Hello all, I am 6’0, 285lbs and my wife is 5’7 120. I like a really firm, cool mattress (rest on top/not sink in feeling. My wife like medium and is fine with something you sink into a bit. We currently have Brooklyn Bedding Split XL’s. I have the Spartan firm and she has the aurora medium. Her mattress is about an inch thinner than mine (we put particle board underneath her side) and we really dislike the Gap in the middle despite a Gap bridging mechanism. This led me to this site and I am interested in a single mattress with custom sides for both of us. We like the idea of Latex but haven’t tried one. We currently have hybrids with innerspring cores. She likes the aurora and I am ok with the Spartan but would like it even a little firmer. I am curious if Latex would be hotter and will it feel more like sinking in? So far the Latex and Hybrid options from Arizona Premium and Sleep EZ seem like good candidates but we are struggling with the Hybrid vs Latex question. Also, she prefers something 12 inches thick or more for the look on the platform. The hybrids seem to fit that. Would putting an additional 3 inch layer of Latex get you to the same place? We are in the Salt Lake City, UT area.
Any guidance is much appreciated! Thank you. Ps. I am a back sleeper and my wife is a side sleeper.
Hello Langanke, I’m happy to provide any insight I can, although hopefully you’ll get a few responses just so you can make the most informed decision.
**I’m so sorry but I misread your message and thought your weight was 185 pounds, so if you saw my previous response, please disregard it.
We don’t normally recommend our latex and coil Hybrids for folks over 230 pounds because it’s liable to lead to back pain from a lack of support, and this is generally the case with Leggett & Platt’s coils AND Brooklyn Bedding’s Ascension coils.
Based on the information you’ve provided, I would recommend a 10" latex mattress with soft Talalay over medium Dunlop over firm Dunlop for her side, and medium Talalay over firm Dunlop over extra firm Dunlop for your side. The top Talalay layer should provide all the contour and pressure relief needed to avoid any pressure point issues and will add secondary support to the mattress. Secondary support is needed to fill in the gaps between your body and the mattress – back sleepers normally need secondary support to fill in the gaps between the small of their back and the mattress; side sleepers normally need secondary support to fill in the gaps between their mid-section and the mattress. If these parts of a person’s body aren’t supported by the mattress, their muscles will work throughout the night to hold these parts of the body up, and by the time they wake up they’ve got back pain. So the top 3" of Talalay latex will provide contour, pressure relief, and secondary support. The remaining Dunlop layers should provide all the support needed to maintain proper spinal alignment and avoid back pain. Please keep in mind that our initial recommendations have a 90% success rate (we only have a 10% layer exchange rate and a 3%-4% return rate) so there’s a 90% chance that the above recommendation works perfectly for you.
Hi Langanke,
Thanks for reaching out.
I’ll address your question in order.
Q1: I am curious if Latex would be hotter and will it feel more like sinking in?
A1: Talalay latex is an open cell foam, so it is very breathable. It also has pin holes that are the result of the Talalay manufacturing process which allow air to pass through the material. As for sinking in, that would depend on the ILD or density of the material.
Q2: So for the Latex and Hybrid options from Arizona Premium and Sleep EZ seem like good candidates but we are struggling with the Hybrid vs Latex question.
A2: CST takes a different approach to mattress design and construction. You both have very different body characteristics so each side of the mattress should be designed to accommodate those differences. Using a consistent material throughout the mattress, like Talalay Latex, allows us to control the feel and body alignment by using various densities to support your body.
Talalay latex is manufactured in 8 different densities from very soft to extremely firm. By using different densities to support your shoulders and hips separately, we can make the mattress do two things; 1. Align your spine, and 2. Build the mattress to support your particular body weight.
Q3: She prefers something 12 inches thick or more for the look on the platform. Would putting an additional 3 inch layer of Latex get you to the same place?
A3: We use 4 layers each 3" thick in our Gold mattress for 12". Adding a 3" topper may help but it all depends on the support characteristics of the mattresses below. This is always a tricky situation to get the topper density right when we don’t know what the surface below feels like.
Our Serenity mattress is a split-density that can be medium density on her side and extra firm on your side. What’s important to know is that any of our mattresses can be modified by simply changing out a segment or a layer to improve the feel.
If you would like me to create a proposal for you for our Performance personalized Talalay Latex mattress, just go to the link below and complete our Body Profile, and then I can recommend a specific design for both of you.
Links:
Serenity Dual-Density Mattress
Performance Personalized Mattress Body Profile
I hope this was helpful.
CST