Spring Air Back Supporter - Can it live up to its name?
Written: Mar 06 '06
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Pros: Initial quality and comfort. fairly lightweight.
Cons: Long term reliability and comfort, customer service.
The Bottom Line: The quality simply isn't there.. I recommend that you check out the offerings from Sealy, Tempur-Pedic, or Simmons.
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| shoplmart's Full Review: Spring Air Back Supporter Mattress |
I purchased my Spring Air Back Supporter Pillow Top mattress a couple years ago as a replacement for my 10-year old Serta Mattress. My old Serta started giving me extreme back pain, so I figured a mattress with the designation "Back Supporter" would be a great idea, especially since I am no spring chicken and back problems seem to be a curse in my family.
What kind of mattress is this?
The Back Supporter Pillow Top is a one-sided mattress (no need for flipping) that is designed for those who would like extra body support without having to sacrifice comfort. The Back Supporter Pillow Top is a multi-zoned coil spring mattress with approx. five or so inches of three different types of foams. Spring Air has provided a stabilizing base foam (to reduce transfer of motion), a layer of conforma balance foam, and a thin layer of memory foam in the middle sections of the bed, where it's supposed aid in extra support from your shoulders down to your knees.
Being nearly 13 inches thick, this mattress (when nestled on the standard 9" boxpring) sits quite high from the ground, perhaps a little too high. Over the course of two years the pillow top has collapsed a bit, making its height a bit more bearable. If you are looking for a lower profile bed, Spring Air offers a shorter 6" foundation as an option with this bed.
Measuring nearly 13 inches thick, regular Queen sized sheets will not fit this mattress. When I purchased this mattress, I didn't even think about having to buy new oversized sheets for it. So in addition to the $699 I had to fork over around 200 bucks for a couple new sheet sets.
Specifications: Queen
Mattress Length = 79 inches
Mattress Height = 12.5 inches
Mattress Width = 60 inches
Coil Count =672
Lightweight- Easy to rotate
Why I bought this bed:
Before choosing my Spring Air mattress, I tested many other mattresses on the market. One of my favorites was the Tempur-Pedic Sleep System, but stores wanted upwards of 2,500 dollars for one; way out of my price range at the time. I also tested many of those copycat Tempur-Pedic mattresses and none of them even felt remotely close to a genuine Tempur-Pedic. Though my Back Supporter mattress by Spring Air didn't come with fancy Visco foam, it was by far the most comfortable bed that I tested with a sticker price less than 1,000 dollars. For the queen-size Back Supporter Pillow Top, I paid a frugal $699 before taxes for both the mattress and box spring at a furniture warehouse. Note: The Back Supporter series is also available in Firm, Euro-top, and Plush top.
Initial Impressions 0-6 months:
I prefer a soft mattress, but not too soft as to compromise back support. The Spring Air Back Supporter Pillow Top felt perfect; it was neither too soft nor too hard and provided excellent all-around body support. The quality of this bed, initially, also seemed like a winner. The Back Supporter’s antimicrobial casing offered an attractive quilted design that was extremely soft and felt durable. During the first few months of ownership I slept better than I had ever slept in my life. My back pain improved within the first week of ownership, I felt refreshed in the morning, and even the puffiness under my eyes seemed to diminish. My initial impressions of my Back Supporter series mattress didn't last much longer than a few months, however.
Post 6 months of ownership:
Despite rotating this mattress at least once every week (this is a no-flip mattress so all you have to do is rotate it) I still was not able to save this mattress from an early grave. In less than a year of owning this bed I started noticing that the pillow top surface of my Spring Air Back Supporter was beginning to look and feel distorted. When brushing my hand over the surface I could feel small peaks and valleys in the bed. At the time I really didn't think of it as a major concern, as it wasn't affecting my sleep and Spring Air claimed that it was normal wear. Just a few months later, however, the top layers of foam started separating from each other, leaving large gaps between the first and second layers of foam. I would literally have to pat my bed down in the morning in-order to restore a somewhat linear surface. Also, despite the Spring Air company boasting that this bed has a 20% better sleeping area due to foam enforced edges, sleeping anywhere near the edge does not offer adequate sleeping support. Not a big issue for me really, as I sleep in the middle of the bed anyway. If you do need a bigger sleeping surface, I wouldn't count on having those foam-enforced edges being a true sleeping area. All that said, my Back Supporter was no longer the dream machine it was during the first few months of ownership. On the contrary, this mattress became so uncomfortable after a year that the floor offered a better sleeping surface.
The Foundation:
The mattress itself may have been a lemon, but the foundation (made of Canadian Spruce and metal) has lasted its two years with absolutely no problems. I weigh approx. 120 or so pounds and sleep alone, so I wouldn’t expect there to be too much stress on the foundation, though I would also expect the same from the mattress.
Warranty/Customer care:
The Spring Air Company provides this mattress with a good 10-year warranty against defects in workmanship. To activate the warranty you simply go to their warranty site and register your bed (requires about 10 minutes of your time). Sounds good, right? Well, virtually everything that can possibly go wrong with this bed is said to be normal by Spring Air. For example, 1.5" body impressions are said to be the normal process of the pillow-top surface "settling." After years of the Spring Air Company stating that everything was normal with my Back Supporter, I finally was able to get a full refund from the warehouse where I purchased the bed.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
With poor quality, shoddy customer service, and comfort comparable to a worn out sofa, I don't recommend the Back Supporter Pillow Top Mattress by Spring Air. If you are looking for a quality bed to help your back, I highly suggest checking out the Tempur-Pedic or a bed with a better reputation.
Thanks for reading!
Recommended:
No
Mattress Size: Queen
Mattress Firmness: Somewhat soft
Amount Paid (US$): 699
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