Hi,
This is Aparajith Soundararajan from Spokane, Washington. I just chanced upon this website while mattress hopping and checking for reviews, and boy, am I glad! What a wealth of information you have!! If not for this site and forum, I would have bought some Sealy/Serta/Sleepfit mattress. Took your advice and visited the two independent manufacturers here – Northwest Bedding and Denver Mattress. I went through their mattresses and have shortlisted two out of the lot based on the guide here.
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Northwest Bedding – Columbia Collection Priest Lake Latex Firm
http://www.nwbedding.com/desc.ydev?prod_id=34312
Specs
ď€ 2 inch 1.2 ILD Bio Foam (Quilt Layer)
ď€ 1 inch Talalay Latex layer (Comfort Layer)
ď€ 660 individually wrapped 15.5 gauge coils (Support Layer)
ď€ Foam encased mattress
ď€ 10 year warranty
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Denver Mattress - 404 | Denver Mattress
Specs
ď€ 1" Anti-Microbial Super Soft EF Foam and 1/2" Anti-Microbial 1.8lb High Density EF Foam (Quilt layer)
ď€ 1" 4lb Gel/Visco Memory Foam and 1"2lb High Density Luxury Firm EF Foam (Comfort Layer)
ď€ 750 Alternating Checkerboard individually wrapped 14.5 gauge coils (Support Layer)
ď€ Foam encased mattress
ď€ 15 year warranty
Both the mattress cost about the same although there is room for negotiation with a free delivery option thrown in. I felt the support to be kind of similar between both when I tried them. I am kind of gravitating a bit towards the Northwest Bedding mattress due to the latex layer. Am I right with my choice? Can you help me choose between the two ? I would like to finish mattress shopping by this Sunday. Any help appreciated.
Small detail about me – I am 5feet 9inches – 160lbs and my wife is 5feet 5inches 135lbs. Both of us are stomach and side sleepers. Thanks!
P.S: Both shopping assistants were more than willing to explain the details once they learnt I was competent enough and were surprised how I knew so much technical stuff. I gave them details about this site.
Hi aparajith,
There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
I can’t speak to which of the two would be the most “comfortable” or would be the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) because I can’t feel what you feel on a mattress and your own careful testing is the most reliable way to know this (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post).
I also can’t speak to which one would be the best overall 'value" for you because that would depend on how they compare based on suitability and durability along with all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you and these other criteria (such as price, service, the options you have after a purchase and the costs involved, any additional extras that are included with the mattress etc) and the importance of these would vary from person to person.
I can speak to durability however because this is the part of a mattress purchase that can be assessed by knowing and comparing the type and quality/durability of the materials inside the mattress (you can see the quality/durability guidelines I would suggest in post #4 here.
The Northwest Bedding Priest Lake Latex firm has 2" of 1.2 lb polyfoam in the top layer which is a lower quality and less durable material and is thicker than the guidelines I would normally suggest which is “no more than about an inch or so of lower quality or unknown materials in the upper layers of a mattress” so while 2" is “on the edge” and is better than many mainstream mattresses … it would still be a potential weak link in the mattress.
The Doctor’s Choice Elite Firm has 1" of “unknown density” polyfoam in the quilting (and they would probably be able to provide you with the density if you ask them) but even if it was also as low as 1.2 lb density … because it’s only an inch I wouldn’t consider it to be a weak link in the mattress and it would meet the minimum guidelines so in terms of the durability of the materials in each mattress … I would give the durability advantage to the Doctor’s Choice.
The Priest Lake latex firm only has 1" of latex and this isn’t really enough to even consider it to be a “latex hybrid” so the word “latex” in the name is somewhat misleading with a single latex layer this thin.
If your choice was based on durability alone then the Doctor’s choice would be the less risky choice but whether this would be the one you decide to purchase would really depend on whether any additional benefits that come with the Priest Lake Latex firm would be enough to offset the greater risk that it would lose the comfort and support that was the reason you purchased it more quickly and you would need to purchase a new mattress sooner than you would with the Doctors Choice Elite Firm.
Phoenix
Ok, thanks a bunch for the reply Phoenix. This kind of a guidance is exactly what I was looking for. I saw the Latex and assumed it would automatically be good, but thanks for clearing that up.
I checked with Denver mattress and the manager does not know about the density of the polyfoam. And as I said, after trying both beds, I felt the exact same way on both of them. I tried them on for a good 20 minutes separately on two different days after trying rest of their beds.
As for the best overall value - the deal breaker at the moment is just durability, as the rest of the factors are similar. So I will take your expert advice and go with the Doctors Choice Elite Firm mattress. Thanks a bunch for the help and support!
Hi aparajith,
Congratulations on your new mattress 
I hope you have the chance to share your comments and feedback when you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Phoenix