Hi dmg,
I know there are many people here who have purchased the Ultimate Dreams but in many cases once a member has made their purchase they no longer monitor the forum so they may not see this thread. Hopefully though some will see your post and make some comments.
There are some good options that are close to Salt Lake City that may be well worth looking at and considering either as a reference point or for their value.
http://www.rsmattressutah.com/ This is a sister company to Brooklyn Bedding (who also make the Ultimate Dreams mattresses sold online only). They carry a range of mattresses made by Brooklyn Bedding including latex and innersprings. They also carry a range of other brands but I personally would focus on the Brooklyn Bedding models which are very good quality/value choices. They have a comfort exchange if the mattress you choose isn’t quite right.
Diamond Mattress Inc. Factory direct manufacturer in SLC. They are a small independent manufacturer with no online presence who can make just about anything (including latex) and sells factory direct and also supplies to local retail outlets. He makes a wide range of mattresses including latex (with no polyfoam on top), memory foam and innersprings with latex on top.
http://www.manta.com/c/mmc8y2d/bountiful-rest-mattress-co-inc Wholesale manufacturer in Salt Lake City who makes a range of mattresses including memory foam and latex that are sold through retail outlets in the area. While they don’t sell factory direct, they do have a small showroom with their mattresses on the floor for people to test their mattresses and they will then refer you to the closest retail store that sells it. They also make Intelligel mattresses.
Furniture Row® Store Locations - Store Hours & Addresses Regional factory direct manufacturer in Draper. They make a range of good quality innerspring mattresses and their iChoice which is a mostly latex mattress with either a latex or memory foam topper. I would avoid the major brands they also carry.
http://www.saltlakemattress.com/ Salt Lake City, UT. They a range of latex, latex hybrid, memory foam, and innerspring mattresses made by Diamond, Pure Latex Bliss, Restonic, Therapedic and Savvy Rest, and Serta (two latex mattresses).
http://actionwood.com/ Midvale, UT. Retailer that carries Pure Latex Bliss (Talalay latex) , Boyd (be careful here because “engineered latex” is not latex), Anatomic Global (memory foam). make sure they can provide all the layering details of any mattress you consider here and the name of any of the PLB mattresses you are testing (which should also be on the law tag if they don’t provide it to you … see post #1 here).
http://www.mattressdepartmentutah.com/ Salt Lake City, West Jordan, American Fork, Orem, UT. They Carry Diamond mattresses that are made in Salt Lake City and Pure Latex Bliss.
http://mattressezzz.com/ Retailer in Heber City. They carry several alternative brands including Diamond Mattress and Medicoil that may be worth considering. Make sure you can find out all the specs of any mattress you are considering here as well.
Our Locations | Mattress Dealzz Retailer with stores in South Jordan, Orem, South Salt Lake, Murray, and Pleasant Grove. They carry their own private label mattress line and Easy Rest which may be worth considering here.
These should help you get a sense of what you prefer and/or give you some good local choices.
If you do decide to go with the Ultimate Dreams … I don’t know how their rating system works (which ILD they use for each number) but they would be in the best position to give you great advice on the best choice based on your local testing and feedback. The specs of the PLB’s are in post #4 here as a guideline but bear in mind that the Ultimate Dreams also includes a layer of softer quilting foam over the latex.
You are right that lighter people generally prefer softer foam because they don’t have the same weight to sink in as far as those who are heavier. Sometimes though … people who are tall and slim fall on the other end of the spectrum because with lesser weight they are not as prone to pressure points and this “group” tends to prefer firmer choices than “average”. Your own testing will be the best guide of which group you are in although your comments about the PLB’s would seem to indicate you are in the softer group.
Hope this helps
Phoenix