Hey, I’m looking at buying a new mattress/bed and will likely buy online. I’m currently looking at a website called OzMattress (www.ozmattress.com.au) and am deciding between two models; one which uses a layer of latex and another with a layer of column buckling gel (wall gel).
Can anyone who has used both types provide some advice or opinions. The middle model available is the latex one and latex seems like the most popular type at the moment (in quality mattresses anyways). While the higher model features a layer of bucking column/wall gel housed inside some memory foam. I cannot find any similar beds to try - and it’s hard enough to try some latex mattresses with the sharks circling in local shops.
Further information can be seen here OzMattress Products. The two models are the Supra (latex) and the Grand Master (gel). And yes those prices may look expensive if your not from Australia 
I managed to get some specifications for the Grand Master.
- Memory foam is about 3.75lb / ft cubed - low I believe
- Buckling gel is about 57.75 lb / ft cubed
- The gel is housed in memory foam - one of which is 2.5 inches thick (I can’t tell which)
- 1300+ Pocket in pocket coils (outside coils are 15cm 6 turn coils, inside coils are 8cm 4 turn)
- 3 zones
- Not sure about regular foam but assume it’s likely same quality as memory foam
The Supra mattress appears to be the same construction however the memory foam & buckling gel structure is replaced with a simple layer of memory foam + a thinner layer of latex. I will try again to get more specifications for this one.
Cheers.
Hi Smileycake,
You may have seen this but just in case … post #2 here has links to all the Australian threads on the forum and includes a link to a post with a long list of Australian manufacturers (including ozmattress).
Buckling column gel is a high quality material that is very durable and quite different from other types of comfort materials. Of course it is also not the only material in the comfort layers so knowing the quality of the other materials is also important (as you clearly know already). 3.7 lb memory foam is on the low side and just under the somewhat arbitrary number I usually use as a minimum guideline for memory foam which is 4 lbs but thinner layers will also have less effect on the durability of the mattress than thicker layers of lower quality materials. Once you are in the range of about 2" or so of lower quality materials in the upper layers of a mattress I would begin to become quite cautious regardless of the quality of the other layers (I would use 4 lb memory foam and 1.8 lb polyfoam as the guideline for foam density below which I would begin to be cautious about lower densities in thicker layers than about an inch or so). The pocket coils appear to be good quality and the support core of a mattress isn’t the weak link of a mattress anyway. The closer to the4 top of a mattress a material is the more its qualities will affect the overall durability and longevity of the mattress.
When you are considering an online purchase … one of the most important parts of what I call your “personal value equation” would be the risk you are willing to take of making the wrong comfort choice when you can’t test a mattress ahead of time and the return or exchange policies of the manufacturer or retailer that determines the options that you have after a purchase that can help reduce the risk. This is an important part of the “value” of an online purchase if you aren’t confident that you are making the most suitable choice possible or familiar with the materials in a mattress you are considering.
Like all good quality materials … the choice between buckling column gel and latex is a preference and would depend on which mattress was most likely to provide you with the best PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) because the design of a mattress will have more to do with how suitable it is for your specific needs and preferences than the actual materials. It would be important to either test a similar mattress locally to get a sense of how an unfamiliar material feels and performs or alternatively make a choice based on more detailed conversations with the manufacturer where their descriptions and knowledge of their mattress and how they may fit different body types and sleeping styles can be a guideline based on the “averages” of other people.
The mattresses at ozmattress appear to me to have reasonably good value.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix, thanks for your reply.
Indeed I was a little worried about certain specifications (the ones that I could get) of the two mattresses. The memory foam was a bit on the low side and it’s probably fair to assume the regular foam layer isn’t spectacular either.
While I’ve found quite a few good cases of feedback (and not a single bad bit of feedback so far) I am still considering whether it would be best to purchase the cheaper and perhaps safer option of the Supra (i.e. Personal Value). It costs $700 less and may end up being around the same quality (PPP) of the next model. The Grand Master is then $700 more expensive and uses a material I can’t test - so basically it’s a gamble with $2200.
Regarding myself, I am mid-twenties, weigh about 170lbs and get mild back pain (from old bed + desk work). I suspect either type of mattress would be fine for me. I got a new office chair recently and felt some improvement as back things were aligning more 
I will continue to look for latex mattresses to try. If they feel alright I think I’ll go with the Supra; which seems like the safer option of the two.
Cheers.
Hi Smileycake,
Buckling column gel has some unique properties that aren’t shared by other materials (they buckle and “give” under the pressure of the heavier parts of the body past a certain pressure threshold while the other columns under the more recessed parts of the body remain firmer and more supportive under lighter pressure) but how well they work for you depends on how it is used in a design because there are different variations of buckling column gel and they can also be used in different combinations with other materials which affects how well a specific mattress works for each individual person.
I think it’s usually “safer” to choose a material which is more familiar to you where it’s easier to predict how well it may work but the other alternative is more detailed conversations with the manufacturer who usually will have a good idea of the types of people that may do well on a particular mattress they make or material they use … at least in general terms … even though there are too many variables and unknowns for them to know for certain how well it will work for any specific individual.
In these cases where you are attracted to the potential benefits of a certain material that at least in theory may do well for your specific needs or preferences then the return or exchange policies of a manufacturer may become an important part of the value of a mattress purchase because a good return or exchange policy allows you to test it in your own home and in your own sleeping environment with much less risk.
Because the buckling column gel is a more costly material it is reasonable to expect that a mattress that includes it will also be more costly and over the lifetime of a mattress the extra cost would probably be well worth it if it contributed significantly to your sleep quality but the other side of the coin is that no matter what the quality or value of a mattress may be, if it doesn’t match your needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and support, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) then it would be of little value to you.
Phoenix