Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought the 6" twin mattress for my 95 year old mother that has been sleeping on a day bed with a 10 inch conventional spring mattress. My mother is 4'10" and getting into the bed had become increasing difficult for her. Her old mattress was also a very firm one, and she didn't seem to be sleeping very well on it. I bought this mattress for her because it is 4" thinner to lower her bed, and also because it is a bit softer than her old mattress. When we first got it, we unwrapped it and laid it on the living room floor to expand. It was really something to watch as it came alive and immediately started expanding. It took only a couple of hours to expand to the full 6 inches. I laid on it while it was on the floor, and it was plenty firm to be supportive, but it also felt plush and comfy. I wanted to test it because my mother has dementia and aphasia, and couldn't tell us if she hated her new mattress. The next night, we set it up on her bed and got all of the linens on it. She seems to be sleeping well, and it is so much easier for us to get her up on the bed. Then I started looking for a new mattress for myself. I had been using a double bed with an old box spring and mattress that over time had been built up with two 4" and one 2" layers of memory foam toppers. This was too "foamy". So I got a feather and down topper to go over the foam toppers. This was more comfortable, but anyone that has gotten a feather and down toppers knows what a mess they can be when the feathers start coming through the cover. So I got another one with the same problem. I finally bought a feather topper that had a zippered cover the feathers didn't come through. So I stuffed the other two into the same cover, and all seemed well for a few years. Granted, by this time, the height of my bed was above my waist, but I kind of liked it. It reminded me of the childhood stories about princesses with high 4 posted beds. Well, I am now 69 years old and the idea of having to fluff a 50 pound feather topper was getting more difficult. So the topper had to go!! Even though I had a new padded mattress pad over the memory foam toppers, I not only had a hard time staying asleep, but I woke up in the morning with back and hip pains that took half the day to walk out. So my search for a solution became more urgent. What mattress would work best for me?? The last time I bought a mattress was over 20 years ago, and the memory foam and feather and down toppers were the only ones available. So the options available were quite confusing - memory foam, gel foam, high density foam, etc. After a couple of weeks of research and reading reviews, I kept coming back to this mattress. I wanted something firm, supportive, and soft, but not so soft it was like quick sand. This one seemed to fit the bill. So I ordered the 12 inch full size. At this point, I can only say this was one of my better decisions. When it was delivered, I pulled 10 inches of old memory foam toppers off my bed, and put this mattress on top of the old mattress to expand. Within 6 hours, the mattress was expanded to the full 12 inches, and there was absolutely no odor that some of the other reviewers mentioned. I put on my mattress covers, linens, and blankets, and could barely wait to go to bed to try it. For the first time in weeks, I slept almost through the night, woke up earlier without feeling groggy, and had no back and hip pain!! This will be the second night on this bed, and I am actually looking forward to going to bed instead of putting it off. In comparing this mattress to some of the more expensive ones, I think the difference is in the cover. This one comes with a thin knit cover, and the others have a thicker quilted cover. If you plan to use a mattress cover, I don't think this matters. This mattress is definitely firm and supportive, but also has a top layer of the softer memory foam. So it is also soft, but not something you will sink into. For me, this is perfect. This mattress does not have gel foam which is memory foam injected with small particles of gel. The gel foam is supposed to be cooler because the gel help to distribute body heat. Memory foam holds heat and tends to emanate body heat. If you plan to use a mattress cover, this is also not an issue. I bought the Extra Plush Bamboo Fitted Mattress Topper on Amazon that totally eliminates any problem with heat. I know this is a long review, but I hope it helps someone else trying to get past all of the terminology in choosing a mattress. If my opinion of this mattress changes in the future, I will update my review.