Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Sep 6, 2009 7:57 PM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
Can anyone explain this stuff from Stearns and Foster's web site? (  http://www.stearnsandfoster.com/Estate_Product.aspx )

They state:
"Divinely Indulgent Sleep Surface.
Working in tandem with our IntelliCoil design, our new proprietary cushioning materials (called Variable Response Technology®) give you relief where you feel the most pressure while you sleep: on your shoulders, hips and knees. No more tingly hands. No more painful backaches in the morning."

Sounds great, but I could not find any specs as to what their proprietary cushioning materials are. Is it PU foam? Is it at least HR or M-grade? or is just cheap PU? Or is there no pu, only latex? (I doubt that) Does proprietary mean they won't tell us, or does it mean only that they have a patent or something on it?

Also, they apparently make their own springs and their springs look interesting to say the least... but what gauge are they? . Are they individual pocket coils or regular type - more like Bonnell? Hard to tell from their description. I wonder how many coils per Queen...

Anyone who knows, I'd be curious of the above questions, particularly whether or not they use pu foam in them, and how much pu foam would be found in their firmer mattresses?
This message was modified Sep 6, 2009 by jimsocal
Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #14 Sep 14, 2009 4:53 PM
Joined: Sep 11, 2009
Points: 62
Alexander wrote:
The current Estate Stearns and Foster coil is not coil on coil. It's coil IN coil.

-Alex


It appears the link I got from google above is to their old design and no longer actively linked on their site (makes you wonder what else is hidden there).


Alex:   

  Question: Would you guess the permanent body depressions that started appearing within a year are attributable to a break down in the springs, or a break down in the foams used in the padding?

  And do you think the depressions will continue to get deeper and deeper, or the depressions have sunk to their natural level and the rest of the mattress won't because it doesn't get constantly used?
Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #15 Sep 14, 2009 5:06 PM
Joined: Aug 31, 2009
Points: 69
twalkman wrote:
It appears the link I got from google above is to their old design and no longer actively linked on their site (makes you wonder what else is hidden there).


Alex:   

  Question: Would you guess the permanent body depressions that started appearing within a year are attributable to a break down in the springs, or a break down in the foams used in the padding?

  And do you think the depressions will continue to get deeper and deeper, or the depressions have sunk to their natural level and the rest of the mattress won't because it doesn't get constantly used?



Twalk,

If I had to guess I'd say you have a King size mattress, yes?

-Alex

Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #16 Sep 14, 2009 8:37 PM
Joined: Sep 11, 2009
Points: 62
No, queen size.
Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #17 Sep 16, 2009 4:43 PM
Location: Yosemite area
Joined: Sep 10, 2008
Points: 249
Hey, Alex;
So, the S and F used coil ON coil before their re-design?  I never opened up that mattress, just gave that one year old, $1,850 one away.  I have seen coil ON coil recently, promoted like it is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Looks like a short pocket coil on top of some other coil. 
It really felt like the foam crapped out to me, tho.  First, the body impressions(king).  Then I slept in the middle for awhile.  Used my husband's side(he only is here a few nights a week so I can sleep wherever I want to most nights), then found myself curled all the way to the edge.  I finally figured this was NUTS when I woke to find myself curled around the very edge and across the top...last place that had any cush left.  That was very sad.
Kait
Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #18 Sep 16, 2009 7:41 PM
Joined: Sep 11, 2009
Points: 62
Hi Kait, if you look at the S&F picture from the link above you can see the coil on coil design. There is a thin padding layer between the two sets of coils. I'm wondering if that is what is giving way and causing the body impressions to form so quickly. Either that or the coil on coil design is just too unstable. All in all, it now seems like technology for marketing sake instead of a real improvement. Just more complexity that isn't needed.


Btw, I talked with someone at one of the well regarded companies that sells Talalay. He got very quiet when I mentioned I was considering opening opening the mattress and replacing the padding. He obviously thought I was nuts. When I asked why he said it is probably a spring problem not a padding problem. He said to keep sleeping on the mattress for another year or two until the mattress meets the warrantee requirements -- which made me think he was nuts.
Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #19 Sep 16, 2009 10:01 PM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
twalkman wrote:
Btw, I talked with someone at one of the well regarded companies that sells Talalay. He got very quiet when I mentioned I was considering opening opening the mattress and replacing the padding. He obviously thought I was nuts. When I asked why he said it is probably a spring problem not a padding problem. He said to keep sleeping on the mattress for another year or two until the mattress meets the warrantee requirements -- which made me think he was nuts.

I have had people at mattress stores look at me like I was nuts when I told them about opening up my mattress to replace the foam. I think it's funny. People seem to think that it's IMPOSSIBLE to open up a mattress and "fix it"!

I've recommended it to friends who have a mattress that is killing them but they don't want to spend the money on a new one... and in almost every case they decline to do it. It's like... it SCARES people to cut open a mattress!

Maybe they're afraid they are going to find a dead body... or a bicycle ... or god-knows- WHAT in there!
Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #20 Sep 16, 2009 10:16 PM
Joined: Aug 17, 2009
Points: 542
Remember my post where I told the story about a "long time big S manager" saying that they could hide a bicycle in a mattress and the average person would not know the difference.

For years, one of the old time scams, has been to get old mattresses and put new covers on them and sell them for new.

The principal and the primary reason that I purchased a bed today from FlowBeds was to be able to acquire a mattress where I knew exactly what was going into it, and had a great deal to say about what that something was. And if I don't like it within the first 90 days I can change it. Unzip the cover and switch it around to my heart's content. Zip the cover back on and you're in business. The truth is it's not that much more money than I was going to pay for a Stearns and Foster latex mattress that S&F will not say exactly what the contents of the mattress is. The big S mattress companies love their euphemistic terms for their various layers of foam. I do not like to do business this way, so I went elsewhere.
Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #21 Apr 1, 2010 12:14 PM
Joined: Apr 1, 2010
Points: 1
The Intellicoil are individual pocketed coils and their are 600 of them in a queen set, The only way that coil unit will benefit you is if you weigh over 430 pounds! Thats how much pressure it takes to go thru all the padding and get down to the inner coil, I have sold Sterns and Foster and this is by far the most beautiful line up they have ever had but their also the worst value out their, If your looking to spend that type of money I would suggest a Simmons Black Lable, I have sold them both for years and I have found that the blacks hold up a lot better and are much more benificial to your health.
Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #22 Apr 1, 2010 7:08 PM
Joined: Sep 3, 2007
Points: 71
eagle2 wrote:

Remember my post where I told the story about a "long time big S manager" saying that they could hide a bicycle in a mattress and the average person would not know the difference.

For years, one of the old time scams, has been to get old mattresses and put new covers on them and sell them for new.

The principal and the primary reason that I purchased a bed today from FlowBeds was to be able to acquire a mattress where I knew exactly what was going into it, and had a great deal to say about what that something was. And if I don't like it within the first 90 days I can change it. Unzip the cover and switch it around to my heart's content. Zip the cover back on and you're in business. The truth is it's not that much more money than I was going to pay for a Stearns and Foster latex mattress that S&F will not say exactly what the contents of the mattress is. The big S mattress companies love their euphemistic terms for their various layers of foam. I do not like to do business this way, so I went elsewhere.


From looking at the S&F website and also at the Sealy website I discovered that the latex in both mattresses is Synthetic.  I also asked two mattress stores and they said the

two companies use the Synthetic latex.. The only latex mattress in Ventura county and the Los Angeles /San Fernando I can find in a made up mattress that you can test

out is Englander.. So, from research on the internet I see there is a dispute about the durability of Synthetic latex... I do not want any memory foam...so, I notice not too many\

posters here anymore..  Anybody have any experience with the Synthetic Foam ??

Re: Curious about Stearns and Foster mattresses
Reply #23 Apr 1, 2010 7:20 PM
Location: L.A. area
Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Points: 1161
chelliep wrote:


From looking at the S&F website and also at the Sealy website I discovered that the latex in both mattresses is Synthetic.  I also asked two mattress stores and they said the

two companies use the Synthetic latex.. The only latex mattress in Ventura county and the Los Angeles /San Fernando I can find in a made up mattress that you can test

out is Englander.. So, from research on the internet I see there is a dispute about the durability of Synthetic latex... I do not want any memory foam...so, I notice not too many\

posters here anymore..  Anybody have any experience with the Synthetic Foam ??

 

I don't have experience with it, but our resident latex Expert, Budgy (look for his posts on latex) says that synthetic latex isn't so good and I believe him.

I forget the name but there's a place south of L.A. down in Orange County that has a store of all latex mattresses you can try out. Might be worth it to drive down there. I did but we thought they were too pricey for not having a good sleep trial policy, as I recall. Can't remember the name but if you say the name and the location I can tell you if that was it or not.

Where did you find the Englander to try? Do they have a sleep trial policy? (I know they did not, years ago, at the store near Hollywood that I tried one at.) (Which is why we did not buy there and went to Flobeds instead.)

It does not surprise me in the least that the S companies would take a great thing like natural latex or LI latex and then use that good name of "latex" and turn it into some crappy thing (synthetic latex) that they can make much more inexpensively.

As to the other post, I would never buy any individual pocket coils. They are just too prone towards migrating. They can even migrate when the movers bring them in your home from the store or from the truck. Simmons might be good IF the coils did not wear out relatively quickly and did not migrate... That's a big If in my humble opinion.

(By the way, to clarify, this is an old thread that I originally posted about 7 months ago, before I bought my Englander springs.)

This message was modified Apr 1, 2010 by jimsocal

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