Our son is moving into an unfurnished off-campus house next year. Among other things we need to buy him a mattress. We have a 7 hour drive to his school so the mattress is not something we are taking with us. We’ll order something to be delivered to his house. I only have experience with traditional mattresses but am considering one of the new “mattress in a box” brands where it is shipped to your house, you unbox it and it expands. If you have any experience with this type of mattress were you pleased with it and would you recommend a specific brand? Thanks in advance.
I have done it twice. You either need a bed with a solid platform or slats, or a box spring. It is very convenient. They are memory foam, so you have to like that.
We have a Tuft and Needle that we really like. They suggested a box spring from a company on Amazon. It came in two heights, so you could have a regular profile bed or a low profile bed. It was fairly easy to put the box spring together.
Normally the memory foam not are good.
But I used the Ikea mattress and are great.
It comes rolled, just take out the plastic cover and work perfect.
My son ordered this mattress from Amazon last year when he moved into an apartment and he’s been happy with it:
My kids are NOT very discerning but both think the IKEA mattress has a very limited duration of perhaps two years. If you don’t need the mattress for any duration, they’re ok. It was convenient. That’s the only brand I’m aware of.
We like the mattresses that come from Brooklyn Mattresses. Amazon has them.
Twice when our kids moved into apartments…we went to a local mattress place that delivered. We took the kids with us…they tried the mattresses out…and the place delivered them either the same day or the following day.
They both had inflatable mattresses to use while waiting for the new mattress.
Is there a mattress place near where your kid is moving? If it’s a national chain, you could probably try something near you, and order it to be delivered to the new place when you arrive.
My D needed a bed and mattress for just one semester, and we got the above linked Zinus for her, thanks to a previous CC post. I think we got the 8" or 10", and she put her memory foam topper on top of that. We also got the frame with the wooden slats - no box spring needed. Both pieces shipped to campus. She and her roommate put the bed together in about 10 minutes, and the whole set-up cost us under $300. She has been happy with it and we were thrilled to have an inexpensive and easy to deal with solution to her transitional bedding needs. Now she is selling it to the girl who is moving into her room in the apartment, so we’ll recoup some of the cost as well!
Just checked - we got the 8" thick mattress for $150, and the Zinus Quick Snap Platform Bed for $104:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0DX32O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If the price is right and the convenience works then go for it. No one has commented on the other end - what do you do with the memory foam mattress when you leave? They are not easy or fun to move.
If you do buy one, budget in a quality cover, one likely to withstand the demands of college life.
Consumer reports recently rated mattress in a box. My recollection is that it was highly rated, but you can probably get hold of the report. I also remember that there was some advice around “best practices” with these (including subsequent moves, perhaps? )
I have a Sapira. Love it.
Thanks to all for the responses.
we have some custom version, it is brilliant.
May not be an issue depending on where your son is located, but memory foam is hotter than other mattress types. I like how comfy it is, but we’re in Florida and I get hot at night, so we had to pass on the memory foam topper so we didn’t spontaneously combust. If you live where it’s hot or your son runs hot, you might want to look into alternatives to the memory foam.
I run hot all year long and love my memory foam mattress. It’s the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on. It isn’t hot at all. But it is incredibly supportive. And I have a cheap one. I can’t imagine how wonderful an expensive one would be.
I did a lot of research on this. See Mattrress Underground online. Dream foam Bedding”s Arctic Dream mattress gets rave reviews and is comparable to Tuft and Needle but half the price. Get the medium firm 10 inch if you do order either the company site or Amazon. $240 or so
I ordered an Alwyn mattress in a box from Wayfair. It unrolled and puffed up perfectly – it was fun to watch! If/when I need another mattress, I’d order it again in an instant.
Bed in a Box is located in the city we live in and the mattresses are amazing!