Comments on: Help me buy a foam mattress on a budget

Question: Help me buy a foam mattress on a budget

fermion — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:12:16 -0800

How can I find the best foam mattress on a limited (<$400) budget?

I'm in the market for an inexpensive mattress--$400 is about my upper limit, but I'd be happy if I could find something workable for less. The extra money could go toward a fancy mattress topper.

Ideally I'd like to get a foam mattress--not memory foam, just plain old foam--but I'm having a lot of difficulty figuring out how to comparison shop effectively. I went to a local foam supplier, and they offered to sell me a full-XL-mattress-sized slab of foam for $330; they tell me foam of that particular grade will last 5-7 years. But then I find something like this foam-based futon mattress that seems like a much fancier product for a similar price. Is it really a better buy? Are there other places where a basic polyurethane foam mattress can be had for less? How can I figure out which mattresses are worth the money?

By: anelsewhere

anelsewhere — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:15:07 -0800

IKEA foam mattresses get a decent grade. offsite thread

By: geos

geos — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:37:02 -0800

these people seem to have decent prices... depending on what you want to spend they have foam rated from 5 to 15 years... if you are interested in making your own mattress you can try a thin layer of latex on top of firm foam

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/

By: saffry

saffry — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:02:43 -0800

Also recommending the Ikea. I got a mid-priced twin for my son, and it's still pretty comfortable and in good shape after 4 years. I don't remember which one, maybe the Murbo?

By: The corpse in the library

The corpse in the library — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:21:25 -0800

If you're really in Seattle, did you try the Friendly Foam Shop? They're pretty cheap and, yes, friendly.

By: fermion

fermion — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:45:09 -0800

corpse in the library, they're the ones who gave me that estimate. :) Getting a lower grade of foam would shave $50-90 off that estimate, I think, but I don't know if it's worth it.

By: troy

troy — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:22:48 -0800

dunno if they still sell it, but I got a great foam mattress from Costco three years ago -- came vacuum-packed in a rolling case. $500 for a queen. Note, with a good foam mattress you don't need a topper since that defeats the purpose.

By: fermion

fermion — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:02:27 -0800

Looks as though Ikea is having a special on mattresses right now, so I'll probably be going with that. Thanks for all the excellent answers!

By: fermion

fermion — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:32:32 -0800

Went with the Ikea mattress (the cheapest latex model, Sultan Eidsvoll.) It's quite comfortable, particularly compared to sleeping on the floor as I'd been doing previously. Thanks, AskMe!