It immediately gave me hell – it was so uncomfortable. Also, within two weeks of purchase, the foam padding started sagging in the centre, losing all resilience within a month. The store initially said it was “normal” but later gave me a refund after I could not find a suitable replacement in-store. (Tafelberg was decent and helpful about the problem and their customer care was very good.)
Along the way I discovered the mattress’ spring system was not a true open coil (Bonnell), which I was told at purchase, but a cheap coil/wire frame with half the springs of a genuine open coil system.
I made the mistake by not going with my own experience but being influenced by sales talk and affordability. My ignorance was understandable, though. This experience led me to research the murky world of mattresses and the myths and misinformation, a lot of it deliberate, the industry – manufacturers and retailers – are giving the unsuspecting public.
I had frank discussions with sales staff of Bed King, Tafelberg, Dial-A-Bed, Mattress World and Rest Assured Showroom, and looked online, while looking for a replacement mattress. An excellent source was UK bed shop, John Ryan By Design, which has blogs and advice on all aspect of mattresses and beds.
First, pocket springs are best, no question. Bonnell springs are old technology, easy to make and give manufacturers big profits. (I can only assume Tafelberg's saleswoman recommended the cheaper Bonnell spring mattress over a pocket spring, which I wanted - she said a pocket system was not necessarily better - was perhaps because of commissions.)
The consensus is the quality of mattresses – the main and expensive part of a bed set – has declined. Ten and more years ago mattresses were made to last 10 to 20 years. Today you would be lucky to get five to seven. This must be one of the few industries where build quality has declined over time.
One test of quality is weight. Today’s mattresses are lighter – thinner gauge of wire, and more foam padding is used. Back in the day mattresses had a coir pad between springs and padding. Today, it’s a cheap compressed fibre pad.
The “do not turn technology” scam says non-turn mattresses are “superior” to the older, turn mattresses – see Dial-A-Bed. This is not true.
Non-turn mattresses have half the lifespan of turn/double-sided mattresses because only one side can be used. The sleep layer’s padding does not have time to recover, which aids with comfort and extends the lifespan of the mattress. Non-turn only makes sense when expensive memory and latex foam is used as the sleep layer.
The sales people I spoke to and numerous blogs agree turn mattresses are more durable and of better quality. And it is easier to flip a mattress over than rotate it head to toe.
Sanders, the German bedding company and maker of the luxury Schramm, states: "Regular turning and rotating lengthens the life of the mattress and maintains sleeping comfort" (Sanders South Africa has a shop in Cape Town).
So why, with some exception, are manufacturers not making them or retailers ordering them? They won’t say but it’s obvious that with lower build quality and built-in obsolescence, manufacturers’ and retailers’ future revenues are secure, but buyers do not benefit.
Beware of the sales pitch of “Nasa designed memory foam”. To be effective and noticeable as a comfort layer memory foam must be at least 100mm thick. Anything less, like the 30mm layer of my new mattress I described at the start, is “pointless” – it compresses and one actually lies on the thin and hard foam base layer - very uncomfortable. Local bedding and accessory retailers appear fixated on memory foam, but it has been described to me as "terrible" and "rubbish".
Latex – there is 100% natural latex and synthetic and a combination of the two – is firmer than memory, but must be appropriately thick. Mattresses with proper memory and latex foam are expensive. Don’t be misled by cheaper options, which raises the price but is pointless for comfort, masquerading as the real deal.
Memory foam “sleeps hot” - retains heat -which in our climate is uncomfortable. It also feels “sticky” or spongy”, which many people don’t like. Apparently, gel memory foam is an improvement.
However, I believe while memory foam has its uses, it’s overrated. Premium and luxury brands like Hästens, Shramm, Visprings, etc use natural and traditional materials like wool, cotton and horsehair.
I was met with blank looks or shrugs when I asked for specifications – wire gauge, tempering, number of pocket springs, thickness of foam layers, etc. Sales people don’t have them. One admitted they can't get them from manufacturers, or they don’t bother asking.
Manufacturers’ brochures are vague and replete with marketing exaggerations. For example, “bamboo”, “wool”, “oxygen” etc are used and embossed on mattress fabric and labels to denote purported health, comfort and environmental benefits. It does not mean the materials used are bamboo, wool and so on. It’s a gimmick and they are probably mainly polyester and synthetic blends.
Mattresses are available in firm, medium or soft comfort levels - they use terms like “gently firm” and “plush”. However, of the mattresses I tested over the past two months, comfort levels within a particular manufacturer’s range use the same unspecified, but firm, gauge of wire (sales people don’t know which thickness and tension). This makes the spring tension the same across comfort levels – they expect the thin padding layers to do all the work. With some exception, this is typical of local manufacturers.
It’s like a car manufacturer using the same (stiff) suspension for its SUVs, family and luxury cars. It doesn’t make sense except to make marginal savings during manufacture.
Therefore, "plush", "medium" and "firm" are meaningless for comfort, except to describe padding thickness.
International brands – Sealy, Serta, Simmons, etc – are not immune from quality problems. Check international and local online consumer forums like Hellopeter and MyBroadband. I was told the number of returns over quality issues, including of the big brands, has increased over the past ten years compared to before.
Beds and mattresses are a major investment but appears to be a lot more complicated and risky than buying a car. And that is without taking into account which mattress is best for you.
The problems are not only the fault of manufacturers. Retailers have a say regarding specification, quality and range of mattresses they stock, especially concerning house brands. Sales people confirmed as much to me. Therefore, I believe they are complicit in and are aware of some of the problems I mention above.
I found shops essentially sell the same brands and ranges – let us not go into the practice of labelling whereby retailers place their own labels on manufacturer’s ranges making comparison difficult.
Genuine premium or luxury – or should I say “quality” that excludes the dubious products that pass for “premium” in South Africa, that is, most of the products included in the above assessment – is rare. Manufacturers - worldwide, it must be said - have gone for quantity and not quality.
Hästens and Schramm are expensive luxury brands available locally. Sanders offer affordable premium alternatives. Consumers need quality and comfort at a reasonable price, but we don't have many options.
Non-turn mattresses have half the lifespan of turn/double-sided mattresses because only one side can be used. The sleep layer’s padding does not have time to recover, which aids with comfort and extends the lifespan of the mattress. Non-turn only makes sense when expensive memory and latex foam is used as the sleep layer.
The sales people I spoke to and numerous blogs agree turn mattresses are more durable and of better quality. And it is easier to flip a mattress over than rotate it head to toe.
Sanders, the German bedding company and maker of the luxury Schramm, states: "Regular turning and rotating lengthens the life of the mattress and maintains sleeping comfort" (Sanders South Africa has a shop in Cape Town).
So why, with some exception, are manufacturers not making them or retailers ordering them? They won’t say but it’s obvious that with lower build quality and built-in obsolescence, manufacturers’ and retailers’ future revenues are secure, but buyers do not benefit.
Beware of the sales pitch of “Nasa designed memory foam”. To be effective and noticeable as a comfort layer memory foam must be at least 100mm thick. Anything less, like the 30mm layer of my new mattress I described at the start, is “pointless” – it compresses and one actually lies on the thin and hard foam base layer - very uncomfortable. Local bedding and accessory retailers appear fixated on memory foam, but it has been described to me as "terrible" and "rubbish".
Latex – there is 100% natural latex and synthetic and a combination of the two – is firmer than memory, but must be appropriately thick. Mattresses with proper memory and latex foam are expensive. Don’t be misled by cheaper options, which raises the price but is pointless for comfort, masquerading as the real deal.
Memory foam “sleeps hot” - retains heat -which in our climate is uncomfortable. It also feels “sticky” or spongy”, which many people don’t like. Apparently, gel memory foam is an improvement.
However, I believe while memory foam has its uses, it’s overrated. Premium and luxury brands like Hästens, Shramm, Visprings, etc use natural and traditional materials like wool, cotton and horsehair.
I was met with blank looks or shrugs when I asked for specifications – wire gauge, tempering, number of pocket springs, thickness of foam layers, etc. Sales people don’t have them. One admitted they can't get them from manufacturers, or they don’t bother asking.
Manufacturers’ brochures are vague and replete with marketing exaggerations. For example, “bamboo”, “wool”, “oxygen” etc are used and embossed on mattress fabric and labels to denote purported health, comfort and environmental benefits. It does not mean the materials used are bamboo, wool and so on. It’s a gimmick and they are probably mainly polyester and synthetic blends.
Mattresses are available in firm, medium or soft comfort levels - they use terms like “gently firm” and “plush”. However, of the mattresses I tested over the past two months, comfort levels within a particular manufacturer’s range use the same unspecified, but firm, gauge of wire (sales people don’t know which thickness and tension). This makes the spring tension the same across comfort levels – they expect the thin padding layers to do all the work. With some exception, this is typical of local manufacturers.
It’s like a car manufacturer using the same (stiff) suspension for its SUVs, family and luxury cars. It doesn’t make sense except to make marginal savings during manufacture.
Therefore, "plush", "medium" and "firm" are meaningless for comfort, except to describe padding thickness.
International brands – Sealy, Serta, Simmons, etc – are not immune from quality problems. Check international and local online consumer forums like Hellopeter and MyBroadband. I was told the number of returns over quality issues, including of the big brands, has increased over the past ten years compared to before.
Beds and mattresses are a major investment but appears to be a lot more complicated and risky than buying a car. And that is without taking into account which mattress is best for you.
The problems are not only the fault of manufacturers. Retailers have a say regarding specification, quality and range of mattresses they stock, especially concerning house brands. Sales people confirmed as much to me. Therefore, I believe they are complicit in and are aware of some of the problems I mention above.
I found shops essentially sell the same brands and ranges – let us not go into the practice of labelling whereby retailers place their own labels on manufacturer’s ranges making comparison difficult.
Genuine premium or luxury – or should I say “quality” that excludes the dubious products that pass for “premium” in South Africa, that is, most of the products included in the above assessment – is rare. Manufacturers - worldwide, it must be said - have gone for quantity and not quality.
Hästens and Schramm are expensive luxury brands available locally. Sanders offer affordable premium alternatives. Consumers need quality and comfort at a reasonable price, but we don't have many options.
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