The Company
Best Price Mattress, Inc. (BPM) is located in Union City, California, not far south of Zinus in San Leandro. Started in February 2009, it has several mattress stores in the Bay Area, but also sells its mattresses nationwide on its own website and through Amazon and Walmart.
The primary selling point of this company is in its name, Best Price. Amazon lists the origin of all but one of the mattress models as “Imported” or “China.” There may be questions about the quality of foams made in China, as expressed by Dr. Swartzburg in “Beware of Cheap Imitations.” Quality control in China and in South and Southeast Asia is not at the same level as in Europe and North America, but it does vary from company-to-company and plant-to-plant. BPM does not identify the manufacturer of its foams and/or mattresses, but judging from reviews and ratings, they may be at the higher end of quality in China. Some American firms, such as South Bay International and Zinus, own their own factories over there and manufacture on contract for other brands.
Products
Best Price Mattress lists four lines of products: Mattresses, Beds & Bed Frames, Mattress Toppers, and Accessories. There are three series each in Mattresses (Memory Foam Mattresses, Gel Foam Mattresses, Inner Spring Mattresses), Beds & Bed Frames (Metal Bed Frames, Box Spring Frames, Solid Wood Frames), and Accessories (Rollaway Bed, Bed Pillows, Side Tables).
Mattresses
Most models (7) of mattresses by BPM are in the Memory Foam Mattresses series. The other two series have three models each. Each mattress is named by its height and signature features rather than by less descriptive labels. This makes it easier to focus on certain models when shopping instead of trying to find out what each model really has. Not as romantic, but more practical, this appeals to consumers looking for features and price points rather than class appeal.
Covers – However, the appearance of the mattress covers does have class appeal. Standard on all Best Price mattresses is a polyester jacquard cover fabric.
Delivery – Mattresses and mattress toppers purchased at BPM stores are delivered locally. Those purchased online or by phone are shipped from Union City, CA, and delivery time depends on the distance. Orders are shipped within one business day. All mattresses by Best Price Mattress are covered by a 30-day return period and a10-year warranty. The warranties on mattress toppers are 5 years for the 4” models and 3 years for the rest.
Certification – All foams uses in Best Price mattresses and toppers are CertiPUR-US certified “for performance, emissions, and environmental stewardship.”
Memory Foam Mattresses
Best Price Mattress highlights motion isolation in its description of the Memory Foam Mattresses line along with pressure relief. These are the hallmarks of memory foam. The seven models are 6″ Memory Foam Mattress, 8″ Memory Foam Mattress, 8″ Air Flow Memory Foam Mattress, 10″ Air Flow Memory Foam Mattress, 10″ Memory Foam Mattress, 12″ Memory Foam Mattress, and 12″ Grand Memory Foam Mattress.
In all of the mattresses in this series except the 6” Memory Foam and the two Air Flow Memory Foam models, the memory foam in the top layer is infused with charcoal for both freshness and cooling. Charcoal is advertised as improving airflow through the foam and absorbing odors from the air flowing through.
So far, so good. However, as with any absorbent, there is a limit, a point where the absorbing material is saturated and cannot take in any more unless it is replaced or recharged. Absorbed heat can be dissipated while foam lies unused, but this is not necessarily so for absorbed substances. With the absorbent infused into the foam itself, both replacement and recharging are out of the question.
In the four models with charcoal infusion, the foam in the second layer is ventilated. This allows more air to pass through, though it still has to have some place to go. This “soft” foam middle layer in these mattresses and the 6” Memory Foam model is labeled as the Pressure Relief System, but not as “memory foam.” This implies a role in enabling pressure relief by the memory foam above by keeping it from bottoming out, a transition layer between the memory foam and the base support layer.
The 2” middle layer in the two Air Flow Memory Foam mattresses is convoluted on the upper surface. This is to allow air filtering through the top layer to flow to and from the mattress border. In this respect, it relects the Airflow Transfer System of the Relief-Mart family of mattresses (Selectabed, Tempflow, Snuggle-Pedic), which is demonstrated in the video.
The support core of high density polyurethane base foam varies from 3” in the 6” Memory Foam model to 6½” in the 12” Memory Foam.
Gel Foam Mattresses
The construction of the three Gel Foam Mattresses is simple: top layer of gel-infused memory foam, middle layer of ventilated foam, and the high density base support core. These models are 7”, 9” and 11” high. The thicknesses of the layers are as follows:
7″ Gel Memory Foam Mattress – 1” top, 2” middle, 4” base.
9″ Gel Infused Memory Foam Mattress – 1½” top, 1½” middle, 6” base.
11″ Gel Infused Memory Foam Mattress – 1½” top, 2” middle, 7½” base.
The gel in the memory foam is for cooling. As has been discussed elsewhere, there are limits to the effectiveness of gel for cooling, as well as concerns about the durability of foams infused with beads of gel. But gel does have an initial cooling effect, and on Amazon, the Gel Foam Mattresses were rated higher by owners than the other Best Price Mattress models.
Inner Spring Mattresses
The separating of “innerspring” into two words in the name of this mattress series may be for effect, to make this group stand out from other innerspring mattresses on the market. Or it could be a play on words, to emphasize the springiness of these mattresses. The Inner Spring Mattresses series has three models: 8″ Independent Operating iCoil Mattress – Pocket Coil Spring Mattress, 8″ Contour Support Pocketed Coil Mattress, and 10″ Independent Operating Coil Euro Top Spring Mattress.
The springs in these BPM mattresses are 7” high encased pocket coils. Invented by James Marshall in 1900, pocket coils were designed for pressure relief. The coils are not tied to each other, so each coil responds independently to body weight, providing evenly-distributed support. This both relieves pressure and hinders motion transfer.
However, this conformity differs from the conformity provided 91 years later by memory foam. Memory foam has a “memory” of the impression made by the user’s body. Memory foam softens when heated by the body, letting it sink in. This means that it does not keep pushing up the same way on the larger, warmer body parts. It also means that it is still supporting the smaller parts.
On the other hand, as a coil spring sinks in, its resistance increases, so it pushes harder on large body parts. This is partly offset by the other coils supporting the smaller parts of the body.
A prime advantage of pocket coils over other coil types is that they do better when a mattress is compressed and rolled for shipment.
The jacquard cover fabric is quilted to fiber padding, and beneath is soft quilting foam. The 8″ Independent Operating iCoil has two half-inch layers of the soft foam; the 8″ Contour Support has one 1” layer; and the 10″ Independent Operating Coil has a 1” layer and a 1½” layer plus a ½” layer of high density base foam.
Mattress Toppers
Mattress toppers are thin mattresses placed on regular mattresses to add height or to adjust the feel of the mattress.
Best Price Mattress lists and sells seven mattress toppers, ranging from 2” to 4” in height: 2″ Ventilated Memory Foam Mattress Topper, 2.5″ Ventilated Gel Infused Memory Foam Mattress Topper, 2.5″ Ventilated Memory Foam Mattress Topper, 3″ Premium Foam Mattress Topper, 3″ Premium Ventilated Memory Foam Mattress Topper, 4″ Memory Foam Mattress Topper, and Tri-Fold Memory Foam Mattress Topper, 4-Inch.
All but the 4” toppers consist of only one layer each. The ventilated models have perforations through the foam for airflow. The 2.5” toppers differ in one being gel-infused. The 3” models differ in one being ventilated. And the 4” toppers are the same, but with one in three attached sections so that it could be folded for transporting or storing.
Evaluation
Except for the innerspring mattresses, memory foam is the key ingredient for Best Price mattresses.
Best Price Mattress, Inc. lives up to its name by offering mattresses at lower prices than equivalent models. They credit cutting out anything unnecessary to making, processing and delivering the product for their low prices. Evidently, having them made in China is part of this equation. In spite of this, judging from the responses of buyers, they appear to have managed to gain better quality than most China-made mattresses, making them a good buy for those who could not purchase more expensive products.
