Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch Mattress: A Visco-Gel Power Combo

Overall a good mattress made with top-notch USA foam, but to get it feeling perfect I would look into replacing the cover with the  SafeRest Premium Hypoallergenic Waterproof Mattress Protector (view on Amazon) as well as also purchasing the awesome Sleep Studio 2-inch ViscO2 Memory Foam Topper (also from Amazon) to achieve a perfect balance of comfort and support. The Queen-size mattress is one of the most affordable in the current market, but some taller customers might be turned off due to sizing issues with the King and California King sizes. If you are looking for a great deal on a mattress made with high-quality memory foam, this is the mattress for you.

Perfectionism is the refusal to accept any standard short of perfection – essentially an impossible pursuit. Even for those of us who are looking for the “perfect” memory foam mattress, the unfortunate reality is that no such thing exists… or does it?

While the Memory Foam Solutions 12” Mattress is not exactly perfect out of the box, a few slight modifications and additions yielded a sleeping experience that got somewhere in the ballpark of perfection… like this cat.

For this review I tested the 76x60x12 Queen-size mattress using our standard Zen Sleeping Scoring System. As always, I also got in touch with 50 verified purchasers of this product who have used the mattress for at least 5 months, some up to 2 years. Before proceeding however, I must first discuss one shortfall of this mattress with respect to its size. The manufacturer lists the mattress as 80 x 60 x 12 inches, but mine came out to be 76 x 60 x 12. 10% of the customers I interviewed also had similar issues with the Twin XL and California King models. As a result, I’m going to deduct 2 points from the get-go. Let’s see how the rest of this review went!

Table of Contents

Initial Checks

1. Where was the memory foam mattress produced?

The Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch Memory Foam Mattress is produced in the USA by Memory Foam Solutions and was first introduced on December 25, 2011. From my experience as well as those of verified purchasers I interviewed, their customer service is pretty superb. Fast responses, super nice, and always willing to send you a new mattress if your current purchase is not up to par.

But I will give them a 3 out of 5, because the company website left more to be desired. It was unfinished in some places, and they didn’t feature an About page so I could get more information about them.

2. Is the manufacturer listed on the CertiPUR-US site?

No, the manufacturer is not CertiPUR-US certified. While normally this would be a deal-breaker for me, the company turns out to be PURGreen certified. This means that “products are manufactured, fabricated and packaged in the U.S.A. meeting all EPA and CSPC guidelines being safe and free from harmful chemicals. PURGreen uses independent laboratory results to qualify products and ensure they are manufactured without the use of ozone-depleting substances such as Chlorofluorocarbans, Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether substances, Harmful Metals, Formaldehyde, Prohibited Phalates or any other unsafe materials.

PURGreen also implements baseline requirements such as conserving water, energy and other natural resources in the manufacturing processes established through internationally accepted ISO standards and procedures in order to receive certification”

5 out of 5 points for this section, so we’re back on track.

3. What is the actual thickness/ density of the memory foam layer?

Similar to the Perfect Cloud UltraPlush Gel-Max 10-inch Memory Foam Mattress, this memory foam mattress includes two top memory foam layers.

The top layer is 0.5 inches thick and made with gel-infused memory foam.

This layer is the first point of contact with your body, so the gel-infused memory foam will help regulate the temperature of the bed throughout the night. However, the fact that it is gel-infused means it may be a bit more firm. This could have implications for side and stomach sleepers, as they typically need more soft or plush surfaces to feel comfortable. Immediately below the top is a whopping 3-inch thick layer of standard visco memory foam with a 4 lb pcf density. A thickness of 3 inches is quite good, especially considering that the top layer is only 0.5 inches thick. Normally we recommend a top thickness of 3 inches or more, but sometimes you will find mattresses in which the traditional “top” layer is placed under a layer of gel-infused foam. So, no worries in this case. The second layer’s density of 4 lb pcf is exactly what I would recommend, so all good there.

Overall, I give this 3 out of 5 points. The two-point deduction is for having gel-infused memory foam on the top, as this may provide a surface that is a bit too firm for some people, especially those who prefer to sleep on their sides or turn a lot at night.

4. What is the actual thickness of the foam in the supporting layers?

The last layer is made with 8.5 inches of high-density base support foam. We will see in the next section how supportive the base layer actually is, because sometimes 3-layered mattresses could be a little bit unstable when you turn or shift your weight on them.

5 out of 5 points for this section.

Feel & Firmness

First of all, the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch Mattress is pretty heavy as far as memory foam mattresses go. Mine came in a box that weighed close to 100 lbs. After opening and placing on a foundation mattress, I let it sit for around 2 days; by the beginning of day 3, it had completely risen to its 12-inch thickness. To test for feel, I slept on the mattress for a week and compiled my general thoughts on how firm it was, as well as how comfortable it felt. Afterwards, I also consulted with verified purchasers to gauge their opinions on feel and firmness. Lastly, I reviewed the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch on three factors of durability.

First off, I and most of the customers I interviewed agree: the mattress cover is flimsy and of mediocre quality. Some of the customers even had issues with the cover tearing. Luckily, I had already purchased this super breathable SafeRest Premium Hypoallergenic Waterproof Mattress Protector (view on Amazon) in the past, so I threw that bad boy on the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch. Problem solved. As a natural back sleeper, the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch took 1 night of sleeping to get used to the firmness. My 200 lb, 6’1” frame sinks slightly into the mattress, but levels out quite nicely due to the firm high-density base support layer. The 4 lb pcf density on the memory foam layer also does a good job of keeping your body supported and your spine aligned. On the other hand, if you are someone who rolls around in your sleep, the foam does a great job at molding to your body as you change position.

A perfect fit for back sleepers

For some, the mattress may not feel soft or plush; at the very least, I would consider it a medium firmness mattress. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad mattress by any means; on the contrary, I thought it was very comfortable. However, I am a back sleeper, so naturally I would find medium-firmness mattresses to be more comfortable than overly soft or plush ones. As you can probably tell, this has clear implications for side and stomach sleepers; I initially expected that due to the gel-infused memory foam on the top layer as well as the thickness and density (3.5 inches and 4 lb pcf respectively), this mattress would be too firm for side and stomach sleepers.

I then consulted with verified purchasers who have owned the mattress for over 5 months, as I was interested to see if any of them had bought the mattress expecting it to be softer than it really was. As expected, a good number of them (18 to be exact) believed the mattress to be too firm for them without the purchase of a topper.

My rule of thumb: just to be safe, if you need a mattress that is very soft or cushy, you should look into purchasing a mattress topper like the Sleep Studio 2-inch ViscO2 (view on Amazon), or another memory foam mattress altogether. This is especially true if you are a side or stomach sleeper, as a mattress with medium firmness for back sleepers may be too firm if you prefer sleeping on your side or stomach.

For testing the durability of the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch Mattress, I considered three key factors: garment construction, surface / edge abrasion, and stain release. For all of these factors, I turned to my trustworthy 50 verified purchasers who have owned the product for more than 5 months. They are generally much better to rate the durability as they have used, washed, and generally observed any wear and tear for a much longer period than I.

Garment construction refers to how resistant the mattress is to tears at the seams, body and sleeves. The more durable a mattress is, the more resistant it is to these types of tears. For the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch Mattress, 23 customers reported tears with the mattress cover. This is an alarmingly high number, as garment tears should not be an issue if the mattress cover is thick and sturdy. Unfortunately, the mattress cover used on the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch Mattress is very flimsy, so I highly suggest purchasing a cover to put on it.

Surface / edge abrasion refers to how resistant the memory foam mattress is against wearing away when rubbed against another surface. Every night the mattress will receive friction from your body, blankets, during washing and drying, and just general wear. In the case of this mattress, 15 customers reported surface or edge abrasions, again with the mattress cover. The actual memory foam mattress is fine, just the cover needs to be replaced.

Stain release refers to how effectively the mattress can release stains. It’s important for two reasons: durability and aesthetics. Mattresses with covers made from more durable fabrics will usually release tough stains easily. And as for aesthetics, who doesn’t love to sleep on a mattress with no stains?! In the case of the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch, all 50 customers reported they had not made any stains on the mattress, so I could not test for this.

I award the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch Mattress a 14 out of 20 for Feel. I deducted a few points because while the mattress can be a bit too firm for some, the company claims it is a very soft, cushy mattress. I also deducted a few points because the mattress cover was flimsy and would need to be replaced.

Smell

Upon opening the mattress, I definitely felt the standard memory foam smell. I let it air out in a well-ventilated room for around 2 days; that’s about all it took for the smell to almost completely go away. There was still a very faint smell after those 2 days, but it was only noticeable if you literally press your nose against the mattress and take a big sniff. I assume most of you won’t be doing that on a regular basis!

There was no irritable chemical smell, which is very important. And after discussing with other customers, I found out that the majority also noted the presence of the “new memory foam” smell, which dissipated after 3-5 days.

I award 10 out of 20 points in this section.

Heat Regulation

For the regular readers of my reviews, you’ll know I take this section just as seriously (if not more so) than the other sections. Nothing is more annoying to me than a mattress that gets too hot at night. I can fall asleep if a mattress is too firm, but if it’s too hot… forget it.

To test this mattress, I set 3 alarms for different times throughout the night and recorded how hot I felt.

1 AM: Bed feels great – not too hot, not too cold.

3:45 AM: Hit the snooze a few times, hope you can forgive me ;). Bed feels perfect. Nice and toasty.

6 AM: Niiiiiice and toooooasty! I love this bed (as far as heat is concerned)!

My experience was mirrored by the customers I polled. 90% felt perfectly fine at night, with 6% feeling slightly hot but not uncomfortable, and 4% feeling too hot to get a good night’s sleep. The 4% of customers said they are extra sensitive to heat, so that may be why they felt too hot.

For this section, I award 19 out of 20 points. Honestly really good.

Value

Overall I think the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch is an affordable and good quality mattress. Made in the USA, PURGreen certified, three different layers with a gel-infused top layer to control head. My main cons with this mattress are the non-standard sizing and the flimsy mattress cover. I advise buying the SafeRest Premium Hypoallergenic Waterproof Mattress Protector (view on Amazon) as it is a cover made with a high-quality allergen/water proof protective material. As stated in the Feel section, the mattress may be too firm for people who prefer a very soft mattress. With this mattress, the purchase of a memory foam mattress topper may make it a softer sleeping experience. So, definitely keep that in mind when considering this mattress.

For Value, I award 20 out of 20 points.

Zen Sleeping Score

We at Zen Sleeping believe that a mattress with a score of >70 passes our performance standards.

With a score of 77, we believe the Memory Foam Solutions 12-inch Mattress is a nice, affordable mattress that will be a great sleep for people who prefer medium firmness mattresses that are very supportive.Below you will see a breakdown of how each section in this review stacks up against one another.