I tried a new pocket coil/latex hybrid at Savvy Rest — 8 inch unzoned pocket coil layer in a zip cover with a 3 inch customizable latex layer (Talalay for me) — and want this setup for my next mattress. But their model is expensive as hell and I want to buy from a company that allows returns.
The two TMU members that would seem to get me closest to this are Flexus Comfort and Arizona Premium Mattress. However, their primary hybrid models use a zoned pocket coil system. Arizona does have their new Eco Sleep, which isn’t zoned, but its coil height is only 6 inches. Are there any pros/cons to different coil heights, or is it more about how they’re constructed? And do you know of other retailers that offer the type of configuration I’m looking for, with the option to return (and likely be ordered online)? I know Plushbeds does, but they’re more expensive and not a member here.
If I am going to go the zoned pocket coil route, I’d like to lay on one first. I’m in the Washington, DC, area and am having trouble finding one locally to try out. Phoenix, do you know of any retailers (even if their models are from the big name brands) who have models with zoned pocket coils?
Also, I would like your input if a zoned coil system would be right for me. Background: As described previously, I think my current mattress has a comfort layer that’s too thick (5 inches of memory foam) for my side sleeping tendencies. I found this picture online:
The red x on the top line is exactly where I have stiffness and I think this is what’s happening to me. Oddly enough, my lower back has never felt better. (I also flipped the mattress over and slept on the hard polyfoam side as you suggested, and I ended up with the situation depicted in the middle line.)
Would zoned coils help me in a new mattress or be overkill? Looking at me from the front, I’m 6’1" and apart from my wider shoulders, it’s pretty much a straight line on either side from my armpits down to my thighs. Looking at me from the side, my upper back curves outward more than average and my lower back curves inward more than average, I am a little afraid of introducing lower back pain because my hips will be too high, and more afraid of feeling slanted as a TMU user previously reported. I plan to call the retailers mentioned above after I get your take. Thanks!
You can read more about innersprings and their differences here. Coil height is just one of the many variables in an innerspring unit, and I’d try to avoid getting too caught up in the complex and different constructions of the various pocketed spring units, and focus on instead the ability of an innerspring support unit to contour to your body (which pocketed spring units tend to do quite well) and the ability of the innerspring unit to hold up the heavier areas of your body and promote a more neutral alignment.
And do you know of other retailers that offer the type of configuration I’m looking for, with the option to return (and likely be ordered online)?
I do have a list of some spring/latex mattress (hybrid) providers in post #2 here. You’ll have to check with each company regarding their return/exchange policies.
It’s not possible for me to maintain a listing of the different models and specifications of the retailers mentioned here on the forum, or in specific geographic region, would maintain on the floors. The enormity of that task is unfortunately impossible to complete.
Subject to first confirming that any retailer or manufacturer on the list that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here … some better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Washington, DC area (which has some overlap with the Baltimore list) are listed in post #2 here.
Unless you are testing a mattress using the exact same materials, in the same layers and thicknesses, in the same firmness, you’d be wasting your time testing major brand name mattresses or those where you can’t find out the specifics of the materials inside and then expecting those mattresses to be representative of what you’re attempting to approximate. And depending upon the layers above the innerspring unit, you may not even notice a difference in the overall comfort of a mattress using a zoned or non-zoned innerspring unit, as it is the uppermost layers closest to your skin that will make the biggest difference in your perception of comfort.
As I mentioned earlier, I wouldn’t get as caught up in the complexities of a zoned versus non-zoned pocketed coil innerspring unit. Both certainly can be appropriate for a majority of the population, and they will work together with the comfort layers of the mattress to provide your overall support and comfort, and nothing will be able to replace your own personal testing to see what combinations, if any, that you prefer.
Thanks very much for those reassurances. For the record, I did find something that came close to my criteria – in the Hypnos line as found at Mt. Vernon Sleep Galleries in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It’s surprising how few Google results turn up when you search for “latex pocket spring mattress.” The Hypnos models they had were all zoned. In one model that had a thin comfort later, I could notice that there was a change in the coils. I didn’t care for it. If one were to sit up in bed, the feeling would be strange. But on the model that had about 2.5 inches in the comfort layer, including latex, I could not detect that there was any zoning in effect.
