Signature Sleep Memoir 10" Memory Foam Bed Mattress

Like so many others, I was extremely nervous about purchasing a mattress online. I'm a broke, recently graduated college student. I couldn't afford to buy this mattress, hate it, and then get something else. I also have a bad back (I've been in chiropractic treatment for the last four years) and have been a chronic insomniac since I was 8. I had a Sleep Number mattress for many years, and this memory foam mattress blows it out of the water! FRIMNESS: This is a firm mattress. If you plop down on this mattress, it feels hard at first, and then you sink into it. I needed a firmer mattress for my back, and this is perfect for me. With my Sleep Number bed, I had it set on 50-60 (out of 100, 100 being the firmest possible) and the problem was it wouldn't stay at 50-60. The problem with air beds is that the longer you sleep on them, their ability to hold air depreciates with time. I would have to fill it back up every few days, and it still wasn't giving me the back support I needed. With memory foam, you don't have that problem! It's the same firmness and support every night. The lower curve of my spine is a bit curvier than most people, and lying flat on my back on this mattress it feels completely supported. The foam definitely contours to your body. BAD BACK: I've slept on this mattress for two weeks now. After graduation I moved from NY to TN, a 14 hour drive that I knew was going to murder my back. I shipped this mattress ahead of time to my friend's house and she set it up for me--no chemical smell, and it rose to the full 12 inches within a day. She complained that it was really a two person job but she managed to haul it up the stairs and open it herself. (I bought her beer as a thank you.) On an average night on my Sleep Number bed, I would wake up anywhere from 3 to 5 times a night. On the two weeks I've slept on this mattress, I've woken up no more than once a night, and that's been more about getting used to sleeping in a brand new place. This is a huge, huge, HUGE improvement for me. Last night I went to bed with an aching back from a day of walking around Nashville. I iced a little before I went to sleep, and woke up this morning with my back feeling completely renewed and rested and not achy at all. If you have a lot of mid to lower back pain and are constantly aching after long days of standing/walking, this is a great mattress! HEAT: A huge problem with memory foam is that they can be incredibly hot. I am a person who needs to feel cool or I can't sleep. (Like, 65 degrees in the room kind of cool.) I have noticed some heat with this mattress, but not enough that it's an issue. I sleep with three blankets on me--two quilts, one comforter, and I'm completely comfortable. This may be different depending on what temperature you need to be in order to sleep comfortably, but I imagine if I ever got too hot just removing a blanket would fix that problem. SHEETS: This mattress does not require deep-pocket sheets. MONEY: I had budgeted $300-400 for a new mattress. Like I said, broke and recently graduated. With tax this came to $328, free shipping. I had a $25 Amazon gift card that brought it down to $303 and I couldn't be happier with the price I paid for such a quality mattress that has been a huge help for my back issues.

We have been using this mattress for a week now, so I now feel comfortable writing an initial review (no pun intended). I like the mattress a lot, I ordered my kids twin inner spring mattresses from Amazon last year, so the rolled up vacuum packed mattress concept wasn't the novelty it was then, but was still kind of cool. Naturally the mattress is a bit heavy, my very healthy 19 year old son and I had no problem carrying it (still in the box) to my bedroom, we had more trouble carrying the old pillow top mattress out. The box has a cartoon of a tiny female loading the mattress in its box into her Mini and carrying it into her house, she must be a very strong woman, she would have to be to accomplish this by herself. Anyway, the mattress unrolled and inflated without issue, and didn't even have wrinkles on the cover. Once inflated and ready, we put the same sheets we used on our old pillow top on it, and they fit very well, and were easier to get the corners pulled down than the old mattress. We reused our old (very high quality, very good condition) box spring, and it doesn't seem to be a problem with this mattress at all. I have never used a memory foam mattress before, aside from trying them out in a couple of stores (After laying down on one I was hooked). I have always preferred a very firm mattress, my wife prefers a soft mattress, so we have never been able to find one that was just right for both of us, until now. The first few nights I was a little off put by the feeling when you first lay down on the mattress, it felt kind of mushy (remember, I like a very firm mattress), but once you lay down the mushy feeling goes away and everything feels nice and firm, not hard, and certainly not lumpy, just nice and firm, once you have sank down into it and it contours to your body, the feeling is hard to describe, but it is very comfortable and pleasant. My wife also really likes the mattress. We have both been sleeping better, and I wake up feeling more rested. Our old mattress wasn't completely worn out, but it was showing its age at eight years, and my wife was starting to complain. It wasn't until I slept on the new mattress that I realized how bad the old one was. I have minor back issues, and the old mattress wasn't helping matters, the new one does help them, since getting it I have been waking up feeling great. I had been waking up with minor pain in my back, and my knees and shoulders feeling a little stiff and aching a bit, I just chalked it up to getting older (I am 41, and have lived an action packed life, never holding back physically), but since changing mattresses I have felt great in the morning. I didn't realize it at first, I just woke up and went about my routine (I am not a morning person), a couple of days later I realized that when I stood up after drinking my cup of coffee that my back wasn't aching, and my knees weren't cracking, I also noticed that my shoulders felt fine. I won't say it was a life changing experience, it wasn't. What it was was a good reminder that you spend a huge part of your life in your bed, and compared to what you get out of it a few bucks more or less on a mattress is nothing, and with the prices for this mattress there is no reason to accept a worn out or poor quality mattress. My only concern is longevity, neither my wife or I are that overweight (I have to admit to suffering a bit of middle age spread, but no more than 20 pounds), so I would expect a quality inner spring mattress to last 6-10 years, and would like to think I will get that much out of this mattress, but if I don't I won't be upset, the price is half of what I expect to pay for a lower end quality traditional mattress, so if I replace it after three years, I will still be ahead, four years or more and it is still a bargain. I still have a few questions about this mattress, and concerns, but won't know the answers for a while. It is February in East GA, the weather is cool, so I wouldn't be able to tell you if it holds too much heat until later in the spring. I honestly don't know how it will hold up over time, but I do know this, if it is still performing like it does now in two years, I will almost certainly replace it with another one just like it, if it lasts three years I promise you I will replace it with the same model. However it works out, I will update this review for better or worse. UPDATE Nearly three years later and I am still happy. One side is starting to get worn out, but that is my fault, I haven't rotated the mattress a single time, I don't think it would be an issue if I had. After a couple of long hot summers I have no complaints of the mattress being too hot. When it is time to replace it, I will get another memory foam, maybe this same model.