Great while they last...
Written: Apr 16 '01
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Pros: Very comfortable at first
Cons: Comfort doesn't last and mattress wears out quickly
The Bottom Line: The comfort and style is way above average. No question. However, I have to believe for the money they should last longer than three years. Can't recommend to a friend...
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| bareyb's Full Review: Spring Air Back Supporter Four Seasons Mattress |
I did quite a lot of research and testing of mattresses in my area and found the Spring Air to be by far the most comfortable and best buy for the money. Unfortunately, within a couple of years it had huge (we are talking three inch deep) body impressions in it. I called the Factory and they sent out a rep. No problem it was under warranty. They took it back and three weeks later I have the same mattress back with a "belly band" around the middle of it. Now it is as hard as a rock and I can easily feel the edges of the "belly band" with my knees, even through the padded mattress cover. I call Spring Air. No problem. They will credit me for the mattress and let me come to the factory and pick out a new one. Now I love these guys right? I am singing their praises to anyone who will listen. They deserve it. That is some serious commitment to customer service. We got to the factory meet with the area rep and sure enough, we walk out of there with a $4000.00 top of the line pillow top for about a thousand dollars after we discounted out credit from our original mattress. We are flying high and determined to love this mattress and never buy another one from any other company ever.
Well... it's been about 3 years now. I still think Spring Air is a great company, but dangit. The mattress looks like my Uncle's Hammock again! My back is killing me. I don't have the heart to go through the whole process again, so I have to finally admit, Spring Air's are the most comfortable new, but whatever they do to achieve that, it does not last more than about 3 years. At least not the Back Supporter line that has Foam in the Pillow Top or the Back Supporter Plush that uses several layers of foam near the surface. That's just not long enough I'm afraid. Especially at that price point.
Soooo... you have to look further than just how comfortable the mattress is in the store. Period. Being the good researchers we are, we look to real people who have owned one. Ask around to people who have had one for more than 3 years and see if theirs is still in good shape.
In all fairness to Spring Air I must say that in my research I have seen articles that clearly state the Pillow Top mattresses are much more prone to body impressions and sagging. It's just the nature of the beast and it's not just for Spring Air. I read an article that states that people are returning Pillow Top mattresses to all the major companies by the hundreds. More than any other design. So you might want to take that into consideration before condemning Spring Air as a whole. The major players are also starting to use better materials in the Pillow Tops themselves. Latex being the best choice as it will NOT matt down. At least not for it's lifespan of about 25 years. Unfortunately, you will only find Latex used in the very top of the line of all the major manufacturers (you know, the ones that all start with the letter "S") due to it's cost. Latex is not cheap. You may ask if Latex is so good, why they don't just make the whole bed out of Latex? Well. Actually some manufacturers do, such as Englander, King Koil and RoyalPedic. None of the "S" brands has done so yet. They are merely using it as a top layer in Pillow Tops, or as a Separate 4 inch Slab of Latex over Coils, such as in the top of the line Chatham and Wells and the Simmons Trident. Actually an industry insider was quoted as saying that most likely the manufacturers don't feel the American public is ready for a "no spring" mattress. He also said that a skeptical person may also feel that another reason Latex hasn't been fully embraced by the major players is because it simply lasts too long. We live in a renewable society and there isn't much money to be made on a mattress that lasts for 25 years. I mean let's face it. Why do people replace a mattress? Because they are sagging or have body impressions. Well. Latex Mattresses will have neither, at least not for a very long time. At any rate I am now considering a Latex based mattress instead. I will be sure to post a review when I have made my decision. There are several very good choices out there. A great resource for comparisons of all beds including the pros and cons of Latex beds is the forum at : www.whatsthebestmattress.com They are real people with real experiences much like here. To sum up, if your having problems with your mattresses wearing out quickly due to body impressions and sagging you may want to avoid a pillow top, or look for one that has Latex in the Pillow Top. Be especially wary of Spring Airs Back Supporter Pillow Tops that contain petroleum based foam rubber (standard foam) This may be wise to avoid in any brand since all synthetic foams will eventually squash down and stay down. Mattress hunting is tedious, especially since manufacturers rename the exact same mattress with different names for each distributor (making it hard to cross compare prices) but I feel it's worth it if you find one you really like. So far that hasn't happened for me, but I am hopeful Latex may be the answer this time!
Recommended:
No
Mattress Size: Queen
Mattress Firmness: Somewhat firm
Amount Paid (US$): 4000.00
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Epinions.com ID:
bareyb
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 - Top 1000 |
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 3 members
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