My girlfriend and I are buying a new mattress to replace one that is certainly past its expiration date. We’ve used this site/forum extensively, and have decided to buy the Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams mattress on Amazon (Amazon.com) for value and price reasons.
I’ve emailed Chuck about the comfort layer density, and he recommended either 24 or 28 ILD. I am 5’9" 160 lb, and she is 5’7" 130 lb, both mixed side and back sleepers.
We’ve tried several mattresses locally but the only latex ones available had 6"+ of cheaper foam on top, so not terribly useful to compare. We both like softer feeling (plush to firmer pillowtops) mattresses, but we disliked how we sanked in/sagged into some of the softest mattresses, especially around the hips.
Based on what I’ve seen here and elsewhere, I think the 24 ILD could be a great fit, but I’m worried that it we may sag into it like with some (albeit cheaper) others. With the 28, it may be too firm initially, but we could fix that with a topper. Higher priced mattresses with exchangeable layers are out of our reach pricewise (both students).
Thoughts and advice (esp from anyone with personal experience) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I’ll be interested in any replies to this question as well. I am a new member and this is my first post. Like many here, I knew very little about mattresses before coming here except for “common knowledge”.
After reading many posts and other info here, I’m definitely leaning toward a King latex mattress. There is even a manufacturer who is a member of this site less than 60 miles from where we live.
If you have had a more detailed conversation with them on the phone then it’s really just a matter of deciding on which of the two options you feel best about since the difference between them would be relatively small (they are only one increment away from each other).
There really isn’t a formula you can use that can take all the unknowns, variables, and preferences into account and each person can have a very different experience on the same mattress so it would really be a matter of “best judgement” unless you have done some local testing on a mattress that is very similar that you can use as a reference point (and as you mentioned this isn’t always available).
As you also mentioned … you can always make a mattress that is a little too firm softer with a topper but it’s much more difficult to make a mattress that is too soft any firmer without removing and replacing layers.
If you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know if there are any options or possibilities in your area I’m aware of that would let you do some testing that may give you a better reference point.
Thanks, Phoenix. I saw a page on here with shops listed near Memphis, and we’ve been to 2-3 and called a few more. Decided to go with the firmer latex and adjust with a topper as needed. May not get it perfect out of the box, but should be fairly simple to adjust as need be.
Are there any good toppers under about $80? I’ve seen some recs on here, but they tend to be latex or memory foam and $200+. Hopefully it will be unnecessary, but is there some middle ground between the $30 Target cheepies and the uber expensive?
Probably not “good” ones no but there are some good sources for toppers in post #2 here that use a wide range of different materials. At your budget level you would probably be limited to some lower cost polyfoam toppers but of course with a topper it’s easy to replace them when they break down and there are some higher density options available for polyfoam in your budget range in the 1.8 lb range (although they may not include a cover).
Our trip to Fox Mattress turned out to be very productive. It was only an hours drive, and on a rainy Saturday morning we were the only customers in the store when we arrived. Trina greeted us promptly and was very, very helpful in determining our needs and wants, as well as our budget.
Instead of choosing the latex over foam, we went with the 6" natural latex. To this, she replaced the cover with a padded quilt style. Not a pillow top, so we won’t have the issues associated with that (been there).
I told her that we found out about them through this site, and she just kind of smiled. I know I’ve told many people about this site as well, and Fox Mattress for that matter.
We won’t be getting our new mattress for about 9 weeks as we are in rental housing while waiting for our new home to be completed. This just adds to the anticipation.
Thanks for the feedback … and it’s great to hear you had a great experience at Fox Mattress.
Most of all … congratulations on your new mattress
Now comes the hardest part of all … waiting … but I’m looking forward to your feedback once you receive it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
