Alaska Struggles

[phoenix]

Hi Pura Vida,

Quick update in my search, I think my Seattle trip was successful. I visited Bedrooms and More and Soaring Hearts

I’m glad you had a successful shopping trip in Seattle.

I discounted this fairly quickly b/c of concerns with long term durability of the wool topper. I seems to be focusing on a latex only bed b/c of durability, longevity, quality, and support.

While latex is a good quality and durable material, so is wool. It is one of the most durable natural fibers. While wool will naturally compact a bit over time (up to 30%), it will still remain a durable comfort layer.

I was under the impression flipping a good quality latex mattress was not a big concern and didn’t have a significant effect on durability. Is this a correct assumption?

All foams soften a bit with use over time, even latex, and the ability to flip a mattress and distribute the load differently is attractive to some people. Latex in a one-sided configuration can last quite a long time, and in a flippable mattress it can last even longer. The tradeoff for a two sided mattress is that there is less “room” to design a mattress that has progressive firmness because if you have more than about 3" or so of soft materials on the bottom of the mattress then it can be risky for support/alignment. The middle layer in a two sided mattress needs to be firm enough to be a suitable support layer and to some degree compensate for the softer layer underneath it but with a support layer on the bottom you have more flexibility to fine tune the top and middle layers to your liking without compromising support. Depending upon your comfort preference, this may or may not be problematic.

When I started this process my main focus was on proper alignment but it seems with the better mattress companies like Pure Talalay Bliss this is less of a concern b/c of the quality and they way they are built. From what I can tell/feel regardless of the mattresses (high quality ones anyway) I’ve tried my alignment seems to be good and comfort has become the focus. Is this correct?

No, I’d be cautious with that assumption. This is certainly a concern with any mattress combination you choose. The ideal would be to have both suitable support/alignment and comfort/pressure relief in a mattress, but if you have to choose one over the other then I would choose support/alignment. There is some great information in this PHD thesis by Vincent+Verhaer (who is one of a group of researchers that I greatly respect) about the importance of good spinal alignment that clearly indicates that for healthy individuals it has the single biggest effect on the depth and quality of sleep and recovery for healthy individuals. Having proper alignment doesn’t necessarily mean that a mattress needs to feel hard like a board.

Originally I had no intention or even considered a DYI mattress due to my lack of knowledge and difficulty but with the knowledge and information I’ve gained from this site a DYI is starting to become my preferred option b/c of the limited options in AK and cost.

I’m glad you’re learning a lot! If you do decide to go the DIY route, then the first place I would start is by reading option 3 in post #15 here and the posts it links to (and option #1 and #2 as well) so that you have more realistic expectations and that you are comfortable with the learning curve, uncertainty, trial and error, or in some cases the higher costs that may be involved in the DIY process. While it can certainly be a rewarding project … the best approach to a DIY mattress is a “spirit of adventure” where what you learn and the satisfaction that comes from the process itself is more important than any cost savings you may realize (which may or may not happen).

Phoenix