Sleep number mattress or no?

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Well we got a new King size bed, to go in our new house, and we are now shopping for mattresses, and it's confusing...

1st of all, are sleep number mattresses that great? what are the pros/cons if any of you have experience with it?
I hear that they can be loud, but only during the adjustment when the pumps work, I assume?
Is it generally worth it?

can one just get SN matteress only? i can only find sleep number BEDS but there must be just mattresses, too right?

We don't have BIG sleep problems, and I have a feeling whatever problems we have is not due to the mattress being bad...

...so should we just get a good traditional mattress?

Thanks I.A.
 
sleep number is an air mattress that is build for long term use, and feels like a normal mattress when sleep on. I've tried one in a hotel and it is great that you can adjust the firmness between the 2 sides as needed. If you and your wife prefer similar firmness, there isn't really a benefit.

The SN mattress in the hotel I tried developed a slow leak, that my wife end up on plywood in the morning.
 
People have had problems with leaks, even though they're under warranty and they'll get fixed. It's just a hassle not having a bed while it's being fixed.

For that kind of money, I'd get a 100% dunlop natural latex mattress. From what I've read, they are the best, most durable mattresses you can buy. You can get DIY ones online for about $1,500 for a queen.
 
We were actually trying a bunch of mattresses during the president's day weekend, including Sleep Number. Yes, you can get just the mattress from what I understood, not the whole bed. The ability to adjust the pressure of the mattress is in fact neat, but my wife started reading reviews, and there were plenty of people complaining about them, too. Issues with mold growing, issues with pumps failing... if the pump breaks, you'll be unable to use the mattress until the pump is fixed.

In the end, we decided to buy a traditional spring mattress at a fraction of the price. They all sag with age eventually and they all have their issues, regardless of technology. Just figure on having to replace it every 5 years or so. Those 10-20 year warranties on mattresses are useless. You'd have to have a 1.5" indentation for the warranty to apply. Your back will start complaining with a lot less indentation than that.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1109191

http://sleeplikethedead.com/
 
My wife and I love our Sleep Number bed. It seemed expensive at first, but considering how long beds generally last, the price is almost insignificant in the long run -- and thus well worthwhile if it buys a good bed.

Yes, the pump is fairly loud, but only when you're inflating. The air sacs seal when you're done adjusting, so you should never need to reinflate unless you intentionally let air out.



Pros:

- VERY customizable with different kinds/thicknesses of pillow top, memory foam inserts, etc. They even have a dual-zone comforter, in which each half can have a different kind and thickness of fill.

- The adjustable firmness helps if you decide you want to change sleeping positions, or if you need to change the firmness due to an injury or ache, etc.

- Having two different firmnesses (and, with the dual-zone comforter, two different levels of warmth) is a really nice argument preventer. :]



Cons:

- Not quite as comfortable as some other high-end non-adjustable beds (e.g. Tempurpedic) -- that is, assuming you can find one that is in the right range of firmness for your tastes.

- If one side of the bed is drastically firmer than the other, there is a slight "ramp" effect near the middle of the bed; whoever is on the firm side might tend to roll or slide toward the soft side.

- The center line between the two halves feels slightly different from the rest of the bed.



I would think you could order the mattress by itself, but don't quote me on that. Either way, note that the mattress does not have a rigid bottom, so whatever you put underneath it has to be flat and contiguous (i.e. no slats).
 
When my wife and I were looking for a new bed, we looked at the Sleep Number Bed. Very nice beds, but at a high price. We then decided on the Ascend Bed from here at a substantial savings compared to Sleep Number.

http://www.habitatfurnishings.com/air_bed.html

We just ordered the mattress and used our existing box springs. We've been very happy with it for over 5 years.
 
You live in NC go to the Original Mattress factory. every bed in my house came from there. We spent a Saturday comparing all the beds for sale in Raleigh.
 
Very happy with our sleep number. You can change the firmness anytime you like! No problems. Sometimes i change the number up or down 10 just for some change.
 
We have a queen-size Special Edition Classic Series Sleep Number. It's basically the c4. We've had it for about 15 months a like it. My wife likes her side soft and I like mine firm and the sleep number makes that all possible. And like spasm3, I adjust mine up and down a bit depending on how I feel, or what I feel like.

I'd had it with traditional, inner-spring mattresses. The last one we had, a middle-of-the-road Serta Perfect Sleeper lasted two years before sagging. And it was a warranty replacement for another that lasted just 6-7 years and sagged. In all the research I did, problems like that occur with all the brands and regardless of price.

The Sleep Number beds are basically just a mattress. We have the whole "bed", but the other part is just a base with a cover that makes it look like a box spring.
 
I slept on a sleep number bed at a hotel and I would not consider buying one after that experience. I was there for 3 nights and I could not get it adjusted to even a reasonable comfort level. I was happy to get home to my conventional mattress for a good nights rest. I can sleep almost anywhere and I was surprised when that happened. I had been considering buying one but not now.
 
We've had our sleep number bed for more than 15 years, and I'll never go back to a conventional mattress. We've never had the slightest problem with ours, and it was one of the very few mattresses offered in a California king size, which fits my 6'4" height better than a standard length mattress.

Both my wife and I like different levels of firmness, and I keep my side from 40-60, while hers is always at 70. I like being able to vary my side. While it was expensive, it wasn't much more than a quality conventional mattress, and it will never sag like a conventional mattress will.

Both my wife and I sleep deeply, and neither of us ever have back pain. When the day comes that we need to replace it, I won't hesitate to purchase a new sleep number mattress.
 
Shopped them all and chose another Posturpedic. We travel often and have tried the sleep number beds. They have a few 'quirks' that disturb my sleep, so we were not interested.

The memory foam stuff is too hot for me. The thing I like best about a regular mattress is the breathability.

Is that a word? But that's my take. I'm sure that 50 people would likely give 50 different answers as we're all so different.
 
Sleep Number is a Select Comfort bed. My former company handled the delivery and installation on them.

They are very comfortable and can be durable/long lasting. Typically though you want to make sure you the compressor tubes are secured to the bed and on occasion you will have to air up the bed once in awhile as the compressor will sometimes let it air out a bit.

I had a Full Select Comfort 5000 with Pillowtop.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
People have had problems with leaks, even though they're under warranty and they'll get fixed. It's just a hassle not having a bed while it's being fixed.

For that kind of money, I'd get a 100% dunlop natural latex mattress. From what I've read, they are the best, most durable mattresses you can buy. You can get DIY ones online for about $1,500 for a queen.


If you are just buying the foam yourself, you can get much cheaper than $1500 by going to a foam manufacturer like foambymail.com. However you have to know what you are doing as you cannot "try" out different firmness combination in a store first, and you will have to make / buy your own mattress cover. Latex mattress tends to be very "springy" if you do not have a thick topper / cover on it. One specialty mattress store uses denim cover for their talalley mattress for this exact reason.
 
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We have a knightsdowne (IIRC) mattress. It is a combo of foam and spring, and it is a king size with each half a different firmness. No sleep number, no air, but it is optimized to each of us on one mattress.

Two twin boxsprings and a king mattress and we were set.
 
I had a sleep number bed and was happy for the most part. Although for the money I think you can do better. I had a bad experience however.....my dog carried in his mouth a cup of coffee onto the bed and spilled it.......so I made the mistake and took it to a laundry mat to have the topper cleaned......well when they dried it they melted it. So to get this replaced will cost me as much as I paid for the bed to begin with because the said they are hand made. It was my fault but I hope my experience can help you. So if you do get one get something on top to protect it and dont ever take the pillow top to get washed!
 
I have a Sleep Number bed for about 15 years now.

Love it.

The Foam in the pillow top is weak I think as it sags some, so I need to get another foam pad.

Anyone else replace their S.N. foam pad??
 
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
People have had problems with leaks, even though they're under warranty and they'll get fixed. It's just a hassle not having a bed while it's being fixed.

For that kind of money, I'd get a 100% dunlop natural latex mattress. From what I've read, they are the best, most durable mattresses you can buy. You can get DIY ones online for about $1,500 for a queen.


If you are just buying the foam yourself, you can get much cheaper than $1500 by going to a foam manufacturer like foambymail.com. However you have to know what you are doing as you cannot "try" out different firmness combination in a store first, and you will have to make / buy your own mattress cover. Latex mattress tends to be very "springy" if you do not have a thick topper / cover on it. One specialty mattress store uses denim cover for their talalley mattress for this exact reason.


I've been looking at foambymail.com. From what I've read, the foam they have is sometimes sketchy as far as quality.

The best deal I've found is this:

http://www.sleepez.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_4_23/products_id/47

I've read many great reviews and it's a full 9 inches of 100% latex. They use latex from the same supplier that supplies all the big name retail brands.
 
We purchased a Sleep Number bed in 2004 and love it.

It replaced a Sealy AND a Serta that both combined lasted 7 years. The Serta lasted six months and the company would not replace an obviously defective box spring. The retailer stepped up and replaced it with the Sealy at my request. That lasted the rest of the seven years. After that period of time, neither my wife or I could stand it. Both of these were $1200.King Size mattresses.

I paid $1700 for the King Size midgrade (which was the 5000 at that time.) Bought it through the company mail order at the end of the season and saved over $500 vs. the retail store. One of the things that we like about it is that it eliminates the issue of my wife liking a soft mattress and my liking a firm mattress.
It sleeps as well as the day we got it. The only minor issue that we have had with it is that my wife likes to sit on the side of the mattress at low inflation levels and the side foam panel (on her side) has taken some wear. Some day, I will get around to replacing it.

We would not hesitate to buy another. It was slightly more than a comparable priced conventional mattress but has held up better and has been a better overall value IMO.
 
Wife & I have a " Comfortair" air bed .....same as a sleep number bed only with out the number controller. I crank my side up till the pump kicks off " max setting " fells like a cement pad that I'm sleeping on.....love it. Wifes side has low pressure.....she loves it. Another thing I love about it is it is cool in the summer and warm in the winter compared to a normal bed. Had this for over 25 some years and I sleep like a baby every night. Construction is top notch. BOB
 
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