An Exercise In Frustration...And In Knowledge

Mr. Nina and I are the market for a new bed. I began the search a few weeks ago and to date, have probably logged close to 40 hours of online research and phone calls. The last 3 days, I've probably put in 1/3 of that time. My neck is really hurting me and I NEED A MASSAGE! Or at the very least, a truly comfortable bed.

We're on our third bed in 7 years, are desperately ready for a keeper, and are equally hesitant to make another purchase. Call it bed-buying-phobia disorder.

I've already posted about my experience with The Sleep Center here in Corvallis. Nightmare experience with them (two mattress sets), so we most definitely ruled out shopping with them right away. We ruled out the usual coil-spring mattresses. Never had a good experience with any of them. Not a real fan of air beds. I've had two waterbeds in my life (one bladder, one tube) and they're not supportive enough. This has left us with latex or foam/memory foam bed sets. I soon learned Latex is too expensive for our budget. I kind of stumbled onto an online site (by "accident") that sells a bed that has memory foam on top and latex foam for support. Or to be precise, 4" of 5.3 lb. density of visco elastic foam, 4" of high quality latex foam from Belgium plus 2.5" of orthopaedic foam, all enclosed in a bamboo pillow top. As of today, that is our choice. We will be testing out a tempur-pedic or sealy (or one of those "s" brands, I get them confused) memory foam mattress tomorrow to determine whether memory foam will be to our liking.

Research, research, research... Tempur-pedic is very expensive. After much research, I found out (obviously) there are comparable companies out there, selling top-of-the-line memory foam mattress sets. The company we finally narrowed it down to, Bragada, only sells direct to the customer, which means we will not find their products in any of the local retail stores. I'm ok with that, but it also means buying sight-unseen.

One thing I learned, opinions are like tongues. Everyone has one. I've spoken with people in the foam industry and have received a variety of opinions, many of them conflicting. I've read countless opinions and reviews. With memory foam, people seem to either love it or hate it. There is very little middle ground, which is frustrating for a shopper.

I've learned about things such as density, the types of foam, IDL, or Indentation Load Deflection and it's corresponding 10-16 rating, the higher the number the higher the foam density, the types of latex, and how memory foam was developed. (Yes, NASA engineers were the first to design this product, however, unlike what Tempur-Pedic wants you to believe, NASA does not endorse any memory foam product. And Tempur-Pedic doesn't have the patent on 5.3 lb. visco elastic memory foam either. I found out the reason why their products are more expensive is because they import their foam from Sweden and they pay a ton in advertising/marketing. And hey, let's face it, many people will pay more for a recognizable label, too.) And it's important to make sure you stay away from ANY company that imports foam from China. This isn't meant to be taken as a joke meaning, no, there is no lead in their foam. But their foams often have very noxious chemicals that are banned in the states.

I've also learned a lot about warranties. There is a lot of "lifetime" warranties out there, all of them pro-rated. One company won't honor the warranty if there isn't proper support for the mattress. What's proper? Who defines that?

Let me tell you, when I contacted Bragada customer service, I had a ton of questions. The young man I spoke with was very patient, very informative. It was actually he who advised us to go lie on a tempur-pedic or similar memory foam bed for at least 15 minutes and see how we liked it before ordering. How is that for honesty? I appreciated that, given the fact that there's a chance we may just love the bed we lay on and buy it.

So as of this moment, my head is spinning and I must say, put a fork in me. I am (oh so hopefully) done shopping for a mattress. I'm putting faith into the idea that we'll both enjoy the experience of lying on a memory foam mattress and will thus rush home (or stay at the store), place the order, and await delivery.