Off topic: How to choose your mattress? (+ reviews on Tediber mattresses)

What? An article that doesn't talk about men's fashion? A mattress on BonneGueule, when the cover isn't even made of Japanese chambray?

Remember, in my review , I expressed my (very) personal desire to (very) sporadically expand the editorial , particularly on companies that are trying to change the rules of the game in their market. Those that offer a better and cheaper product by eliminating intermediaries or, quite simply, by offering a product that is a big slap in the face to everything that has been done before. . In short, I want to try to find Hast, Everlane or Maison Standards, in areas other than men's fashion.

Now, it's true, you could say that I'm not an expert in these other areas but that's precisely what interests me. I want to see how I do for:

• Research and synthesize information on a completely new topic,

• To offer you an article that is very pleasant to read and that will teach you a whole bunch of very useful things for the future.

In this case, we are going to put the test by fire by talking about mattresses, because it is a sector that is ultimately very conducive to "disruption" : an opaque offer, prices that are difficult to interpret... but I will come back to that.

Finally, for our most purist readers, rest assured: I have no plans to particularly intensify the publication of an "off-topic" on men's fashion. We are here above all to talk to you about clothes. I think we will not publish more than one or two articles of this type per quarter , or even less...

Misconceptions and techniques of mattress sellers

Some time ago, I had lunch with Julien, founder of Tediber , a start-up whose ambition is to create the best possible mattresses .

And as the very curious person that I am, I obviously asked him lots of questions about mattresses because paradoxically, even though we spend 1/3 of our lives on them, we don't know much about them, everyone has their own little opinion when choosing a mattress: "you have to go for this brand, you need memory foam, but no, you actually need latex!"

I searched the web for reviews of mattress brands and others: nothing complete, accessible or impartial. So, I decided to make you "the article that is missing on the mattress". And I think that it will remove a thorn from your back.

A brief overview of the mattress market

We all need to sleep comfortably.

Otherwise, everyone has experienced several bad nights, and how poor quality sleep can impact our entire daily life.

This is why everyone quickly understands the importance of not neglecting their bedding!

Since older people are more sensitive to sleeping comfort (well yes, they don't have the same expectations as a student in YOLO mode who can sleep anywhere), they are also the target of mattress scams.

Because it is a market with very discouraging aspects for the end customer, namely:

• A lack of transparency in information , and therefore an inability to gauge the right price for a mattress , which leaves the door open to a whole bunch of scams targeting the elderly,

• A total impossibility of having a faithful idea of ​​the intrinsic quality of the mattress , even by lying on it,

• Price differences that are never justified and difficult to understand : you know why a shirt can cost €40 or €150, but how many of you would be able to say what differentiates a €500 mattress from one that costs €2,500? When we are talking about a fundamental element of your lifestyle! Result: the price no longer reflects much,

• A jungle of prices, manufacturers and technologies . With so much choice, it becomes incomprehensible and difficult to decide,

• The difficulty of assessing the quality of a mattress, even by "trying it on" in a store (whereas with a piece of clothing, you know by trying it on whether it fits you well... or not).

When you have a market that globally generates so much anxiety and dissatisfaction, it's the perfect breeding ground to kick things up a notch, to bring a very high quality offering on a large scale. . In short, offering an extraordinary mattress to ordinary people .

Faced with all this joyful jumble, Tediber, a start-up specializing in mattresses , has decided to shake things up. But first, let's see how a standard mattress breaks down.

Understanding the characteristics of a mattress

Stop the preconceived ideas

If you ask a French person what type of mattress they prefer, there is almost a 90% chance that they will answer that they like firm mattresses . They will therefore go for wooden board type mattresses.

This Frenchman is neither right nor wrong. He is just a little lost. In fact, we think that the feeling of welcome of the mattress is a function of the support it offers to the spine, therefore to the back.

For the uninformed French customer, the mattress world is divided into two camps, the good and the bad:

• firm mattresses = good back support and therefore good sleep,

• Soft mattresses = rotten mattress and bed.

Whose fault is it? His parents and grandparents who told him that he needed a firm mattress to support him properly. Except that the world has moved on and now you can have soft and firm mattresses at the same time .

Firmness, support and comfort of a mattress: what is it?

• The mattress's welcome: this is the first sensation, the direct contact offered by the mattress. It can be firm or soft, this is what our French associates with support. In reality, everyone prefers a slightly or very soft welcome . If you wanted to sleep on a firm mattress, it's like preferring a wool blanket to a soft duvet.

• Support (or maintenance): this is what keeps the spine straight, regardless of the sleeping position. And here, it is very important to be firmly supported because otherwise, your body spends the night contracting your muscles to hold you up. This is very tiring, and you wake up more tired than you were before going to bed.

On a poor quality model and with equivalent materials, there will be a difference in support depending on the weight and morphology of its user. With a bad mattress, you therefore need:

• Firm if you are heavy,

• Soft if you are light.

However, by using foams with good elasticity and resilience, the support will be perfect whatever the sleeper's morphology, since the foam will respond differently depending on the pressure force exerted .

• Density: that's something else. The density of the materials in a mattress corresponds to their quality, the higher the density, the better quality and durability the mattress will be . However, for the same density, the firmness can differ from one mattress to another. You'll gradually understand why choosing a mattress is sometimes a real jungle...

You shouldn't stop at mattress firmness ratings (especially since these are arbitrary and change depending on the brand), which don't actually mean anything. They only make sense for poor quality mattresses , to provide proper support even with materials that have poor elasticity.

Choose good materials, good brands and try your mattress for a few nights.

Promotions and fake networks: how to avoid mattress scams?

On the Internet, promotions are valid almost continuously and we are inundated with -65%, -30%, free box spring, etc. They all seem exceptional and ephemeral but, when you dig deeper, this is rarely the case.

In stores, if we are unlucky enough to arrive between mattress week and promo point week, the salespeople always give us the "exceptional" right to a promotion not yet available, to "free delivery", or even to the free return of the old mattress.

You may have also had the experience of buying a "hotel quality" mattress a little under the counter, from a friend of a friend, at -40% just because the plastic had been opened, etc.

Overall, everyone around you will feel like they got a good deal when purchasing your mattress.

The Reality of Mattress Prices

• Mattress prices are calculated so that there is always a margin of x1.5 to x2, even with incredible promotions or delivery and collection offers.

• If there was indeed a small margin drop, it would be financed by the few who the seller could get to pay full price. Yes, you are the target.

• In short, promotions are simply the most archaic but also the most effective sales technique: making you understand that you must not miss this opportunity . On this, I am not telling you anything new, it works the same way as sales: creating a sense of urgency and scarcity by an "exceptionally" low price to prevent you from postponing your purchase. You decide in a rush, without really comparing.

• As for the parallel networks… let’s just say that you don’t need to be a genius to understand that the lack of a storefront allows them to sell products of a very, very different quality than the one advertised. Yes, it’s clever because you don’t open a mattress to check what’s inside!

Listen to that little voice that tells you to step back and take the time to think. Promotions only exist to push the consumer into a purchase without thinking it through in depth . They have a significant cost: this hidden cost is integrated into the initial price of the mattress and is reflected in the quality of the product.

Mattress guarantees: see more clearly

What Mattress Dealers Say/Do:

• The guarantees only work if the box spring is purchased with the mattress,

• Mattresses are guaranteed for up to 10-15 years.

The reality of guarantees

• Indeed, a box spring in very poor condition can damage a mattress and reduce its lifespan. But a box spring lasts much longer than a mattress and therefore needs to be changed much less often: it is only a matter of increasing the customer's shopping cart,

• In cases where the box spring is not purchased, this also allows the poor quality of the materials to be justified, and their deterioration too quickly,

• Mattress warranties are, in all cases, a warranty on manufacturing defects: they do not take into account what is called in the jargon "normal sagging", that is to say when the materials sag. This is quite normal yes, but poor quality materials sag very quickly and the mattress quickly becomes hollow and uncomfortable, where very good materials will not sag for 8-10 years.

Conclusion

A mattress is an investment for 12 years (average duration in France). We therefore need to be reassured about the quality of this object, which sellers and manufacturers exploit.

Warranties are often a new marketing argument to make customers believe that their mattress is of good quality... but because of the many clauses in these warranties, they no longer represent much and are very rarely usable.

Understanding the technologies used in mattresses

What they say

• The mattresses have summer and winter sides to improve temperature regulation depending on the seasons,

• Good mattresses are those that have the most comfort zones (7, 9, 12, etc.).

The reality

• The sides play only a minimal role in temperature regulation, yet increase the design price and therefore the resale price: the only real reason is that the consumer will turn his mattress regularly, so the materials deform less quickly and more evenly.
  Poor quality materials will therefore go more unnoticed.

• For the temperature: choose a latex mattress, a room at 18 degrees and a quality duvet. The best technology will do the rest.

• Comfort zones only really make sense for spring mattresses . For others, it only increases the design costs, allowing once again to use lower quality materials: a high-end latex or foam is naturally ergonomic point by point. Latex mattresses can also have justified comfort zones but overall, a latex mattress is not the best in terms of support.

Conclusion

The jargon used by sellers helps to differentiate themselves or segment the market .

The reality is that using good quality materials results in a mattress that naturally has these qualities, without having hidden costs: R&D to develop a smoky innovation, more expensive production to create zoning on the fabric or in the core, stocking many different product references... All this increases costs that must be passed on somewhere (= to you).

Free mattress recovery

What they say 

"We're nice, we'll take your old mattress back."

The reality

You are beginning to understand, the recovery offered, that means the recovery included!

And a recovery is not cheap, it costs at least €100-150. Even though most cities offer free mattress collection! In France, we even have a gem at the forefront of this very specific type of recycling, Recyc Matelas .

On the mattress recovery side, even Ikea offers a free recovery option for your old mattress . Obviously, the goal is to offer a top customer experience in order to make them want to buy Ikea again, there is not only a purely environmental vocation behind this offer… but we are not going to complain about it 😉

I insist on this point because the recovery of an old mattress is a serious subject: in nature, it takes almost 100 years to degrade, while there are so many possibilities to create value on a mattress to throw away! Do me a favor, before thinking about the dump, try to improve your karma with a happier ending for your mattress.

Tips to remember to choose the right mattress

• First of all, we find out about the density of the materials to have a quality part. The density is indicated in the product descriptions, here are the minimums necessary in terms of durability:
  • High Resilience Foam (HR): > 25kg/m3
  • Latex: >60kg/m3
  • Memory foam: >40kg/m3

• Pay close attention to sleeping independence (which allows you not to feel your partner move, which is also the main cause of waking up during the night). I am not concerned in the team but Alex tends to wake up when his sweetheart moves in the night, this is a point to NEVER take lightly.

• This mattress will have to be tried at some point, to know your tastes in terms of reception and to be sure that the support is correct , to go further than "trying it out by feeling". Brands are aware of this, which is why they often offer a number of trial days. Find out more about this and pay close attention to the return conditions (if the return is at your expense, for example).

• As we said above, keep your cool in front of the "daily promotion" which is only there to push you into an ill-considered purchase. We are not telling you to pay full price, we simply recommend taking the time and comparing .

• Pay attention to the dimensions : a mattress that is too small will be disturbing, whereas a mattress that is too large could suffocate the space in your room.

• Thickness does not add much to comfort , but a mattress of less than 20 cm cannot really isolate your body from the bed base and its movements. Therefore, choose mattresses of more than 20 cm but less than 27-28, so as not to have to change all your mattress covers.

• Finally, finish with the hypoallergenic and anti-mite properties of the mattress : a latex mattress is naturally so, for example, while a wool-filled mattress should be strictly avoided for people who are sensitive to these points. A washable cover can also be an important asset for maintenance.

Tediber's bet

You are beginning to understand how the mattress market can sometimes be ruthless and quite messy and, as a result, you may have great difficulty choosing the ultimate mattress (read the story of Alexis , a reader of BonneGueule, you will recognize yourself).

An opaque market, with crazy margins and a barely readable offer, leaves a huge opportunity for an incoming player to do exactly the opposite , like Uber and taxis. Watch this excellent video from a school friend on this subject, the parallels with the mattress industry are very interesting!

And that's where fate put Tediber on my path, created by Julien Sylvain, a serial entrepreneur with a solid resume (good sign: he has no trouble talking about his failures , something I really appreciate). I was delighted to see that they had a very different approach than what we usually see, taking one by one all the frustrations that we can have with a mattress and its purchase.

Well yes, you remember the annoying stuff most manufacturers do? Tediber decided to turn them into advantages for their customers:

• A single product , for maximum readability of the offer,

• No intermediaries to get an attractive price (the downside is that the margin is so tight that there is never a promotion, or rather yes: it lasts all year long!)

• Many guarantees to reassure the customer, and the possibility of going back: 100 nights of trial and a free return of the mattress . The returned mattresses are donated to associations.

• And like many start-ups, a very strong culture of service and customer satisfaction : they deliver in Paris in 1h30 slots with the courier who brings the mattress upstairs. Elsewhere in France, it is a delivery by UPS in 24 hours, something quite rare for a mattress brand. For customer service, like at Captain Train (or like at ours 🙂 ) it is internalized (= it is not a call center that has nothing to do with the company that answers customer calls) and it is the head office team that answers customers.

Finally, it's a business model that you know very well in terms of clothing. For example, Hast was a so-called "mono product" brand for a long time (which only sold shirts), at a very attractive price thanks to direct sales (they were never distributed to resellers). It's the same for Tediber: a single product, no intermediaries to preserve the margin, an attractive price and a customer experience that is intended to be very pleasant .

It seems obvious when you say it like that, but in France, it is a pioneering model, which has not escaped the attention of the press, particularly at Télématin with a very clear report and BFM Business , where the team recounts the genesis of the project... and its difficulties!

What’s so special about this mattress?

Tediber made a bold bet: to design ONE mattress in several sizes that would suit all sleepers . I was quite perplexed by this "one size fits all" approach (a product that suits everyone) but as you will see, in practice, it seems to work rather well for those who have tested it 🙂

Julien actually decided to take the best of the three current technologies, namely:

• A first layer of latex , this is the first thing you feel when you lie down on it (we talk about the "welcome" of the mattress) which gives a lot of softness on the surface,

• A thickness of "memory foam" , which provides the necessary support. Julien is biased, since many brands put memory foam in first contact with the body. However, the problem is that it does not manage heat well, and this is why in a Tediber mattress, it comes after the latex welcome

• And finally a polyurethane and high resilience foam , which will allow the mattress to last and be comfortable. I just regret that Tediber does not detail more how its foam is unique compared to others.

It is this assembly of three carefully chosen materials that gives Tediber its own comfort. An appreciable point is that the latex is OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified, while the memory foam and foam are Certipur certified. The components are therefore non-harmful and have a low impact on the environment.

In this type of project, for a brand starting from scratch, the whole challenge will be about the execution of the idea, and here, about the sourcing of the manufacturer.

Julien managed to find a manufacturer with 40 years of experience to make his idea a reality. After a few prototypes, the big day arrived: the launch of the brand, and the trial by fire among the first customers… But first, let's talk price.

We are on a standard mattress at €650, or the price of a suit. For such a vital element (you will still spend a third of your time lying on it, and it guarantees the quality of your nights), which will last several years, I find that it is a completely reasonable investment.

So, a mattress that costs €650 instead of €1500, where everything is done to exceed the customer's expectations, too good to be true? The time has come for a real-life test!

Tediber mattress test: our opinions

Well, this time the test is going to be a little special, since:

• I didn't test it,

• And it's not one, but TWO testers like you and me, from the team, who will give you their feelings.

Indeed, by a coincidence of the calendar, Alexandre (the product manager that you see all the time in the videos) and Jérémy (the copywriter that we don't often see in the videos), needed a new mattress at about the same time, following a move.

They both opted for a Tediber mattress and each wanted to write their feedback:

Tediber mattress test by Jérémy

I personally purchased the Tediber mattress two months ago, moving into a new apartment. Being in a common-law relationship, I opted for the Queen size, i.e. the 160 x 200 size.

At first, it took me a little while to get used to this bedding. Indeed, the bed is relatively hard and thick, which is also the corollary of a rather exceptional support. I had been used in the past to beds of lower quality, softer... But little by little, thanks to the memory foam, the bed adapted; or I adapted to it and my back started to really enjoy itself.

As for its maintenance, it's simple: if you move, the person next to you doesn't feel any vibrations, which is a significant advantage when you live as a couple. For example, if you have to go to the toilet or go to your mistress's in the middle of the night, your girlfriend won't wake up. #tip

More seriously, unlike soft beds that can be enjoyable but whose comfort declines over time, this mattress is the complete opposite for me. The more I sleep in it, the more comfortable I feel.

Note that I have been sleeping without a box spring since the beginning, I plan to buy one very soon . Aesthetically it's always better, and it will also allow for greater flexibility. I'm not a bed expert, but Tediber really has a card to play in a sector that deserves to be changed (the bedding market has not seen any major technological developments for 30 years).

Tediber , the BonneGueule of bedding? 😉

The old mattress collection service

They have a unique service that will make your life easier : they take your old mattress and give it a second life thanks to a partnership with Eco-mobilier .

The service is chargeable (€30) , but it will save you a lot of problems: your old mattress is taken back the day you receive your new mattress, no need to put the mattress on the street or in a dump.

There you have the assurance that it will be recycled properly: it will be dismantled and mainly transformed into insulation materials for the building.

Alexandre's opinion on the Tediber mattress

Having recently moved from a small furnished studio to a larger but unfurnished apartment, I was faced with the task of purchasing a new bed (box spring + mattress).

Having a very complicated sleep, the choice of the mattress (in which we spend 1/3 of our life) is an extremely important purchase. I have no right to make a mistake. And considering the price of the beds, it represents a real investment, even a source of anxiety.

So yes, I had gotten used to the idea of ​​paying a certain amount but I didn't want to get scammed...

This fear is justified because the bedding market is a jungle worse than the textile industry, with an opacity as disconcerting as the prices displayed on the labels. Understanding the offer is almost impossible, and I'm not even talking about the quality of the salespeople in the stores, incapable of informing you correctly.

What I liked about Tediber is the very clear offer: a unique mattress. Impossible to make a mistake, it is THE right mattress, because it was thought and designed as the ultimate and right mattress.

It was Elie who first told me about it... and I admit I was skeptical at first. I still took the plunge and bought the Queen model (160 cm wide, essential when your girlfriend spreads out on 2/3 of the surface and leaves you only a tiny piece). I finally completed this purchase with the acquisition of a classic box spring.

I was immediately won over, you honestly feel a real difference in terms of comfort. At first glance, it seems "soft" but still offers a lot of support (I hate sinking into a mattress that is too soft). A mix between a "welcoming" mattress and a stricter mattress. A perfect balance!

Friends and family came to Paris and I lent them my apartment, they too were won over... So I recommend it to anyone who wants to invest in quality bedding.

In fact, it is very complicated to explain the feeling of comfort: it is as if there was the necessary firmness when you sit down to read a book or watch a series, and the right "softness" once lying down. This "softness" that makes your body mold to the mattress and is not constrained.

In the morning, you feel completely rested, batteries charged to tackle a new day (special mention for sleeping in on the weekend, where the Tediber mattress transports you far). So, I won't go so far as to say that all my sleep problems have been solved by this purchase, but it contributes greatly to improving my situation.

On the other hand, there is a negative effect that I had totally underestimated: now, I also have a lot of trouble returning to a classic mattress when I sleep at my girlfriend's or friends'... This causes quite unpleasant morning back pain. You get used to the luxury of enjoying very good bedding very quickly, your body thanks you for it.