After reading your site for days and doing lots of research, we are thinking about buying the Sleep EZ all latex 8" special due to the price of $1245 (which seems a very good value for an all natural latex mattress) and the company’s good reputation. I am wondering if you think the 2" comfort layer will be enough for our “stats” and what you think of Sleep EZ’s reccomendation for us after hearing our sizes and sleep habits: soft top, medium middle, firm bottom. I know we can switch the order if needed and even replace layers if we don’t like what we get, but would rather get it right the first time if we can! We are each about 180 pounds, one 6’2 and one 5’7. We are both a mix of side and back sleepers with more side. Also, as member of this forum, do we get a 5% discount at Sleep EZ and./or free pillows?
Your mattress forum has been SO helpful as we’ve tried to figure out what our best bet might be given our needs and budget. Thanks!
The SleepEz special is certainly a good quality/value choice and uses high quality materials.
Post #2 here has more about how to make comfort and design choices and if you aren’t able to test a mattress in person then the guidance and suggestions of a manufacturer is by far the best way to make a choice. They know more about which options are more likely to work well for different body types and sleeping styles based on “averages” than anyone else. their suggestion would be a “standard” layering for that mattress for someone of your weight and sleeping style.
They don’t offer the 5% discount on the SleepEz Special because it really is a low margin “special” and they only have a “pillow bonus”.
After talking with Sleep EZ more today and visiting a local latex mattress store to try some configurations out, I think I will really like the 8" special. However, I now have a few more questions:
1- EZ suggested covering my older box springs (which has actual springs and isn’t firm enough to use as is) with plywood and using that for the base. But the mattress store sales person said never put latex on a solid surface and that I would need to put the mattress on a slatted surface (covered with fabric or not). What do you think? Will the latex mattress be okay resting diredctly on a plywood-topped base?
2- The 8" EZ special has a thin cotton/rayon cover with no quilting. The mattress store sales person said that you should always have a thicker cover on latex claiming that a thin cover will not protect the latex enough and that the mattress won’t last as long. Should we be concerned about that? I was planning to use some sort of thin wool pad for protection on the mattress. Should I be worried about the sides and bottom not being protected with just the thin cotton covering?
3- EZ agreed we get two free pillows. Any thoughts on solid vs. shredded latex for the pillows? We can choose either.
It will probably be OK as long as there aren’t other risk factors which can add to the chance of moisture and humidity building up in the mattress (see post #10 here). My preference (and probably theirs as well) would be a slatted foundation such as the one that SleepEz sells or some of the others in the foundation post here but it would likely be fine in terms of supporting the mattress.
I wouldn’t be concerned at all no. SleepEz has decades of experience with latex mattresses and has more knowledge about latex and suitable covers than most of the manufacturers in the country. They won’t steer you wrong. While it’s true that a very thin cover is not a good idea because latex can degrade with exposure to ozone and ultraviolet light (see post #6 here for a link to a list of substances that can degrade latex) … the cover they use is thicker and high quality and will be fine. There are many people who prefer the feel of sleeping more directly on the latex which allows it to contour a little more effectively instead of a mattress with a quilted cover (such as wool or other fibers which can help with temperature regulation or polyfoam which can modify the surface “feel” of the mattress for those who prefer it).
Thanks for your advice. Still liking the EZ option best for online.
But…just discovered a great local deal. Someone is closing out their Natura Organics line and I could get an Ecorestore for half of list, which would be under $1700 with the following specs: organic stretch ticking and 4.2 wool for quilt, 1" all natural talalay top, 2 " medium all natural talalay, and 6" natural dunlop core (doesn’t say firmness level for core).
Wondering if you think this would be a good deal and that it might be a good option for me vs getting the 8" dunlop EZ special (2" soft and 3" each of medium, hard). I am assuming the Natura doesn’t have a zipper for reversing layers, but not sure. Plus,obviously can’t switch out layers like I could with EZ if I don’t like it. But it does seem like good price for getting the wool covering and an extra inch of latex vs. the EZ 8".
For reference, what I’ve liked best that I tried out in person locally was another brand’s 9" organic natural latex with 3" soft talalay on top, 3" medium talalay in middle , and 3" extra firm dunlop on bottom (they only had one with extra firm on the bottom).
You didn’t mention the size you are considering or whether it is mattress only or a set but it certainly uses good quality materials and appears to have very good value as well (assuming it’s new and not a floor model or a return). It would have the advantage that you could test it in person to confirm that it was suitable in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) so exchanging layers may not be as important to you.
It’s always great to have more options so that you can choose between “good and good” when you are making final choices but in the end only each person can decide which of the objective, subjective, and intangible factors that are part of every mattress purchase are most important to them.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up choosing.
I’m shopping for a queen. It might be a floor model. Is that always a problem? It doesn’t include the foundation.
The list on the queen mattress for this model is around $3,300. Plus, I’m wondering if the warranty might be an issue if since the retailer is discontinuing the brand. Do you think I should contact the manufacturer on that? And I think I read somewhere (maybe this forum?) that Natura makes you buy one of their foundations or the warranty is void. Do you know if that’s true?
I haven’t actually seen it yet. Was planning on going tomorrow.
Also, given that I am trying to stay on a pretty tight budget and given what I am trying to accomplish (good value for all natural layers of Talalay and Dunlop combo of 8 or 9"), do you think I should consider anything beyond these two options?
If it’s a floor model then it would depend on how you feel about buying a mattress that has been used for testing by many people and how you feel about buying a mattress without a warranty or exchange policy (with most manufacturers floor models don’t usually qualify for warranty coverage).
I would also be aware that if the Natura is from the pre bankruptcy days then Spring Air / Sommex (the new owner of Natura) may not honor any warranty issues if that is an important consideration for you.
Natura uses good quality materials in their latex mattresses but they were also overpriced IMO and I would compare them to other mattresses that are similar rather than their “regular” prices. The price you have been quoted though is very good value for a new mattress that has 9" of all natural Talalay and a thicker wool quilting.
These are questions that only you can answer. I don’t know where you live so I don’t know what is available to you locally (I’d be happy to link you to the local forum list if there is one if you provide your city or zip) and I also don’t know all the specific criteria that are the most important parts of your personal value equation but I’m assuming you’ve looked through the list of the online manufacturers that are members here that were linked in the “read first” post and who also sell latex mattresses. The SleepEz special certainly seems to meet your criteria, uses all natural Talalay and Dunlop, and has some very good options for making adjustments and/or exchanging a layer if you need to so it’s certainly a very good and flexible option.
I don’t think a call can ever hurt to see what options they may suggest and then you can decide if you think it’s worth going there to see how what they offer compares to what you already have available.
There are also some good options available in the San Francisco area that are listed in post #2 here. I would tend to do most of your initial research on their websites and/or on the phone and then pick the 2 or 3 that you think are most worth visiting and within your budget range based on your phone calls and website research.
I’m maybe spending too much time on this, but I’m on a quest. And I don’t want to make a mistake with such a major purchase. But who knew that understanding latex mattresses would be such a production? You, I guess! Thanks again for your guidance on this now somewhat obsessive journey I’m on.
So I talked to Community Mattress in Concord. I’ve actually had him make custom sizes inregular mattresses for me over the years. Nice guy. That said, he will only do glued layers of latex in a cover with no zipper. And that would run about $2,000 for an 8" or 9" (can’t remember which) mattress (top layer Talalay with 6" slab of Dunlop). Not good for me due to price and because I want the option of reversing the order of layers and/or exchanging them for a different firmness if needed.
Called the place in Burlingame (Naturally Organic Sleep).Helpful person talked to me, but not in my price range for made-to-order. Otherwise he has some of the same expensive brand-name options that other retailers have.
Finally, talked to foamorder.com in SF and they were great. Now I’m going to visit their sister store in San Rafael this afternoon to try out the all-dunlop mattresses. As you’ve mentioned in other postings, they are somewhat anti-talalay, saying it’s not durable enough. I’ve only tried mattresses with talalay on top so far.
What should I be thinking about in terms of a dunlop top layer? Can the softest Dunlop feel as soft as the soft talalay that I’ve already tried and liked for the top? Are there any drawbacks to all Dunlop other than personal preference/feel?
BTW: Foam Order will order Talalay but only in 6 or more inches and offered only with shorter warranty. So if we go with foamorder.com, then we will be getting all Dunlop.
I would like to decide soon, so hopfully after the visit today we will know which way to go. I will let you know!
I would be thinking about testing specifically and as objectively as possible for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) as you can (using the testing guidelines in post #1 here). Everything else is secondary when you are testing two materials that are closely equivalent in terms of durability and quality (which is the case with Talalay and Dunlop. Dunlop and Talalay have a different “feel” and the choice between them is strictly a personal preference and there is no “better and worse”. You can read a little more about the differences between them in terms of “feel” in post #7 here but your own testing will be more accurate than anyone else’s descriptions of “subjective” feel.
Both materials come in a wide range of firmness levels and how a mattress feels and performs for any specific person depends on their body type, sleeping positions, and subjective perceptions. There are also many other “specs” besides just ILD that can change the way a mattress feels and performs or the softness/firmness of a mattress (including compression modulus, layer thickness, and point elasticity) because every layer in a mattress has an effect on the feel and performance of every other layer. You can cut through all the technical stuff though by trusting your own careful and objective testing and what your body tells you.
It is true that for most people Dunlop in the same ILD will feel firmer than Talalay because Dunlop gets firmer faster as you compress it and that it’s easier to find Talalay in softer versions than Dunlop but this means very little if a mattress uses layers that are “perfect” for you regardless of whether softer or firmer versions of latex may be available.
Yes they state this on their site and I have also confirmed it in my conversations with them.
Once you are down to your finalist at each retailer or manufacturer then final choices based on all the factors that are most important to you are all that’s left 9as difficult as that may be when you are making choices that are already better quality/value than 90% of consumers make in the mainstream market :))
I’m looking forward to hearing about what you end up choosing and of course if you have more questions that come up don’t hesitate to post them here. All the options you are considering so far are good ones IMO.
Hurray! We pulled the lever and bought our mattress tonight–went with the 9" all-Dunlop with three 3" layers from Foam Order’s sister San Rafael store, The Foam Shop. Steven was so patient and helpful. We were there more than two hours trying every possible combination of layering. In the end, we still aren’t 100% sure about which firmness we liked best for the top layer (kept going back and forth between soft and medium), but ended up going with the soft top, a medium middle, and a firm bottom. Also upgraded to the organic cotton cover.
With the 5% discount (Mattress Underground rocks!), we only paid about $100 more (not counting the cover upgrade) for the 9" than we would have paid for the 8" EZSleep special. Also, because we are driving distance to the store, we won’t have to pay any fees if we need to switch out any of the layers (a $30 per layer cost with EZ). All and all I prefer buying local, just didn’t think there was an affordable option that would work. Thanks so much for keeping me encouraged during this complicated process. I think if you hadn’t been there I would have settled for something before we found the best option for us.
Funny, as my search progressed, the topic of this post went from “advice re buying Sleep EZ all latex 8 special” to “deciding between the Sleep EZ 8 special and Foam Order’s 9 all Dunlop!”
Now we just have to wait the couple of weeks or so to get our new mattress. Very excited! I will let everyone know how we like it once it arrives.
You did some great research and ended up with final choices that were between between “good and good” which is the best possible position to be in. If everyone that was shopping for a mattress did the same kind of research and ended up with the same type of choices available there would be a lot less people unhappy with their purchase either initially or a few months or years down the road.
Most importantly you made the choice that was the best “fit” for your personal value equation so congratulations on your new mattress
I’m looking forward to your updates when you have had the chance to sleep on your new mattress for a bit.
Thanks for sharing your journey and your questions along the way with the forum.
So excited that our mattress finally arrived and so far after a few nights we absolutely LOVE it!!
Thanks again for helping us make the right decision for us.
BTW: We ended up needing a new foundation, too. We bought the Easy Fit from Amazon for about $200 at Amazon.com. It’s working out just fine, though the middle bar they first sent was incorrectly stapled together so it couldn’t be attached to the end pieces. We contacted the company to have them send us a new middle bar. They cheerfully and quickly did so. Luckily we ordered and received the foundation more than a week before the mattress arrived so we were still able to assemble the foundation in time.
Also, we decided to get a Natura Wool Puddle Pad for protection which almost no one seemed to have available without a wait. However, if anyone else is looking for one, we were able to order it in stock for a very good price ($149 for queen with free shipping) from www.bedroomsandmore.com in Seattle. They seem to have quite a few in stock right now, at least in the queen size. We already had a lightly-quilted cotton mattress pad which we are using over the puddle pad. It feels better to us than just putting the sheet directly over the wool.
