When my husband and I decided that we needed a new mattress, a memory foam mattress was the obvious choice. Due to my Fibromyalgia, I can always feel the springs, even on a very good mattress, and although I need a soft mattress for my tender pressure points, I also need good support.

Hubby lies on his back or front, whereas I lie on my side, so a memory foam mattress would hopefull solve all these problems in one mattress. Unfortunately, when we looked at the memory foam mattresses on the market we were shocked at how expensive they were. With those prices, we would have been seriously stretching our budget in purchasing even the cheapest (and far from best) of the memory foam mattresses available in stores or on the internet. Luckily, I saw that in the Ikea catalogue, memory foam mattresses started at just £90 (US$149)!
In the UK, Ikea has two types of memory foam mattress: the Sultan FORESTAD (ranging in price from £90 to £140) and the Sultan FURUDAL (ranging in price from £160 to £210). We chose a king-size FURUDAL as this was the top of the range of memory foam mattresses available in Ikea UK. For some reason the FURUDAL doesn’t seem to be available in the US or Canada, but the FORESTAD is (ranging in price from US$149 to US$299).
The FURUDAL is a thick foam mattress in 3 layers, with each layer divided into 5 comfort zones, which support your body where it is lightest and relieves pressure where it is heaviest. The top layer is of memory foam which
forms itself to your body and the bottom and middle layers of high resilience foam, makes the mattress hardwearing and prolongs its life, as well as provides more support. It has a cover of 100% cotton and filling of lamb’s wool, camel-hair and silk, designed to effectively absorb and transport moisture and maintain an even temperature.
The FORESTAD is in 2 layers: a top layer of memory foam and a bottom layer of high resilience foam. The bottom layer only is divided into the 5 comfort zones. The soft quilted top gives a cushiony surface.
My husband and I agree that the mattress is a definite success and we are both sleeping better on it. It took a bit of getting used to because when you first sit or lie on it, it feels very firm. But as the memory foam molds to the contours of your body it becomes amazingly comfortable and even to my sensitive body, never feels uncomfortable. I no longer get pressure points on my hips and shoulders when I lie on my side and my back is always well supported. Since getting the mattress I have had far fewer mornings where I wake up aching all over, which has been wonderful. The cover and filling are also amazing for night sweats – I may wake up with soaking pajamas, but never a soaking bed!
I would definitely recommend this mattress to anyone, but if you need a Spoon-worthy mattress on a tight budget, then I don’t know of an alternative! The only problem I’ve found is that I am now completely spoiled for other beds!
The Sultan FURUDAL mattress we have cost £210 for a European king-size
(160cm x 200cm or approximately 5’3” x 6’6”). Check out www.ikea.com.
Written by Lindsey Middlemiss © 2008 Butyoudontlooksick.com