Hi Scrappy70,
The best suggestion I can make would be to make sure you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and know how and why to eliminate the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability, durability, and value.
Latex comes in a wide range of firmness levels from very soft to very firm so the firmness of any specific latex mattress would depend on the specifics of the latex layers in your mattress.
I would also be very cautious about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (see post #13 here).
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer (such as Cozy Pure) that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or even to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
[quote]Trying to be short, but I have researched Winndam, Cozy Pure and Original Mattress Factory. It appears OMF does not even let you exchange or return a mattress at all, so that should help me eliminate them.
Winndam doesn’t allow returns either, but they will “refluff or defluff” the mattress within a certain time period if it is too soft or hard. Cozy Pure will take returns but there is great cost involved with shipping the mattress back.[/quote]
I don’t know the specifics of the materials in the Winndom mattress you are considering (see this article) so I can’t make any meaningful comments about it but they generally use high quality materials in their mattresses that would have no “weak links” in the design.
Both OMF and Cozy pure use high quality materials in their mattresses and there are also no weak links in either of them in terms of durability but as you know Cozy Pure sells customizable all latex mattresses and OMF only has a single latex option which is a two sided latex/polyfoam hybrid so it would be an “all or nothing” choice.
I would keep in mind that the options you have after a purchase to return or exchange a mattress or individual layers or to fine tune a mattress are built in to the cost of a mattress and the majority of people that don’t use these policies are the ones who pay for the minority of people who do. Return/exchange policies are more important to some people than others depending on your confidence that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP and that you will sleep well on it.
Just for reference … OMF does allow a one time exchange within the first year (you can see the details in post #4 here and on their warranty page here but of course they only have a single latex mattress so there wouldn’t be another latex mattress to exchange for.
ADMIN NOTE: Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: originalmattress.com/pdfs/2014_OrigMattFact_Warranty.pdf
As you mentioned … Winndom allows their customers to fine tune their mattress to make it softer or firmer which would add less to the cost of a mattress than a policy that allowed returning or exchanging an entire mattress.
Cozy Pure doesn’t allow returns on a mattress once you have used it but they do have different options available after a purchase to fine tune the comfort or support of the mattress after a purchase (see their page here). Once again these types of options add less to the cost of a mattress than a return or exchange policy.
[quote]I’ve already read the Mattress section on this forum, which is why I have decided on latex (or memory foam if I have to). I just am not sure what the best place is to get it from.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!! [/quote]
If you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area (although you may have already found the local forum list for your area).
The tutorial includes a link to a list of the members here (including Cozy Pure) that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) that compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency and many of them make latex and latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex that have a range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices that that would all be well worth considering.
Phoenix