Foam Factory Memory Foam Measures Up to Competition

The popularity of memory foam mattresses has taken off over the last two decades, with greater attention being paid to health, sleep, and the unique benefits of this revolutionary material. However, this rapid industry growth can be both beneficial and detrimental for a potential customer. More selection and increased competition means lower costs and more options for shoppers. On the other hand, because of the relative infancy of memory foam compared to other bedding materials, many companies have entered the market hastily, introducing products without the ability or knowledge needed to provide the best service possible.

With more than three decades of experience in the foam industry, almost half of that spent working with memory foam, Foam Factory, Inc. understands the material inside and out. This knowledge, experience, and foresight, combined with their large warehousing capacity and purchasing power allows Foam Factory to produce top-quality memory foam mattresses at the right price, while providing clear, precise information that helps customers make the best decisions possible.

At first glance, the world of memory foam mattresses can most easily be segmented into two different categories: expensive and affordable. At the top of the memory foam price range is the industry innovator Tempur-Pedic®. While the company touts a line of the highest quality products, the drawback is that customers pay a lot for that quality. This is understandable for premium products, but with prices in the thousands of dollars, these mattresses are not economical for many people who simply desire a better sleeping experience.

For this reason, Foam Factory provides a tailored sleeping experience at a fraction of the cost of a Tempur-Pedic® mattress. with a selection of customizable options including size, height, and even what types of memory foam can be used. Foam Factory’s memory foam mattress prices start around $160, making them affordable for any budget.

At Foam Factory, the full specifications for every memory foam mattress can be found easily on each product’s page, with an overview, product details, and data sheets that list the tested properties of every foam type used in the mattress. Many brands sold through major online retailers only list general information along with the material’s density, like Bodipedic mattresses. Some brands, like Sleep Innovations, don’t provide any values for their products in their retail site listings, instead using vague and subjective descriptors.

Firmness, an incredibly important consideration when purchasing a mattress, also has a measured numerical value. Too often, firmness is described in vague terms as “soft” or “firm,” which doesn’t really say anything, since those are subjective terms. Open-cell foam has a range of standardized firmness values that typically span from 8 up to 70, which are not always provided by retailers, because they handcuff how broadly a product can be marketed. Without these, a foam can be easily given a number of traits without measurable data to confirm. Foam Factory is more than happy to provide this information for every foam product they sell, mattress or not.

Firmness values are found using a standardized assessment called Indentation Load Deflection (ILD).  The ILD test involves compressing identically sized materials a certain percentage of their height and recording the force required to do so, an objective performance assessment without any subjective interpretation. Foam Factory’s confidence in their materials and products makes it easy for them to provide customers with firmness figures and many others, helping people make informed purchases tailored to their needs.

Sleep Innovations, who only sells through retailers, doesn’t provide numerical values or descriptions for the firmness of their 12-inch memory foam mattress listed on Amazon. This gives the impression that all memory foam mattresses can be expected to have the same firmness, which is not true. Bodipedic, who also only sells through other retailers, states on Overstock that every item has a different firmness, as this is an inherent characteristic of memory foam. This is also not true, as quality memory foam manufacturers test and monitor their materials for consistency, maintaining measurable levels of firmness that can be counted on to be accurate. Some companies like Tempur-Pedic® allow customers to filter products by using words, which is helpful, but still dependent on a subjective designation. What constitutes a firm mattress for one individual may not be the same for another.

When not readily provided, finding this information can prove to be a challenge, especially when deciphering what roles the manufacturers and retailers play in the information process. Foam Factory manufactures and sells their own products, so should a customer have any questions about provided information, a simple call or e-mail will put them in direct contact with the people making their product.

While it may come as a surprise to some, almost no memory foam mattresses are made of a single solid sheet of foam due to the price and lack of support it would cause. Instead, memory foam mattresses consist of support layers on the bottom, with sections of temperature-sensitive performance memory foam on the top. Users still receive the custom contoured support and cushioning of memory foam without a sky-high price.

Layering is not standardized however, and every company makes their own decision on how to create a complete mattress. Foam Factory’s standard selection allows for any density memory foam to be applied in a 3″ or 4″ thickness atop a 5″ conventional foam base. These numbers were decided upon because memory foam less than 3″ has the potential to “bottom out” under greater body weights. Meanwhile, bases much thicker than 5″ are only adding extra height and cost to a mattress, because a body can only create so much compression. This layering creates a memory foam performance layer in contact with the user and a base layer for support that can be made from a variety of foam types.

Bodipedic’s Overstock listing for their 10″ queen-size mattress only features 2″ of memory foam. For almost $400, only 20 percent of the total mattress consists of the material it is being purchased for. A similar effect could be achieved by simply purchasing a much cheaper mattress topper and placing it on an existing mattress. Sleep Innovations’ 12″ mattresses on Amazon have a 2-1/2″ layer of temperature-sensitive memory foam, totaling about 21 percent of the product. Sleep Innovations’ 10″ offering had 3″ of performance memory foam, making up 30 percent of the product. In comparison, a Foam Factory mattress with a 4″ memory foam layer on a 5″ conventional foam base means 44 percent of the mattress foam is performance product, a far greater ratio than the other companies.

Despite the greater amount of memory foam per mattress, Foam Factory’s products are still more affordable than the other two companies. Measured against Sleep Innovations’ 10″ mattress with a 3LB density foam, Foam Factory’s 9″ mattress is less than $10 more, while containing denser, more durable 5LB memory foam of greater quality than the 3LB Sleep Innovations foam, as well as having about 14 percent more performance memory foam per mattress. Compared against Bodipedic’s 10″ mattress with 3LB density memory foam, Foam Factory’s 9″ mattress with 5LB density memory foam is slightly cheaper, yet offers higher quality memory foam, and more of it.

Additionally, both Tempur-Pedic® and Bodipedic include convoluted/eggcrate foam as a middle layer in some of their mattresses. The claim is that this cut pattern provides extra airflow through the mattress. While convoluted foam would provide more cooling airflow than regular sheet foam, this characteristic is only noticed when the material is in contact with the body. By having a peak and valley design, the eggcrate pattern allows more air to travel under the body. However, when placed under a memory foam layer, the convoluted foam only serves as added thickness, but even that impact is minimized, because the eggcrate pattern doesn’t have the same support strength of a solid sheet.  Foam Factory manufactures and sells convoluted memory foam mattress toppers in both conventional and memory foam, but does not use them as internal mattress layers where their design characteristics are negated.

The purchase of a new mattress is a major one, in terms of financial and personal impact. For this reason, it’s important to get a product that will meet your physical and budgetary needs. Foam Factory makes it easy to satisfy both of these requirements with their product variety, information, customization and knowledge, so you can rest easy in more ways than one.