I actually have a Sleep Number. I'm in my 4th month with an i8/Flex3 and both my spouse and I are very happy with no regrets. I spent time with the p5, i8 and i10 and selected the i8 based on best feel for the price. I would have gone for the i10, but it wasn't on sale and the price difference between this and the i8 just didn't make sense to me. Like you I was concerned about the volume and extreme opinions against sleep number, but nothing like these have been my experience and I've been satisfied with all aspects of the product and experience. The internet can be a strange beast sometimes. For context, I'm just a customer and not a sales person or some other shill. I found this subreddit during my shopping experience and continue to lurk because I find the mattress shopping experience to be fascinating for some reason. I'm surprised I wrote as much as I did below, but I guess this is what happens with a quiet morning and absolutely nothing else to do. What brought me to sleep number is the adjustability. At the time I was only thinking of the selection between sides of the bed but what I did not appreciate is how little we understand of what is personally comfortable for actually sleeping. What I've found is I am actually most comfortable sleeping in a more firm mattress than I would have thought as a firmer setting has helped me the most with some hip pain. That said, finding your best firmness setting can be slow and tedious as it requires to actually sleep in the setting. Also in my experience, small changes in the setting can have noticeable changes in comfort so you really shouldn't do the massive changes from firm to soft and expect to learn anything. I think this is one source of the internet complaints in that some people have a mismatch between what feels comfortable when they immediately lie down and what feels comfortable for an entire night of sleep and they get frustrated trying to find the best setting. My suggestion to you and anyone else reading this is to not be afraid to go to a setting far from where you think is comfortable, especially on the firm side and spend a few nights at each setting and slowly work your way down the scale and see how it goes. I think this is also Sleep Number's recommendation too. If you're really struggling I expect you call their customer service, they also may offer some good suggestions and coaching. The feeling of the sleep number mattress is different and hard to explain. Its almost like you are buoyant, pushed up with the top layer foam supporting you rather than sinking in. I'm probably not using the best description, but just be aware that it may feel different than you are expecting from past mattresses. I also will add that I don't get a plush, memory foam feel from this mattress. Even at the less firm settings I don't get that same sinking in and cradling that you get with memory foam. Sleep Number does offer a memory foam topper model that I didn't try because we don't like memory foam feeling, so if the plush feeling is important to you, keep this in mind. In my experience there's good control of motion transfer and I don't get any bouncy feel like a water mattress. I also haven't seen any sagging or depression between left and right section even though each side is on different settings (40/60). I've had no issues with the mattress overheating, and this is with the sleep number mattress cover on. A surprise for me is how much I like the foot warmer that comes with the flex3. This is like heated seats and steering wheel in your car, you never really thought you needed these features, but once you have them you don't know how you got through the day without them. The footwarmer can be programmed to the time it comes on and the heat level so you can come to bed with it already warmed and it will shut off automatically once you get into bed. Alternatively you can manually program a timer for up to 6 hours. Regarding the construction, I just ignore the comments of sleep number being a glorified air mattress as this is just as foolish as saying that Tempurpedic is just a glorified kitchen sponge. Reducing everything to its lowest common denominator always gives a ridiculous result. Yes of course it is an air bladder surrounded by foam, but what else do you expect? The foam on top that you actually sleep on is the differentiation between models. Aside from general thickness of this layer, there seems to be other design features like enhanced cooling materials and pressure relief for different body parts. I don't know if these make a difference, but the general thickness makes an obvious feel in comfort. Do realize that finding the best firmness setting is related to both the air pressure and the comfort layer so the budget models with thinner comfort foam layers will have a different feel to them than the top of the line models with thick foam comfort layers. The responsive air setting will maintain the selected air pressure setting as you lie down and move around and also as the environmental conditions in your room change (temperature, air pressure). In reality, I hear the pump adjust pressure about a minute after I lie down and a few minutes after I get up in the morning with an occasional adjustment during the night. The pump is very quiet and located at the foot of the bed. One last thing to add about the construction is that it is modular and you can replace parts if necessary. The pump just drops in with a few connections. Even the mattress unzips and you can replace the topper or the sides or even the air bladder in the event these need to be replaced. sleep number is a smart bed that comes with its own sleep assessment software that uses measurements collected during your sleep. I can take or leave this feature as for the most part the software gives me a number that corresponds to how I feel in the morning. This was helpful while finding the comfort selection but for the most part doesn't add much value for me. Realize that you are sharing some data with sleep number and if this bothers you, you can turn off the setting. Regarding service and warranty, I don't have any complaints. Sales was informative, and maybe a little pushy but nothing terrible. Delivery and installation was fantastic with the guys arriving on time to the minute and a clean and efficient installation even in the midst of pandemic. It seems some complaints on the internet are associated with part malfunctions and the cost of replacement. I haven't had these problems, but if I do I'll just cross that bridge if I need to. I'm comfortable doing some troubleshooting and part replacement if I have to as this seems to be our new normal with everything we buy, not just a mattress. Also if you aren't comfortable or can't or just don't want to do this, then you can have technicians come to your house, but do realize this will cost you for the service and again, this should be expected with any service call to your house. Also realize that if you return the bed during the trial period, the cost of delivery is not refundable and if you get an adjustable frame, this also is not refundable. My sales person informed me of this prior to the close of the sale and even made me initial acknowledgement. Also realize that the warranty is limited with full coverage for the first year and then prorated after that. You can check the details on the website or ask your sales person. Again, I had to initial on acknowledgement of the warranty terms at the point of sale so there should not be any surprises for people. Thinking through this post, my only source of complaint against sleep number is not the mattress, but the sheet set I bought. The fit is perfect as you would expect, but the softness of the supima cotton did not last after a few washings and now just feels like regular high thread cotton and I'd probably not buy these again. I know this is a first world problem, but I do point this out as its my only source of dissatisfaction. My recommendation to anyone considering a sleep number is to simply go to a local store and spend some time with the sales person and on the mattresses. Spend enough time so you can make an educated purchase and if it isn't for you, then it just isn't for you and go find something else. Mattress selection is a personal selection and nothing can replace the value of in person testing. In absence of in person testing, just be aware that you will go though the same trial and error that you would otherwise go through, except it will be in your house at your inconvenience. As far as the price, it is what it is and you can choose to spend or not. Do shop the sales which are regular and change frequently and I would compare price to the features and options to the tempurpedics and not to the bed in a box options. More on reddit.com

Sorry to hear that. For anyone reading this remember that bed comfort is entirely unique to the individual and your experience may vary. I’ve had a sleep number for a month now and I absolutely love it. I was hesitant with all the claims of “glorified air mattress” and the delivered product being lower quality than the store, but I found neither to be true. For what it’s worth, when I replaced my spring mattress of 10 years a year ago, I bought a nectar memory foam bed in the box which absolutely destroyed my body. I mean destroyed it. Then I swapped that out for a hybrid Serta, which wasn’t a whole lot better. Finally I came to sleep number, and I feel amazing everyday! More on reddit.com

I always have difficulty with this. Ive asked 52 people where I work, and another 12 family/friends, what mattress they use. Of those - 18 had sleep number beds. Of those 18, all 18 swear that its the best mattress they have ever had. I come to reddit to confirm - and its nothing but how bad they are. I give up lol, More on reddit.com

You would be essentially paying a huge sum for what amounts to a fancy air mattress that's prone to mechanical problems. Take this with a grain of salt as I personally have never laid on one. That being said, I do sell beds and see a large number of Sleep Number owners that despise it and come to me looking for something else. To be fair, my sample size is skewed because it's not like someone would just stop in my store to not buy a bed and tell me that they love their Sleep Number, but I would be cautious. More on reddit.com