Any Thoughts On Gardner Mattress (or Any Brand, Actually) Cotton/Wool Over Pocket Coil Mattress?
Mar 24, 2014 11:31 AM
Joined: Mar 24, 2014
Points: 2
I'm new to the forum (but have been poking around). We went to Gardner Mattress, which is located in Salem, where we live. They have a very good reputation.

 

 

 

We are looking for a mattress using pocket coils in order to isolate movement. We have been using a Simmons Beautyrest (I'm not sure of the exact model, but it was a pillow-topped model and has served us well.).  One note -- We're primarily side sleepers. My wife and I occasionally will sleep on our backs, while she, at times, sleeps on her stomach. I weigh about 225 lbs, and that seems to weigh into choice of support material. I have been getting some back issues as I get older, so proper support and a good night's sleep is important.

 

Gardner offers three varieties of comfort layers over pocket coil innerspring mattresses -- Memory foam, talalay latex, or a cotton/wool. We have experience with none of these (I'm not sure what the Beautyrest is -- it was purchased about 13 years ago). I read that memory foam is potentially the warmest, and that's not good as far as my wife goes (getting the occasional night sweat thing). Latex seems pretty bouncy in comparison to what we're on, though it seems pretty good for side sleeping. Gardner does not apparently offer different firmnesses of latex -- only 2" or 3". Finally, they have a relatively new model, one they have only offered for 2 years -- a wool/cotton combination over the coils. The salesperson said that the cotton/wool is worked in and around another layer of coils.

This wool/cotton bed felt firmer than the latex ones, but there were more traditional mattresses in there that certainly felt firmer. The thing we noticed most, though, was that even though the salesroom was climate controlled, you could feel a bit of warmth reflecting back while on the latex bed. On the wool/cotton bed, it remained cool the entire time. The difference was definitely noticeable (and yes, they have cutaways so you can see all of the holes drilled into the latext). Incidentally, the cotton/wool mattress was absolutely the best at isolating movement from the other person on the bed. The latex wasn't bad, but you could feel a bit of movement when the other person moved.

The salesperson could not say anything about the durability and longevity of the cotton/wool mattress since they have only been making it for 2 years. Their retail on the 2" latex over pocket coil Queen size mattress is $1700, I think the 3" latex over pocket coils is $1900, while the cotton/wool over pocket coils Queen is $2000. Not cheap (yet I know that there are more expensive mattresses to be had). They offer a 10 year non-prorated warranty on all but their least expensive mattresses, but I asked what exactly that would cover with the cotton/wool one and the salesperson couldn't say exactly. He recommended I talk with the general manager, who would probably know more. (By the way, as an aside, I heard this salesperson say to another couple that they use talalay latex because it's 100% natural whereas dunlop is partially synthetic -- I know that's inherently wrong.).

All of their pocket coil innerspring mattresses are one-sided, that is they will need to be rotated, but can't be flipped (I have seen other, similar designs from other high end companies which are dual sided). Gardner does make dual-sided mattresses, just not any of the pocket coiled ones. (and they use 15.5 gauge for their pocketed coils, FYI)

Here's my query:

I see many write-ups of people who have memory foam or latex mattresses of some sort, but it's hard to find many users of cotton/wool over innerspring. The few I have read mention how temperature regulating wool can be, that it allows perspiration to pass through easily, that it can compress down over time making it a bit firmer (which is the opposite of most beds which seem to get less firm).  Can anyone who uses this style mattress (from any brand, I suppose) chime in on their experience? It would also be particularly useful if you also have experience with latex.

Another thing of which I'm leery -- regarding dust mites, I read on some mattress-related pages (particularly those touting their mattresses using wool) that wool has a natural ability to either repel dust mites or at least not encourage them, either due to the lanolin or lack of ability to hold moisture. On the other hand, I have also seen websites, particularly on medical oriented websites, that say to get rid of any wool related bedding, that wool can be a haven for dust times. Confusing? You betcha. Those different pages seem to be absolutely contradictory.

In the long run, I can see the relatively cool sleep temperature of the cotton/wool over pocket coil mattress being a really good thing. The slight warmth after spending a few minutes on the latex would concern me if we were sleeping on a warm evening without the benefit of air-conditioning. There may be holes in the latex for attempting air flow, but there is plenty of surface area in places without the holes, and that's going to absorb and reflect the heat.  Perhaps not as bad as memory foam, but the cotton/wool bed remained absolutely cool and felt the airiest.

$2000 is a lot of money for us, more than we have even spent on a mattress. In contrast, though, cotton/wool over pocket coil inner spring mattresses from some other companies can run from close to $3000 to more than double that (for instance, from ViSpring). Do we really need to spend all of this for a good night's sleep?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.

This message was modified Mar 24, 2014 by AnalogJ
Re: Any Thoughts On Gardner Mattress (or Any Brand, Actually) Cotton/Wool Over Pocket Coil Mattress?
Reply #1 Mar 25, 2014 7:32 AM
Joined: Mar 17, 2014
Points: 7
I do not have experience with cotton/wool in replacement of foams but I do have experience with Gardner's beds and latex in general.

 

The most important thing to note about Gardner is that their beds are much firmer when they arrive at your house than they are on the showroom floor. I first bought an open coil bed with 2" of latex and those coils were much too firm for me as a side sleeper. I switched it out for a pocket coil with 2" of latex and it was still quite firm but I put a 1" layer of foam on it and it was perfection. I am also a stomach sleeper so I crave the firmness of their mattresses and think Gardner makes the best spring mattress in the state.

i also have a bed from a different company that is 100% natural latex but it is not not talalay, it's continuous pour which is a method of dunlop. It is not warm at all. I have an organic wool/cotton cover on it and this may make a difference (?) Gardner gets their latex from Latex International and I would trust that more than memory foam to keep me cool. However talalay apparently breaks down faster than dunlop. If you didn't have too much latex on the springs this could still work for you. If it were too soft you could purchase a 1" topper somewhere. Better to build up than build down which is impossible.

the cotton/wool could be a good option because you'd be starting out firm as well and could add a topper.

i don't have knowledge about wool and dustmites but I personally would not worry about it with Gardner.

i also do not have experience with motion transfer issues as I don't have a sleeping partner.

all in all Gardner is a great bet though. I wouldn't bother going elsewhere unless you want to try organic bedding shops but i can't see that they would offer anything more than Gardner and you'd be spending another $1000. I may be wrong; you could try.

not all the salespeople at Gardner have an extreme amount of detailed knowledge so I talked to both Salem and Newton and between the two of those stores I got the information I needed. You might visit Eric in Newton and ask any questions you still have. You could also email from their main site and Kirk the main honcho there gets those emails. Some of those emails he passes off to Eric (especially given that Kirk I believe is on vacation and returning this week or next week.)

best wishes

This message was modified Mar 25, 2014 by LadyGrace
Re: Any Thoughts On Gardner Mattress (or Any Brand, Actually) Cotton/Wool Over Pocket Coil Mattress?
Reply #2 Mar 26, 2014 6:53 AM
Joined: Mar 24, 2014
Points: 2
Yes, Kirk was able to get me more information.  Interestingly, he personally dislikes latex mattresses as he finds them too hot.

There are differences with Gardner and other mattress manufactures in some respects. Yes, their quality is high given the money. He thinks manufacturers like Simmons have gone downhill in the last 15 years. He also acknowledges that manufacturers like ViSpring are on a whole other level of quality and they're not trying to compete. He mentions the amount of handwork in ViSpring mattresses in every aspect of the manufacturing, something that Gardner can't afford to do at their prices. Also, for the cotton/wool mattress, Gardner takes their standard pocket coil base, adds another 2" pocket coil layer, then adds two layers of cotton and one layer of wool. Some manufacturers such as Royal-Pedic might wrap the cotton fully with wool, and even do a 2-sided mattress. Gardner could do that, Kirk says, but it would add considerable weight, depth (already at about 11") and cost to the mattress, which retails for $1999 in a Queen size. We'll probably go in this direction.

Re: Any Thoughts On Gardner Mattress (or Any Brand, Actually) Cotton/Wool Over Pocket Coil Mattress?
Reply #3 Jun 11, 2014 11:27 AM
Joined: Mar 27, 2014
Points: 189
AnalogJ wrote:

Yes, Kirk was able to get me more information.  Interestingly, he personally dislikes latex mattresses as he finds them too hot.

 

There are differences with Gardner and other mattress manufactures in some respects. Yes, their quality is high given the money. He thinks manufacturers like Simmons have gone downhill in the last 15 years. He also acknowledges that manufacturers like ViSpring are on a whole other level of quality and they're not trying to compete. He mentions the amount of handwork in ViSpring mattresses in every aspect of the manufacturing, something that Gardner can't afford to do at their prices. Also, for the cotton/wool mattress, Gardner takes their standard pocket coil base, adds another 2" pocket coil layer, then adds two layers of cotton and one layer of wool. Some manufacturers such as Royal-Pedic might wrap the cotton fully with wool, and even do a 2-sided mattress. Gardner could do that, Kirk says, but it would add considerable weight, depth (already at about 11") and cost to the mattress, which retails for $1999 in a Queen size. We'll probably go in this direction.


AnalogJ.  What did you decide to do?  How did it work out?  Mattdud

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