Bouncy Mattress Good for Making the Whoopee?

November 16, 2014 4:29 PM

The Mrs and I long for the give and bounce of the cheap mattress she had in college. But shopping around it seems like none of the new mattresses have that great springy coil bounce we enjoyed so much. What are we missing here? Is there something specific to ask for? Do I need to go super-cheap off-brand to get what we're looking for?

Obviously comfort isn't our big issue, here. We're trying not to spend much money knowing that we might want a quality bed sometime soon and we're probably going to move across the country in a year anyway and won't take this one with us.

THANKS!

posted by willie11 to Shopping (10 answers total)

Your best bet is probably a cheap foam mattress, no box spring, and a spring-tension bed frame. Bounciness is generally considered a bug, not a feature, in mattresses, so it's not a point they're going to brag about or advertise.
posted by localroger at 4:45 PM on November 16, 2014

Best answer: Last time I was mattress shopping the salesman at Macy's started telling me about different kinds of coil systems, and explained that a particular kind had fallen out of favor. I think the gist was that in the older style of coils, the coils were all connected, while newer ones have individual coils that aren't connected to each other. Here's a bit more about it. It looks like there are actually more than two kinds, but I imagine the kind you liked was probably one where the coils are connected.
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:51 PM on November 16, 2014 [2 favorites]

Also, I think the ultra-cheap mattresses at Macy's were closer to this style than the cheapest at places like Sleep Train. The Macy's salesman did take me to one model that still had this old kind of coil (which he seemed to miss - he waxed poetic about that old style. I didn't like it, though.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:55 PM on November 16, 2014

Best answer: I ran across this review site a few months ago and I think it will be very helpful for you: Mattress Types and Sex Suitability: Ratings and Comparisons. I couldn't find reviews of specific brands, but rather features you should look for.

Basically, for maximum bounciness you want an innerspring, no foam or quilting or coil isolation, which is unfortunately a style of mattress that has really has fallen out of favor.

This site implies that Serta mattresses still uses continuous coils.
posted by muddgirl at 4:58 PM on November 16, 2014 [3 favorites]

The power of posting: I found the specific brand reviews for innerspring mattresses.
posted by muddgirl at 5:03 PM on November 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Someone... oh yeah, not_on_display!... made a post to the blue about Sleep Like the Dead's mattress sex reviews recently, if you want to read some MeFite reactions to that link.
posted by deludingmyself at 6:50 PM on November 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Maybe you could get something specifically for sex, and then get a normal mattress for sleeping. Like, a trampoline?
posted by rustcrumb at 6:54 PM on November 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

I have a super cheap mattress that is much bouncier than most people I know. The tradeoff is it isn't very comfortable, and while I'm not old (I'm 26) it was a lot more palatable a few years ago than it is now. So keep in mind something that was awesome when you were 18 and sexing it up all the time may not be so awesome now.
posted by Aranquis at 6:56 PM on November 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Seconding Serta Mattresses, can be found at Big Lots for about $300 for mattress and boxspring if there's a sale.
posted by banished at 10:26 PM on November 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ikea. The one that's $179 (full). Sultan Hurva, I believe. That's the one you want. (It also comes roll-packed, which is this new technology where they suck all the air out of it and roll it up (it will def fit in the back seat of an average car) and when you cut the plastic wrap off it pops out like an inflatable raft. Fun!) Bonus: actually very comfortable to sleep on zzz. There's one that's even cheaper, $139 for full I think...too springy, noisy, but also mushy. (I also picked this one (the $179 one) because it seemed...um..fun.)
posted by sexyrobot at 7:01 AM on November 17, 2014 [1 favorite]