and Haaga’s Mattress Factory
The Company
Mattress America, located in West Jordan, Utah, should not be confused with several Mattress America stores – not all related to each other – around the country. The stores sell mostly major brand mattresses locally, while the firm in Utah is a manufacturer and online retailer of mattresses.
Coincidentally, Haaga’s Mattress Factory, a consumer-direct mattress firm, has the same address and phone number. Except for the company names, the text on the About Us pages is identical.[1][2] As to who owns whom, since two persons with the last name Haaga are listed as owners, it appears the latter owns the former.
The family who owns Mattress America and Haaga’s Mattress Factory has been selling mattresses since 1979. There are a number of Haaga Mattress stores in and south of Salt Lake City, but no stores or participating retailers are listed for Mattress America, which sells on its own site and through Amazon.
The Mattresses
Mattress America (MA) has five models, Haaga’s Mattress Factory (HM) seven. With models that are close equivalents (same height and close firmness levels) there are significant differences between the brands. Take, for example, the 8” mattresses. The Ultra Rest 8 Inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress by Mattress America has two layers, the 8 inch Memory Foam by Haaga’s three. The 2” top layer in the Ultra Rest is gel memory foam. The 2” top layer in the 8-Inch is just memory foam. The MA, with a firmness level of 5, has a 6” support core of firm polyurethane base foam. The HM, slightly firmer at 6, has a 2” (or 1.5”) middle layer of “Soft Contour Foam” and a 4” (or 4.5”) support core of firm polyurethane foam [the numbers on a cutaway diagram differ from those in the product description].
Models
Mattress America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Haaga’s Mattress Factory
Ultra Rest 8 Inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 inch Memory Foam
Caress 10 Inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress . . . . . . . . . Midnight -10 inch Gel Memory Foam
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Halley-Latex
Revive 12 Inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress . . . . . . . . . . . Pedic-12 inch Gel Memory Foam
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hayden-Pillow Top
Frost 13 Inch Pillow Top Gel Infused Memory Foam Mattress . . . . . . . . . . . . Lilly-Gel Breeze
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kenley-Memory Foam Pillow Top
Renew 15 Inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Notable Features
* One Mattress America and three Haaga’s Mattress Factory models (Frost, Hayden, Lilly, Kenley) are hybrid mattresses with pocket coils.
*Two HMF models (Halley, Lilly) are latex mattresses: Lilly and Halley have both latex and memory foam.
*MA has the only 15” model (Renew).
*One MA model (Revive) has a middle layer with channels for horizontal airflow.
*The top panels of the covers are zippered for easy removal and cleaning.
Materials
Gel
Gel is used in all of the Mattress America models and three of HMF’s (Midnight, Pedic, Lilly). In these mattresses, gel is billed as cooling the memory foam in most of these models. Since gel is very heat-conductive, it quickly absorbs much heat. But this means that without a means to dissipate that heat, it will reach its limit and begin to warm up.
However, for Lilly the gel is called “Cube Shaped Gel” which provides “ultimate support.” This is because gel is a semi-solid material with fluidic support properties. According to the product description, the gel is in the memory foam, but the “cube shape” is not explained.
Memory Foam
Memory foam is the consumer product derived from the shock-absorbing, contouring foam developed for NASA. Its outstanding feature is the “memory” it has of the shape of a user’s body. This provides even support all along the body to relieve pressure on large parts (such as hips and shoulders) and continuous support for smaller parts (such as the lumbar).
Mattress America claims that its foams are “plant-based.” This term is applied to foams that have no more than 15% of plant-oil polyols replacing petroleum products.
MA and HMF state that their memory foam is open-cell. The original memory foam was closed-cell, and it tended to get too warm. Almost all new memory foam is now the open-cell variety, which lets air filter through the foam to dissipate heat and moisture. Their cutaway illustrations indicate that the top layer memory foam is vertically ventilated for real airflow and more effective cooling.
Not all Haaga’s Mattress Factory models have memory foam. The exception is the Hayden-Pillow Top, one of the hybrid mattresses.
All of their foams are CertiPUR-US certified. More about memory foam is covered in Varieties of Memory Foam.
Latex
Two Haaga’s mattresses have latex foam. HMF does not give any indication whether it is all-natural (100% from tree sap), synthetic, or a blend. Neither do they say whether it is Dunlop or Talalay processed. Latex is more resilient than memory foam, and several mattresses, including the Fibro-Pedic by Selectabed (a Relief-Mart company) and the Casper Mattress, combine memory foam and latex for the benefits of both. Selectabed puts the memory foam on top of the Fibro-Pedic to take full advantage of its pressure relief, but Casper, like the Halley and the Lilly, has the latex on top.
Cotton
Organic cotton is in the covers of all Mattress America mattresses. Cotton is selected for its breathability, organic cotton for the absence of pesticides, bleaches and other chemicals used in growing and processing cotton.
Wool
Wool is not named in any product descriptions by Mattress America or Haaga’s Mattress Factory. However, in their descriptions of the Halley, Lilly and Pedic, HMF ascribes properties like those of wool to an “All-Natural Sleep Surface” under the mattress cover.
Steel Coils
Four of the models by Mattress America and Haaga’s Mattress Factory are pocket coil innerspring mattresses. These individually wrapped coils are not wired to each other (though the pockets are connected), letting each coil respond independently to the weight put upon it. This makes this the most contouringly responsive type of innerspring, followed by free-end (LFK) offset coils.
Country of Origin
Mattresses by Mattress America and Haaga’s Mattress Factory are usually made in China, but are sometimes made in the USA when inventories are low. This brings up the issue of quality. As Dr. Swartzburg points out on this site, quality control for memory foam and other foams made in China is not consistent. Some manufacturers will make the mattresses and pillows here using foam made in China or other countries in Asia. The main advantage of this for manufacturers is cost. The best quality foam is made in the US, Canada and Europe.
Cooling
Traditional (original) memory foam tended to accumulate heat until it became uncomfortably hot. Then open-cell memory foam was introduced, and the heat issue cooled down. However, memories kept the association of heat with memory foam alive. Manufacturers began adding gel, graphite and other substances to memory foam to make it cool. But it has been observed that cooling with gel (or any other heat-absorbing material) has its limitations.
The most effective means of cooling foam (especially memory foam) is by airflow. This brings in fresh air to absorb heat while the heated air is removed. This is why open-cell memory foam is cooler than traditional memory foam. Better yet is perforation (vertical ventilation), which is used by several manufacturers, including Mattress America and Tempflow. Airflow is enhanced when horizontal airflow beneath the ventilated upper layer(s) conducts vertically ventilated air to the border of the mattress, as shown in this video. This is even more important when a mattress protector limits airflow at the sleeping surface.
Comparison with Major Brands
On its site, Haaga’s Mattress Factory compares four of its models – Kenley, Halley, Pedic, Lilly – to two major brand models – Beautyrest Recharge Mitzi (Macy’s name for Maddyn, Kenosha) and Intellibed Relief.
Warranties & Sleep Trial
Both Mattress America and Haaga’s Mattress Factory have a 100-night sleep trial/return period for their mattresses.
Warranties on MA models are 15 years for the 8” Ultra Rest, 25 years for Revive and Frost, and a Lifetime Warranty for Caress and Renew. On HMF mattresses, warranties are 10 years for 8” Memory Foam, 20 year for Hayden, Kenley, and Midnight, and 25 years for Halley, Lilly, and Pedic.
For both brands, shipping is free.
Conclusion
Mattress America and Haaga’s Mattress Factory sell memory foam and latex-memory foam mattresses at prices only a fraction of equivalent major brand models. On the positive side, this makes these kinds of mattresses more available to those who have less money to spend. On the other hand, there is the question of consistency of quality, since most of their mattresses are made in China.
Since MA’s mattresses are sold on Amazon, we’ll consider their reviews. The computer program for averaging ratings takes into account how long the customers used the mattress before reviewing it as well as other factors to yield a more meaningful rating.
The model with the most reviews (315) is Revive. This 12” mattress has an average customer rating of 4.3 stars. This is the model with the air channels in the second layer for enhanced cooling. It has 66% 5-star and 7% 1-star ratings.
The10” high Caress has the next highest number of reviews (74) and the highest average rating (4.4 stars). 74% of the ratings are 5-stars, and 7% 1-star. The method is different, but the second layer is also designed for airflow.
Overall, some Mattress America and Haaga’s Mattress Factory mattresses would be good buys for those who cannot afford more. But if you can afford it, try memory foam or latex mattresses from Tempflow, Selectabed, or Tempur-Pedic.
