A Milestone Edition
Silver Anniversary
2016 marked the 25th anniversary of the introduction of memory foam mattresses to the world. In 1991, Fagerdala World Foams began marketing the Swedish Tempur Mattress. It was made with their Tempur Material, which was developed from NASA‘s Temper Foam (so named because of its temperature sensitivity), the first commercially available visco-elastic memory foam.
And 2017 marked the 25th anniversary of TEMPUR-Pedic. In 1992, Fagerdala established the TEMPUR-Pedic in Lexington, Kentucky to market memory foam mattresses in North America.
In January 2017, TEMPUR-Pedic introduced the TEMPUR-Legacy™ to celebrate this milestone. This limited-edition is a plush mattress with a design which is unique in comparison with the company’s current models.
Mattress Construction
Cover
This 10″ mattress has a “Premium Fabric Cover” designed for this mattress. The super stretchiness of the fabric harkens back to TEMPUR-Pedic‘s introduction of thin, stretchable materials in the covers of foam mattresses to conform the foam to a sleeper’s body contours. The modern touch is the inclusion of moisture-wicking fibers to keep the sleeping surface dry. These also allow moisture to evaporate more quickly, keeping it out of the foam and cooling the surface.
Comfort Layer
The Comfort Layer at the top is made of TEMPUR-ES® material, 4-lb. memory foam, which is more responsive than the denser 5.3-lb. original Swedish Tempur foam. This is what makes the mattress plush. It is a little thicker than the Support Layer just beneath (approximately 2.25″ to 1.75″).
Support Layer
The second level down is the Support Layer of denser TEMPUR-HD® material. From its description as a blend of TEMPUR materials, it seems the density would be somewhere between 5.3 and 7.0 lbs.
Base Layer
The Base Layer is not a single block of foam, as in most TEMPUR-Pedic mattresses, but itself consists of three component layers of high-density polyurethane foam: two convoluted layers and one solid layer. Early TEMPUR-Pedic mattresses used convoluted foam for cooling because it lets air flow horizontally. However, this is not very effective at the sleeping surface unless air can flow vertically between the top and the convolutions. Open-cell foams are not as effective for this as vertical pores, such as in the Airflow Transfer System used by Tempflow.
Evaluation
To celebrate its Silver Anniversary, TEMPUR-Pedic has created a mattress with instant response and deep conformity. This is not like the original TEMPUR-Pedic mattresses, but more like the Tri-Pedic introduced by Selectabed in 2003.
The Legacy not only has a quicker response than the company’s first products, but it is also cooler with open-cell foam and convoluted foam in the base layer assembly. According to the customers, it works, even though not as effectively as the Airflow Transfer System, also designed by Dr. Rick Swartzburg, which is an option for the Tri-Pedic and standard on TempFlow mattresses and the Snuggle-Pedic Mattress.
Marketing
Most retailers, online and on-site, who carry TEMPUR-Pedic mattresses have carried the TEMPUR-Legacy™ in 2017. This celebratory model has also been for sale online directly from TEMPUR-Pedic. It has not attracted the same level of customer response as the regular models. However, it has made some sales. For a short while before this review was written Twin Long Legacy mattresses were “currently not available,” but they are now available again, a sign that the company is producing them as needed to keep selling them at least through the end of the year.
Customer Ratings
We calculate our ratings in accordance to our Verified Review Policy.
The only place with reviews of the TEMPUR-Legacy™ Mattress is Amazon, with only 20. Of these, only one is a verified customer review (VCR). However, this means having purchased the mattress through Amazon, and a number of customer buying products in stores post reviews online where they can be seen, and Amazon is a popular place for these reviews.
Of the 20 customer reviews on Amazon of the TEMPUR-Legacy™, the only ratings awarded are 5 Stars and 4 Stars. sixteen reviews (including the one VCR) rated the Legacy as 5 Stars, and four as 4 Stars, for an average customer rating of 4.8 Stars. The reviews themselves, several rather lengthy, evidence genuine ownership.
TEMPUR-Legacy
$1,799.00 - $2,057.84
Pros
- Pressure relief
- Conforming
- Not too soft
Cons
- Too warm for some sleepers
- Initial odor
