Mattress

Bought a Novaform memory foam mattress from Costco a few years ago. Still providing a good night's sleep. 

We LOVE this one:

http://homemattresscenter.com/simmons-beautysleep-ruth-lux-firm-pillow-top

These guys deliver, too.

European Sleep works in Berkeley Ca. Check out there web site.

I've had a chronic bad back for long time so have literally tried just about every type of bed & what I ultimately settled upon was an all cotton futon mattress upon a wood frame.   I've narrowed down the issue within the mattress to "body impressions".    Memory foam mattresses by nature will create an immediate body impression & many will retain them to some degree.  Another thing I've learned is that most (if not all) traditional spring mattresses contain some (if not a lot) of memory foam.   Likewise, for Sleep number / air type mattresses.  So, it's important to determine how much foam (and what type) you're comfortable with.   Glad to hear ned and wife like their's, but have also found that pillow tops are more susceptible to developing body impressions (even firm versions) simply by virtue of having a larger cross-section of material. 

If you don't have a bad back(s), then much of this might be moot ... but what I really like about the all cotton futon (in addition to it's natural support profile) is how you can simply flip it over and around to mitigate / remove body impressions.  There's actually a traditional Japanese stick that's used for this too, but haven't tried it yet.

I have a bad back (hips), and this mattress is, by far, the best thing I've ever slept upon. I've done everything from  futon to foam to traditional spring, as well. I think we all adapt over time to whatever works in that time frame.

The Sleep Number beds look bloody awful. Who wants buttons and a power cord for a bed?

We love our OrganiPedic latex mattress. It is so comfortable and will last decades 

http://www.omimattress.com/lago-nouveau

Glad it works for your back ned, I just didn't have much luck with pillowtops.  However, at one point, I did find a very firm traditional spring + 2" latex topper (bought separately) to work relatively well ... but that also developed impressions that fucked with my back (and hips / SI joint). 

Since it's often difficult to really know for certain until you try it out for a few days, I'd suggest to Tim to try and find a retailer that has a couple / few options that are close to what you're looking for, but also offers a good sleep comfort guarantee / exchange policy. 

 Would love to find a manufacture that allows customers to add/modify internal layers/components over time ... I imagine it'd be a great way to be able to really dial-in things for each person's needs.

I love my sleep number bed, my number is 100, have not had back issues since purchasing it, and I have had two herniated disc and a degenerative spine in my neck. And it is as firm or soft as the day I bought it

And I have added memory foam to the sleep number, just unzipped it, added the foam and good to go. For my back the former the bed the less problems I have. A pillow top would just be too much soft for me 

And I have added memory foam to the sleep number, just unzipped it, added the foam and good to go.<<<

That's what gave me the idea ... I remember having to "assemble" the sleep number bed & was thinking it'd be great to be able to customize various internal components within a traditional mattress setup in a similar way that you added foam.

I sleep on a Pallet on the floor that the good Lord gave me.

I sleep in a cold iron bed and i can't tell my pillow from a stone. Sigh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4pqqzFWedc