An interesting video from Sleepyhead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wADDLy8pzXw&t=27s

networkn:

 

Part of the reason is that there is no practical way for people to try a mattress purchased second-hand, unlike a store, and they have no recourse if it's not what they thought it was, wasn't the right firmness etc.

 

This reminds me of something when I purchased mine in 2011 (see above). The dealer - from memory Beds R Us - had a 90-day or something return time. If it wasn't comfortable you could return it in that timeframe and swap it out, no questions asked. I recall this was indeed the case and they had no issues giving me a different mattress - the one I still have today.

quickymart:

 

I got a Sleepyhead Manuka Medium (from their Chiropractic range) in 2011. It was a bit uncomfortable at first as I'd never really slept on a firm mattress before, but gradually my body got used to it and I started sleeping really well.

 

Times have changed though and I think it's time for a replacement now. I was hoping to get the same thing in a bigger size, but I imagine they don't make that range anymore. Sleepyhead have suggested a newer alternative however - https://www.bedsrus.co.nz/collections/chiropractic I just wonder it compares to what I have right now?

 

You can't easily buy a bed from the comfort of your home.

I'd also make sure you take a visit to Brownies if you are in Auckland. I was very impressed with them.

networkn:

 

Part of the reason is that there is no practical way for people to try a mattress purchased second-hand, unlike a store, and they have no recourse if it's not what they thought it was, wasn't the right firmness etc.

 

I wouldn't pay more than a fraction of the price for an unused mattress unless it was exactly the model and firmness I had tried in a store recently and knew exactly what I was getting. Even then I'd pay quite a bit less than the most discounted retail rate for no warranty or guarantee whatsoever.

 

Yeah, true. In my case it's brand new, and there are showrooms all over the country that carry that model so it can be tried. 

I agree private sale of a bed it's worth a lot less than from a store with a warranty. I think the cheapest I found it for new is $2200, but selling it for $400 just seems a bit lot. So I'll keep listing it on trademe I guess, or just sell it for sod all to get rid of it as the box is fairly big.

Had a look at Brownie's Mattress Direct but couldn't figure out what aligns with the chiropractic bed I have at the moment 😕

Even when you can try them in store, it really doesn't tell you how you'll feel after actually sleeping on them for a even a single night, let alone long term.

From what I can tell none of the major retailers offer any sort of at home trial these days, so unless there's a physical defect with the mattress you're likely to be shit out of luck if you find out you don't like it.

That's one of the reasons I don't particularly want a replacement King Koil and am trying the Winkl Lux (which does have a 120-night trial).

Wellington Beds have always had a good name. Had mine from there for over 5 years now and have no complaints.

3puttssuck:

An interesting video from Sleepyhead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wADDLy8pzXw&t=27s

 

Paul1977:

I nice video to make people think their poorly performing mattress has nothing wrong with it (in my opinion).

If this was true, why has my bed become less comfortable as it “settled”?

It’s like saying a feather pillow is more comfortable when compressed and flattened out than it is after being freshly fluffed up.

 

I think there is a heavy element of truth to it.

You expect your pillow top to mould to your body, for comfort. So long as the underlying support structure doesn't change, then you are likely OK.

Usually, the difference between a $5K and 8K is going to be the layers of comfort on the top, very little changes in the spring or coil or whatever magical name they give it this marketing cycle.

Beds are one thing in NZ that still cost a fortune and there are still wild margins on, clearly obvious by the fact they can drop 50-70% every alternate weekend.

Because people have such individual tastes, bodies, and environments, it makes it very hard to compare bed A to bed B, and so manufacturers who claim their beds $2K are equal to a 10K bed for comfort and more importantly, support, are hard to validate.

Very few people have the time or feel comfortable testing a bed for at least 30 minutes, in whatever position they sleep in. They might spend 5-10 minutes over 2-3 sessions, running between a variety of beds in a store, then move on to the next one. There is no objective way to evaluate.

Even reviews are often of limited value, one of the top and most respected bed reviewers on youtube, a few years ago, got caught out and then admitted to taking financial incentives to recommend particular beds. He made the bold claim that most of the bigger channels are doing it.

I agree with this, actually - there's a world of difference between laying down on a bed in the shop for 5-10 minutes (usually once) as opposed to spending about 8 hours a day laying down and sleeping on it, day in, day out.

Well. We're getting near the end of our Winkl "mattress in a box" trial, and it looks like we probably won't be keeping it. Comfort wise I don't really have any complaints, and it's great for virtually no partner disturbance. But it's too hot. Over winter it's been OK, but is sometimes too hot (like sleeping on an electric blanket) -  so over Summer I think it would be terrible for me.

Have done everything I can think of to help with temperature, different sheets, different mattress protector, increase airflow under mattress by removing fabric from bed base.

So that pretty much sends us back to the drawing board. Tried out a few in the weekend, and found this one quite comfortable (thought it would be too soft, but even though it was soft it felt very supportive). It's from the Sleepyhead Chiropractic HDX range, but since every retailer has "exclusive" models it's hard to find definitive info on specific models. As is always the case, it's 50% off the ridiculous list price.

But I just don't know...

I was here a few weeks ago: https://simplybedsnz.co.nz/ 

Their bedroom furniture range (headboards, split bases, tallboys etc) is quite impressive IMO, but I see most of their mattresses are King Koils and reading the comments earlier in this thread have kinda put me off them.

I think I'll stick with a Sleepyhead when I finally update my bed, just a pity Beds R Us don't have much range when it comes to additional bedroom furniture - plus their website isn't working properly at the moment either (for me anyway)?

Just remember support on all mattresses in the same range are the same, it's the amount and type of topper on top that gives you the soft, medium firm, plush settings.

Ideally, I'd get a new headboard, split base and tallboy from Simply Beds and just get the (Sleepyhead) mattress from Beds R Us...but I don't even know if this possible to do.

networkn:

 

quickymart:

 

I got a Sleepyhead Manuka Medium (from their Chiropractic range) in 2011. It was a bit uncomfortable at first as I'd never really slept on a firm mattress before, but gradually my body got used to it and I started sleeping really well.

 

Times have changed though and I think it's time for a replacement now. I was hoping to get the same thing in a bigger size, but I imagine they don't make that range anymore. Sleepyhead have suggested a newer alternative however - https://www.bedsrus.co.nz/collections/chiropractic I just wonder it compares to what I have right now?

 

 

You can't easily buy a bed from the comfort of your home.

 

I'd also make sure you take a visit to Brownies if you are in Auckland. I was very impressed with them.

 

You can if they have a free trial period . We got a latex mattress online which allowed us to trial it. To buy a similar latex matteress that was branded and from a retail store that was going to be about 4 times the price we paid.