Shopping for a mattress offers no easy choices

For starters, brand names inexplicably seem to begin with the letter “S” (Simmons, Sealy, Serta, and so on), creating a blurring sameness. Is Simmons a step up in quality from Serta? Is Sleep Number the name of the company and Select Comfort the bed it sells, or vice versa?

And even if you can figure out the differences between brands, it’s difficult to comparison shop because many manufacturers sell exclusive lines to retailers. So the mattress you like at Costco may not be carried at Sleepy’s — or if it is, it’s called something else.

Then there is incomprehensible tech-speak: advanced pocketed coil technology; PrimaCool gel; viscoelastic memory foam. A shopper visiting Macy’s in Brooklyn recently could find the Vitagenic Streamline Cushion Firm by Aireloom, $3,349 for a queen set with “plush talalay latex support.” C’mon, mattress people. Now it sounds as if you’re just making stuff up.

David Perry, an editor at Furniture Today, a trade publication, has been writing about the bedding industry for almost 30 years. “It’s tough to get your hands around,” he said. “One of the key points is that comfort is subjective. If comfort was objective, this would be simple.”

A demystifying seems in order.

■  A sea of white:It would help if mattresses were like couches and came in distinguishable styles, shapes, and colors. Butnot only do most mattresses look alike, but components that distinguish well-made models from lesser ones are hidden.

Perhaps that’s why names can reach absurdity in their effort to convey superiority: Edenton Luxury Firm (Simmons), Warrington Luxury Plush (Stearns & Foster), Vitagenic Gel Ultra Firm (Aireloom), Hybrid Utopian Retreat (Serta).

If you cut through the marketing-speak, though, identities emerge. Simmons trademarked the pocketed coil, a barrel-shaped, independently moving encased spring.

Tempur-Pedic is known for memory foam, and Stearns & Foster and Sealy both make spring and foam mattresses. All are owned by Tempur Sealy International. Serta is the number one brand by wholesale sales. Select Comfort is the main producer of air beds, which it markets under the name Sleep Number. Many brands have several lines, to hit a range of price points.

You have many choices. But of course that can prove overwhelming. So Perry suggests that shoppers focus less on hardware and more on the “software.” As he put it: “How does it feel to you?”

And while selling floors at department stores and chains like Sleepy’s are a fluorescent-lit sea of white, high-end stores tend to resemble a gentle pond. The more you’re willing to spend, it seems, the less you’re overwhelmed with options.

A new manufacturer wants to eliminate the dilemma of choice altogether. This year, Casper, a New York startup, introduced a one-mattress-fits-all product in standard sizes that can be bought online and ships inside a box.

Chief executive Philip Krim said he was inspired by hotel beds. “When you check into a hotel, they don’t ask you, do you need medium, firm, plush-firm or plush-soft?” Krim said. “There’s one mattress.” He added: “You don’t need 80 different choices. You don’t need to spend $5,000 on a mattress.”

The Casper mattress is made of memory and latex foams and sells for $850 for a queen. The company offers a 100-day trial period. If you don’t like the mattress, the company will send a courier to remove it for a full refund. (At bedding chains, there is usually a sizable return fee, and high-end retailers don’t allow returns.)

■  Why NASA? No part of mattress shopping is more complicated than explanations of what is inside the mattresses.

There are two basic constructions: inner-spring (or encased) coils and non-inner-spring.

An example of the former is Simmons Beautyrest, with its pocketed coils. Simmons says they ll move independently and conform to body shape and shifting positions.

Non-inner-spring (or specialty) mattresses include those made by Tempur-Pedic, which uses a proprietary form of memory foam, a heat- and pressure-sensitive foam that conforms to your body’s shape and was developed by NASA to cushion astronauts during takeoff and landing.

Ed Perratore, a Consumer Reports journalist, sees the focus on engineering as a smokescreen. “Things like how many foam layers, how many coils there are, the type of coils — some of this could help you, but it’s meant to keep you off-guard,” he said.

In the luxury bedding world, the focus shifts from construction to materials. Hästens beds, for instance, use horsehair that is sterilized for up to a year. Shane Bahng, director of global retail development for Hästens, said horsehair “naturally wicks away moisture from your body.” It also makes for a mattress that lasts longer than one made of synthetic materials, he said. “There’s no bringing it back once the synthetic materials break down. A bed made of natural materials can last a lifetime.”

Duxiana has a similar pitch, touting its Dux 101 as “handcrafted from the finest materials” and made with “Swedish steel springs.” Leaving aside the question of whether Swedish steel is somehow better than other variants, Perratore said, the bed doesn’t necessarily provide a better night’s sleep.

When Consumer Reports tested the Dux 101, it performed about the same as a $540 mattress from Original Mattress Factory.

■  One Day Sale! 365 Days a Year Only! Consumer Reports has found that people tend to spend $800 to $1,200 for a mattress, though a good mattress can be bought for less.

“From the models that we’ve tested, they seem to start getting good in the $600 to $700 range,” Perratore said, adding that even the $540 inner-spring mattress from Original Mattress Factory made Consumer Report’s recommended list. And because prices are fluid, especially at chains, there’s no reason not to haggle, even if you’re a day late for that big Columbus Day sale.

■  Read the fine print. Some retailers allow returns, but there are often conditions and fees. And mattresses purchased from many high-end retailers can’t be returned. Ask about the store’s return policy before buying.

■  Look for savings. One good thing about buying a mattress is you can almost always find a sale. Consider the sticker price a starting point, and don’t think you need to be satisfied with a token deduction. During a holiday sale, mattress prices can be reduced by 50 percent or more, Perratore said.

■  Remember, comfort is king. Ultimately, the manufacturer, the number of coils or layers of memory foam, and the price of a mattress don’t matter as much as how it feels to you.

If you lie on it for 15 minutes in the store and it feels good, it’s a reasonable indication the mattress will be right for you.