Tempur style visco elastic memory foam mattresses

Probably the biggest, best known, and most expensive memory foam mattress on the international bed market is the Tempur mattress.

Tempur were probably the first mattress company to apply the NASA developed memory responsive material to this application and they have a name built on many years of product development and retail sales. As yet, they do not sell directly over the internet.

The Tempur product is generally recognised as using the highest grades of memory foam and offering the longest warranties, but also as having price tags that range from double to three times those of many other comparable products.

There are several different Tempur products, all with differing compositions, mattress depths and sleeping characteristics, but each has an equivalent and cheaper alternative available through another manufacturer.

The features that vary across Tempur's range include the thickness of the memory foam layer, the thickness of the supportive base layer (or layers), the ventilations system (or systems) and the inclusion or otherwise of two different visco elastic top layers with slightly differing properties.

All of these features can be found in mattresses by other suppliers.

Alternatives to Tempur

There is no shortage of Tempur alternatives and it is quite easy to compare mattress specifications across on-line retailers and find multiple equivalents to all of the Tempur range. Some would even argue that a number of the substitutes offer superior features and more advanced memory foam production and design approaches in their products.

What all memory foam mattresses should have is a top layer of visco elastic foam. This can be anything from 6cm to 10cm thick and of varying density. Tempur are known for using a high density foam, but density alone is not a measure of comfort, longevity or wear, so the myth of high density being the most important factor is now largely dismissed by mattress users.

Beneath the memory foam there should be a firmer and more resilient base foam. This material support the memory foam and sits on the bed base. These mattresses always have a right and a wrong way up.

The ventilating layer (or layers) are often found at the intersection of the different foams and may take the form of a castellated (open) interface that allows air circulation within the mattress.

Other features to look for include "cool feel" foam. Memory foam has a reputation for "sleeping hot", but some of the new mattresses use a memory foam that is designed to never get hotter than body temperature.

This feature can be further supplemented if the mattress cover is made from a heat sensitive and breathable material like CoolMax that regulates body heat.

Memory foam mattress prices

Prices for memory foam mattresses really do vary significantly.

Expect to pay at least 30% more if you buy in a store rather than online, and also expect to pay for the big brand names, even though many are made by the same manufacturers who sell under lesser known brands.

Equally, dismiss anything that appears too good to be true. Memory foam mattresses Size – double) that retail at less than 300 US dollars or 200 UK pounds Stirling may be great for 3 or 4 years use, but they will not last the term. This is OK so long as you realise what you are getting, namely a memory foam mattress that works out at less than 20 cents (15 pence) per night's sleep.