Sleep Number Sales floor model is not what you get

After our old bed began to form dips and impressions, my sleep quality suffered and it was time to find a new mattress. I'm a tosser-turner, moving from my back to my sides all night long. I saw a commercial advertising Sleep Number's auto-adjustment feature they call "Responsive Air" and that got me excited. For sleeping on my back I want a firmer mattress but for my sides I want something soft. This seemed like a perfect solution.

My wife and I walked into the showroom very excited to test the beds and we were not disappointed. The showroom models are terrific! I honestly could not feel a difference between the C4 model and the P5, so the additional $1,000 did not make economic sense to me.

My wife and I tried the beds several times in several positions. Knowing that I toss and turn all night we mimicked this behavior on the showroom model. She was content, couldn't notice my movement. That is the most important feature for us when looking for a bed. But that's not what we got.

So what's the difference between the showroom model and the bed I had delivered to my house? There's something VERY different here.

First of all, it's the noisiest bed I've ever had the displeasure of coming into contact with. If you don't know, what Sleep Number touts as "air chambers" are really just air mattresses. There's nothing fancy going on here. If you've ever slept on an air mattress, you know what this bed sounds like. But it won't sound like that on the showroom floor.

There's also the sound of the velcro that keeps the mattress from sliding away from the box springs (important because of the hose that runs from the box spring to the mattress itself). This is not good velcro. It's extremely thin and makes crackly sounds. So on top of the air mattress squeals, it sounds like I'm wearing a diaper every time I adjust myself. And you guessed it, the showroom model did not make these sounds.

Every move I make, the mattress creaks and groans. Not to mention that because the mattress is very light (you know, because air) the bed frame doesn't have enough weight to prevent it from moving like it would with a typical mattress. 

The floor model did not sound like this. The beds we tested did not move or crackle or squeak or groan or do anything but sound like a typical, quiet mattress.

Now let's talk about that big selling point, the adjustable firmness for when I move from back to side. Well now you have the rumbly vibrations of the pump (another thing I couldn't feel or hear while testing the showroom model) and that's IF the mattress decides to acknowledge you've moved (simply put, the biggest selling feature for me does not work at all).

Noise aside, my wife and I can feel every move the other makes. It's maddening and impossible to get a good night's rest. After a week on this thing my wife and I are both at each other's throats all day simply because we're tired. Isn't that the worst sin a mattress can commit?

The Sleep Number app, SleepIQ, is almost worthless. The numbers associated with firmness are not accurate from one minute to the next. I worked my way through the settings multiple times trying to find my number. But at any given time, 50 might feel like 30, or it might feel like 100. The numbers mean nothing because the machine can't accurately depict how much pressure is in the bladder from one moment to the next.

And then there's the large impression I leave behind when I get out of the bed (not easy to do when the bed is set to a softer setting because you're sleeping in a bowl). I got rid of my old bed because a large dip had formed, but this bed comes fully featured with a dip if you want a softer experience.

To summarize all this up: my lower back hurts, my upper back hurts, my shoulders hurt, my neck hurts. I've had 3 headaches this week and I've only had the bed for 7 days. My wife and I are tired and we're out $400 (the $200 installation fee and the $200 restocking fee).

This bed is not comfortable. It's materials are cheap and the bed itself is overpriced. Do no think the beds you are testing in the store will be anything like what's delivered to your home.