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I own a Hästens bed, which is supposedly among the best box springs (with a horsehair topper) you can buy. I also own a latex mattress from IKEA, made by a real
by nextos 9y ago
I own a Hästens bed, which is supposedly among the best box springs (with a horsehair topper) you can buy. I also own a latex mattress from IKEA, made by a really famous latex manufacturer, which has been discontinued to sell inferior options.
These are good, but in my case they couldn't beat a setup that is an order of magnitude cheaper, simpler and better. A simple custom-made japanese shikibuton, filled with felted wool panels and a buckwheat pillow. I put this on a modular set of bed slates to avoid insects, get better airing and avoid cold floors.
I treated a few years of my life as an experiment to improve my sleep. I bought a Hästens and that latex IKEA mattress. I used them for 3 years, switching back and forth every 6 months. Then I made this custom shikibuton, and after a few months I never looked back.
There is some literature which explains how we evolved sleeping in relatively firm setups. Big, expensive and mushy mattresses tend to be a bit too soft and you end up developing neck aches as I did. A better option is just some slightly flexible wood base, or a tatami, and some thin cushion. In fact, another less unconventional setup I like is a horsehair topper, like one of those from Hästens, on top of some wooden base.
My shikibuton is really cheap. It's washable! I can open my futon, put felted wool panels in the washing machine and it's dry in a day. It's very comfortable. It's ended up my perennial neck issues. It's convenient, I can transport the whole system in my tiny car.
A simpler, non-washable alternative is to have a big cover filled up with buckwheat hulls. Every 6 months, compost hulls, buy new ones, and wash cover. Every month, empty hulls into a bag and wash cover.
I don't understand why this alternative is not more popular in the West.
- saudioger 9y ago>I don't understand why this alternative is not more popular in the West. > Every 6 months, compost hulls, buy new ones, and wash cover. Every month, empty hulls into a bad and wash cover. Alternatively: Have a mattress for 10 years, do nothing.
- jjeaff 9y agoMy latex foam mattress has a 25 year full warranty. If it sags or cimpresses more than 1 inch, I can have it replaced. 25 year warranties aren't out if the ordinary now.
- randallsquared 9y agoThat's.... a lot of maintenance for a bed. Compost this, find a place to buy "buckwheat hulls"? Yeah.
- nextos 9y agoYou don't need to do it that frequently if you don't want to! Buckwheat hulls can easily last 5 years without maintenance. Still, I prefer the wool alternative, which again doesn't need to be cleaned often or at all, as most people do with their regular mattresses. The fact that stuff is washable is an advantage for me, because I'm a bit allergic, and regular mattresses don't have a simple way to be deeply cleaned. The best thing you can do so far is to vacuum them with a Dyson for mattresses.
- setr 9y ago>A simple custom-made japanese shikibuton, filled with felted wool panels and a buckwheat pillow. I put this on a modular set of bed slates to avoid insects, get better airing and avoid cold floors Can you explain your "bed slates" further? All I want is a simple raised wooden platform, and they're absurdly expensive. Bed frames in general seem like a totally messes up market; Ikea's fucking slats could drive a man to murder, and anything else is overpriced or cheap and overdesigned At some point im going to be forced to build the damn thing myself if the market is going to refuse to sell anything sensible
- nextos 9y agoI got a local carpenter to build me something like this: https://zafu.net/wp-content/uploads/ecosquaresbedframeviewsm.jpg https://zafu.net/wp-content/uploads/ecosquaresbedframeviewsm... The idea is simple, just some blocks you connect (2 or 4) and some legs, so it's easy to ship and transport. The design above is good, but IMHO it's better to have some flexible wood. Especially if you are a side sleeper. You can usually buy decent ones in the US or UK for $150 if you look for futon platforms. If you want some flexibility but you don't want to go the custom route, buy a tatami raised platform and buy a tatami.
- bobwaycott 9y ago> At some point im going to be forced to build the damn thing myself if the market is going to refuse to sell anything sensible. Why wait? If all you want is a simple platform, you couldn’t beat the price of buying and cutting some wood yourself.
- setr 9y agoIm lazy, don't actually know what I'm doing, and the whole thing seems like a lot of trouble to setup (don't have a decent way to move the wood, or convenient/immediate access to tooling, etc). I'll beat the price at the cost of time and effort (and probably some favors), and I'm not sure carpentry interests me enough for the learning to have much value. So its a last resort, if I can find nothing decent, and decently priced.
- bluishgreen 9y agoNot sure about the mattress, but I have a buckwheat pillow and it has improved the quality of my sleep by a LOT. If you have a long neck, or otherwise feel like something is missing from your life, try a buckwheat pillow : )
- subpixel 9y agoI’d be interested in seeing pics and info, especially your washable shikibuton. Or if not maybe pointers to the research you did to make it.
- xvf22 9y agoCould you elaborat on the IKEA mattress? What was the model name and who was the famous manufacturer?