PDA

View Full Version : Guys, ask your wives: What's the best bed sheet thread count?



Todd Burch
06-04-2009, 3:36 PM
We're getting new sheets for the beds. Tired of the little balls all over the sheets.

We've been looking. Store help has been pretty much MIA or ignorant.

We've seen 240 all the way up to 600. What's a good stopping point?

Thanks, Todd

Tim Morton
06-04-2009, 3:44 PM
400 should be more than enough....do you have a polo outlet near you? check out the sheets....soft like butter...without being ridiculous:)

Nate Carey
06-04-2009, 3:52 PM
...you're telling me that burlap sheets aren't good enough? ...and if it gets cold just add a dog, or two, ...or three if frost forms on the inside of the single glazing...

Cliff Rohrabacher
06-04-2009, 4:04 PM
Thread count is only half the question . These days there are machines that make thread finer (read: Cheap and skinny) so the sheets can be fronted with a high thread count and still they are trash.

It's like there's a whole philosophy geared strictly toward ripping people off.

Oh yah right, it's called Marketing.

Rick Gifford
06-04-2009, 4:06 PM
If cost isnt a factor to you go as high as you can afford on thread count.

I believe they go as high as 700.

Those would be some very comfortable sheets! An pricey too.

The women in my wifes family discuss thread counts from time to time... few different opinions but it basically boils down to personal feel of the material.

Some company's use a thinner thread. Not all threads are equal. So you should look for higher thread count and a great feel. But dont ignore a slightly lower thread count from a quality product line.

Good luck shopping. Probably clear as mud.

Jim Kountz
06-04-2009, 4:41 PM
After going to 600 we havent used anything else. Now I hate it when we stay at hotels and they have those notebook paper sheets!!
600's are pricey but to me worth every penny!!

Mike Henderson
06-04-2009, 4:43 PM
I haven't done a study on this, but it seems as if there's some fibbing on thread count - sort of like the HP on hand held power tools. I've seen some sheets that claim to have high thread count, but when you look at them, the weave doesn't seem to be any finer than some sheets with lower thread count. I think what some of them do is count the strands that are wound into a single thread. So maybe they have a thread that is made up of four strands of fiber, then that tread is woven into cloth at 200 tpi. They'll advertise that as 800 tpi.

If at all possible, put your hand on the cloth and feel it. That will tell you whether you want to sleep on it. Also look at the price - you don't want to pay extra just to pay extra, but if it seems too cheap, it probably is.

Mike

[Rick G. gives some good advice above.]

Ed Sallee
06-04-2009, 4:54 PM
http://pages.suddenlink.net/boccie/progress.gif One good turn deserves another http://pages.suddenlink.net/boccie/progress.gif

.... In this case it should read.... http://pages.suddenlink.net/boccie/progress.gif One good turn deserves all the covers http://pages.suddenlink.net/boccie/progress.gif

Neal Clayton
06-04-2009, 5:49 PM
.... In this case it should read.... http://pages.suddenlink.net/boccie/progress.gif One good turn deserves all the covers http://pages.suddenlink.net/boccie/progress.gif

haha, indeed.

David G Baker
06-04-2009, 5:50 PM
I don't ask the LOML because she didn't know that thread count went over 300. I buy at least 600 thread count and look for quality sheets with 800 thread count on sale but haven't found any yet.
I have found that the lower thread count sheets end up with little balls of thread all over them after they are washed a few times. I could be wrong about the lower thread count sheets because I have never purchased high quality low thread count sheets.
My skin is very sensitive, it there is a tiny grain of sand on the sheet, it feels like a rock to me. Nerve endings very close to the surface.
Like Mike wrote, put your hand on the sheets, the closer it feels to satin more than likely the thread count is high.

Dan Mages
06-04-2009, 6:56 PM
LOML once nagged me about buying high threadcount sheets once. so I pulled one out that was 400 and one that was 600 or higher. I asked her if she can feel the difference... It was amazing how quiet she got.

Personally, I like flannel sheets. But hey, I am a wierdo like that.

Dan

Frank Trinkle
06-04-2009, 6:59 PM
+1 on the flannel sheets! Cheaper and I really do prefer them, as does the LOML!:D

Chris Padilla
06-04-2009, 7:15 PM
I ALWAYS sand to 600, Todd...240 is like rough cut.... ;)

:D

Narayan Nayar
06-04-2009, 8:03 PM
There's a company called Sierra Trading Post which sells clothing, outdoor gear, and household items like sheets and towels. You can get some pretty great stuff at extremely low prices through them.

I've bought a few dog beds and several sets of sheets. Couldn't be happier with the prices or the quality of the stuff. And they have a great customer service department.

Bruce Page
06-04-2009, 8:19 PM
LOML buys 1000 count and they sure are thick & smooth.
She makes sure I keep my toenails trimmed.

Mark Norman
06-04-2009, 8:30 PM
Guys, ask your wives: What's the best bed sheet thread count?


The obvious answer would be: "I dont care as long as I don't have to wash em"

Frank Townend
06-04-2009, 9:18 PM
Todd, head over to Tuesday Morning (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=v3i&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Katy,+Texas+Tuesday+Morning&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&view=text&ei=43EoSqf6NcPWlAfo8cHVBQ&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&cd=1&resnum=4). Buy the highest thread count you want to afford.

Jerome Hanby
06-04-2009, 10:23 PM
Problem I have is finding pockets that fit our mattress, it's pillow top on both sides and keeping the fitted sheet on is a pain

Tom Godley
06-04-2009, 10:30 PM
This is something that I now about as my father was in this line of work - recent years have seen a thread count creep

Many of the very high threat count products are just cheap untwisted thread - you are not buying quality -- actually the vast majority of it is not even checked.


Fine Egyptian cotton thread sheets past 250 will require thinner thread than is optimal. When you see 600 TC --unless they are of the finest silk they are not twisted thread.


Sheets are like paint -- you get what you pay for.

Jim Becker
06-04-2009, 10:30 PM
I don't need to ask Professor Dr. SWMBO about this since I'm the one the generally buys the sheets...from Overstock.com. And never less than 400 count; typically 600. I love 'em.

ROY DICK
06-04-2009, 10:59 PM
Not sure of the thread count on our sleepin' bags, but they do in a pinch.

Roy

Eric Larsen
06-04-2009, 11:48 PM
I don't have the penobscot sheets... yet.

But I am told by my penobscot friends that thread count is only half the story. The quality of the threads is the other half. Surely there is a "Bedroom Creek" forum out there that has this information.

phil harold
06-05-2009, 8:17 AM
I have felt some 1000 count sheets that felt like 250s
I wonder if they use a 4 ply thread and use that as multiplier...

where is consumers reports when you need them?

Todd Burch
06-05-2009, 8:46 AM
Oh my goodness.

I'm drowning in indecision. Why does everything have to be a research project?

mike holden
06-05-2009, 9:00 AM
Todd,
Just to add to the fire, I dont care for a high thread count sheet, does not breathe well, and I wind up in a puddle of sweat.
Best my wife and I have found are from Bed, Bath, & Beyond - they are labeled as being made from Birch tree fibers. Soft, and comfortable.
Being from a tree is a bonus for us woodworkers (and no, we have never gotten splinters from the sheets (grin))
Mike

Cliff Rohrabacher
06-05-2009, 10:00 AM
Oh my goodness.

I'm drowning in indecision. Why does everything have to be a research project?

Because there are a lot of very smart, well educated people who spend their entire waking hours immersed in the business of ripping you (and anyone else the can) off.

Tom Godley
06-05-2009, 10:27 AM
It looks as if what is being allowed to be called a 1000 thread count sheet -- is actually a twisted four part thread. This was not the case years ago -- it would have been labeled a 250 thread count sheet.

The finest sheets are a broadcloth weave -- like a basket weave made with a twisted thread. This thread was not just multiple thread twisted just prior to be woven.

Really good cotton sheets that you see in the really fine hotels are actually quite heavy -- they can be quite stiff when new and get softer with age.

The Four Seasons uses 300TC Rivolta Italian linens in many of the hotels - they are around $250.00 a set in white.

curtis rosche
06-05-2009, 2:12 PM
if the counts not high enough just grab one of you scary sharp chisels and split the threads.... now its twice the count!

Rob Russell
06-05-2009, 2:32 PM
Todd,

The most important thing about eliminating those little pill balls is to use 100% cotton sheets, not a blend. It's the polyester that pills.

Once you start sleeping on 100% cotton sheets, you'll never go back to a blend.

Rob

Eric DeSilva
06-05-2009, 3:08 PM
Cliff's right. Thread count doesn't tell the whole story--type of cotton is also important. My wife dragged me into a department store and had me rubbing the fabric from a number of different companies. In some cases, there were 300 ct sheets that felt softer than 600, in other cases the other way around.

Mark Versprille
06-05-2009, 7:15 PM
Like Jim Becker, I've bought from overstock, but I've had mixed results. I got one set of 1000 ct. that were sooooooo good I've been spoiled for life. I ordered exactly the same stock number four or five months later and the sheets were not the same. I guess they draw from lots of suppliers with a variety of QA standards.

Todd Burch
06-06-2009, 12:15 AM
We pulled the trigger tonight on some 800 TC Egyptian sheets in Macy's Hotel Collection. They seem pretty nice. They were on sale (reg. $250 for just a flat sheet, on sale for $149, and then we got 15% off of that, so in total, ~$350 for the fitted, the flat and a pair of std pillows). Will report back when we give them a test drive. May be a couple weeks.

Thanks all. Todd

edit: that's King size.

Clifford Mescher
06-06-2009, 12:19 AM
LOML has been buying 1000 count for 2 years. They are nice and smooth. Clifford.

David G Baker
06-06-2009, 11:57 AM
Todd,
You can't live with out a second set, one on the bed and the other in the wash, $700. :D
I have been looking for a mattress that doesn't fail in the first 6 months. I have tried Serta, Sealy and a memory foam Tempurpedic knock off. Serta and Sealy looked like the rolling hills of Kentucky in 6 months. (cost, over $1000) The memory foam was to hot, mushy in the warm weather and like a rock in the cold weather. (cost around $500) Next try will be an air mattress. I am having a problem with paying over $1000 for an air mattress. :eek: I don't mind spending almost as much as a Sawstop costs for a mattress set but I want it to last more than 6 months.

Tim Morton
06-06-2009, 12:11 PM
Todd,
You can't live with out a second set, one on the bed and the other in the wash, $700. :D
I have been looking for a mattress that doesn't fail in the first 6 months. I have tried Serta, Sealy and a memory foam Tempurpedic knock off. Serta and Sealy looked like the rolling hills of Kentucky in 6 months. (cost, over $1000) The memory foam was to hot, mushy in the warm weather and like a rock in the cold weather. (cost around $500) Next try will be an air mattress. I am having a problem with paying over $1000 for an air mattress. :eek: I don't mind spending almost as much as a Sawstop costs for a mattress set but I want it to last more than 6 months.

Latex my friend...with a nice lambs wool cover.:D

And why is there 35 replies a thread on thread count*LOL*

Tom Godley
06-06-2009, 12:17 PM
David -- Try looking at a Shifman - The are extremely comfortable but get ready for sticker shock! The 'no flip' I have has been wonderful. They provide the beds to the White House.


I travel frequently and I am blessed with being able to say in fine hotels - you get spoiled with comfy beds and crimp sheets every day. Then you try to duplicated the experience at home - if I could only get someone to bring my slippers and turn the bed down :)

You can also buy the beds and all the linens directly from some hotels -- Weston does the whole "Heavenly Bed" setup and "The Four Seasons" sells one that is made for them. I have bought the setup from the Four Seasons - at actually a surprising price.

David G Baker
06-06-2009, 12:37 PM
Thanks guys, I will do the research.
I too was wondering about all of the "masculine interest in linen" :D

Cary Falk
06-06-2009, 12:49 PM
We have several sets made from egyptian cotton that are the bomb. Thread count being equal I think they are softer.

Todd Burch
06-06-2009, 2:24 PM
David, we have the Sleep Number bed. I'm 70 and my wife is 40. We too went through king mattresses every 6 months, even the high $ ones. 2" sinkholes in six months, and that's not the pillow top.

The Sleep # was $2500 I think. The warranty is great - and we've used it. In the last 5 years, we've been through 4 pumps and 2 box springs - ergo - their plastic equivalent.

Todd

Tim Morton
06-06-2009, 2:48 PM
I'm 70 and my wife is 40.
Todd
If you skip the first sentence like i did, this takes on a whole different meaning....:p:p

Todd Burch
06-06-2009, 4:14 PM
Yep. and much better than the other way around!

David G Baker
06-06-2009, 7:02 PM
Thanks Todd,
My Chiropractor recommended Sleep Number. I will give it a look.
Tim has a naughty mind. :D

Art Mulder
06-06-2009, 9:30 PM
, so in total, ~$350 for the fitted, the flat and a pair of std pillows).


Todd,
You can't live with out a second set, one on the bed and the other in the wash, $700. :D
I have been looking for a mattress that doesn't fail in the first 6 months.


Wow, too rich for me. My wife and I just go browsing through the bedding aisle at Value Village every now and then. Thread count? Nahh, just see what feels good and substantial, and like was said, insist on 100% cotton. I can pick up a Queen set for around $30 or so. Works for me.

(Flannel in the winter time, nice and cosy!)

And David I'm just scratching my head at your mattress problems... My set has to be 10 years old and it's just fine. I don't get it. How could your mattress fail in six months? Do you have little kids doing the trampoline thing? :cool:

best,
...art

Jim Becker
06-06-2009, 10:01 PM
David, we have the Sleep Number bed.

Ditto. We absolutely love it. But I'm a 55 and Professor Dr SWMBO is...a 25. She loves sleeping in a "trough"... :D

David G Baker
06-06-2009, 11:29 PM
Art,
The mattresses end up with two "troughs" within 6 months. (thanks Jim B for the word that fit) We both weigh in the neighbor hood of 200 lbs but that shouldn't break down a $1000 mattress in 6 months.
SWMBO doesn't mind her trough but I have a frozen shoulder problem and can't seem to get comfortable with out pain while rolling around in my trough. :D
The Sleep Number bed seems to be a good answer to solve the trough or canyons as I think of them.

Barry Richardson
06-06-2009, 11:54 PM
These were an Amazon gold box deal a few days ago for $59. I bought a set of 1000 count from Amazon on sale about a year ago for $39 and they have been excellent, the best sheets we've ever used, so the wife has been bugging me to buy more if they go on sale again, so I ordered these; haven't got them yet though. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T4ZCWC/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

Eric Larsen
06-07-2009, 12:00 AM
Art,
The mattresses end up with two "troughs" within 6 months.
.
.
.

but I have a frozen shoulder problem and can't seem to get comfortable with out pain while rolling around in my trough. :D
The Sleep Number bed seems to be a good answer to solve the trough or canyons as I think of them.




I have this same problem, but it's because the mattress is a hand-me-down from my mother-in-law's house. It's horrid. (It has a very interesting label, which I would photograph and post if TOS didn't forbid such things. Hilarious, I tell you.)

I like the feel of memory foam, but I'm concerned that it would absorb sweat, etc., and be a funky mess in a year. I've also never "slept" on one, only laid on it for a few minutes in the stores.

Any thoughts? Would you like your memory foam if the temperature in your area ranged from 32f-120f (six months of the year 90f+)?

Jim Becker
06-07-2009, 10:27 AM
Eric, when we were shopping for a new mattress to replace the one I had for many years, we did take a look at the memory foam type as part of our shopping research. They were quite comfortable from a support standpoint, but Professor Dr. SWMBO really has an issue with being too warm...and that was something that was going to be an issue with the foam mattress, even with lying on it for a few minutes in the showroom. That and the ability to customize the support and firmness on both sides of our king size bed drove us directly to Sleep Number. No regrets in the least. While they are not inexpensive, they tend to last a lot longer than a traditional mattress and if some component breaks, it's likely that you can get a replacement part rather than having to change to a whole new mattress. I also like the ability to change the setting to best match sleeping position, too. There are occasionally times when I find the need to be on my side, rather than on my back, and the support needs are very different for these positions.

We are also not "small people"...the SN accommodates that very nicely in that the firmness is relative to the weight of the individual. You make your adjustments while lying on the bed and the amount of air pressure in the mattress is relevant to "you" for a given setting.

We bought the "middle" version of the SN with the intermediate soft top. It didn't feel necessary to get the deeper soft top.

David G Baker
06-07-2009, 10:43 AM
The memory foam mattresses are a love hate thing from the reading I have done on the Internet. I bought the Tempurpedic knock off so I can't honestly say if the Tempur Pedic is better. The thing I didn't like about the memory foam was when it was hot the mattress was to soft and when it was cold it was like a brick until my body heat warmed it up. When I would roll over I would hit a brick again until the foam was warmed up.
I have found that if you sleep on foam you need something between you that insulates your body from the foam so your body heat dissipates rather than making you sweat. Back in the late 60s I bought a foam mattress from Sears, I loved the mattress but wasn't smart enough to insulate myself from the foam and was miserable sweating in the Summer heat when I lived in Sacramento CA.
I have had hand me down mattresses that one of my wives had when we got together that were 10-15 years old and still in great condition and were very comfortable. They were innerspring like the ones I have now. We got rid of the mattress because it was to small.
My parents had a water bed for a few years and they used lambswool cover to insulate themselves from the plastic bladder material. If you do go the memory foam route you might try the lambs wool mattress cover as was suggested by one of the earlier posters.

Eric Larsen
06-07-2009, 2:26 PM
If you do go the memory foam route you might try the lambs wool mattress cover as was suggested by one of the earlier posters.

Lamb's wool? In this heat? :eek:

I'd rather sleep on my barbecue.


I'll add the "dial a number" beds to our search. A bed is an investment, if you ask me. You really can't put a price on a good night's sleep.

Besides, maybe they offer a glycol-chilled recirculating system to siphon heat from the bed. That would be cool (figuratively and literally).

David G Baker
06-07-2009, 3:38 PM
Eric,
The reason wool is the ideal choice is it breathes and wicks moisture away from your body. I wear wool socks in my boots year round when I am outside working. Once in a while I wear thin smooth socks inside of the wool socks. For the same reason wool long johns are great in the cold weather.
You don't want to have wool on top of you in warm weather or you would barbecue or grill (depending on where you live)

Brian Elfert
06-07-2009, 11:07 PM
We pulled the trigger tonight on some 800 TC Egyptian sheets in Macy's Hotel Collection. They seem pretty nice. They were on sale (reg. $250 for just a flat sheet, on sale for $149, and then we got 15% off of that, so in total, ~$350 for the fitted, the flat and a pair of std pillows). Will report back when we give them a test drive. May be a couple weeks.


$350 for a set of sheets!? $350 would keep me in sheets probably the rest of my lifetime and I'm only 37. I buy a set of $30 to $40 sheets and they last a few years.

I'm not married and I don't wash them enough and they usually get stained before they wear out.

Wes Bischel
06-07-2009, 11:27 PM
Buying a new mattress is worse than buying a used car. At least you can fix the car.:rolleyes:
Oh, hope you like the sheets Todd!
Wes

Todd Burch
06-07-2009, 11:58 PM
I'm not married and ... they usually get stained before they wear out.

Gross. TMI. :eek: