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If you think shopping for a car is an ordeal, wait until the next time you shop for a mattress. Sure, you can sit on a mattress, maybe even take it home for a 30-day "test drive." But try to peek at its innards and you'll be thrown out of the showroom. Worse still, while a Ford Taurus is a Ford Taurus nationwide, the names of essentially identical mattresses--called "comparables" by the industry--often differ from store to store.
What's available?
While you can buy a mattress filled with water, foam, or air, inner spring mattresses--named for their coiled steel springs sandwiched between layers of padding--remain the most widely bought type. The padding, identical on top and bottom so you can flip the mattress, is usually made of several materials,including polyurethane foam, puffed-up polyester, or cotton batting. Mattresses used to be about 7 inches thick; now they're 9 to 15 inches. Such mattresses require sheets dubbed "deep pocketed," "high profile," or "high contour."
Sealy, Serta, and Simmons account for nearly three of every four mattresses sold, but there are more than 35 other brands. The big makers offer no-frills models, but most people are more familiar with their flagship lines: the Sealy Posturepedic, Simmons Beautyrest, and Serta PerfectSleeper. Independent bedding shops typically offer mattress sets from a manufacturer's national line. Major chains like Macy's and Sears and telephone-order sources like Dial-A-Mattress sell mattresses from those same manufacturers with names unique to the chain.
Comparables are supposed to share basic components, construction, and firmness, but may differ in color, fabric pattern, or quilting stitch. Mattress manufacturers make these little tweaks at the behest of retailers, who benefit by having a product they can call their own. Consumers are the losers, since they can't comparison-shop. This name game allows each retailer to vary the price of similar mattresses by hundreds of dollars. Not all manufacturers conduct business this way. Wisconsin-based Verlo, for example, makes and sells mattresses, each with a single moniker, at more than 60 of its own retail outlets in nine states.
While you can buy a mattress filled with water, foam, or air, inner spring mattresses--named for their coiled steel springs sandwiched between layers of padding--remain the most widely bought type. The padding, identical on top and bottom so you can flip the mattress, is usually made of several materials,including polyurethane foam, puffed-up polyester, or cotton batting. Mattresses used to be about 7 inches thick; now they're 9 to 15 inches. Such mattresses require sheets dubbed "deep pocketed," "high profile," or "high contour."
Sealy, Serta, and Simmons account for nearly three of every four mattresses sold, but there are more than 35 other brands. The big makers offer no-frills models, but most people are more familiar with their flagship lines: the Sealy Posturepedic, Simmons Beautyrest, and Serta PerfectSleeper. Independent bedding shops typically offer mattress sets from a manufacturer's national line. Major chains like Macy's and Sears and telephone-order sources like Dial-A-Mattress sell mattresses from those same manufacturers with names unique to the chain.
Comparables are supposed to share basic components, construction, and firmness, but may differ in color, fabric pattern, or quilting stitch. Mattress manufacturers make these little tweaks at the behest of retailers, who benefit by having a product they can call their own. Consumers are the losers, since they can't comparison-shop. This name game allows each retailer to vary the price of similar mattresses by hundreds of dollars. Not all manufacturers conduct business this way. Wisconsin-based Verlo, for example, makes and sells mattresses, each with a single moniker, at more than 60 of its own retail outlets in nine states.
Features to consider
You can't rip open a mattress and box spring, but most stores do have a cutaway or cross-section of at least some of the beds on display. Here's what to look for and ask about when assessing any sleep set:
Ticking is a mattress's outermost layer. On most models, the ticking is polyester or a cotton-polyester blend. Low-end mattresses may have vinyl ticking, which can eventually stretch and sag, but most materials should last the life of the mattress. As you pay more for a mattress, the ticking may havea more distinctive pattern. Fancier mattresses have damask ticking with the design woven into the fabric, not printed on it. Some also contain a bit of silk, which is more a marketing gimmick than anything else.
In most cases, quilting attaches a few layers of padding to the ticking. Stitch design varies and is largely an aesthetic consideration. Make sure stitches are uniform and unbroken; broken threads can allow the fabric toloosen and pucker. Top padding is generally polyurethane foam, with or withoutpolyester batting. Batting provides a uniform, soft feel but tends to lose its loft faster than does a soft foam.
Middle padding lies below the quilted layer and often starts with foam. Convoluted foam (shaped like an egg carton) feels softer than a straight slabof the same type of foam, and it spreads your weight over a wider surface area, which should make you more comfortable. Soft, resilient foams feel almost moist to the touch. Foams that feel dry or crunchy won't spring back as readily. Other padding often consists of garnetted cotton--thick wads of rough batting that provide loft but compress quickly--and more foam of varied thickness and density. In some mattresses, firmness differs in different areas. One side maybe firmer than the other, or a middle section may be firmer than the head orfoot. A "test nap" is the only way to tell if this kind of mattress is for you.
Insulation padding lies directly on the springs and prevents your feeling them. Commonly used insulators include coco pad, the fibrous matter from a coconut husk, and shoddy pad, pieces of fabric that are matted and often glued together. Coco pad, especially in more than one layer, makes a mattress stiffer. Plastic webbing, nonwoven fabric, or a metal grid directly atop the springs can help keep them from chewing the pad above.
Extra support is added to certain areas--at the edge, say, so you have a solid place to sit when you tie your shoes. If you want extra support at the head, foot, sides, or center, ask whether the mattress beefs up those areas by means of more closely spaced coils, slabs of stiff foam inserted between the coils, thicker wire, or extra springs.
Handles let you reposition the mattress on the box spring. They're not meant to support its full weight, which is why most warranties don't cover broken handles. Best are handles that go through the sides of the mattress and are anchored to the springs. Next-best are fabric handles sewn vertically to the tape edging of the mattress. Most common is the weakest design: handles that are inserted through the fabric and clipped to a plastic or metal strip.
Coils are the springs that support you. While coil design doesn't affect a mattress's ability to withstand use and abuse, it does shape the bed's overall "feel." The wire in springs comes in a range of thicknesses, or gauges. As a rule, the lower the gauge number, the thicker and stiffer the wire and the firmer the mattress. The higher the gauge number, the thinner the wire and the softer the mattress.
The foundation, commonly called a box spring, can be a plain, fiberboard-covered wooden frame, a wooden frame containing heavy-gauge springs, or even a metal frame with springs. A plain wooden frame, usually found with cheaper sleep sets, is adequate only if the wood is straight and free of cracks. What's more, placing a mattress atop a plain wooden frame can make the mattress seem harder than it actually is. Corner guards help keep the foundation's fabric from chafing against the metal corners of the bed frame.
You can't rip open a mattress and box spring, but most stores do have a cutaway or cross-section of at least some of the beds on display. Here's what to look for and ask about when assessing any sleep set:
Ticking is a mattress's outermost layer. On most models, the ticking is polyester or a cotton-polyester blend. Low-end mattresses may have vinyl ticking, which can eventually stretch and sag, but most materials should last the life of the mattress. As you pay more for a mattress, the ticking may havea more distinctive pattern. Fancier mattresses have damask ticking with the design woven into the fabric, not printed on it. Some also contain a bit of silk, which is more a marketing gimmick than anything else.
In most cases, quilting attaches a few layers of padding to the ticking. Stitch design varies and is largely an aesthetic consideration. Make sure stitches are uniform and unbroken; broken threads can allow the fabric toloosen and pucker. Top padding is generally polyurethane foam, with or withoutpolyester batting. Batting provides a uniform, soft feel but tends to lose its loft faster than does a soft foam.
Middle padding lies below the quilted layer and often starts with foam. Convoluted foam (shaped like an egg carton) feels softer than a straight slabof the same type of foam, and it spreads your weight over a wider surface area, which should make you more comfortable. Soft, resilient foams feel almost moist to the touch. Foams that feel dry or crunchy won't spring back as readily. Other padding often consists of garnetted cotton--thick wads of rough batting that provide loft but compress quickly--and more foam of varied thickness and density. In some mattresses, firmness differs in different areas. One side maybe firmer than the other, or a middle section may be firmer than the head orfoot. A "test nap" is the only way to tell if this kind of mattress is for you.
Insulation padding lies directly on the springs and prevents your feeling them. Commonly used insulators include coco pad, the fibrous matter from a coconut husk, and shoddy pad, pieces of fabric that are matted and often glued together. Coco pad, especially in more than one layer, makes a mattress stiffer. Plastic webbing, nonwoven fabric, or a metal grid directly atop the springs can help keep them from chewing the pad above.
Extra support is added to certain areas--at the edge, say, so you have a solid place to sit when you tie your shoes. If you want extra support at the head, foot, sides, or center, ask whether the mattress beefs up those areas by means of more closely spaced coils, slabs of stiff foam inserted between the coils, thicker wire, or extra springs.
Handles let you reposition the mattress on the box spring. They're not meant to support its full weight, which is why most warranties don't cover broken handles. Best are handles that go through the sides of the mattress and are anchored to the springs. Next-best are fabric handles sewn vertically to the tape edging of the mattress. Most common is the weakest design: handles that are inserted through the fabric and clipped to a plastic or metal strip.
Coils are the springs that support you. While coil design doesn't affect a mattress's ability to withstand use and abuse, it does shape the bed's overall "feel." The wire in springs comes in a range of thicknesses, or gauges. As a rule, the lower the gauge number, the thicker and stiffer the wire and the firmer the mattress. The higher the gauge number, the thinner the wire and the softer the mattress.
The foundation, commonly called a box spring, can be a plain, fiberboard-covered wooden frame, a wooden frame containing heavy-gauge springs, or even a metal frame with springs. A plain wooden frame, usually found with cheaper sleep sets, is adequate only if the wood is straight and free of cracks. What's more, placing a mattress atop a plain wooden frame can make the mattress seem harder than it actually is. Corner guards help keep the foundation's fabric from chafing against the metal corners of the bed frame.
Shopping Pitfalls
Ads make it seem as if buying a mattress is as simple as picking up the phone or waltzing into a store. As you might suspect, it may not be that simple. Some tactics we found: The bait and switch. Low-ball ads tout name-brand mattress sets for less than $40. What they don't tell you is that these cheap mattresses are from the manufacturer's inferior "promotional" or "subpremium"lines. Once you've bitten the hook, a salesperson is likely to steer you to a costlier, though sturdier, upgrade.
Slippery prices. Tags generally note a fictitious "listprice," which you should not dream of paying, and a much lower discount price. Often the discount price is negotiable, too.
'Blowout' sales. Ads make them seem rare, but they happen all the time. Furthermore, a bargain isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Original prices are virtually mythical.
Confusing jargon. You'll see mattresses classified as, say, premium, superpremium, ultrapremium, and luxury, and firmness levels described as pillowsoft, plush, cushion firm, and superfirm--or no firmness level at all. There can be dozens of variations within any line. Sealy, for instance, offers five quality levels at four firmness levels. The descriptions of quality and firmness levels vary by brand--one company's firm may be harder than another's extra firm--and should be used as only a rough guide within brands.
The bottomline: You can't rely on product labels to tell you which mattress will give you the desired feel.
Same name, different product. Product specifications and materials used can change at any time, though the model name remains the same. That means the floor sample in the showroom could be quite different from the mattress that arrives at your door.
Late deliveries. Many retailers promise you'll have your new mattress within 24 hours. But they don't always deliver. In our tests, many arrived 10 to 14 days late.
Ads make it seem as if buying a mattress is as simple as picking up the phone or waltzing into a store. As you might suspect, it may not be that simple. Some tactics we found: The bait and switch. Low-ball ads tout name-brand mattress sets for less than $40. What they don't tell you is that these cheap mattresses are from the manufacturer's inferior "promotional" or "subpremium"lines. Once you've bitten the hook, a salesperson is likely to steer you to a costlier, though sturdier, upgrade.
Slippery prices. Tags generally note a fictitious "listprice," which you should not dream of paying, and a much lower discount price. Often the discount price is negotiable, too.
'Blowout' sales. Ads make them seem rare, but they happen all the time. Furthermore, a bargain isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Original prices are virtually mythical.
Confusing jargon. You'll see mattresses classified as, say, premium, superpremium, ultrapremium, and luxury, and firmness levels described as pillowsoft, plush, cushion firm, and superfirm--or no firmness level at all. There can be dozens of variations within any line. Sealy, for instance, offers five quality levels at four firmness levels. The descriptions of quality and firmness levels vary by brand--one company's firm may be harder than another's extra firm--and should be used as only a rough guide within brands.
The bottomline: You can't rely on product labels to tell you which mattress will give you the desired feel.
Same name, different product. Product specifications and materials used can change at any time, though the model name remains the same. That means the floor sample in the showroom could be quite different from the mattress that arrives at your door.
Late deliveries. Many retailers promise you'll have your new mattress within 24 hours. But they don't always deliver. In our tests, many arrived 10 to 14 days late.
How to Choose
Performance differences. A firmer mattress won't resist permanent body sagging better than a softer mattress. A thicker mattress sags more than a thinner mattress. And because all the permanent compression is within the padding layers, not the springs, more padding equals more potential for sagging.
Before you even go shopping, make sure you need a new mattress. If your mattress is more than 10 years old, if it has formed annoying peaks, valleys,or lumps, or if you wake up stiff or sore, it's probably time for a new one. When you buy a mattress, buy a box spring, too; they perform as a unit. Putting a new mattress on an old box spring could void your warranty.
The only way to judge mattress comfort is to rest-test a variety of brands and models in the store. (If you buy by phone, of course, you'll have to do your testing at home - after having made sure you can exchange an unsatisfactory mattress.)
Here's how:
Lie down on the job. Although you may be a bit embarrassed, don't be afraid to give the mattress a trial run. Sales people expect you to. Try out your usual sleeping position, and bring your partner if you share a bed. Don't rush. If you can, spend about 10 minutes on each mattress. Wear casual, loose-fitting clothes and shoes that you can easily slip off.
Try several brands. See if you like the feel of a particular line. But be wary of salespeople who push one brand. Manufacturers offer retailers financial incentives (similar to factory-to-dealer rebates in the auto industry) to move inventory from time to time.
Choose the right firmness. A good mattress will gently support your body at all points. Although we could find no published scientific data on what type of mattress is best, orthopedic experts generally recommend the firmest mattress that you find comfortable.
Think big. If two of you are sleeping on a full-size mattress (about 53x75 inches), you might consider moving up to a queen-size (60x80 inches)--now the most popular size--or a king-size (76x80 inches). A sleeper typically shifts position 40 to 60 times a night. The bigger the bed, the less likely it is that you'll whack your partner as you shift. If you like a big bed but your hallways are too narrow to accommodate a queen- or king-size box spring (a mattress can always be bent slightly), request a "split," or two-piece, foundation. And don't be afraid to sleep on your decision. Invariably, ads for "super sales" urge you to act fast, but stores run sales regularly. For a small deposit--$10 at one of the stores our reporter visited--some will lock in the lower price even after a particular sale ends.
Recommendations. Once you've settled on the firmness and size you're most comfortable with, compare quality details and price from brand to brand and store to store. And never pay list price for a mattress. Sales are common, and deeper savings are often possible if you bargain. If you spend at least $450 for a twin-size mattress set, $600 for a full-size, $800 for a queen-size, and $1,000 for a king-size, you can get a quality, durable product. Spending more for a mattress gets you thicker padding, damask ticking, and perhaps a pillowtop--a cushion on both sleep surfaces that's filled with foam, wool, silk, or a down blend. Mattress-by-phone businesses usually offer rock-bottom prices, especially if you persist in seeking low quotes, but you buy the bed unseen and untried. Be sure you can exchange it.
Performance differences. A firmer mattress won't resist permanent body sagging better than a softer mattress. A thicker mattress sags more than a thinner mattress. And because all the permanent compression is within the padding layers, not the springs, more padding equals more potential for sagging.
Before you even go shopping, make sure you need a new mattress. If your mattress is more than 10 years old, if it has formed annoying peaks, valleys,or lumps, or if you wake up stiff or sore, it's probably time for a new one. When you buy a mattress, buy a box spring, too; they perform as a unit. Putting a new mattress on an old box spring could void your warranty.
The only way to judge mattress comfort is to rest-test a variety of brands and models in the store. (If you buy by phone, of course, you'll have to do your testing at home - after having made sure you can exchange an unsatisfactory mattress.)
Here's how:
Lie down on the job. Although you may be a bit embarrassed, don't be afraid to give the mattress a trial run. Sales people expect you to. Try out your usual sleeping position, and bring your partner if you share a bed. Don't rush. If you can, spend about 10 minutes on each mattress. Wear casual, loose-fitting clothes and shoes that you can easily slip off.
Try several brands. See if you like the feel of a particular line. But be wary of salespeople who push one brand. Manufacturers offer retailers financial incentives (similar to factory-to-dealer rebates in the auto industry) to move inventory from time to time.
Choose the right firmness. A good mattress will gently support your body at all points. Although we could find no published scientific data on what type of mattress is best, orthopedic experts generally recommend the firmest mattress that you find comfortable.
Think big. If two of you are sleeping on a full-size mattress (about 53x75 inches), you might consider moving up to a queen-size (60x80 inches)--now the most popular size--or a king-size (76x80 inches). A sleeper typically shifts position 40 to 60 times a night. The bigger the bed, the less likely it is that you'll whack your partner as you shift. If you like a big bed but your hallways are too narrow to accommodate a queen- or king-size box spring (a mattress can always be bent slightly), request a "split," or two-piece, foundation. And don't be afraid to sleep on your decision. Invariably, ads for "super sales" urge you to act fast, but stores run sales regularly. For a small deposit--$10 at one of the stores our reporter visited--some will lock in the lower price even after a particular sale ends.
Recommendations. Once you've settled on the firmness and size you're most comfortable with, compare quality details and price from brand to brand and store to store. And never pay list price for a mattress. Sales are common, and deeper savings are often possible if you bargain. If you spend at least $450 for a twin-size mattress set, $600 for a full-size, $800 for a queen-size, and $1,000 for a king-size, you can get a quality, durable product. Spending more for a mattress gets you thicker padding, damask ticking, and perhaps a pillowtop--a cushion on both sleep surfaces that's filled with foam, wool, silk, or a down blend. Mattress-by-phone businesses usually offer rock-bottom prices, especially if you persist in seeking low quotes, but you buy the bed unseen and untried. Be sure you can exchange it.
When to Replace Your Mattress
Your old mattress is more than 10 years old. It has formed annoying peaks, valleys, or lumps. You wake up stiff or sore.
Your old mattress is more than 10 years old. It has formed annoying peaks, valleys, or lumps. You wake up stiff or sore.