You can spend as little as $100 to as much as $3,000 on a leading brand memory foam mattress, and although this website is called ‘Cheap Mattress Reviews’, we review mattresses in every price range – this site is all about buying a mattress at the cheapest price possible.

While we can help you with information, unfortunately we can’t accompany you to the store when you go to make your purchase. You will need to do a little work yourself, so have a read through some of our reviews of Latex mattresses, memory foam mattresses, pillowtop mattresses, Kingsdown mattresses or any of the cheap mattresses we cover to get an understanding of what to look out for.

Best mattress – How to choose the right one?

There is only one factor to consider when choosing a new mattress, and that is comfort. Whatever style or type of mattress you finally decide on, you should only be guided by how comfortable it is for you to sleep on…….Sure, price is always an issue, but it should never come before comfort.

To decide though, you first need to determine what features are most relevant to your needs. If you suffer from chronic back pain for example, an orthopedic mattress might be the best choice for you. If you are larger than the average build, a king size or California king mattress might a better option.

Personally I suffer from intermittent back problems that are sometimes worse when I wake up in the morning, what solved the problem for me was to buy a medium firm inner-sprung mattress with a high coil count. Within a week of buying my new mattress, my occasional back aches had disappeared for good.

What are the best mattress brands?

We are asked this question all the time, and it really depends on your own personal circumstances. You could argue that the Vividus mattress by Hastens is the finest mattress available, but costing in the region of $50,000 (no that’s not a typo ), it is well outside the range of 99% of the population……so we can hardly provide a cheap mattress review on that model!

Most of the leading manufacturers have ranges to suit most budgets, and they all have good points and bad. One of our aims with this site is to provide you with honest feedback on each of the best mattress reviews we bring you, and we promise to give you the good and bad about each model we review.

So unfortunately, without knowing you all personally, it is impossible to say what the best mattress is going to be, because there is a good chance that will be different for each and every one of you.

What are the best mattress types?

To make the right choice, you first need to start by understanding the different types of mattresses that are made.

The following is not a definitive list with all the features of every mattress, but is designed to help the newcomer to mattress-buying be less confused about all of the options he or she has when it comes to types of mattresses.

When shopping it is useful to compare mattress types across a broad range of characteristics, not just price, so this should help you “home in” on a suitable type of mattress for you….

Innerspring Mattresses

Innerspring mattresses are still the most common type of mattress in the US, but there are many variations within the broad spectrum of inner-springs or inner-coils.

The basic set up with an inner-spring is a spring core, a comfort or upholstery later and a foundation.

The spring core nowadays normally includes steel coils which vary in strength and gauge, which will affect the support they offer to the mattress. They will also vary in density – a queen size mattress with 300 coils is going to feel significantly different to one with 2000 coils, no matter how they are arranged.

Another common variation is the arrangement of the coils. Often they are connected or “continuous”, which helps the mattress bind together and keep its shape, but pocket-springs are also more common these days, where the springs work independently and control motion transfer well, with fabric encasements that help the mattress keep its shape.

Coils have been used in mattresses since the late 1800′s and many of the leading US manufacturers started out producing inner-coil mattresses as a lead-on from cotton-filled mattresses.

The oldest and cheapest type of coil is the “Bonnell coil” or “open coil”, which is hourglass shaped and is still used in the lower-end mattresses today.

“Marshall coils”, which you will find in the Simmons BeautyRest for example, are individually wrapped in fabric encasements, and may have other metals added or may be pre-compressed for added strength.

You may also see “offset coils”, “mira coils” or “continuous coils” mentioned, which work with a hinging effect – these are used by Serta amongst others and have a reputation for being very supportive but noisier than other types.

To sum up you will find many variations on the inner-spring mattress from all the leading manufacturers and many smaller ones too. Often nowadays the inners-spring design will be blended with more and more advanced materials in the comfort, upholstery layers, like memory foam and latex, giving you the best of both worlds.

Foam Mattresses

Foam mattresses have been used for many decades, originally as a cheaper alternative to innerspring mattresses.

The technology has advanced considerably into expensive, high quality, shape-conforming foams like memory foam (see below) but you still get some manufacturers producing value-for-money foam mattresses.

Ikea, for example, make very price-competitive mattresses in their Sultan range which use standard

Polyurethane foam at 1.4 lb or 1.5 lb per cu.ft with Polyester and viscose wadding. This is low-density, no frills foam that is designed to produce a low cost, basic sleep surface.

Another mattress in the same range uses higher density polyurethane foam at 2.2 lb/cu.ft., mixed with the 1.5 lb/cu.ft foam. This is a slightly higher quality foam, but still low price compared to the more advanced foams you will read about in the following passages.

Visco Elastic or “Memory Foam” Mattresses

In 1992 Tempurpedic introduced the first visco-elastic memory foam mattress into the US. After many years developing the foam that NASA used for its great cushioning and temperature-response effects with its astronauts during take-off, and adjusting production methods to make it viable for use in bedding, it was a breakthrough.

Since then there has been a steady trend for memory foam to be used more and more. Originally it wasn’t priced within everybody’s means – a queen size Tempurpedic HD mattress can still cost over $7000 – but nowadays different production methods and use of chemicals to add to the basic polyurethane produces “visco elastic” materials or “memory foams” of vastly differing qualities – meaning you will see a wide range of variant prices for mattresses that essentially look the same.

The thing with memory foam mattresses is to read the labels and check composition, memory foam density and ILD ratings. The density or weight of the memory foam can tell you a lot – it is measured in pounds per square foot and a good yardstick to use is Tempurpedic, whose foam measures well over 5 lb/ sq.ft. Some densities are around the 2 or 3 mark and these will be lower quality.

The ILD rating tells you how hard or soft the material is …the higher the ILD, the firmer the foam and you will usually see ratings between 6 and 16.

Another thing that can vary greatly with memory foam is the cell structure – this affects air flow around the mattress, with a closed cell structure preventing adequate breath-ability in many cases.

Also check a mattress for how much memory foam is used. Anything less than 2 inches is not much of an advantage, while over-thick use of memory foam layers can make the mattress too soft as well as expensive. A balance is necessary.

Latex Mattresses

Latex is often considered to be a recent addition to the bedding market but in actual fact Dunlop created the first latex foam in 1926 and British mattress manufacturers have been including it in mattresses since then.

The Dunlop method of making latex foam, which took the natural rubber, whipped it up into a froth and heated it, to produce a dense natural foam, was diversified in the 1940′s to produce Talalay latex. This added a couple of steps to the process, including treating it in a vacuum and freezing it, as well as the addition of some chemicals like ammonia, producing a springier and slightly softer foam that was a combination of the natural and the man-made.

Nowadays most of the leading manufacturers in the US include latex as a comfort material in the upholstery layers of their finest mattresses. They are usually the most expensive in the range and if you come across a latex mattress that is cheap you should probably ask the question “why?” You will probably find that Talalay latex is a bit more expensive that Dunlop.

Waterbed Mattresses

Waterbed mattresses were popularized in the 1970′s but, like most things 70s-based, they have experienced re-births. The features that attract people to them are mainly that they can be heated, which is a great advantage in the colder climates, and the fact that well-made waterbeds can be extremely comfortable because water takes the body shape completely and creates little pressure on the body. In addition to this the water provides a dust-mite and allergen-free “filling” to the mattress so they are good for people with allergies.

There are two basic types of waterbeds: soft-sided, which includes a water-containing mattress inside a foam frame and sitting on a platform; and hard-sided where the mattress usually sits within a wooden frame on a plywood deck. The latter type is usually cheaper.

Nowadays the designs of waterbeds have been improved and the single-chamber waterbed, where every slight movement in bed creates a wave to your sleeping partner, has been superseded by beds that control motion transfer very well, using either fiber batting, interconnected water chambers or a combination of air and water chambers.

Futon Mattresses

Often considered the domain of the student and apartment dweller, the futon is still alive and well in furniture and sleep land! Popularized during the 1960′s and 1970′s in the US, they were seen as a versatile and cheap alternative to the standard inner-spring mattress sets.

They are versatile because many futons have a frame that can be collapsed to form a bed frame or raised to make a sofa or chair frame. It doubles up the uses, which is great for someone who lives in an apartment, without a spare room for guests. It means their visitors have a place to sleep without it taking up any more space.

Futon mattresses will usually be sold with a recommended frame, but can be bought separately. They will usually be filled with cotton and batting and will be available in most of the standard sizes, with many choices of removable cover, from colorful cotton designs to vinyl or leather-look.

Air Mattresses

Air mattresses are a great alternative to a standard mattress if you are looking for somewhere for the kids’ friends to sleep during a sleepover, somewhere for guests to sleep on if you don’t have a spare room, something to take camping or even a mattress for the main bedroom if you don’t want a traditional innerspring or foam mattress.

The old PVC air mattress of the 1970′s, which resembled a body-size float for use in a swimming pool, is still available today and is very cheap, but there are far more advanced air mattresses to choose from now – some air beds are the size and shape of a conventional bed, can be bought in king size even and cost almost as much as a standard quality mattress set. The basic ribbed PVC design may now be vulcanized rubber with a fabric coating for extra comfort, the pump may be built-in, battery-operated or electric, rather than foot pump or oral inflation method of old. Yes, the technology has advanced greatly, so if you’re looking for temporary bedding or you just fancy sleeping on air, then air mattresses are worth another look these days.

Crib Mattresses

Normally you will find crib mattresses on sale at mother and baby stores or in the baby-care sections of large retailers, though some bedding centers may stock them too, as well as specialist online stores.

Buying a crib mattress needs some thought and research as cribs are associated with the highest child injury rates of any nursery item. Certain precautions you will need to take when looking for a crib mattress include measuring your crib and the mattress carefully as not all “standard” sizes are standard at all, making sure the mattress is not too soft and carefully reading labels so that you know the exact composition of your mattress. All of these factors can prove hazardous for your child, for different reasons.

Mattress things to consider

There are a number of other things to consider before committing to buy:

• Robustness – A new mattress is a big investment, so you need to make sure that your new purchase will last. Part of that equation is down to how you take care of it after you’ve bought it, but the biggest factor in how long it will last is the quality of the materials used in its manufacture.

• Comfort – I keep stressing that comfort is the most important factor, and I make no apologies for repeating it here. It is vital that any mattress supports your body frame adequately, so make sure that you get one that provides lots of support around your head and neck, and in the pelvic region. These are the areas that will make the difference between you getting a good night’s sleep or not.

• Size – There are two things to consider when choosing the size of your mattress. Firstly you need to know the dimensions of your bedroom to ensure that your new bed will fit. Second, if you have the space in your room, you should never scrimp on the size of the mattress you buy. A king mattress will generally be more than big enough for most couples, and it is a great size if your children are in the habit of sharing your bed.

To help you choose the right size, here’s a handy mattress size chart:

Never forget that you will be sleeping on your new mattress for the next 10 years or so, so take your time making your decision. Use the cheap mattress reviews on this site, and don’t base that decision purely on price, because if the mattress is not comfortable as well, it will probably need replacing quite quickly.

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