Design sleep vs. Sleep EZ

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hello Phoenix,
It’s been awhile but I’m back on the hunt.
I’m scratching my head wonder what’s best for at mattress setup…
Option 1. Design sleep- pros: euro slate system, location (store located 10 miles from me), organic latex. Cons: price, no as much customization as with SLEEP EZ, thickness.
Option 2. Pros: price, organic latex (both talalay and Dunlop), thickness 10 or 13 inches, lots of customization, some what better warranty. Cons: no euro slate system offered, online as opposed to store near by.

Side note: I recently discovered that I could buy a slate system on its own with out the mattress (CALIFORNIA KING) $800 and pair it with the 13 inch mattress from Sleep EZ. Sometimes I can get carried away with these things.
Phoenix would a euro slate system add a significant benefit to comfort to such a thick mattress 13 inches or will it be too thick to even make a difference? Please your thoughts on euro slate systems over let’s add latex layers (on a normal latex foundation), which do you think has greater benefits?
Thank you, MAC

2

Hi MAC,

[quote]I’m scratching my head wonder what’s best for at mattress setup…
Option 1. Design sleep- pros: euro slate system, location (store located 10 miles from me), organic latex. Cons: price, no as much customization as with SLEEP EZ, thickness.
Option 2. Pros: price, organic latex (both talalay and Dunlop), thickness 10 or 13 inches, lots of customization, some what better warranty. Cons: no euro slate system offered, online as opposed to store near by.[/quote]

Just for the sake of clarity … neither Design Sleep or SleepEZ offer organic latex in their mattresses. Design Sleep uses 100% natural Talalay latex in their mattresses (and there is no such thing as GOLS certified organic Talalay latex) and SleepEZ offers a choice between 100% natural or blended Talalay or 100% natural Dunlop (although they may be able to custom order GOLS certified organic Dunlop for a customer that believes that an organic certification is important enough to justify any higher cost that may be involved but you will need to check with them to confirm this).

There is more about the different levels of organic certifications in post #2 here and some of the benefits of an organic certification in post #3 here and there is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications in post #2 here.

There is also more information about the 3 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 suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase to “fine tune” a mattress or the exchange/return options that are available to you).

I’m not sure which mattress you are considering with Design Sleep (they sell a number of different types of mattress) but while I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability and assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the guidelines here … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses (see this article) are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice.

None of the mattresses made by either company use any lower quality materials or have any weak links that would compromise the durability of their mattresses so if you are confident that any of their mattresses are a good match for you in terms of PPP and they also compare well to your other finalists based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you then they would certainly be well worth considering.

There is also more about the pros and cons of an online purchase vs a local purchase in post #2 here and this topic.

[quote]Side note: I recently discovered that I could buy a slate system on its own with out the mattress (CALIFORNIA KING) $800 and pair it with the 13 inch mattress from Sleep EZ. Sometimes I can get carried away with these things.
Phoenix would a euro slate system add a significant benefit to comfort to such a thick mattress 13 inches or will it be too thick to even make a difference? Please your thoughts on euro slate systems over let’s add latex layers (on a normal latex foundation), which do you think has greater benefits?[/quote]

You can see some thoughts about flexible slat systems in post #2 here and the posts it links to. A flexible slat system would be an “active” part of a sleeping system (just like any other layer or component either in, under, or over a mattress that flexes or compresses when you sleep on it) so the only reliable way to know whether a flexible slat system would be an improvement for you in terms of PPP compared to a non flexing support system would be based on your own actual experience when you test it or sleep on it in person and compare both types of support systems under the same mattress. For some people it could be neutral, for some people it would be an improvement, and for some it could be detrimental.

Phoenix

3

Thank you for the quick response phoenix,
I was referring to Design Sleeps All natural latex mattress (non inner spring).
Oh, and thank you for correcting my organic statement. I have since re-visited both sites and was realized my mistake. I’ve been confusing Oeko certified as organic, now understand the difference. Thank you.
Regarding the mattress thickness on a slat system, do you believe this would make a difference or is it over kill (waste of $$$) on a 13 inch latex mattress. I did speak to a salesmanfrom Design Skeep who stated that a thicker mattress would be less effective on a slat system in term of slat flexing.
Phoenix and can’t thank you enough for your input and patience (really, patience), bare with me I’m closing in… soon.

4

Hi MAC,

While there isn’t any way to predict “how much” of a difference it would make for any particular person or on any particular mattress or whether the difference would be neutral, beneficial, or detrimental … I would agree that “active” layers or components that are deeper in a sleeping system will have a less noticeable effect on the feel and performance of a thicker all latex mattress that contained about 12" of latex than they would on an all latex mattress that contained only about 6" - 8" of latex because the thicker layers of latex on top of the flexible slat system would probably absorb most of the compression forces that are a result of sleeping on the mattress before they reached the flexible slat system. It would also depend on the weight of the person (heavier people will compress the layers and components more than lighter people) and on their sensitivity to smaller changes in a sleeping system as well (more sensitive people would be more likely to notice smaller differences in a sleeping system than less sensitive people).

While it would be worth considering or testing the difference on a thinner latex mattress because it could help prevent the feeling that you are bottoming out on the mattress (especially if you are in a higher weight range) and could provide a more “bottomless” feel to the mattress … I would probably go with a more solid non flexing support system under a mattress that had 12" of latex because the odds are much lower that it would make enough of a difference or that any difference would be “beneficial enough” (if it was beneficial at all) to justify the higher cost.

Phoenix