Ask HN: What's the most comfortable bed you've ever slept on? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What's the most comfortable bed you've ever slept on?

19 pointswhitepoplar30 comments

I'm in the market for a new mattress and I'm finding that nearly all online reviews are fake (it's seriously depressing). I figured I'd try HN and make a thread that everyone can refer to next time they need a mattress.

So far I've tried both a Casper and a Nest Alexander Hybrid Medium. The Casper was just ok comfort-wise, but slept hot to the point that I would wake up covered in sweat. I currently have the Nest and while it does sleep cooler, I wake up every morning with a backache.

I noticed when traveling through Italy and Portugal that the mattresses I slept on were extremely comfortable. I slept so well. I can't seem to find this type of mattress in the US: thin, foam (I think?), and firm yet pressure-relieving. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

What's the most comfortable mattress you've slept on?

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Try latex foam. Not cheap, but firm yet soft, durable, and sleeps very cool.

There's an old-school outfit in NYC called Dixie Foam[1] that sells amazing firm latex mattresses and toppers. (They also sell less expensive polyurethane mattresses, which have a slightly different feel, and are warmer, but come in both softer and even firmer modes. You might combine a poly mattress with a latex topper.)

And I really like the latex foam pillows from Talatech/Latex International, which I could only find online at one place[2].

[1] https://dixiefoam.com [2] http://www.sleeplikeabear.com

I just tried an all-latex mattress today at Dixie Foam on your suggestion and it felt great! Do you have one?

I do. It's spoiled me for other beds.

I'm about to pull the trigger on one. Which firmness did you get? Do you sleep on your side? Thanks!

The model I got doesn't seem to be on their website any more. It was basically an extra-firm, without the 3-zone thing.

I sleep about 1/3 on my side, 2/3 on my back, and occasionally on my stomach (at least on this mattress -- can't stomach sleep at all on innersprings or memory foam). For side sleeping on this thing, I strongly recommend a good thick pillow. For more reference points, I'm a fairly small and light person, and grew up sleeping on foam mattresses that most people would consider rock hard, so this is reasonably soft by my standards.

That said, in the 5 years I've had it, it's converted two boyfriends (both of whom weigh at least 50% more than me) to foam mattresses. One bought the same mattress but added a soft 2" latex topper (which is great for side sleeping but was too soft for me for back sleeping); the other got a Casper (which I found soft and saggy and a little sludgy by comparison, but is still waaaay better than innersprings). Both swore they were never going back to innerspring mattresses.

If you do get a foam mattress, make sure to put it on a platform or slatted bed rather than a box spring.

Whatever you decide, good luck, and sleep well!

Thanks for the reply! I used the Casper for several years and found it hot and "mushy," for lack of a better word. I thought an innerspring mattress would solve the problem, but nope. You really can't go back to springs after you've used foam for a while.

I'm probably in the category of "weighs >50% more than you" but even so, the 6" latex mattress I tried at Dixie Foam felt amazing. It was the medium-firm model. I too noticed that they're offering the 3-zone thing, but I think the one I tried was just a slab of regular Talalay latex.

To add to that, the guy who helped me really knew his stuff, was friendly, and seemed like the antithesis of bullshit. If this ends up being as comfortable as it felt in the showroom, I owe you a serious internet hug. Thank you!

My pleasure - can't help spreading the foam gospel! ;-)

If you do get one, I'd love to hear how it works out for you.

Ordered. Will let you know how it is when I get it next week. :-)

I sleep in a hammock... Basically one of these https://www.amazon.com/Hammock-Sky-Brazilian-Double-Backyard... with a stand like this https://www.amazon.com/Best-ChoiceProducts-Hammock-Portable-... It's worked out for me for the last few years. Previously I slept on a cot, before that it was an air mattress / floor when I was too lazy to reinflate the mattress, and a regular double-size mattress or a couch before then. Occasionally I'll travel to San Francisco or Vancouver for work and haven't slept on anything amazing, in fact it sometimes takes me some time to get used to sleeping on a bed again since I'd rather have my hammock.

If you have a SO though I've no data on how well it would work out. :'(

Aren't hammock's real bad for your back over longer periods of time? This is just something I've heard and not researched but I had the impression you needed your back mostly "straight" when sleeping.

They're pretty popular in South America... I've got Northern European ancestry but no back problems, and I sleep well. You can actually get pretty straight in a hammock, I think a lot of people overestimate the curvature. I think this blog has some good pictures to show what it's like: http://www.treklightgear.com/treklife/hammock-angle/

A great resource I used when purchasing my last mattress: http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/

My wife and I ended up with a foam mattress, which we really like. Our only complaint is that it's noticeably warmer in the summer than our previous regular mattress.

I sleep on this [0] and occasionally the foam that is recommended as a "Others also buy this item".

After a trip to Japan I found sleeping on a futon was the best sleep I've ever had. After returning home, the first thing I did was buy a roll-out futon. Been sleeping on it ever since. It's cheap, I can store it during the day to "reclaim" space in my room.

I'd probably do just as fine on a firm mattress - but the futon is cheaper than a mattress. I can also roll it up and take it with me when visiting friends or relatives who do not have the luxury of having a "guest room".

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Futon-Furniture-Traditional-Japanese-...

My favourite type of mattress is pocket sprung (with mostly or all natural layers). They supportive, comfy, breathable, bouncier than foam (wink) and will last a long time treated well.

In the UK you can find smaller companies hand making them with only natural layers (and telling you what each layer is made of!) offering 10 year guarantees. They're not cheap though, you're looking at minimum $1,500 and easily $3,000 for a larger size.

I've also slept on an expensive latex mattress and it gave me shoulder and lower back ache. Initially it felt great but the pain started after a couple of nights.

http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/bed-mattress-review-home.htm... might be useful

If you're waking up with a backache, you need to be looking not just at the brands, but the firmness. I can actually sleep fantastically on concrete with a book for a pillow, but put me on a too soft mattress and I may sleep well but I will have to spend my first hour in the morning relearning how to stand up straight and stretch out my back.

My present mattress is a firm Tempur Pedic mattress. I probably could've gone with anything of similar firmness. I live in a one-bedroom apartment. I give up my bed for (most) company and sleep on the couch, I got a softer topper for it (can't remember the brand) that some people prefer to the firmness of my bed.

One thing to consider when you're looking at mattresses is whether you are intrinsically hot or cold when you sleep?

Then consider how the technology actually works.

Me, I'm hot. So, a Tempurpedic mattress would be a really bad idea, since they use body heat as a way to alter the viscosity of the material, and thus also reflect that body heat back at you. I tried one briefly at a store, and after just a few minutes, I was burning up.

My wife has always been intrinsically cold, so for her a Tempurpedic mattress would be perfect.

But we weren't just buying a mattress for just one or the other of us. We had to find one that worked for us both.

Best Blog for real answers from an industry expert: https://themattressexpert.com/qa-blog/

There was a more recent version, but it seems to be down.

Best sleep ever was on a king size mattress at a high end Marriott before they switched to foam toppers. Avoid "memory" foam at all costs if possible.

Invest in a high quality latex mattress topper and pillows. As long as you don't have an allergy it will change your life. If you have lots of money to spend, full latex mattresses are amazing.

I found this full latex mattress that looks great, but I'm not sure if I want to bite the bullet and buy, as there's no option for free returns. https://spindlemattress.com/

> when travelling through Italy and Portugal

Do you have an email record of your booking confirmations? Why not ask the hostel/hotel/bnb operators?

A counter-suggestion here: my girlfriend and I just tried the Leesa.

It's an amazing piece of materials science, and it feels luxurious as hell, but it was waaaaay too soft for both of us. She woke up in considerable pain. Also, it was pretty hot.

Fortunately, the Leesa customer service people were awesome, and they immediately took it away again and refunded us.

I asked the same question a few months ago here [1] and ended up with a Cocoon mattress which I like, but not love. My wife, on the other hand, really loves it.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13001791

Foam is more for the convenience of shipping compressed, they are not going to be the highest quality mattress. Saatva is pretty good I think for the price. No idea about the expensive ones.

You need to figure out whether you prefer a soft mattress or firm. You could go demo a Sleep Number in their store and see which level is best.

The mattress market is heating up and most companies offer deferred payments and free pickup/refund after three months. You could try all the popular mattresses for three months each on their free trials!

This was once my plan.... a year later I was still sleeping on the first one I bought. :P

I like a SleepNumber bed. I've tried setting it to 60 to 75. What's interesting is that I can move a kink up and down my back by adjusting the number. More recently, I've been running it at 100. That seems to work pretty well for me.

Memory foam might be what you slept on in Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_foam

I've been sleeping on the floor for more than a year.

I don't miss my bed.

Shifman. Try avoiding synthetic materials. I'm told they tend not to breathe. (Organic) Fleece mattress toppers can also make a huge difference.

Tempur hands down. It's also the most expensive bed you could probably find, but also worth it. Should be at least 20 cm thick though.

I had a latex matress and got an Asian-style floor mat due to size constraints. I haven't noticed much of a difference.

Latex mattresses off gas. I personally had no idea that this was a thing until I ended up sleeping on one.

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