Sleep Innovations Shea 10-inch Memory Foam Mattress Review

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Sleep Innovations Shea 10-inch memory foam mattress is a medium feel bed and not the best choice for people who get used to a very soft mattress. It’s firm and supportive as it has a thick foam base to support you and a 3-inch regular foam layer to conform to your body. It helps back pain by providing needed support for every inch of sleepers’ body to reduce the pressure points. Sleep Innovations 10-inch is one of best sellers on Amazon and has hundreds of thousands of satisfied owners. Made in the USA is the determining factor. But it’s not a perfect mattress for all and Shea has some obvious drawbacks. It doesn’t use any gel foam so that it has limited performance on heat reduction. That’s a deal breaker for some hot sleepers. Follow me and show you more details about this mattress.

The mattress is unavailable

Features of Sleep Innovations Shea 10-inch Memory Foam Mattress

Firmness grade: 6 or 7 (1 – 10 softest to firmest) 

Sleep Innovations Shea 10-inch mattress isn’t very soft or very hard. It’s rated medium feel in the product description and lots of owner reports indicate it lives up to that. More specifically, it’s medium, a little bit more on the firm side. The 3-inch top layer allows you to sink in and get fully contouring comfort. The 7-inch support base is offering strong support. However, you need to note that not all people feel medium and some may feel soft some others feel hard. For example, people weighing 100 lb tend to think it too hard. It won’t be a big problem even if it feels too soft or firm for you after you receive it. You can return for a refund within 30 days if you buy from Amazon.

You may feel over-warm 

Sleep Innovations isn’t keen on new technology or design and you can see that from their mattresses. Shea is still using old dual layer design and made with regular memory foam and polyurethane foam. Regular foam is always criticized for heat trap and so far gel fused is a better solution. But Sleep Innovations doesn’t update regular foam models to gel foam ones and Shea isn’t the exception. If you’re hot natured person, sleeping hot would be expected. If you don’t feel hot on all other types of mattresses, you will not on this one either. Of course, it wouldn’t be a problem for people who turn on air conditioner for the whole summer.

Shea 10-inch vs Shiloh 12-inch 

Many people can’t decide on Sleep Innovations Shea 10-inch and Shiloh 12-inch. Actually, there isn’t much difference between two mattresses. The primary difference lies in firmness. Shea is medium feel and Shiloh is on the firm side. If you need a firm mattress, go for 12-inch but if you’re looking for a mattress soft yet supportive, 10-inch model can give both. Besides that, 12-inch Shiloh has a 2.5-inch top layer but 10-inch Shea has a 3-inch layer. Thicker top foam means more cradling comfort. At the time of this writing, Shea comes with two free foam pillows but Shiloh doesn’t. Sleep Innovations 12-inch costs 50% more than 10-inch of the same size.

Warranty details

Sleep Innovations doesn’t offer warranty details everywhere, not even included in the box. Their 20 year limited warranty isn’t a special one and just like other brands’. It covers more than 1.5 inches visible indents and doesn’t do normal increase of softness. You need to buy another waterproof cover to put on the mattress because the cover it comes with can’t be removed or washed. If you make a warranty claim and get mattress replaced or repaired, all shipping cost is on you. Don’t overlook shipping fee as it may cost you more than you pay for the mattress.

Decent foam density

Some users tell it is soft and some feel too firm. Most owners review Sleep Innovations 10″ mattress is firm yet soft as advertised, medium soft to medium firm. The 3lb memory foam isn’t great and not bad. It’s just fine for people who have bad back and need enough support. If you aren’t sure whether it is soft or firm for you, test a 3lb density memory foam mattress at local store and you will know.

Made in the USA

Many mattress manufacturers are producing their mattresses in China including Tempurpedic, Serta and Simmons. Sleep Innovations doesn’t follow the trend and still manufactures Sleep Innovations mattresses in the USA. It is the biggest feature that sets it apart from its competition, which also sell cheap mattresses but made outside US. I always believe US made items are more reliable.

Any issues of Sleep Innovations Shea 10-inch Memory Foam Mattress

Too firm: A few owners feel the bed is too firm. Some of them use a memory foam topper on the bed and that works.

Chemical odor: The bed has a “new paint” smell. You need to leave it alone for a few hours or days before sleep on it.

Quality issue 

Quite a few owners report Sleep Innovations Shea doesn’t hold up and loses firmness and support in 2 or 3 years. It seems this 10-inch mattress doesn’t have a decent quality control. It’s not reasonable for a US-made mattress. If Sleep Innovations doesn’t improve, we customers will lose confidence and trust on their brand as many of us buy for US high quality standards.

Memory foam mattress is different from some other types and requires a solid flat foundation. If you put it on a old box spring, we suggest you to put some 3/4″ polywood under the mattress. It will help deliver all pressure on the foundation evenly and prevent from early indents.

Poor customer service 

Some owners report Sleep Innovations has a very bad customer service and few give positive response. When you contact them for repair or replacement, they ask you for different proofs and process is frustrating and time-consuming. They don’t have a return policy. We highly recommend you buy Sleep Innovations Shea 10-inch from Amazon as they have a 30 day return policy. Sleep Innovations refuses return but Amazon doesn’t.

Sleep Innovations Shea VS Sleep Innovations Marley

Sleep Innovations Marley and Shea don’t have much difference. Both are 10 inches and made in the United States. Both have better quality than those imported from Asia. Neither is friendly to fans of soft mattress.

Which is firmer?

Sleep Innovations is a US-made brand featuring firm mattresses. There is no soft or plushy mattress in their product lines. Only options for Sleep Innovations customers are firm and firmer. Between these two firm mattresses, Shea and Marley, Marley is the firmer one, partly because of gel memory foam. If you’re weighing below average, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Which is hotter or warmer?

Actually, neither Shea nor Marley can promise a cool sleep. Shea has a 3-inch SureTemp memory foam sitting on top which is regular foam that merely helps heat dissipation. Marley is an upgraded version of Shea. It’s using 2-inch gel memory foam with 2-inch air channel foam to lower temperature. Gel foam can help but cannot solve the problem. There are still many people complaining getting hot. I would say it’s more likely for hot sleepers to feel warm or hot on Shea.