighing your options, as I’ve personally been through 3 different brands of memory foam and they were all very different in quality/value. I hope that you have found my personal experiences with memory foam useful and will apply this information when deciding your next mattress purchase!
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