I certainly don’t blame you for being “shy” about ordering online for something as important as a mattress. While some of the online manufacturers that do this are very good at what they do and are amazingly helpful and even “accurate” with their recommendations … it can still be intimidating and it’s always a great idea to do some local testing first to get a clearer sense of different materials, layering, and your needs and preferences. This feedback along with your “stats” about body type and sleeping style can be very helpful in making a good choice with an online purchase.
If you let me know the zip or city where you live … I’d be happy to let you know of any places I know of that may make some good “testing grounds” and perhaps even offer the type of value that makes a local purchase worthwhile as well. This would be a lot easier and effective than posting a list of brands and models of mattress that may be similar (I don’t have a list like this anyway) and then trying to find them locally.
Almost all areas of the country would generally have some models of latex mattresses available locally that could at least give you a sense of how latex feels and performs.
Post #2 here includes some good options both locally and two of our manufacturing members who are within about 80 miles or so as well and make some very good quality and value mattresses.
I would probably suggest calling the ones that are further away to discuss what you may prefer before taking a drive there but if either they or your more local choices have a mattress that you can test and fits your needs and preferences and is in the budget and value range you prefer, then you would have the best of both worlds … the ability to personally test a mattress along with great local value. If nothing else … they would provide a good reference point for any type of purchase including online so that your final choices are between “good and good”.
As we begin to try out a few things. We went to the closest store (big chain) hoping to see something with latex. None there. We did lay on some tempurpedics and some icomforts. We tended to like things on the plush side. An iComfort Savant and TempurPedic Cloud Luxe (as far as feel). My wife definitely was more of a fan of a mattress wherein you were able to “settle” quickly, if that makes sense. Neither of us really liked a mattress wherein the adjustment to a shift in body position seemed s-l-o-w.
Still looking/waiting for some time to get on Latex at the suggested stores.
Is there anything we can glean from the mattresses we did touch today that can translate across brands and retailers?
The main thing I would “glean” from this is that you prefer the “faster” and “softer” versions of slow response materials like memory foam. While neither of these will be as fast response as latex … it indicates to me that you prefer softer ILD’s and “towards faster response” materials that have a more consistent temperature range rather than ranging from very soft to very firm with temperature. Many gel foams are of this type and some “regular” memory foams are similar to this as well.
It also indicates that you are “in the range” of about 4" - 5" of memory foam (The Cloud Luxe has 4.75" of softer and firmer memory foam and the Savant has 4" of memory foam with an inch of soft polyfoam in between the two layers which would give it a faster response). If you end up with memory foam … I would tend to be a little careful with the total amount of memory foam in the mattress because thicker layers can be somewhat tricky and can affect your spinal alignment over the course of the night (you can sink in deeper over the course of the night even if the temperature and humidity is consistent). So if you find a mattress with a little “less” in the comfort layers and it performs just as well and feels as good as one with a little more … I would choose the “little less”.
So now the goal is to compare this “feel” and response with materials that are a faster response yet but similar in their pressure relieving qualities.
Yes they are one of the manufacturers I listed and will usually include them in the various lists I post around the forum when they are available in an area. They are a regional factory direct manufacturer that makes a wide range of mattresses including memory foam, gel foam, latex, and latex hybrids and others and can also make custom adjustments. They are usually among the better value in most areas although smaller local manufacturers may have better value yet.
As it is, my wife is still pretty high on the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe. I know you have mentioned, in other posts, this alternative: Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam Mattress… I have yet to see or locate any feedback or buyers experience with this particular mattress. We have a lot of research left to do (to really dive into latex), but as I move forward, being able to posit a Cloud Luxe-like mattress would be nice.
I also could not recall if there was any warranty/return policy info for DreamFoam bought through Amazon.
The Dreamfoam gel is very new so there is not a lot of feedback yet. It is similar to the Cloud Luxe and they actually bought a Cloud Luxe and used it as a design goal. They tell me it’s very close but not quite as soft.
Select Foam also has a line of mattresses that are specifically made to match the Tempurpedic models based on the layering and foam densities but also extensive side to side ongoing comparisons by staff and customers at their brick and mortar outlet (where they carry Tempurpedic for side to side comparisons in real time and use the feedback to refine their designs).
NOTE ADDED: Select foam used to be a member of this site but because of ongoing customer service issues and delays their membership was terminated and I would read the warning here before considering them.
Rocky Mountain Mattress may also have a model that would come close to matching some of the Tempurpedic models and they can also customize the layering in their mattresses and carry memory foam mattresses where both the memory foam layers and the base foam layers can be interchanged and exchanged.
All of these are members of the site, have good quality, value, and service, and are very good to work with on the phone. They would be well worth talking to about your preferences and about which mattress they make that might work best for you.
Dreamfoam mattresses on Amazon are a final sale (except the Eurotop model where the comfort layer can be exchanged for a small fee) and there are no refunds or exchanges. This is part of the reason the prices are so low.
We both did not care for a singular latex core (6 or 7 inch of one IDL). My wife liked a mattress consisting of about a 1.5" 14IDL talalay over I believe 8" of talalay with 40 IDL (this was two sided… so the bottom also had the comfort layer). They had an identical bed with a core of 36 IDL, but my wife preferred the 40. I did not care much for the thin comfort layer. on either. I would say that I was surprised my wife cared for the mattress, as it was far less “soft,” in my opinion, than the iComfort Savant she liked best (but I am happy she liked latex).
The local price would be on par (before tax and the like) to the sleep ez 13000. I have little interest in trying to duplicate a mattress from a store (be it latex or otherwise), but I am consistently intrigued by the ability to create two different sides in a queen size bed to better satisfy both sleepers.
I am sure that the info exists somewhere in the forums, but is there an IDL translation for sleep ez’s layers (ex firm - soft)? Also, and I know that the best advice is to speak to someone at speep ez when ordering.
The layers in a sleep ez bed would not be glued (softer feel) and are, in the terms of the top layer, thicker than the bed my wife liked, yet thinner inside.
If there are some estimates of the IDLs of the sleep ez layers someone within the forum could provide, it would be a nice help.
The SleepEz “standard” layers (which you can see here) are in the range of …
Soft = 22-24 ILD
Medium = 30 - 32 ILD
Firm = 36 - 40 ILD
Xfirm = 44 ILD
These would depend to some degree on which materials they used in the mattress (different sources and types of latex would have some variances) and are just a general range.
My Green Mattress collectionI am guessing that the support core of this mattress would be 5.6" - 6" not 8". There are no 8" latex cores unless two layers are glued together and it’s not likely they would both be the same ILD in this case although of course, it’s possible. This would mean that the “value” reference point in terms of the amount of latex (but not some of the other features of each mattress such as the benefits of a two-sided construction) would be 9" of latex which would be the SleepEz 10000. also offers two-sided latex mattresses which can provide some two-sided reference points.
The difference in the softer feel of unglued layers may not be as great as the many other differences between these two mattresses. If everything else was the same … even then it may not be noticeable to some people. You are right that the comfort layer is thicker (in both the 10000 and 13000) but the support core below them is probably the same thickness if you compare the SleepEz 10000 (both 6") or in the SleepEz 13000 is thicker (9"). You also have the option of using a 2" comfort layer with 6" below this in the SleepEz 9000.
I corresponded with Larry at SleepEZ over email. He suggested that we try one of their toppers (soft) over our existing innerspring. In the event that we would like to go with a full latex mattress later, he mentioned, as the site supports, that we could basically apply the cost of the 3" topper to the new mattress (and turn a 7000 into an 10000) and that we would not need one of the layers for the new mattress (and the new mattress would ship with the larger enclosure).
Given that our issue is with firmness of our innerspring mattress (too firm), what do you think of the idea to start with a topper?
Any thoughts on how we would best put our bed together with the new topper (would we need a new mattress protector to bring the latex topper down to the mattress? Does the effectiveness of the latex lessen if the topper is tightly bound to the mattress as well as a under a sheet? Would there be any concern in several months or so if we went with a new sleep ez bed, of the topper layer having “worn” too much (i.e. a weak link in the 3 or 4 layer bed)?
I was extremely pleased with Larry’s response (as he didn’t just encourage me to go ahead and buy a new mattress, when that is pretty much what I was asking him to do!).
Does your current mattress provide good alignment? Since you said in your OP that it was 10 years old, I’d be a little concerned about whether it is still keeping you in alignment and all you need is pressure relief. Our old mattress is 11 years old, and despite the pillow top it had it felt firm to me, and I think it was because the springs were reaching high compression, especially when both of us were in bed at the same time.
Does your mattress have any body impressions in the quilting/ticking? If so, I would be concerned about the latex wearing unevenly. It’s still foam, so it would still conform to any impressions in the mattress.
I think Maia’s advice is excellent and IMO as well it would be important too identify the cause of any discomfort you have on our current mattress to make sure it is only a pressure relief issue and not an alignment issue.
Typical symptoms of pressure relief would be arms and hands falling asleep, numbness, and tossing and turning due to pressure points.
Typical symptoms of alignment are back pains, stiffness and discomfort in various areas of the back from misalignment of the spine and muscle tension. Tossing and turning or sprawling can be a symptom here as well.
A suitable topper can be a big help if the mattress is still evenly firm and supportive but if the issue is softening in certain spots then as Maia mentioned a flexible topper will just follow the soft spots. It can provide some partial relief for a while but it’s not a great solution in the longer term.
The option that SleepEz offers is a great one if a topper would work and in the short term a topper may just change things up enough that you get some temporary or partial relief (again depending on what the real issues are).
Knowing the type of mattress you have and any details of it’s original description and layering along with the specific symptoms you are experiencing (pressure issues or alignment issues) would probably be helpful in deciding on your next step. It would also depend on how long you planned to use the topper before you replaced the mattress. At 10 years old … the odds are good that your mattress may be at the end of it’s lifetime.
Our largest issues are arms and shoulder pain (or falling asleep) for me and hip pain for my wife (which then prompts the need to turn over to a new side/position.
I appreciate the feedback and thoughts! I don’t know how I can get to the bottom of what our current mattress is (outside of a Simmons Beauty Rest Lingwood (one side, nonflippable)… I will do some searching.
The Lingwood was a Simmons World Class and is probably a “plush firm” which means it has the firmer coils with various layers of foam on top. It’s very likely that the foam has softened and is no longer providing you with the pressure relief you need (you in your shoulders and your wife in her hips which are typical pressure points for men and women) and isn’t effectively isolating you from the firmness of the coils and the layer of firm foam right above them.
The “partial” or “temporary” effectiveness of a topper would depend to some degree on whether your model was a pillowtop or a smooth top mattress. Either way you would be risking exchanging one set of problems (pressure point issues) for another (alignment issues) with a softer topper because it would result in the softened foam being deeper in your sleeping system and becoming part of your support layers. If it’s a tight top with thinner layers of softened foam … it would probably be a little more effective and less risky than if it was a pillowtop version which has thicker layers of foam that has likely softened. In both cases a topper probably wouldn’t be ideal but the less foam in the top of your Simmons the more helpful it may be.
If you haven’t already … it may help to rotate the mattress either 180% or 1/4 turn if it’s a king size.
Post #4 here has a rather long list of some of the better options or at least possibilities in the Philadelphia area. I would talk with any of them that you may want to visit first (before visiting them) to describe the general type of mattress you want to test (latex hybrid with latex over polyfoam or an “all latex” mattress etc) to make sure they carry the type of mattress you want to test on their floor and that they will provide you with the layer information of any of their mattresses that interest you (or you won’t be able to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses).
My zipcode is 10918 & I’m looking for somewhere to test out a latex mattress as well. Do you have any suggestions? I looked at all of the local stores I could find, but none seem to have the latex models.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the general Chester, NY area are listed in the Middletown, NY list in post #2 here and in the West Milford, NJ list in post #2 here but you would need to call them to see if they carried any latex or latex hybrid mattresses on their floor.
Other than that … there are some better options than these in the New York City area in post #2 here and the Monroe Township, NJ area in post #7 here (with some overlap between them) and posts #2 and #4 here for Connecticut but they would involve a longer drive.