What ever happened to waterbeds? (1 Viewer)

[Josh Simpson]

My parents still have one. They have for years, and complain of back problems. They are looking for a new mattress. I also had one for a few years, and also had back problems. Now I just have back problems because of my crappy regular mattress. Time for a new one I guess.
Bottom line.... don't scrimp when buying a bed. Splurge and your back will thank you.

 

[Henry Gale]

...don't scrimp when buying a bed.

Which gets to to a point I'd like to make....unless you're over 6' tall, who needs a Queen of King or California King size bed?
Is it an ego thing? I've been sleeping on a full size bed for my entire adult life. To match its quality in a larger matress would cost MORE MONEY. The sheets would cost MORE MONEY. The room would instantly be SMALLER. I don't get it.
The other bed in the house is the same size. When I reach for the linens I know they're gonna fit.
My girlfriend has a King size bed in her room and her children sleep on a Queen and a Full. Thats 3 sizes of sheets to keep straight. :frowning:

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Jim,

I am 6'3" and a restless sleeper, like lots of room even though I only have to share the bed with the cat and the dog.

I've found that even in a Queen size bed my feet hang over the end.

My mattress fits perfectly in the waterbed frame. I don't use a box spring under it as it's about the same thickness as the watermattress was.

Waterbed sheets (much cheaper than regular bedsheets of the same size) fit it just fine, and since it's a soft-sided waterbed frame a regular king or even a queen size comforter work fine as they don't have to hang over the sides much.

 

[Greg O' Connel]

I slept on a waterbed for 15 years, from the time I was 6 until I moved out of my parent's house when I was 21. I've never slept as good since. Honestly. Now that I have more disposable income, this thread has made me consider hunting down a water bed for my apartment.

 

[Max Leung]

When you're young, you can sleep on anything! As you get older, your sleep cycle changes. You will find it harder to fall asleep at night, and you will also find that you may sleep less. Also, your deep-sleep stage (before REM sleep) will not last as long, so your sleep will be less restful.

It has little to do with what you slept on when you were a teenager or in college. It's much more important later in life, where pain combined with less restful sleep will keep you up at night.

 

[Graeme Clark]

I slept on a waterbed from time to time (friends and my sisters had em). There was a certain novelty to it, but I can't say I really enjoyed sleeping on them. They were always either too hot or too cold and every morning I'd wake up wedged between the frame and the "mattress".

I'd take the couch over a waterbed.

 

[John Giddens]

They were always either too hot or too cold and every morning I'd wake up wedged between the frame and the "mattress".QUOTE]



A newer waterbed won't do any of these things. They have digital thermostats for temperature regulation, and all of the newer ones I've seen are soft side so they are placed in the same kind of bed frames that a regular mattress would utilize. They don't need the wood or padded rail to border the whole bed anymore.



While on the subject of hot and cold, I've never used the heater on mine. One reason is my locale I suppose since it never gets as cold in Houston as it would in say Vancouver. The other reason is the pillow top and thick padded mattress container for the bladders keeps you isolated from the water bladders, versus the old style waterbeds where the only thing between you and the bladders was the sheets. Just thought I'd bring my total up to 4 cents worth.



Ryan,

If you've eliminated a waterbed, have you looked into the thermal foam mattresses. I seem to recall a thread going back awhile that had nothing but praise for them. I even recall in the thread they mentioned a specific place to get the mattresses at a reasonable price versus what you would typically find locally.

 

[Michael*K]

unless you're over 6' tall, who needs a Queen of King or California King size bed? Is it an ego thing?

Can't say I have a big ego (and I'm 5'11" BTW), but I do have two big Black Labs that need the sleeping space.

 

[Josh Simpson]

...don't scrimp when buying a bed.

What I meant was don't scrimp on the quality of the bed, not so much the size of the mattress. Believe me, I'm 5'8, I don't need a huge bed.

 

[Chet_F]

I'd recommend anything but a waterbed. I slept on one for many years until I was 20. The free flowing waterbed always made the swish swish sound evertytime I moved and then there was the BACK PROBLEMS. Take everyones advise and get an air mattress or a standard spring mattress.

Chet

 

[Max Leung]

I have a Tempurpedic mattress. It is awesome. I have back problems, and this bed helps a lot. I'd probably be happy with a regular foam latex mattress too, but I like the feel of the Tempur. The Tempur knockoffs aren't as good though, I find them too soft (soft mattresses are terrible for my back).

 

[MarcVH]

I think the larger bed syndrome fits a heuristic many people have, which says that a queen (or larger) size bed is an "adult" bed while twin or full is "for kids."

Certainly an adult who isn't too tall can sleep in a full (or maybe even twin) size bed, but for two adults one will probably prefer a queen. But in my experience, even adults who live alone and don't share a bed with anyone tend to prefer queen sized beds to feel grown up.

It's a wonder we're still stuck with the California King as the largest size. Someone should invent the "Sport Utility Bed" which is large enough for 8 people, 3 dogs and a canoe.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Someone should invent the "Sport Utility Bed" which is large enough for 8 people, 3 dogs and a canoe.

 

[Max Knight]

The actual cost difference (for a standard mattress) between a full and a queen size is minor. I think it was only $20 when I was buying my last mattress. One reason to go for a queen-size is that it is easier to find sheets in that size. When I had a full it was much more difficult to find sheets as most places stock twin/queen/king.
The other reason to have a big bed is more space to play

 

[AjayM]

Stearns and Foster....the only way to sleep.

Andrew

 

[Henry Gale]

Jim...Married people, that's who

No wonder my marriages didn't last!

Jim

 

[DaveF]

unless you're over 6' tall, who needs a Queen of King or California King size bed?

You're asking about "needs" on the Home Theater Forum ?!?
I'm 6' and my feet hang off the end of a twin (and a full is the same length). My new bed is a Queen size, and it's almost too short. But it's far wider than what I really want.
As a single guy, my ideal bed would be one-and-a-half times as wide as a twin, and a bit longer than a Queen.
I bought my new bed from the local Mattress Advantage, and put an extra foam padding on top. I've no experience with the various name brands that others recommend.

 

[DaveGTP]

My parents used to have a waterbed in the 80's (my Dad has back trouble) but I think he found that it either made it worse or didn't do any good.
My fiancee and I have a Sealy Posturepedic, Queen, bought about 2 yrs ago. I made payments on it (it cost about $1k altogether) after waking up too often with a sore back. We were sharing an ancient twin bed before that. Best purchase I think I have ever made to date. My fiancee insisted on Queen over full, and I am glad she did. As it is, it is Allllllmost too short (I'm about 6 ft).
And the extra space is appreciated by her, as I am a very cat-like sleeper (roll around a billion times before I get comfy and go to sleep, move around during the night).

 

[Thomas H G]

Well I was staying in a Renaissance Hotel in the DFW area for a job interview. They had a massive bed. I mean I had to roll over 2 times from the middle to reach the alarm clock. It was wonderful.

I'm used to sleeping in a twin bed. All I know is that I want a bed like that when it comes time to buying a bed--which should be soon!

 

[Matt Gordon]

Who would've thought Ryan's bed would generate so much discussion?