Anyone got any advice when it comes to which bed/mattress brand to go with? Seen the sleeping duck ads, Koala has come up as well as ecosa. While i dont mind shopping online, i'd prefer to test these products out before purchasing them (yes i know they have a returns policy).
Also do these places ever have sales? or is the price the price and thats it?
Thanks
We’re very happy with the Chelsea model.
Wouldn't she just take up room in the bed?
I got the same mattress (not mistress) and can confirm it is very good. And the Chelsea can be used on adjustable beds which is very rare. Highly recommended.
Koala soulmate is a fantastic price at Costco at the moment, being cleared out because Koala have launched a new top end model. However trying them out is the hard part.
IMO trying out a mattress doesn't help in any way at all. 5 minutes on it doesn't tell you anything about what an 8 hour sleep will be like. Just go firm and if it's too hard get a foam topper.
Just go firm and if it's too hard get a foam topper.
This worked well for me. I like a solid bed and after sleeping at a friend's house on a latex mattress I found an Ecosa one at the local op shop for $100 new. Not sure how they ended up with them, but one day I walked in and they has a whole stack of them in original sealed plastic so grabbed one. It ended a little too firm so picked up Tussoy memory foam topper from Ikea for $300 and it's perfect. I travel a fair bit so always compare hotel mattresses that can cost well over $2k and mine is better.
They end up at op shops when people return them in the free trial period.
I doubt that. Surely used mattresses would be a health hazard.
@AusNugz: Huh, weird. The prices on the op shop mattresses seem to be close to retail price. I'll ask next time I'm there.
Yep. Some of the companies include this in their sales info. If you return a mattress, it's given to charity.
Karls Mattress shopping tips:
Buying online is like throwing darts in the dark. You might get lucky, but it's a gamble.
The people who make mattresses know the most about them, but they often aren't good at websites or marketing. They focus on making mattresses. Online companies can make pretty websites, and they are better at press releases, marketing etc'. They may make mattress design choices, but the manufacturing is done offshore you know where.
Online companies offer convenience, which works for many people. But for the best result, You can't beat talking directly to the people who make them all day. This isn't just relevant information for mattresses. Anyone who makes anything has a different level of understanding of that thing.
For you, Azrael169, a bed in a box might be fine if you want something quick and easy. But for the next level of comfort, go straight to someone who makes mattresses. Here are some places I believe are good people. When you visit their websites, remember that these people are mattress makers, not website makers.
A good example of this is Galligans in Adelaide. they have very dated design on there fabrics, the website is really not up to industry standard. But does that mean they don't understand how to fit you to a quality mattress for a good price? There's no relationship between mattress fitting skill and quality, and graphics and fabric colour.. I would go there before any online mattress company.
I tried to keep it short I swear
Here's some more places I would go if I lived in these cities. I have put in some latex models, a bit pricey in the short term, but if you find the right fit, why not use latex so it doesn't sag. much cheaper in the long term
VIC
Becks bedding (Melbourne) - Cloudsoft Latex, $3200, Pocket spring, 5cm Dunlop Natural latex, Wool
The Sandman mattress factory (Geelong) - Latex Luxury 8 inch block, $1999, Dunlop Natural latex, Flippable
Melbourne Mattress Factory (Melbourne) - Various models, Pocket spring and latex options, Custom sizes
Mattress Builders (Melbourne) - Various models, Pocket spring and latex options, Custom sizes and firmness levels
QLD
The mattress company (Sunshine Coast) - Latex pocket composite, $2134, Pocket spring, 5cm Dunlop Natural latex
WA
Quokka beds (Perth) - Various models, Pocket spring and latex options, Custom sizes and firmness levels, Australian made
SA
Galligans (Adelaide) - Various models, Pocket spring, latex, and memory foam options, Custom sizes and firmness levels, Australian made, 10-year warranty
Copy
lol, I want to know what the preshrunk version looked like.
Ha, It was chaos
Legend… I'll be heading to Quokka shortly to get a bed apparently :)
Yeah quokka seem legit, Awesome bases too. I want one. I'd be going for the thickest one, with a topper personally. I believe around 30cms is a requirement for a comfy enough mattress.
I like to compare the quokka to king coil natures choice.
hey are both a big chunk of latex with fabric around them.
king coil natures choice - $8800 on sale $4399- https://www.fortywinks.com.au/products/natures-choice-vitali…
This one has been $8800 for ages, and now it's on sale $4399. I'm thinking the strategy is just like supermarkets. Always have something on sale. Have the products cycle through sales. This way they can focus on selling the ones "on sale". I guess this is all due to the laws surrounding sales. They legally need to be full price for a certain amount of time before they put them on sale.
Anyway, the quokka is basically the same except the quokka has adjustable layers, no plastic in the layers (king coil has, pulled one apart). and the thickest one with a topper aswell is - $2600 ish, Still nearly half the price of the "on sale king koil".
Smaller places like this that sell direct will always be better value for money when it comes to mattresses.
I just realized that in my post, I said Quokka has pocketspring models. I don't know how that snuck in there, probably during a chatgpt spelling and grammar check. They only have all-latex mattresses. Which you should try, I'd be going there if I was in perth.
any good options for NZers (Wellington)
We want to get a SK latex mattress.
Most places seem to do springs or foam.
Peacelily (online) does a dunlop latex mattress. ($2k)
https://peacelily.co.nz/products/latex-mattress?variant=3470…
otherwise i only know of innature (~$3.2k)
https://innature.co.nz/your-bed/organic-mattresses/organic-l…
I don't know about nz, I might add this Innature one to my list for nz, they look like they know what they are doing. The mattresses look quite thin and dense, I'd go there and see if they were comfy. I'd buy a thicker one than what I can see in the videos. I'm not sure about peacelilly, they are probably better than most online stuff, simply because they use latex, and latex lasts ages.
Really appreciate this answer 😊
We were talking about this exact topic few days ago as Mrs friend has recently gone the online route & was amazed at how good the mattress ended up being. As her shift work sadly doesn't leave much time to go into stores actual.
We opined it was a bit of gamble + the whole returns thing made us question the process. As were currently getting to the stage where we need to update ours
We've always preferred bricks n mortar purchase where able & for something that is going to be with us for that many years, and to us a big purchase - don't personally believe it's worth the "darts in the dark" (love that analogy btw!)
Proper sleep is one or the most important things we can do for ourselves so shouldn't be a shortcut approach imo.
I've notated Galligans as our 1st stop when we're ready! Cheers again 😁
Hi Karl,
Can you recommend some good medium firm mattress or tell me about below one will suits us? me and my partner weight about 65,55kg each. often sleep sides and got some minor issues with back and hip pain with the current sit Chinese made unknown brand one. Looking for a king size for some space as well
been to Harvey norman and Forty winks to test some beds, but it is getting more and more hard to choose which one is right for us since we started looking and research online. Our budget is about $1500 and live in Wodonga Victoria
https://www.myer.com.au/p/sealy-advantage-antigua-medium-fir…
We bought a box mattress a few years ago from Noa (looks like they don't operate in Aus anymore) for my eldest, and the few times I've slept on it it has been comfortable. However I suspect it would sag after a while if it was everyday as it feels soft. It's fine for my preschooler though.
We got a Sleepmaker for ourselves, we too wanted to see it in person so we got one of their plush models from Myer during a sale. It's 5 years now and still looks brand new.
Younger lighter people can get away with online stuff. It's when we get older, We need something more than what these bed in box jobbies offer.
My ozmattresss 'grandmaster' is due for replacement, so definitely keen to see others recommendations.
I dread the day mine breaks. Such a shame the company ended the way it did :(
I have a Sleeping Duck, and I've ended up concluding that it's… okay but not great. We ordered it because we were arriving to Oz and needed to set up with furniture essentials really, really fast. If I were to do it again without time pressure, I'd probably check out the business run by Karl (above) because I'm in Sydney and latex sounds like a far superior long term material.
Over the years, we've had several different mattress-in-a-box products of varying levels of satisfaction, and a couple of very pricey Simmons mattresses.
The Simmons mattresses were by a huge margin the best in terms of comfort and longevity, one is still going strong after 18 years and I'm just disposing of the other this week.
Sleeping Duck: Heavy AF, comfort is so-so (I have tried loads of the different foam customisations, I suspect that the base springs are just too firm for my bodyweight).
Noa: This was pretty good. Only used it a couple years though so no long term experience.
Eva: Feels cheap (because it was cheap)- bugger all edge support. Using it for a kid bed, so it's not an issue.
The mattress in a box places… they are always going in and out of sale, it seems to be part of the marketing model.
Your experience of bed in a box is similar to many customers that I speak to in the shop. I've pulled the sleeping duck apart, it suffers from the same issues as most bed in a box. Springs are too firm. I think they do it to prevent dipping. And they have the different foam on top to change the firmness, which is a great story, but reality says that doesn't work
I tried it years ago and realised that to change the firmness, have to change the springs, it's only way unfortunately as they take up a loads of space.
Really firm springs actually speeds up dipping due the the foam being "pinched" between your bodyweight and the overly firm springs. It disintegrates the foam really quickly.
The springs need to flex so the foam doesn't pinch. And for the springs to flex, they have to be softer. It's a balancing act also with your bodyweight. That and latex, and you've got a durable mattress.
"The mattress in a box places… they are always going in and out of sale, it seems to be part of the marketing model."
Make no mistake, These people are marketers first, mattresses second
Your experience of bed in a box is similar to many customers that I speak to in the shop. I've pulled the sleeping duck apart, it suffers from the same issues as most bed in a box. Springs are too firm. I think they do it to prevent dipping. And they have the different foam on top to change the firmness, which is a great story, but reality says that doesn't work
I tried it years ago and realised that to change the firmness, have to change the springs, it's only way unfortunately as they take up a loads of space.
Yeah, I'm guessing that they put in hard springs to cater for way heavier people (we're certainly not on the heavy side for Oz). The foam doesn't really compensate for this hard base layer- I've tried even just straight up spring mattresses with more forgiving springs and no intermediate foam layers and they've been more comfortable than the Sleeping Duck.
Some of my previous mattresses were bought in Asia, where I'm guessing they might design for lighter bodyweights. Asia is a whole other story though as loads of people prefer to sleep on hard planks, so finding mattresses with more give in them can be tough. (But oddly enough I've even slept on futon and tatami combinations that have been perfectly fine.)
That mattress with forgiving springs rather than comfort layers, I slept on such a mattress in the US. It had NO comfort layers, you could see the springs outline on the covering material. But the springs gave at every pressure point, fully supporting the body. I'm short and very heavy. Loved it.
Tried to find such a mattress when back in Australia, and nope. All (most of) our mattresses seem to be one-sided, and they depend on foams to provide softness.
@antheak: Yeah it's possible to get the springs extremely comfy with no foam. I have 4 levels of springs, and laying directly on them is great, they wrap around the body perfectly. Springs for the bodyshape, foam so you don't feel the spring wire.
Question about springs…
So how firm/soft springs will be should be determined by a combination of wire gauge and coil design?
What impact does the overall wire length in the spring have- I am guessing that if there's simply more wire of a certain gauge, then as there's more material to absorb stress, the springs should last longer?
I've been wondering for a while about how mattresses have tended to get thicker over the years, and whether there is some advantage to really thick spring sections in mattresses, and how much of it is simply selling the perception of quality (moar mattress volume = bettah mattress).
The Sleeping Duck that I have seems to be unnecessarily massive- the spring section is pretty hard anyway, so they could probably get away with a lot less thickness (unless they're designing it for people who weight 120kg.)
So how firm/soft springs will be should be determined by a combination of wire gauge and coil design?
I have 4 firmesses of springs, softer 1.5mm, medium 1.6mm, firmer 1.7mm, firmest 1.8mm
The 1.6mm spec, in the medium spring means the wire is 1.6mm in diameter. The higher the bodyweight, the thicker the wire need to be. If someone is 100kgs, and they lay on the 1.5mm springs, they'll bottom out.
If a 60kgs person lays on a firmest spring, the spring won't yield at all to the body shape. This causes pressure points. The springs need to be balanced to the bodyweight.
"What impact does the overall wire length in the spring have- I am guessing that if there's simply more wire of a certain gauge, then as there's more material to absorb stress, the springs should last longer?"
Wire length is what we call "turns", 6 turns is what I use, so does this company who has been making mattresses for 120 years. That's why I chose 6 turns. They really thought that 6 turns was the right number, so much so that they named there business VIspring, 6 in roman numerals is VI.
The turns are very important. Too few and the mattress feels terrible. Most good places choose 6 turns in there springs. Cheaper bed in a box companies will save money by reducing the turns and the mattress just ends of feeling worse. I tried it, they feel worse, 6 feels better. If you go more than 6, it get's way too heavy.
Springs aren't the thing that wears out in a mattress, it's the other layers, mainly the plastic foam wears out in 95% of cases. And in most of those cases, it's made worse by flexible slats in peoples bases. They're mattress killers.
"I've been wondering for a while about how mattresses have tended to get thicker over the years, and whether there is some advantage to really thick spring sections in mattresses, and how much of it is simply selling the perception of quality (moar mattress volume = bettah mattress)."
Nope, I started with 21cm thick springs, because I was told that was the way. I'm now down to 16cm because as I have gotten better I have realised that you definitely don't need the springs to be too thick. I'll be at 13cm thick by the end of the year as testing has been going well with my new 13cm springs. they feel exactly the same.
I'd rather the mattress be thinner if it doesn't feel different, and my customers would also prefer that. Less weight, less space taken up, same comfort.
"The Sleeping Duck that I have seems to be unnecessarily massive- the spring section is pretty hard anyway, so they could probably get away with a lot less thickness (unless they're designing it for people who weight 120kg.)"
The spring on this mattress is so firm, that all of that space in the springs isn't being utilised properly, it's a waste. They could definitely make it much thinner with the same feel. They aren't alone though, most are the same. Mine were the same, I ended up working it out though over the years. I now have fine grain control of the diameter, turns, height, and arrangement. Honeycomb is best. Can fit a lot more springs per mattress
Trying out mattresses just doesn't work. They all feel good, except the really rock-hard ones. I had years of nightmares, expensive nightmares. 40 Winks, Ikea, etc etc. In the end, I went with an online mob because they had a returns option, which most mattress companies (shops) don't have. So it wasn't a gamble.
I got a Sleep Republic, and I will love this mattress until the end of time. It's soft, yet fully supportive. There's no sag, but no pressure points either. Great for old bodies. Those ads showing a human form lying on a bed which accommodates the shoulders and hips, and the form is in a straight line, that's these mattresses.
I put it on an Ikea Mandal bed, they are a bit of a cult bed worldwide. Very low platform bed (platforms are easier to make the bed/change the sheets, there's no "lip") with 4 drawers. Also the hardest Ikea thing I've ever had to assemble, it's joinery. All wooden fasteners, the construction is a bit like an aeroplane wing. Worth it though.
"I got a Sleep Republic, and I will love this mattress until the end of time. It's soft, yet fully supportive. There's no sag, but no pressure points either. "
I've pulled one of these apart, lot's of springs which I liked, firms are extremely firm which I don't like. If you like a firmer feel it would be good. But if I had that spring unit in my mattresses, I would be getting returns. It's as firm as my firmest spring, and I don't sell many of them.
Not saying its bad/good, just comparing the components to what I would say "most people" in the shop like. There is still people who like the firm springs, but they are less. Also I have reports of the sleep republic foam wearing out in 3-4 years. How long have you had yours?
I think I got it in 2017, trying to work out how to track back and find out actually. When I first got it, I thought it was too firm, then I realised that I was sleeping through the night for the first time in many years. Pressure points is my issue (and a chronically bad back) and all that just vanished. I feel it rising up to support my waist, never felt that before.
Very firm beds have you sagging at the waist, you're hanging between your hip and shoulder. This bed, those pressure points sink in, and then it cradles the waist. I still notice that when I go to bed each night. I'm really heavy (farm kid, then weightlifter/rower/you name it in school/uni years).
It's a really heavy mattress, the delivery guy piked on my rural driveway so I had to drive down and get it from him on the road. Getting it into the house, up steps broke the box, but a removal trolley fixed that. No handles so god knows how people move house with them.
But it is far and away the best mattress I've ever had. I probably wouldn't have bought it from a shop as it feels really hard when you first get on it. Figure it must have memory foam or something in it that softens with heat, or something like that. But you wake up in the same position you were in as you started to fall asleep.
I go with IKEA because they have a 365 day return window, however you cannot get a refund only a swap for another mattress. Also, if you collect the mattress from IKEA you must pay a collection fee to have it returned to them.
I had heard some reports of people struggling to get their money back from online mattress retailers so I was hesitant to go down that road.
So far so good.
Go to a Beds’n’Dreams branch and try out the Silentnight range. We’re very happy with the Chelsea model for master bedroom. Australian made too.
Other bedrooms get standard IKEA fare.