Memory Foam Mattresses.

Been there, done that, and spent an absolute fortune in the process! Get yourself a cuppa, as this could be long.

When we first got together, we used Mrs C's double bed, but not long after, I got first glimpse of the symptoms that I have to this day; so, we decided a new bed was in order.

First one was a Super King Size Divan with a conventional sprung mattress, however before it was a couple of years old it developed a crater in the middle which meant that we would roll together in the night - I'm pretty sure that the delivery men broke the back of the mattress when they were shoe-horning it into our one-bedroom upper floor flat. We bought a memory foam topper, which was OK for a wee while, but hellish hot in the summer; more than anything, I couldn't hack the 'sleeping on a slope' feeling that was twisting me out of all proportion.

So, we went bed shopping - again. In the local furniture store, the salesman pointed us toward a lovely Tempur clam-shell bed, which was beautiful - - however, he then told us the price at which point I uttered words that are not fit to be printed on a family forum, laughed at how ridiculous the price was and headed off home. I then made the mistake of browsing the net, and found an unknown brand of memory foam mattress so bought that, along with a solid pine bedstead that Mrs C fell in love with; it just had to be good, as it was really expensive at £1300 - - right??

Three weeks later, it was delivered, and it had all the properties of sleeping on a breeze block. Mrs C wasn't bothered by it, but I was in agony pretty much every night. I put up with it for 9 months, and we went on holiday and stayed in a friends house on a bog standard Silentnight bed. Now, I was still in pain, but nothing like when I was at home.

One night back home in our own bed, I could take no more, it was utterly dreadful; and to cap it off, I didn't really fit as I kept smacking my feet on the big turned wooden spar at the bottom of the bed. Following morning, we got up early and went bed shopping - again!

We started in Dreams who tried to flog us what we didn't want (kept directing us to a bed that we didn't like), and then kept reminding us that they only delivered to the front door and not the bedroom.

Next up was Benson's, and the difference was incredible - the salesman listened to our story, and then led me to this black vinyl covered bed connected to a computer, and asked me to lie on it while the computer assessed me. Three or four minutes later, the printout from the computer showed all the points on my neck and back that it thought I would get pain - and it got them spot on. This led to the conclusion that I was matched to a certain model of bed in their Kingsdown range.

He took is to the bed, a big white puffy thing, and asked us to lay on it - - - it was like lying on a cloud! Did we like it? Too right we did!

Then came the snag - the price. A tad over £3000, and that didn't include headboard or pillows! After unleashing my inner Scotsman and turning the air blue, and then asking the salesman just exactly where on my forehead the word MUG was printed, I stopped ranting long enough to listen to the guy.

Sure, it was an incredible amount of money - but, it had a ten year guarantee as standard, and we could have four years interest free to pay it off, and he would lob in a headboard free as well. Suffice to say, we talked some pillows into the deal and that was that - - worked out at £50 a month after the deposit, which to be fair almost seems cheap now.

Over six years have passed, and we still have the same bed - and it is still as comfy now as it was the day we got it. I am utterly convinced that my current issues would be infinitely worse had we not gone for such a good bed.

I expected my mum to go Radio Rental when I told her how much our new bed was - however, she said something that has stuck with me ever since: Always buy the best bed and best shoes that you can't afford, as you are either in one or the other of them. True that.

Benson's still stock the same range of beds as far as I know, although they are now called Sleepsystem or Bodysystem I think - well worth a look.

Oh, and one last thing - do not be tempted to buy online, or to buy without trying.

 

Yes - absolute thumbs down from me Mum

The thing that a lot of people forget also is how much other goods have risen in price whereas important things like beds haven't really - or at least, the basic entry price for a bed hasn't.

That £3000 price tag is equivalent to £341 back in 1975 - about right for a high quality bed.

 

Blimey - If I had an old door under mine, I doubt I would rise either!