A friend is asking about their options for a Mattress. They need something cheap but reasonable and it will only be needed for their last 2 years of college. This is something that a lot of families need to deal with. They need a nice mattress for limited use. Maybe its for a child that is growing or for a guess bedroom or vacation home. Whatever the reason behind its use the cost needs to be low an the quality needs to be better than a blow up air mattress. However don’t throw away the Air Mattress thoughts all together because they can be used for guests to get through a weekend or sleepover.
My suggestion for this person is a bed in a box coil spring foam top mattress that you can get at one of your large retailers. Often these beds are sold online only so ship to home is a good idea unless the place that you live in would be better suited for a store pickup.
When you are ordering a bed in the box you have 2 choices. Either a full foam mattress which is fine for many people or a coil spring mattress with an optional foam topper.
I went with a 10 inch mattress that comes with a foam topper. The only drawback is that with a foam topper you can not flip the mattress over to rotate it like you do the tires on your car. Rotating your mattress is a good idea because the upper torso is heavier than your legs and you will reduce stress on the mattress by turning it every month or so. Even though the foam topper means you can only rotate it in one direction its still advised to do this.
Standard full foam mattresses are great for lighter children or adults. If you need a bit more support then go with the coil spring.
Which ever you choose you should not expect a bed in the box to be as firm as an extra firm mattress that you purchase from a store. You are going to get a mattress that feels soft the first few weeks if you are use to something harder but after that you will get use to it and enjoy that it is much softer on your back.
Air Mattresses
This is an option for people that have family or friends visit for the weekend. Its not a perfect solution but it will be much better than a couch or the carpet. The best bet is to find a sale on them during the early spring or late fall. Because they are often associated with camping they often go on sale. I have never seen anyone ever use them in a camping situation though.
I have seen these mattresses as cheap as $25 with a basic inflation device or maybe twice that much for a much better quality mattress. I would not pay more if you are only using them once or twice a year.
If you got the best quality air mattress you probably could get months of continual use out of it but it would be a burden. So, go with a Coil spring or foam mattress if you need something for one to three years.
Final Note
So if you are in need of a mattress it doesn’t have to cost you $1,500 but you can’t expect the world from it.
A $150 twin size bed in a box will work fine for even a full size male adult for at least two years. If you are heavier you might want to go with a firm store bought mattress. For Teens and children you should have no problems.
You do get what you pay for but if you don’t need or want your mattress to last 10 years then don’t pay $1500 just pay 10% of that and replace it in a couple years and you get a nice new clean mattress free of all the problems children have or even sweat on warm nights from us adults.