I wanted to know if anyone on the Forum has tried out the Beckley Lambs Wool mattress.I know a couple of people own the Bristol and thought it was a very firm mattress that needed a topper for more comfort.I specifically want to know the difference in firmness of the Lambs wool VS the horsehair.Jeff

I haven't tried that one - but I did ask about it when I ordered the Bristol.  I was told basically, you don't want that - it is really, really soft..........well, with the amount of toppers I  have on the Bristol, maybe I did want that! He also said that they sold very few of them because they were so soft a mattress.

Confusedbedbug,Thanks for the info.Makes me wonder why Beckley is turning people away from the Lambswool when it is a higher priced mattress and probably more $$ in their pocket.Jeff

Anyone else have any Beckley pros or cons? I'd like to hear either way.Jeff

JCturboT,
I couldn't reply for a while because of trouble moving to the new forum, and I am not sure I can help with your question.  I did not try the lambs wool Beckley, but it was intriguing.  I agree with Bedbug that I wish we had gone softer, but having said that.....With the topper set up we have I can sleep comfortably on my back, sides and stomach on the Bristol firm.  Being able to sleep on my stomach was very important to me, and I don't think I could sleep on my stomach on a softer mattress.  This mattress is almost a year old and there is not a dent in it.  We tried six mattresses(all kinds including pocketed coils and latex) before this one.  The Beckley is the best of the lot and didn't cost any more than the Simmons that killed my back.  It is not the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on, but I was unable to buy those mattresses.  My mattress search is over.  At our age this could very well be the last mattress we ever buy.  Ugh!  That's a scary thought.  My advise to you would be to try the Beckleys first, if you can.  It is a gamble to buy sight unseen, but we did better with the untried Beckley than with all the mattresses we tried out.

I happened to catch a Martha Stewart episode this week where she was introducing her new line of linens for Macy's and showing people how to make a bed.  She said you start with a really good mattress and box spring and she had the Beckley there - this is where I first heard of Beckley, on Martha's website - and she proceeded to dress the bed.  She said this was a very firm bed and that she always put a mattress pad on it - what she showed looked quite thick and plush, and then her "secret" was to put on a thick feather bed.....she said you needed to fluff this up about once a month - my house - every night!  Memory foam is working much better on that front........It was quite interresting though and fun to hear the Beckley mentioned.             Oh, she also said the box spring absolutely must be covered - ah martha you'd be disappointed at my house - that little box spring peeks out a bit from the sleigh bed  --- whoops!

Agguh, ConfusedBedbug, I can't believe I missed Martha's Beckley bed making demo. Fortunately I found the video on her program web site (Set. 13). :o)

Click on Thursday Sept 13 show http://www.marthastewart.com

Hi there.  We bought the Beckley Bristol, and put their own down topper over it.  My backaches are gone, but we also found the mattress, even with their down topper to be a bit too firm on our joints.  We shopped, and also bought the 4 lb 2 " memory foam from Healthy Foundations. (same as bedbug.)  We like it very much, though I am still experimenting with my pillow situation, as we sink a bit more into the bed.  I have a question for all of you though.  After watching the Martha video- what sort of think cover could I put on the down topper that is not ornate, and will just fit over it, as it sheds a bunch of down each time it is moved?  Right now we have our main mattress cover over the down topper, which is over the bare memory foam , and then the mattress, and box springs.  I know if the down topper didn't shed as much, I would fluff it up more often.  Suggestions for a cover?

Thanks

HOw about a duvet cover of some sort?  Of if you are handy, sheets sewn together to just fit with a velcro or zippered opening so you can remove it when you want to?

I just took delivery of a firm Bristol queen with matching boxspring this past week.  I echo the comments of others here as I am quite surprised at the firmness.  Way too firm for a comfortable sleeping platform if you ask me. 

I am investigating different options for toppers.  The firm mattress does seem like it will be a great platform to build on but I must express my disappointment as I was not hoping to put a topper on at all.

Different options that have been recommended to me are the Hastens toppers, which need to be fluffed or tuffed every couple of weeks, or maybe a 2/3", 19ILD latex topper.  Any suggestions from others would be appreciated.

Thanks

goskers,
We have tried several topper options for our Beckley.  In our search for a good mattress we bought several toppers along the way.  We have tried them all in different combinations on the Beckley.  We have combined a latex topper with a memory foam topper underneath the Hastens topper.  That we too soft.  We have tried the latex topper under the Hastens and without the Hastens.  That was not soft enough, and latex does not agree with me.  The two best combos were the two inch memory foam topper on the mattress and memory foam topper under the Hastens, which is the one we have chosen to keep.  Just this morning I didn't want to get out of bed because I was so comfortable.  When the Hastens topper is newly fluffed the bed is grand.  I could sleep comfortably on this mattress with just the memory foam topper on it, but we are memory foam fans.

Beachlover,

I have spoken with a couple Hastens dealers regarding toppers and both have recommended a 3" latex with an ILD of 19.  Speaking with FSF, they don't recommend their soft (ILD 20-22) topper but rather the medium one.  I would love to go with just one topper as this could get really expensive really fast.  Of course, at the end of the day we are all searching for a great, repeatable sleep which will be different for everyone. 

Being able to stay away from the Hastens BJX topper would be great as that is 1350 alone.

goskers, I am not absolutely sure we would purchase the Hastens topper if we had it to do all over again, but I won't give it up, either.  We never tried three inches of Memory foam or latex on the mattress.  There is a  3 inch Sensus topper waiting in a closet if we do want to try.  I don't know what latex ild would work the best for your situation, but if it were me (and I could sleep on latex) I would go with the higher ild.  The Hastens is a firm topper and adds a feeling that is very unique.  It does cut down on the temperature response of the memory foam topper.  I believe you will be able to find the right comfort on your Beckley without having to purchase the Hastens topper.

Hmmmm...I don't think I've seen one review on the Forum (either new or old) that stated that the Beckley Bristol was just right,just the opposite.I really didn't want a topper on a mattress but it seems like it's a requirement for this mattress.Jeff

As far as I know all of the Beckleys on this forum have been the Bristol firm.  I wonder how we would have liked the Bristol medium firm or the Lambs wool.  This is a well built, good mattress, and I wish I could have tried the other options.  They might have been perfect without a topper.

Beachlover,I have read all the posts from the old forum (including the lengthy 11 page review) and the reviews all seem to echo one another,a well-made old fashioned designed mattress that is too firm by itself.A topper is pretty much a requirement with this mattress.This is not taking anything away from the mattress,especially for the price and a topper is a much easier thing to replace than another mattress.I would still like to test out this mattress in person and might just do that as I have a friend who just started a job in NYC.Jeff

I just wish McRoskey was still available at Design Lush as I wanted to try out both of these mattresses :( Jeff

I would echo what Beach Lover has to say about the Beckley and the toppers..and the Hastens topper for that matter.  We have really begun to enjoy this bed most now that we have added 2" of memory foam under the Hastens topper.  It is still firm, very supportive and comfortable.  I am just finishing up a not so lovely two days of a flu bug and I can say I was quite comfortable in that bed even with all my flu body aches.

We ended up removing the 1/2 wool topper - it just made things too soft and it has compressed over the past year, under the hips.  We are now in search of a mattress topper, cotton, that can protect the Hastens topper.  Likely we will end up with Hastens mattress pad which has elastic straps and can easily be moved to allow the topper to be fluffed up a bit.

I think you can do without the Hastens if you have a memory foam or latex topper of about 2".......deeper and depending on your size, you may sink in too much.  Feather beds are lovely if you can stand fluffing them up every day.

But, as Beach Lover says, there is something so nice about that Hastens topper over the memory foam combo, I think it still gives you more of the original feel of the Beckely with the horsehair and it takes away the heat factor of memory foam while leaving the luxurious sink in factor. 

I think we, as heavier folks, would have been better served by switching to a king bed with separate mattresses to allow for no motion transfer, as this is now the only  issue we have with the bed.  I think for the price you can get it at from the factory, it is a very good buy in a good firm mattress that will have many years of wear.  It is really  hard to know what a less firm verison would have been like, those who actually went to the showroom still bought firm and they told me that they sell mostly firm Bristols.  I wonder if, when less firm, it loses support and feels mushy or like you are rolling into the other person too much?

Bedbug- we did try both, and chose the Firm.  I was worried, and thought my husband would pick the medium firm- but he said no... the firm was just fine.  Of course- 5 months later he was the one that said he wanted some more padding on it for his joints.  We have the king, and it is better in regard to weight transfers- at least in regards to our old top of line simmons queen.

I still have to figure out the pillow situation now though, as we have the 2" memory foam.  Everynight I try something else, and still not happy. I still am having problems finding something suitable to go over the down topper. The down topper has the big elastic stays for the corners, and putting something over the topper would pose problems in stablizing it over the foam.  (unless I sewed my own corner elastic pieces..... um.. no.)

Hey very sleepy:  Would a elastic strapped mattress pad not work then?  You can place the straps over the down topper and the memory foam and nothing has to go overtop. 
We are looking at a very thin Hastens mattress pad that has elastic straps.  I've seen others online as well.
Beach Lover:  Do you place anything on top of your Hastens topper?

bedbug,
When we purchased the Hastens topper we bought the mattress protector.  It's a pretty good fit for the topper, but don't dry it because it will shrink.  I am not absolutely sure it is worth the money, but I have not looked for anything else.  The elastic straps fit neatly over the topper corners, and it is easy to take on and off.

Thanks, it does seem expensive, but then most 100% cotton protectors with straps seemed to be about the same money........yikes.

For anyone interested these are the prices I got from Tim at Beckley.

Dear Jeffrey,
The cost of a Bristol Mattress with divan boxspring is 1926,
Ashton is 1904,
York is 1946,
and a Lambs wool mattress with boxspring is 2226.
any other questions feel free to ask,
Tim

These are for the Queen sized mattress.

Jeff