To say that the bar was set very low for this mattress to exceed the one it was replacing is an understatement; however, it also had to live up a comparison to the comfort and quality of my full time mattress which is a sleep number. To be clear, this mattress was intended to replace a junk, coil spring mattress in my part time residence, where I wanted to maximize my comfort (and reduce pain) at a price point that made sense. Coming in at just around $300, I figured I had little to lose and, at worst, it would have to be a step above the old mattress. Imagine my utterly pleasant surprise to come and find out that this little gem not only met that low bar, but overwhelmingly exceeded it. I've had this mattress for a little over a month and have slept on it probably near three weeks out of that month. In that time what I have found is that this mattress is extremely comfortable, super easy to set up and provides just the right amount of support where I need it most. In fact, I would say that it almost.....almost provides the same comfort level and support factor as my sleep number mattress. Almost, but not quite. Pros: 1. Extremely convenient packaging and set up: A queen size mattress in a box, delivered to my doorstep. How easy is that? The box itself is hefty so you likely will need a helper to get the whole deal into position and especially when it comes time to cut the packaging and have it ready to go "inflation". Instructions provided and easy to follow. Once we properly positioned the wrapped mattress on the box spring it took a simple slice of the plastic (using the slicer provided to us in the box) and voila! new mattress. The directions tell you to allow the mattress to shape for at least 72 hours, but I was extremely hopeful that I would be able to us it that night as one more night on the old mattress was absolutely out of the question. Some people have noted that their mattresses didn't form properly or didn't reach the intended height (some even after the 72 hours) but I found that my mattress was fully formed and at the right height in no more than 12 hours. I made the choice to use it that night 2 Comfort: I've found over the years that I need a firmer mattress to alleviate much of my lower pack pain and stiffness that I've found in using mattresses of lesser quality. The one advantage of a sleep number bed is that you have 100s of different combinations available to you to find just the right amount of firmness or softness to achieve maximum comfort, and over the past year or so that I've owned it, I've found that I fall neatly within the medium firmness category (for those familiar with sleep number, I'm about a 55 to 60 setting) so having this mattresses advertised as falling into the medium to firm category was really important - and I was counting on that description being accurate. And I can tell you that , at least in my experience - it is. In fact, if I had to assign a sleep number to this mattress for comparison, my guess is that it would fall in the 65-70 range. I say this because while extremely comfortable, it does seem to be just a bit firmer than my current sleep number setting. Not enough that it creates any moderate discomfort, but just enough that I can feel the pressure. For reference - I am in the range of 180-190lbs - I can't speak to how well that level of firmness holds for someone in a different weight bracket, but my best guess is that it will hold relatively stable for most people. 3 Sturdy - I can't speak to how other foam mattresses are in this category, but when sleeping with someone else, I don't feel them moving or turning/tossing. 4 Price - Sure, you can invest in other, more expensive mattresses, foam or otherwise, for your needs, but out of the box, at this price point, you get a lot of mattress with very little downside. That being said, I cannot speak to how well it will hold up over the long term, or whether it will still be the same mattress in 1 year or even 3, but at this price point, I would be satisfied with with a handful of good quality years. Cons - Really very few to mention, but: 1 Edge support - I believe this is an issue with every foam mattress, but the edge support is absolutely not on par with a traditional mattress. That being said, it does not affect my use of the mattress one bit, but for those that need the extra support to get out of bed, or, for those that want to utilize some edge support for "extracurricular" activities - you'll find that you'll have to adjust for the lack of edge support and plan accordingly. 2 Cooling - foam mattresses in general are notorious for running warm and while this mattress attempts to compensate for it by using a cooling layer, I believe that warm sleepers are still going to find themselves sleeping warm. I generally don't tend to be a warm sleeper, so it hasn't been an issue for me, but it also certainly doesn't offer any more cooling features than any other mattress available. All in all, I rate this mattress very highly and certainly would recommend purchasing it assuming its specifications meet your needs. It's a high quality, comfortable mattress at a very affordable price point.
