We got an alexander hybrid in late February and are finding it too soft. I emailed Joe at Nest Bedding to ask his opinion and he said they’d reconfigured the Hybrid to make it less soft and suggested this for us. However, i’m still concerned it will be too soft and don’t know why he’s not suggesting other beds in their line. I fell as a side sleeper i’m being told i need a softer mattress and that doesn’t seem to be working for me. I’m looking elsewhere and coming to you for some help.
Because i’m mildly concerned about off gassing/odors and the potential to be too hot, i’m considering latex or latex hybrids, but i’m confused about the quality of latex, the quality of hybrids and how these beds hold up over time. Sleep like the dead and other sites suggest hybrids don’t hold up as well as 100% latex.
My husband and I are mid 40s, between 130 and 150 lbs, I have low back pain which has not been helped by the Al hybrid. I believe i need a firmer mattress that is easier to roll on - the responsiveness that latex is known for seemed like it might be right for us. I don’t mind a memory foam/latex blend as long as it’s good quality and provides good support. I like the idea of talalay as a top layer because as sometimes side sleepers, it seems like a good cushioning layer.
I had been considering the BB BME, but i read on another site that it shouldn’t even be considered latex because of the synthetic blend it includes. I also am concerned that it won’t hold up over time. Most of the reviews are made by reviewers with less than a year of use. A complete latex bed like Habitat Furnishings or Savvy and Sleepez are rated well on some sites, but lack a good return policy, are one size fits all, or are confusing in how customizable they are.
I could pay for a more expensive bed if i wanted, but the return policy is pretty important, particularly if i’m buying something online. Ideally, we would be paying less than $1600 for a king. Does this price point leave us with a hybrid and are the ones out there (BB BME others???) going to hold up?
Welcome to the site … and I’m glad you found us since some of what you have come to believe isn’t accurate and may be misleading you more than helping you.
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
They are right that side sleepers in general tend to need a softer mattress than back or stomach sleepers and an online retailer will generally suggest a mattress that they believe will have the best chance for success (based on averages) since a return is very costly to an online retailer or manufacturer and it’s in their best interests to make a suggestion that they believe will have the least possible chance of being returned.
Since the only way to know for certain or confirm whether any mattress will be a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP or how it will compare to another mattress will be based on your own personal experience … if you aren’t confident that an online mattress will be a good match for you then the return/refund policy and any costs involved would become a much more important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase so you can try out the mattress in your bedroom instead of a showroom with the only risk being the cost of returning a mattress if in the worst case, and in spite of the “best efforts” of everyone involved (both you and the retailer you are buying from) the mattress doesn’t turn out to be as suitable a choice as you hoped for.
Latex in general is the most durable of all the foam materials (latex foam, memory foam, polyfoam) regardless of whether it is Dunlop or Talalay or is made from natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or a blend of both. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here but the choice between different types and blends of latex is more of a preference and budget choice than a “better/worse” choice.
Assuming that the materials and components in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article). The best way to know which type of materials or which type of mattresses you tend to prefer in general terms will be based on your own careful testing or your own personal experience because different people can have very different preferences.
I would also keep in mind that while other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful, you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
Review sites like Sleep Like the Dead just amalgamate reviews and assign mattresses into very broad categories that really don’t say anything about any specific mattress in that category. In many cases a mattress is put into a category that it really doesn’t even belong in and then it’s included in the overall ratings for that category even though the overall ratings for the category may have nothing to do with the specific mattress.
For example their ratings for “innerspring” mattresses are the lowest of all the mattress categories and yet there are some innerspring mattresses that use very high quality materials, are very durable, and may be the most suitable match for some people in terms of comfort, firmness, PPP and would make a very durable choice. Some of the most knowledgeable people I know in the industry that could sleep on anything they wished to sleep on an innerspring mattress. If someone was shopping by “category” and believed that innerspring mattresses have a lower satisfaction than other types of mattresses they may never even look at better quality innerspring mattresses that used high quality materials in the comfort layers and which may be the best match for them. The devil is always in the details and broad assessments that don’t differentiate between the specific mattresses or the “why” behind the “what” are more misleading than helpful.
Latex hybrid mattresses would be another example where there are many “so called” latex mattresses that may only have a relatively thin layer of latex mixed in with other other lower quality materials that would soften and break down prematurely and yet they would be included in the same category as other latex hybrid mattresses that don’t use any lower quality materials or have any weak links that would compromise durability and in cases like this they would likely believe that latex is the issue when it’s really the other materials in the upper layers of the mattress.
The highest rated memory foam mattress on the same site is a mattress that uses 3 lb density memory foam which is a lower quality and less durable material than I would suggest considering in anything but the very lowest budget ranges … which they aren’t (see post #2 here). The problem is that you can’t feel the quality of the materials in a mattress by lying on it (low quality and less durable materials can feel the same as higher quality more durable materials when they are new) and most reviewers that purchase a mattress that uses lower quality materials have no idea about the quality or durability of the materials in the mattress they purchased because they don’t know how to tell the difference or how to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses that are in the same budget range and use better quality and more durable materials.
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress. There are just too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
Latex and memory foam are very different materials with very different properties but again the choice between them is a preference and budget choice more than a “better/worse” choice. There is more about some of the differences between memory foam and latex in post #2 here but the best way to know which type of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer in general would be based on your own testing and/or personal experience.
Every category of mattresses (including latex/innerspring hybrids) can include hundreds or sometimes thousands of different mattresses with different designs, different “feels”, different characteristics, and different firmness levels. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting material) will affect the feel and response of every other layer both above and below it so each category will generally include some mattresses that will be a good “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP and others that use the same type of materials and are in the same category but have a different design that be unsuitable for you to sleep on even if it uses the same general type of materials and components.
While I can’t speak to whether any of these mattresses would be a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP … they all use good quality materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links in any of them that would be a reason for concern in terms of the quality or durability of the materials.
You can also see some comments about the pros and cons of a component mattress with a zip cover where you can choose the type and firmness of each layer vs a “finished mattresses” that has glued layers in post #15 here and post #2 here.
Whether any mattress “holds up” will depend primarily on the quality and durability of the materials and components in the top 3" to 6" of the mattress.
If you let me know your city or zip code I’d certainly be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.
Outside of any local options that may be available to you … the mattress shopping tutorial includes several links to lists of some of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) including a link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online and many of them also sell latex and latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex that have a wide range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices that would be well worth considering including some “all latex” mattresses that are in your budget range (although of course I would make sure you talk with them so you have some confidence that they would be a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP.
In its simplest form choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Thanks Phoenix- this is a ton of detail. I am considering the BME by BB because latex seems like what we want. I chatted with them yesterday and they recommended a medium. A different customer service staff - Mario - today recommended a soft. Perhaps I will Call to discuss on more detail.
I wonder if you could provide me with retailers I could visit to try out latex. My zip is 48103.
The better options or possibilities i’m aware of in and around the Ann Arbor/Detroit, MI area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets your criteria and the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #2 here.