I live in the DFW area and may need to purchase a new king size mattress. Our current mattress is ten years old (no name, purchased from unclaimed freight and is just beginning to sag towards the middle. My wife feels like this is the reason she does not seem to get a good nights sleep. I have been having lower back pain as well but not until after I've gotten up in the morning and have been on my feet for a while. Incidently the pain usually goes away  by late afternoon.  

    Anyway what should I look for and from whom and how much should I expect to pay for a good quality mattress that will last at least as long as the last one? My wife seems to think we'll have to pay in the neighborghood of 1K$ for a decent mattress> I, on the other hand, would rather spend no more then 4-500$.    appreciate your help....JP

Bottom line:  don't spend $400 for a cheapo crappy mattress; your sleep will be teh suck.

If they have the Original Mattress Factory in your area, check them out -- their mattresses are awesome and reasonably priced.

I suffered thru mattress shopping a little over a year ago and learned a few things.

Most of the mattresses currently on the market are padded with different kinds of foam.  Most of these foams break down over time and you experience the problems you are currently having.  I would say that most foam mattresses in your preferred price range may not last as long as you like.  The "S" matresses (Sealy, Simmons, Serta, etc..) are prime examples of this type of construction.  

I found that there were several local manufactuers here in Oklahoma City that were still making mattresses the old fashioned way, padded with cotton.   The guy I bought my queen size from takes a very high quality coil mattress, pads it with 3 1/2" of cotton on each side (over 70 lbs of cotton in a queen size), covers each layer of cotton with a very thin foam casing and then tufts the mattress the old fashioned way.   He then puts this mattress on top of an old fashioned box spring (many/most of the mainstream manufacturers don't use a boxspring, they use a metal slat system that gives a tiny bit).  

The result is a mattress that should last a LONG time.  I paid $549 for mine.  

It might pay to shop around with the local manufacturers.   ALWAYS make sure whoever you purchase from has a comfort guarantee that will let you return the mattress within a reasonable amount of time.  

Good luck!  Matress shopping can be a nightmare.

The Mrs and I finally traded in the old POS mattress on a Sealy Posturepedic semi-memory foam.  Best thing since sliced bread.  Not the "Swedish sleep system" NASA one, but then next thing down.  MY GOD is that the best!  No more sore backs, we wake up feeling great!  Do yourself a favor and shop around and buy from a place that allows you to return one you hate and get a good one.  

Stearns & Foster cured my backache problem. 'Nuff said.

A couple of thoughts:

1. I slept on a Sleep Number bed for a week in a hotel. I thought it was a complete gimmick, and not nearly as comfortable as good conventional mattress. When you let the air out, it's a freaking hammock. It just sags in the middle.

2. My current mattress is a Simmons Back Care. I've had it 5-6 years, and it's time for a new one. It's sagging in the middle, and I can't flip it (only has padding on one side). Fucking $1200 California King sized piece of shit, if you ask me. It was wonderful for about a year.

Ive been looking this week. I checked out those sleep number beds..to me they just felt like a big balloon with an air pump attached.  And the salesman even admitted that they can get leaks but its no big deal since everything was made to be taken apart and put back together. And they only have a 2yr warrenty and after then its 8yr pro-rated. Plus the decent king was like 3400 bucks. The Temperpedic felt like I was sleeping in a ditch...
Im going with a Spring Air that runs about 1500......10yr complete warrenty.

Quoted: If they have the Original Mattress Factory in your area, check them out -- their mattresses are awesome and reasonably priced.

Another recommendation for OMF if you have one in the area. I purchased a Regency (middle of the line) twin and then an Orthopedic (top of the line) queen and have been satisfied both times. Also had friends purchase an Orthopedic king and they've also been quite happy as well. Prices are very good for what you get.

Not sure what TO buy in your area, but you really want to avoid the used ones with the big yellow stains

1.  Stay away from yard sales at the "Men's Shelter".

That's all I can say.

Quoted: Not sure what TO buy in your area, but you really want to avoid the used ones with the big yellow stains

so, you're speaking from experience I see

95% of matresses only one brand spring from legget & platt co.
I got a friend who ownms a furniture store who told me this....Of course I get king size pillow top matresses for $100.  so no incentive for him to lie to me.

After having slept on spring coil beds all my life, Mrs. Cheese and I bought a memory foam bed at a furniture store that was closing down.

By far, this is the best sleep I've had in years.  Trying to sleep on a coil bed mattress now just doesn't cut it.

Mattresses are really overpriced IMHO.  You might want to check out Dillard's.  Sometimes they run their mattresses on sale, and you can get an extra 10% off if you open a Dillard's card (I think up to $1000 or $2000 on the 10% off).

Mattress firm and Mattress Giants around here are like used car lots.  I avoid them like the plague.  You may want to check out Stacey's furniture in Grapevine.  Sometimes they will run their furniture with no sales tax on the tax free weekends.

You may also want to try some of the smaller furniture stores that take in furniture from the larger chains.  They sometimes have good deals.  Avoid the mattress firm's (IIRC) outlet store.  Their prices are teh suck.

you can't test out the mattress with the mrs while in the store

Each person is different as far as what feels 'comfortable', but I personally can't go wrong on an el-cheapo "foam" matress of relative firmness. They're also cheap, and infrequently stocked; we had to visit 3 matress places before we found one.

I bought a cheapo California king matress and box spring for $100 delivered from some guy in the paper selling mattresses. Brand new no name mattress all sealed in plastic. Probably a factory reject or something. Then I bought a 4 inch memory foam topper and a fat zip around feather bed/pillow top for that. Got some 1200 thread count sheets to go with it. Then a nice 1000 thread count Hungarian goose down comforter.

I'm in the whole thing for like $600 and the sheets and comforter were well over half tha cost.

Most incredible sleep I've ever gotten on probably the most comfortable bed I've ever tried. Anybody who spends a grand or even $500 on just a mattress is a sucker.

For a Queen size, I'd figure on $650-$950 for a good set.  My wife and I shopped for quite a while before we found the 'right' one, and now I'd have to go pull the sheet off to tell you what brand it is...

If it was less than $500 I would have to ask what was wrong with it.  I mean, you probably wouldn't buy a $500 car if you absolutely needed it to be 100% reliable to get you to and from work every day.

Our old mattress was a POS hand-me-down that had worn out years before we replaced it.  My sleep problems have gone WAY down since getting the new mattress, and my sleep quality has gone WAY up.  Splurge a little, meet your wife halfway, and spend about $800.  Spend some time shopping around to see what kind of firmness and what kind of top you want on it.  You'll be glad you did.

Jim

Quoted:     Anyway what should I look for and from whom and how much should I expect to pay for a good quality mattress that will last at least as long as the last one? My wife seems to think we'll have to pay in the neighborghood of 1K$ for a decent mattress> I, on the other hand, would rather spend no more then 4-500$.    appreciate your help....JP

I've got chronic back pain myself so I know what's going on there. I did some checking on a few of the options that were there and came to the conclusion that it's not necessarily the mattress itself, it's the amount of coils that you're going to be laying on. The more coils, the harder the surface. The few of which we had seen that actually were comfortable had been in the neighborhood of 720 coils I believe. I could actually lay on it and my back was supported with it's curve so that worked out ok.

There is one that is 810 coil which is pretty nice however it was too much for me though due to how my back is bowed - it's literally curved due to the damage that's been done from a car accident and over time. It's way better than it was but the curve is still there - at least now it doesn't look like you can shoot an arrow through it.

We went to a few places then went to one with the Tempur Pedic, I thought they were okay for awhile but about 10 minutes later I went nuts and had to get up, my back couldn't deal with it. Some look at that type of set up differently. As far as the Select Number, I can't answer that one. I've heard good things and bad things on that issue. Unfortunately the one that I have heard more than once is that when the air chamber goes, then it's a done product. Don't know how true that is but there again, that's just what I've been hearing from others.

The few beds that we came across were about $800 for the mattress and box spring set. The Tempur Pedic, that was crazy price; something like over $2 grand for the one that was decent anyway. There is no way I'm paying that kind of money for a bed. Less some inventor  comes up with a mattress and box spring that can make and unmake the sheets whenever I get up or am ready to go to sleep it ain't happening.  And I don't see any of that happening any time soon. Anyway...

Not sure if that's the info you wanted but for what it's worth, hope you can get what you're wanting.

Quoted: I bought a cheapo California king matress and box spring for $100 delivered from some guy in the paper selling mattresses. Brand new no name mattress all sealed in plastic. Probably a factory reject or something. Then I bought a 4 inch memory foam topper and a fat zip around feather bed/pillow top for that. Got some 1200 thread count sheets to go with it. Then a nice 1000 thread count Hungarian goose down comforter.

Do those toppers really make a difference? With me having back damage and issues of laying down it has been a consideration that's why I'm curious. From what I understand they can really be a good thing but at the same point, not sure if it's going to be worth the money to put out then find out that it wasn't cost effective ya know?

By the way, does anyone else get really irritated at the fact that, for the most part, NO ONE gives any sort of valid information on the recreational performance level for mattresses?

When mattress shopping, after hearing all about how many bowling balls you could drop on the mattress without disturbing a sleeping shar pei, I just wanted to say to the salesman "Look, Bob, thanks for all that info on this mattress, it sounds really nice, but what about the f*ing?  Do you have any mattress ratings for that?"  The only company that even hints at it is Tempur-Pedic, which usually at least has a couple of young, satisfied looking Swedes in the ads.

I mean, come on, don't you think they could do some good marketing with the Nookie Number?  

Quoted: By the way, does anyone else get really irritated at the fact that, for the most part, NO ONE gives any sort of valid information on the recreational performance level for mattresses? When mattress shopping, after hearing all about how many bowling balls you could drop on the mattress without disturbing a sleeping shar pei, I just wanted to say to the salesman "Look, Bob, thanks for all that info on this mattress, it sounds really nice, but what about the f*ing?  Do you have any mattress ratings for that?"  The only company that even hints at it is Tempur-Pedic, which usually at least has a couple of young, satisfied looking Swedes in the ads. I mean, come on, don't you think they could do some good marketing with the Nookie Number?

Quoted: Bottom line:  don't spend $400 for a cheapo crappy mattress; your sleep will be teh suck. If they have the Original Mattress Factory in your area, check them out -- their mattresses are awesome and reasonably priced.

Wife & I purchased 2 top of the line extra-long twins (can't get a king or queen upstairs) AND a middle of the road double for one of the kids for less than a middle of the road name brand queen a couple of years ago.  All are holding up well.  OMF well worth looking at.

Quoted: Stearns & Foster cured my backache problem. 'Nuff said.

I hate to say it, but if you've got aches and pains, then a good mattress is worth the money.  For me, that meant spending 1200.  If I had had the 2500 for a S&F I would have gotten one.  Some things in life you use a lot and they have a big impact on your quality of life.  Your matress is one of them.

Quoted: Quoted: By the way, does anyone else get really irritated at the fact that, for the most part, NO ONE gives any sort of valid information on the recreational performance level for mattresses? When mattress shopping, after hearing all about how many bowling balls you could drop on the mattress without disturbing a sleeping shar pei, I just wanted to say to the salesman "Look, Bob, thanks for all that info on this mattress, it sounds really nice, but what about the f*ing?  Do you have any mattress ratings for that?"  The only company that even hints at it is Tempur-Pedic, which usually at least has a couple of young, satisfied looking Swedes in the ads. I mean, come on, don't you think they could do some good marketing with the Nookie Number?

Ironically, the all foam mattresses are the worst for having sex because you sink to far in.  If the missus is on her back with her legs up in the air, then her introitus sinks below the foam.  If I'm on my knees then I sink straight down and I get no support because all my weight is on two small points.    

The toppers are good IMO. They have ratings such as 3/4/5/5.5 lb resistance ratings. IIRC Tempurpedics are 5.5 lb resistance rated. Yes thickness of these does matter, mines 3in. on a sturdy/hard surfaced (they were asking 800, I went to their warehouse and aquired it for under IIRC 400) mattress. They play the name mattressed game to confuse the already confused. The generic mattress superstores suck!

THANK YOU ARFCOM!!!!!!!  

I read this thread yesterday, and this morning after I woke up from another crappy sleep I read it again.  Then I went to the original mattress factory.  Saturday my new queen sized pillow top orthopedic mattress is going to be delivered.  The store was awesome, no B.S.  I wasn't sold on "special" features of questionable value, or anything.  They showed me the factory, the guts of the mattresses and what made them different.  I was encouraged to try out all the various ones and find one I liked.  I found two I couldn't decide between, and the salesman informed me I was in luck, as they were the same mattress, one with and the other without the pillow top!  
I have been putting this off for years, and now I hope it fixes some issues I have been putting up with.  I have always found arfcommers to steer me in the right direction, and this is no exception.  I didn't even bother shopping anywhere else, I just went in knowing I would get what I needed there.

I'm very happy with a Stearns & Foster Pillowtop, coil spring mattress.

The memory foam mattresses take a few minutes to warm up and give you a feel for why so many people like them, so if you're considering one,  give it a good couple minutes of lying on it before deciding against it.

Quoted: Do those toppers really make a difference? With me having back damage and issues of laying down it has been a consideration that's why I'm curious. From what I understand they can really be a good thing but at the same point, not sure if it's going to be worth the money to put out then find out that it wasn't cost effective ya know?

I can't speak to how they would or wouldn't help back problems since I don't have any. They do give you better support though, without being rigid. As an example, I CANNOT sleep on my back on any mattress I've ever owned. I also sleep for about 2 hours, wake up, fall back asleep for an hour, wake up, fall back asleep for 45 minutes all night. Never a restful sleep.

The first night I went to sleep on my memory foam topper I slept 7 hours straight without waking and woke up on my back. The memory foam lets the heavier parts of your body sink and stays firm under the curve in the small of your back.

IMO they are worth every penny but you need 4 inches or greater for it to be effective. They're only like $179 from overstcok in the 4 inch density, IIRC.

You guys with pains need to consider a Water Bed (not the bag type) I have what is considered a waveless quen size it ha 8 indivudal tubes each with foam in them. I had fusion of 3 disc & I can sleep without any problems cost was about $1500 but it has a lifetime warrenty