Air Or Foam Beds

Anybody using a sleep number, temper-pedic, or other type of non-traditional bed? Wife is dead set on getting one of these and I want to know if anyone has had good results with one and what they would recommend.

I have a tempur-pedic. It's the best!

Was at crossgates mall today looking at them. Customer service at Brookstone was non-existant. Really turned me off but I'm still interested in getting opinions. How long have you had it and does the better half like it too?

Glad to see you back stokerscot!

sleep number - wouldn't go back to the temper - sweat - pedic -torture bed

Thought about that. Used to have a water bed. It was great in the winter time but could be sweaty in the summer without some extra padding.

We just got a sleep number and it's a 50/50 split. I'm not impressed but my husband is. We both have back issues - he had surgery about 18 months ago and has a metal apparatus implanted. He is sleeping better then before. Me, I still wake up stiff with some back pain. After about 6 hours it wakes me up. I keep adjusting the air but can't seem to get it right. For me it's not better then our old mattress was. It's not any worse either so we kept it. It's very frustrating. Oh, and I'm not all that happy with the quality of foam used to edge the platform. It's not very strong and I can see having to replace it in a couple of years. Forget sitting on the edge of the bed to put your socks on. The foam is not fastened to the platform so it slides all over. I discovered too late that there are other brand air beds on the internet that appear to be better made; more solid and less expensive. I think the sleep number bed air pockets are not deep enough for the lower numbers; at 35 I can feel the platform below my body. If I could do it over, I'd rethink the whole thing despite having been giving glowing testimonies from numerous friends. Just my opinion, Lisa

wlape3 wrote: Really turned me off but I'm still interested in getting opinions. How long have you had it and does the better half like it too.

We both think its the nuts. We've had it for 4 years. My arms and legs used to "fall asleep" and wake me up. Now we get deep full sleep.

You have to remember that people sleep in different positions and that has a lot to do with what type of bed you might buy.
I'm a tummy sleeper so nothing will do except a traditional bed, firm mattress with lots of nice firm pillows.
Wife now well she sleeps on her back and is dead to the world so it wouldn't matter to her what kind of bed as long as she is able to get up and down easy. We had a water bed and it was great until she had Chemo and that effected her sense of touch to the point that she couldn't lift herself over the waterbed's wood edge. Now she sleeps on a traditional bed same as me.
(Since her stint with cancer she sleeps in a king size bed and I sleep in a full size bed so she can move and roam if she wants. Least I can do after all she has been through.)


I forgot to add that we both use Kingsdown, bit pricey but worth it to us.

Best one I ever slept in was a natural latex mattress. Actually felt like it lifted me and I'm not tiny. There was a problem with the foundation and a minor quality problem with the mattress so I got a full refund. I intended to get another but in the 3 months that had lapsed, the store changed the models they carried and I ended up with a tempur-pedic. Got a fairly firm one so I don't sink in too far. It's nearly as comfortable, no complaints, but I'm hot if I can't arrange the blankets the way I want them, if you know what I mean.

Select Comfort here, I think it's great. I'd never go back to a traditional mattress. Yes, I agree the foam edging isn't that great, it's easier to sit on the edge of the bed with the mattress fully inflated, that's my only complaint.

lowfog01 wrote:We just got a sleep number and it's a 50/50 split. I'm not impressed but my husband is. We both have back issues - he had surgery about 18 months ago and has a metal apparatus implanted. He is sleeping better then before. Me, I still wake up stiff with some back pain. After about 6 hours it wakes me up. I keep adjusting the air but can't seem to get it right. For me it's not better then our old mattress was. It's not any worse either so we kept it. It's very frustrating. Oh, and I'm not all that happy with the quality of foam used to edge the platform. It's not very strong and I can see having to replace it in a couple of years. Forget sitting on the edge of the bed to put your socks on. The foam is not fastened to the platform so it slides all over. I discovered too late that there are other brand air beds on the internet that appear to be better made; more solid and less expensive. I think the sleep number bed air pockets are not deep enough for the lower numbers; at 35 I can feel the platform below my body. If I could do it over, I'd rethink the whole thing despite having been giving glowing testimonies from numerous friends. Just my opinion, Lisa

Thanks Lisa. My wife has the same issues. She's the one with the back problems and has fibromyalgia as well. She is also on the small side at 5' 3" and has trouble if the bed is too big or too deep.

We've done our homework and noticed there are several alternatives to Sleep Comfort and it is doubtful we will buy from them. My sister has had one for 10 years and swears by it (rather than at it) and so does her hubby. They are both big people and she has been comfortable through a pregnancy, kidney stones, and a few other things.

I bought the mid level Temper pedic about one year ago. Neat bed, but it is way too firm for me. Especially last night! What do I mean? The colder your bedroom, the more firm the bed will be. Low 60's, like sleeping on a stiff bail of hay. Other companies make the foam beds too. I love the concept of the memory foam but wish I had bought the cheaper *original model*.

Anyone want to buy a Temper Pedic Classic? Cost me nearly $2500 new. Queen sz. With premium frame & box spring.

That's why I like the Select Comfort, infinitely variable settings for firmness. I didn't get the "Whisper-Quiet" pump or the wireless remotes, I didn't think they were worth the extra money. I have the dual chamber queen size.

Mattresses are a very personal choice. I recommend you visit stores and take time to try various ones. In my opinion the reason there are so many offerings out there is that different people have different needs/preferences.

My wife and I started out looking at Sleep number beds but decided to try memory foam before buying. We ended up buying a memory foam unit from a department store (not Temper Pedic) and love it--that was about 5 years ago.

We bought the best Sealy True From Memory foam they offer. We liked it alot better than the tempur pedics, The warranty is better and the edaler we bought of sells both and he recommended this because I had concerns over the bed being warm in the summer. He said the Sealy's aren't near as warm. I'm always warm in the summer and to be honest I can't tell any difference between this memory foam one and our old bed which was justa standard coil bed. A couple of added benefits to the Sealy's they are slightly cheaper and the cover is machine washable and not dry clean only like the temper pedics.