Brenham II Firm Pillow Top 16" (SKU: SEA-BRE-4M-FPT-25, MPN: 53200440, GTIN: 748369693210)

It's not a one size fits all (Medium for side and firm for back). It is seriously dependant on you and your conditions. What is most important is spinal alignment and comfort which can be achieved with a firm mattress with a good coils system for support, even if it has a padded type cover with a little bit of foam or natural material for just a bit of conformance. I would look for a hybrid with solid coils system support and a tight padded quilt top (not necessarily a big euro top although that is an option) Mattresses like the Sealy Elite series in Firm with quilt or padded tops and Helix Twilight Elite... The beauty of Helix Elite is the comfort layer is encased and easily swappable while keeping the solid coil support system. Good luck.

The local retailers that carry helix here (not the big stores but the smaller ones) will give you the sleep trial but under their conditions. For instance one I visited yesterday will allow you to exchange the mattress for anything in the store. Also inventory to "try" is limited. He had two luxes, and one elite. I am driving 2 hours today just so I can lay on a Helix Twilight Elite, because all the other one had was a Midnight Elite. As for the big brands, they are still valid. Sealy Pro and Elite lines have their best coil support system and are good...all the comfort options as well. The Sealy Elite Firm Quilt Top is still in my top 5. I tried the Casper's and Nectars and eliminated them right away. Also eliminated Tempur right away. Eliminated Puffy as well. Eliminated Dreamcloud as well. Interestingly in the one store yesterday they had Diamond Mattress there and their Black Diamond Firm Quilt top was very nice and is now in my top 5. I was shocked as it looks and feels like a Helix Elite series for less money. As for foundations I am considering many...either platform like Xplat, Knickerbocker Platform 360, or the awesome SD Indestruct or traditional foundations like the Big fig one or the Beloit Heavy Duty (lots of slats) or the Terra. Even if I buy more mattresses down the line, I want to do a one and done on the foundation. See if you can find a Diamond Mattress retailer near you...I was really surprised.

I ended up with the Diamond Mattress Black Diamond. I am early into my 120 night trial. It looks and feels very high quality and is heavy. It is a bit firmer than we remembered but might loosen up. If I do an exchange it will be the Helix Twilight Elite which has a swappable encased comfort layer consisting of two foam layers and micro coils. I still think that is the best but wanted to save some money...lol.

I will just add that the two mattresses that were mentioned by dark night (Thermobalance Elite and Helix Plus Elite) both are made by 3Z in the USA and have the unique feature of being able to swap only the comfort layer on the top which is really nice. I think either one of these two would be great. As far as the big brands, while I agree with the assessment on the BR, I actually think that the Sealy Elite line (Spring series) are also very good mattresses. Those are the three I would lean towards.

Sealy Elite Spring series are a good series and have a great coil system for support. You are light enough that the pillowtop may not compress/fail but I tend to go for straight quilt top mattresses. Brenham II is made in quilt top & pillowtop so you could do either.

You can select any mattress with a good coil support system (preferably zoned) and then get whatever comfort layer you want on top. The top comfort layers can be one of three designs (Quilt, Euro, or Hybrid) and that will determine the thickness and types of foams you get as well as the density. While this applies to most foam over coil mattresses, I will just use Sealy as an example. Their PRO and elite lines use their best coil system. Let's just use elite for example... You can get a Sealy elite in all three configs for the comfort layer. I would stay with their firm choice and try all three top types. (Ie: Albany II or Brenham II)... The Euro top will give you a thicker layer of non memory foam for cushion, the quilt top a bit less and the hybrid top will be a thick layer of memory foam (my least favorite). Good luck!

The Sealy Elite series are my top choice in the Sealy series (Pro series as well if you want to save a few bucks). These two lines carry Sealy's best and most supportive coil support system. I personally prefer Firm (Albany II) but my wife would go for the Brenham II all day long. All in all if I bought Sealy, I would choose this mattress line all day. I think it's a great choice if he likes it and should be good for years to come.

BeautyRest World Class series which is actually my preferred series in their line as it's higher quality than the two lines below it and doesn't seem to have as many QA issues as the Black series above it has. I think this line is solid. (Series 3 or 4) Sealy - as long as you stick with the Pro or Elite line there, you will get Sealy's best coil system and you can choose what kind of comfort layer you want (plush, medium, firm) and the top layer format (hybrid, quilt, euro). That would also be a solid choice. (I would choose an Elite Series) Sterns - I like their Lux Estate models and again you can choose your comfort layer and top format. Helix - Gets a lot of love in the community and specifically they make a lot of models that are designed for the different sleeper positions. I would consider their luxe models for a bit more comfort over the core models. An example of how much they offer is if you want a luxe model that is Firm, they make one for side sleepers and one for back sleepers...the difference is they simply replace one layer of foam with another or swap those layer orders. Helix makes an Elite line and if I were to buy one it would be one of those...not because the comfort layer is thicker or it has micro coils and foam, but for the flexibility of the comfort layer swap. The entire comfort layer (several layers) is encased in a cotton cover that simply slips into the Top cover. You can swap just that layer later when your needs change for much less than buying a new mattress. Start off with Helix Midnight Elite and feel you need it firmer? Just have them send you a Dawn or Twilight comfort layer and swap it. Pretty convenient. Diamond - Ultimately my wife & I choose the "Black Diamond" series from Diamond Mattress. It had everything we wanted (just enough give on the top layer without being soft, a good coil support system and cooling features. We bought the Black Diamond Vail (Lux Hybrid Quilt Top in Firm). If we dont like it (Not here yet), The Helix Twilight Elite is my next go to. Good luck!!

Run down to your Mattress store and lay on some Sealy Pro or Elite series mattresses. They have one of the best coil support systems. The Elite will have more/thicker foam and some cooling tech, but if it's out of budget grab a Pro series. I recommend medium firmness, spring series, Pro or elite line, and quilt top. Half the price of previous recommendation.

Sealy Posturepedic Brenham II Pillow Top. Had it for almost 4 months and I love it. I’m a big guy and a side sleeper and it has alleviated my back pain.

Typically when a customer is trying to choose between two beds one softer and one firmer but they can’t decide I will recommend the softer bed as long as it gives them proper support because generally it’s going to give better pressure relief. Do you know what the models of the posture pedic are because it could make sense like a high point or brenham firm will contour more and maybe feel softer than an Albany or Pro medium. At the end of the day trust your body.

Do you think the Brenham PT Medium is comparable to the High Point Hybrid Soft in general feel? Asking bc I have the HP Hybrid Soft and it's too sinky/doughy, yet also causes some shoulder pressure. I just tried the Brenham PT Medium and it felt more normal in store. But wondering if it will feel roughly the same as the HP once I am sleeping on it (if I was to do an exchange). I.e., I'd rather not go through hassle of exchange if I am effectively getting the same mattress again.

The boring mattress founder trolls reddit to post and prop up his own product. But goddamn I just bought a queens hybrid because I was only allowed one 100 sleep night with T&N and I wanted to try out the Mint Hybrid because for some reason during Labor Day it was cheaper than the regular queen hybrid. Turned out way too soft. Boring mattress queen hybrid about half the cost of T&N and turns out to be pretty much exact firmness I was looking for. That also said, when I moved the T&N mint to the floor for the two weeks when both overlapped — the support on the ground made that mattress also pretty damn comfortable in a different way. Also slept on a pillow top sealy mattress at a Hyatt, was one of the absolute best nights in a bed I’d ever had. There is a purchase program. I did look into it. But I’m fine with the Boring one I’ve got now.

Sealy Posturepedic Elite Brenham II. Had lots more foam layers, and you sink into it. Not for us, but sleepers who are looking for that + warmth will like it. 

i know there are cooling mattresses, cooling mattress toppers, but i'll also mention cooling sheets. best sheets i ever got, that i actually had to switch out for jersey sheets in winter, were sijo eucalyptus sheets. i've seen very similar sheets on amazon, but not the same quality. they almost made me too cold, they were so breathable and cooling. natural fibers and even wool can help with temperature regulation. idk what kind of mattress you are looking for, but i recently got a sealy posturepedic elite brenham II and the quilted top is really damn comfy and plush even at medium firmness, and it's really breathable.