Does anyone here own one of those sleep number beds?

[il Padrino Ute]

I'm wondering if I need to get one. I prefer a very firm mattress - in fact, I sleep better when I'm out camping and sleep on the ground. My wife, OTH, prefers a softer mattress so we've always had a softer mattress. The trouble is that when I get out of bed in the morning, my back hurts like hell. I never had this problem before I got married because I always had a firm mattress. And it's not because I'm getting older, because the morning back pain started for me after we got married and had a soft mattress from the beginning.

I figure 20 years of not having a decent night's sleep and waking up with a sore back is enough. If anyone has some insight to the sleep number beds, I'd appreciate it.

[Non Sequitur]

The last 5 years of my marriage I slept in the guest room. Great mattress. Maybe the best 5 years of my marriage. Just saying.

[Jarid in Cedar]

We had one for awhile. They feel a lot like a water bed. Mrs. JIC didn't care for it much so we ditched it.

[Gidget]

Surfah's parents have one. They like it. Same prob. Man sleeps better on a firm mattress, woman sleeps better on a softer mattress. They got theirs brand new for free from a friend or something. The cost of those things is ridiculous. But may be worth it . . . just make sure and go in somewhere and test it out. Like find out how firm the firmest setting is and such.

[Surfah]

Like Gidget said my parents have one. The bed is interesting. They have this hard plastic frame that you kind of snap together almost like constructing one of those Little Tikes play sets. Then there is the bed itself which is kind of like an aero bed with much better support. Then there is a covering which has memory foam and some other padding so it feels like a pillow top bed. My parents have the top of the line one and they love it. It's nice. It feels like a normal bed. You just have a controller that controls a pump that makes the bed firmer or softer to your liking. There is kind of a hard spot where the two sides come together in the middle. It's not too bad, but you wouldn't want to sleep in the middle of the bed.

Like Gidget said my parents got it free. A friend bought 3 of them, one for him and two for the guest bedrooms and they shipped 4. He told them he only ordered 3 but they said their invoice said 4 so they're delivering 4. He called them to tell them that he didn't want the extra bed (they're extremely bulky and heavy even boxed), and they said that they weren't going to take it back. So he asked my dad if he wanted it and my dad said sure, we'll try a $4000 bed.

[pellegrino]

My sister has one and she loves it. I've slept on one for several nights at a hotel and it was good, It took a night or two to get it right, and in the end I didn't feel like it was much better than my own bed, but I could see value in it if you needed a more custom fit.

[il Padrino Ute]

Thanks for these responses as it helps to hear about folks who have used them or know someone who has.

I figured the price for these beds would be very high, which is why I prefer getting some info about a purchase like this, even if the info is 2nd hand. I'll have to have a discussion about it with my wife, as it will affect her as well.

And NS, I appreciate you're input, but the guest bed at our house is another ridiculously soft mattress. I could, however, sleep on the hardwood floor in that room if I decide to give it a try.