Thank you for your excellent resources here.
I have been reading and rereading every inch of this wonderful website for days, but I am still confused.
I found the bed of my dreams as far as comfort is concerned. “iComfort Prodigy” series keeps calling me back, although I would like to replicate that feel with quality materials. (I need pressure relief due to neuropathic discomfort.)
I would also like an adjustable base, but I am l concerned that I might choose latex materials that could be too heavy and create excess wear on the bed motor. (made by ergomotion)
Comfort level…would an 'eggcrate" style of latex blend do the trick? How thick? Suggestions/alternatives? How to build?
Support level…latex is preferred, but I worry about the weight. Would an HR foam be as durable and decrease the weight significantly enough to use on an adjustable base? Is it feasible to have this built?
One more question… we also tried a latex “Supreme” at the “Original Mattress Factory” Why would a latex mattress have comfort layers on both sides? Do you typically flip latex mattresses? Why would they use latex core and 2nd layer, then nondurable comfort layers?
Thanks for your help.
Hi alignme,
As you know … “feel” is very subjective and relative to each person. You can read a little more about “matching” one mattress to another in post #9 here and while there would likely be other mattresses that were equivalent in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that had better quality or value … none of them would be exactly the same. Some of the iComforts use reasonable quality materials but as you know even these are are not the best value so purchasing a mattress that was exactly the same would mean purchasing the iComfort itself. In this case I would at least choose one of the models that didn’t use more than an inch of lower quality materials in the upper layers of the mattress so you had some reasonable assurance that the “feel” you liked would be more long lasting.
Your own side by side testing is really the only way to know whether a mattress that has a different design, materials, and layering is “equivalent” in terms of how it feels to you.
As long as the mattress and the people on it are within the weight limits of the adjustable bed you will be fine. I don’t think that latex itself would be an issue even though it’s heavier than polyfoam (although it’s about the same as memory foam). The adjustable bed thread here may be helpful.
Post #2 here has some of the “theory” involved but they are only generic and not specific to any individual. Only your own personal testing and experience can really know whether a mattress is suitable for you. Theory at a distance is one of the least effective ways to choose a mattress and will quickly become so complex as you learn how all the different specs interact together that you can end up with “paralysis by analysis”. For example the type of eggcrate (the shape of the peaks and the depth of the convoluting) can make a significant difference and these are not specs that most people would have access to or have the ability to understand. When you test a mattress for PPP then you don’t have to worry about the “comfort specs” or the design, only about the quality of the materials (and latex is good quality). I’m happy to speak to the quality of materials or identify any weak links in a mattress but comfort and support choices or the types of materials you prefer are a personal preference based on your own personal testing.
HR polyfoam is a great material in the right design but I wouldn’t choose it because it was lighter. It would be comparable in some ways to latex in terms of performance but latex would still have the edge in durability (although both would be durable materials). Some types of HR polyfoam can actually be denser than some firmness levels of latex although most of them are under 3 lbs/ft3. I really wouldn’t make the weight of the foams an issue unless you were over the weight limits for a particular adjustable bed.
That depends on who builds it. If you are designing it yourself and you have years of experience and the technical knowledge it can require it could work but I would normally suggest working with a manufacturer who already knows what you would otherwise need to learn. Even all the learning in the world would have little meaning without actual experience so that the specs have meaning to you based on your actual experience. Even the most experienced manufacturers often design a mattress that ends up feeling very different from what they imagined when they first thought of the design.
A two sided mattress is more durable than a one sided mattress … even with a durable material like latex. The tradeoff is that a two sided mattress is more limited to designs that don’t have thicker comfort or transition layers so there isn’t as much soft materials on the bottom of the mattress and a one sided mattress has more design flexibility. There are many manufacturers who use relatively thin layers of polyfoam or other materials as a quilting layer because there are many people who prefer the “surface feel” of a less resilient material vs sleeping directly on the latex. As long as any quilting layers are in the range of an inch or so it won’t have a significant effect on durability in most cases. If the quilting layers or other layers in the top of the mattress are around 2" or more then I would be more cautious in terms of durability and would want to know the density of the foam. There are many “so called” latex mattresses on the market which use thick layers of relatively low quality polyfoam in the comfort layers which I would avoid.
If a mattress (latex or otherwise) is two sided then it would benefit from flipping and if its one sided than you can’t flip it although you can still rotate it.
Phoenix
Thanks so much for your information and advice. I’m afraid I am in the “analysis/paralysis” phase and trying to work out of it so that I can ultimately end up with a good nights sleep. I was considering asking FOX mattress to build us a latex set. We hope to get over there when both my husband and I have the time to commute the 2 hour trip. I was quite impressed with the video on the website…found it very straight forward and informative.
Hi alignme,
I think a trip to fox mattress would be a good idea and would probably be very helpful. They are very straightforward and understand the “value” of the basics which their video does a good job describing (ie. comfort, support, and durability).
It’s always interesting to me that both too little information a well as too much information can both lead to difficult and sometimes less than ideal choices and it’s not always easy staying in the middle ground. As long as you keep the basics in mind though … PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that you test for + good quality durable materials (so you know that the PPP will last) that you can’t test for but can recognize with knowing the type and quality of the materials … your odds of making a great choice is very high.
Sometimes who you deal with and their level of knowledge and experience can be one of the most important parts of a purchase so you can “translate” specs into personal experience that you can actually feel.
I’m looking forward to your feedback once you’ve had the chance to make the trip and no matter what you end up purchasing I think it will be time well spent.
Phoenix