Pillow Fight!
A good mattress can make the difference between sweet dreams and serious nightmares. We stack Tempur-Pedic’s bestseller against newcomer Dux 8888.
- Photo by Carl Tremblay.
How much would you pay for a decent night’s rest? Local sleep shop Duxiana’s new Dux 8888 mattress boasts layer upon layer of padding, six adjustable “comfort zones,” thousands of mini spring coils (built with a few miles’ worth of Swedish steel!)…and a price tag tickling $8,000. To find out if the Zs are worth the Gs, we lay down for alternating workday naps on the high-tech 8888 and the reigning gold standard of sleep, the Tempur-Pedic Classic.
Our first midmorning snooze on the Classic was pleasant and cushy, if slightly awkward—and not only because we had set up the bed in the office’s high-traffic copier room. As promised, the foamlike mattress (Tempur-Pedic has never revealed its “secret ingredients”) conformed to us with every twist and turn. But with each move the sinking sensation, which lasted from five to 15 seconds, felt like falling slow-motion into a giant velour-covered marshmallow.
The Duxiana, on the other hand, seemed at first a little too firm, though subsequent naps revealed more spring. All was well until we tried to tinker with the lumbar support system and rearrange the comfort pads. Adjusting the 8888 is akin to mastering Rubik’s Cube, and we ended up with a lumpy mess. (Then again, we’ve never been good with directions.) But after three tries, we were back in dreamland and addicted to the soft yet substantial padding. In fact, we were sorely tempted to keep the Dux and make like George Costanza—if only it fit under our desk.
Dux 8888, queen from $7,939, Duxiana, 31 St. James Ave., Boston, 617-426-3441, dux.com; Tempur-Pedic Classic, queen from $1,899, Sleep-A-Rama, 97 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, 617-266-8863, sleeparama.com.
Our first midmorning snooze on the Classic was pleasant and cushy, if slightly awkward—and not only because we had set up the bed in the office’s high-traffic copier room. As promised, the foamlike mattress (Tempur-Pedic has never revealed its “secret ingredients”) conformed to us with every twist and turn. But with each move the sinking sensation, which lasted from five to 15 seconds, felt like falling slow-motion into a giant velour-covered marshmallow.
The Duxiana, on the other hand, seemed at first a little too firm, though subsequent naps revealed more spring. All was well until we tried to tinker with the lumbar support system and rearrange the comfort pads. Adjusting the 8888 is akin to mastering Rubik’s Cube, and we ended up with a lumpy mess. (Then again, we’ve never been good with directions.) But after three tries, we were back in dreamland and addicted to the soft yet substantial padding. In fact, we were sorely tempted to keep the Dux and make like George Costanza—if only it fit under our desk.
Dux 8888, queen from $7,939, Duxiana, 31 St. James Ave., Boston, 617-426-3441, dux.com; Tempur-Pedic Classic, queen from $1,899, Sleep-A-Rama, 97 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, 617-266-8863, sleeparama.com.
Originally published in Boston magazine, February 2007
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