Any suggestions for recently bought latex bed?

Hi Phoenix,

After testing out some different models and getting some much appreciated suggestions from you, I recently bought the
SleepEz 8" special. I went with talalay instead of dunlop and the setup is 3" firm, 3" med, and 2" soft. The two bottom layers are split to allow for some testing of different combinations if need be.

After about one week I felt the overall feeling was a little to firm. I was feeling some noticeable pressure in my hips and shoulder (I am a side sleeper). So I bought a wool fill mattress pad (http://www.sierratradingpost.com/downtown-mattress-pad-king-merino-wool-fill-anchor-bands~p~2786t/?filterString=search~wool-mattress%2F&colorFamily=01) to see if that would soften it up a little bit. It did seem a little better but I still notice the hip pressure in my hips around 2-3 AM. I am 5’ 11", 165 lbs and a side sleeper.

Do you have any suggestions of what I can do to really dial in the comfort of this bed? Overall it is MUCH better than my old traditional mattress. And I will say that the back pain that I used to have every night has disappeared! So I just want to tweak the feeling to alleviate the hip/shoulder discomfort that I start to feel as the night goes on.

Thank you,
Lee

Hi laterno,

Based on your testing with the PLB, I am guessing that the comfort layer may be a little on the thin/firm side and that you need a little more thickness on top. The best model you tested was the Pamper with the 2" topper which gave you 3" of softer latex (2" 14 ILD and 1" 19 ILD) over a firmer base. The SleepEz special has 2" of @ 22-24 ILD in the comfort layer with a medium next layer down (@ 30-32 ILD) which is an inch thinner than the “ideal” that you tested.

A couple of options you can try would be as follows …

  1. Add an inch or so (1.5" toppers are more common than 1") as a topper on top of the mattress in the range of 19 ILD or less. This could be latex, memory foam, or even polyfoam. With a low cost topper, even if it wasn’t as durable … it is easy to replace.

  2. Option 2 is a little more “risky” (more difficult to predict how it would react to your weight distribution) and would involve a layer exchange of your middle talalay layer for soft Dunlop. The softer Dunlop would give you a little bit more effective thickness in the comfort zone but would get firmer faster than the talalay so would also give similar support to the medium Talalay you have now.

Wool can also be a little tricky depending on the density and thickness of the wool and the latex below it. Thicker wool can initially help but it will eventually compact and get firmer. Thinner wool would not likely add enough thickness/softness and again depending on the type of topper could slightly reduce the effective softness of the latex.

I would likely go with option #1 (probably the lowest cost) to add a little thickness/softness on top of the mattress being careful to go no more than 1-1.5" to make sure that alignment (and the back pain) wasn’t compromised. As an example, something like this may be an inexpensive option (if you are open to memory foam) but I would recommend a cover for it as well.

Phoenix