TOPIC:

Need some assistance.
Before discovering your website we purchased a PranaSleep - Lotus-Plush queen mattress from our local distributor. We took our time and found one that felt right and would seem to help our (wife and myself) lower back pains. It didn't take much more than 12 months before I was sleeping in a crater because the mattress lost nearly all of its support. Like you have written previously that these mattresses retain enough shape to not look like they have sunk more than 1.5". The rep. came to our house and advised that it is within tolerance though acknowledged that it had lost "some" support. We paid $1100 for it and they offered us $800 in store credit for a new one - anything in the store.
This store sells all of the top brands: Serta, Sealy, Simmons, Stearns&Foster, Temperpedic, Restonic and of course Prana. I do not want another Prana and thinking that we should probably get a mattress with pocket coils this time. Just need to get some ideas of which of the brands I have mentioned should I check out.
I am 6' 3" and my wife is about 5' 5" and we are average in stature.
I really wish I would have seen this site earlier but I am stuck going back to get something that will last longer than 12 months. Would never recommend Prana to anybody in the future.
Thanks

Hello Rochester,

I always am somewhat upset with these types of stories as unfortunately they are far to common throughout the industry. You are in a difficult position with a mattress which is not really suitable for sleeping on any more and yet it has just enough resilience left with no weight on the mattress to fall under the warranty exclusion.

Unfortunately ... you are somewhat "trapped" into getting a replacement from a store that carries mattresses which IMO have very poor value. Sealy, Simmons, and Serta all make mattresses with more than an inch of cheap soft polyfoam on top which is a recipe for a repeat of what you are facing now. The few that don't (such as the memory foam mattresses they make) also have poor value compared to many alternatives. Tempurpedic is high quality but also poor value. Pranasleep makes some high quality latex mattresses but they are way overpriced and poor value IMO. Redbed all have too much polyfoam on top and are IMO overpriced an poor value as well. Restonic does make some higher quality better value latex mattresses in comparison to other national brands but whether a particular model was worth buying would depend on which licensee made it (each area often makes them differently), what was in it, how much polyfoam it had on top, and of course what the selling price was. Clare bedding is one of my favorite Restonic licensees and makes their healthrest mattresses without any polyfoam and has great specs on their site for all their Restonic mattresses for reference.
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In other words ... there isn't a single mattress in the store I would normally consider.

Perhaps the best choice would be to buy the firmest lower cost mattress that they make with the least polyfoam on top and then to purchase a topper to make your own comfort layer (how thick and what type would depend on your preferences, weight, and sleeping position). They don't list the specs of their Erie, Huron, or Ontario firm so I don't know which of these would offer a good quality innerspring with very little "cheap" polyfoam on top but they should be able to give you the specs of the layers of each. If you post them here I'd be happy to give you my opinion as to which may work best for you.

I wish I could give you better news and/or guidance but unfortunately I don't see many options with what they offer.

The only other advice I would give is not to be rushed into which you choose for a replacement and to look carefully at the materials and the layers before you choose.

Phoenix

Thanks Phoenix
That is some sobering news.
I may have some other options to think of as well. I am in the Rochester, NY area could you recommend some area mattress places we could check out as well?
Appreciate your assistance and your work in educating the public.

Hi Rochester,

www.jamestownmattress.com/ is an independent mattress manufacturer that sells factory direct. They are owned by a father and son ... both named Jim ... who are "mattress people" and build high quality mattresses with great value. I have talked with them on several occasions and was always impressed with the information they shared with me. They are open about how they build their mattresses (they have the specs on their site), knowledgeable, and very helpful. I would certainly make this my first stop over any other outlet I know of in your area.

Phoenix

Hi, Rochester,
We're also in Rochester, also suffering from back pain, and also found the Prana mattress to be comfortable in the store. Luckily, I found your comments before making any purchases. What did you end up with, and are you happy with it??
Many thanks,
Backtosleep

Hi backtosleep,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

I don’t know that Rochester will reply, as this thread is over five years old, but I’ll try to help a little with selecting a mattress in the Rochester area.

First, in case you haven’t found this already, some of the options or possibilities I'm aware of in and around the Rochester area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here ) are listed in post #11 here .

As for guidance on how to select a mattress, the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice ... and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best "match" for you in terms of "comfort", firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn't turn out as well as you hoped for, and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the "value" of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn't turn out as well as you hoped for).

Outside of PPP (which is the most important part of "value"), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can't see or "feel" and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new so I would always make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.

Outside of that, if you have other more specific questions, I’ll be happy to do my best to answer them for you.

Phoenix