Firstly, let me start out by saying this is a great community and I appreciate all the good feedback in this forum.
My fiancee and I have been looking for a new mattress for a few months. We currently have a Night Therapy memory foam mattress (Cal King) that we have been sleeping on for 3 years. It seems like after a few years these things really start to deteriorate and are a shell of their former self. Fast forwarding ahead- we have spent the last couple of weekends mattress shopping. She really likes the Sleep Number p5. I think itās a pretty good bed too, but I have several issues with it: namely the space in the middle and what I believe to be a more gimmicky type of a product. Iām sure plenty of people are satisfied with themā¦
Iām trying to convince her to get on the latex bandwagon. I love the fact that they donāt seem to lose their bounce back properties and the lifespan is probably higher on these than any other bed. We visited Foam Sweet Foam a couple weeks ago and she was completely turned off by every bed we tried out. She said it felt like a trampoline and she got a dizzy sensation. I kinda felt like what she was talking about. We tried many different combinations of Talalay and Dunlop. Today we tried out another Latex bed that was called Pure Latex Bliss. She was more open to this model, especially with a mattress topper. Seems like she likes the softer latex setup. Anyway, looks like these mattresses are a bit more expensive than the others iāve seen. Iām still trying to sell her on the idea but I know itās difficult to try out a lot of these without being in a local store. We are in Southern California.
Unfortunately this is one of the issues with a mattress that uses lower quality/density and less durable materials in the upper layers. They can āfeelā very similar to higher quality/density materials of the same type ā¦ for a while ā¦ but they donāt last nearly as long.
You can see my thoughts about Airbeds in general this article. For those who decide that they prefer an airbed anyway regardless of their potential weaknesses then there is a list of many of the manufacturers that make them in post #3 here and there would be many better quality/value choices than Sleep Number.
Every category of mattresses includes hundreds of different designs and models inside the category so itās not uncommon at all that one mattress may be a better match than another even if they use exactly the same or similar materials but have different designs or firmness levels. The PLB mattresses use blended Talalay latex which is a good quality material but is also slightly different from the more costly 100% natural latex that is used in the FSF mattresses and as you know the PLB mattresses use softer latex layers than the FSF mattresses. For some people this could also be somewhat more risky because mattresses that use thicker layers of softer materials can feel great in a showroom but can cause support/alignment issues over the course of the night so I would make sure you do some careful and objective testing for PPP using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post.
While the Pure Latex Bliss mattresses are generally in a higher budget range than many smaller manufacturers that use the same materials ā¦ they are also better quality/value than most mainstream choices. They also have MAP pricing which means that retailers can only advertise their ācontrolled pricingā but if you do decide to purchase a PLB mattress then post #32 here includes some retailers that carry them that can ship them across the country that may be worth calling and talking to on the phone so you can make some meaningful pricing comparisons.
The mattress shopping tutorial (which is the best place to start your research) includes a link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) and many of them also sell latex mattresses with a wide range of different designs, options, features, firmness levels, and exchange and return policies in a wide range of budgets as well.
Iām not sure where you are in the Southern California area but some of the better local options and possibilities Iām aware of in and around the Los Angeles area are listed in post #2 here and for the San Diego area in post #2 here.
Phoenix - Your knowledge and commitment to this community is second to none. As luck would have it, iām only a few minutes away from Covina (Flexus). Iām going to go check it out and see if we can find a configuration that we can agree on. I truly believe that Latex is the way to go and I hope that my fiancee can get onboard. With all the money that is spent on traditional mattresses, there is no reason to think you canāt get a Latex bed to last 30-40 years. Iām excited to see if a lot of my back issues can clear up once we get a new mattress.
Thanks again for all your great input and I will keep you all updated as to the progress.
You are fortunate that Flexus is so close to you. They are one of the members here which means that I think very highly of them and they certainly make some great quality/value mattresses that compete well with the best in the industry. Hopefully one of their mattresses will be a good āmatchā for you.
While a mattress isnāt a ācureā for back issues that are unrelated to the mattress you sleep on ā¦ a mattress that is a good āmatchā for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) ā¦ and especially alignment ā¦ can certainly make a big difference in how well you sleep and the amount of back pain or discomfort that you experience during the day.
While itās probably not a realistic expectation for any mattress to last 30 or 40 years because in many cases the person on the mattress and their changing needs and preferences can be the limiting factor in how long you sleep well on a mattress ā¦ a component mattress where you can choose the individual layers or components and they are put together inside a zip cover has the advantage of being able to exchange or replace individual layers instead of the complete mattress if either one layer softens more than the others (usually the softer layers on top) or if your own needs and preferences change over time.
Even if the comfort layers on top donāt last that long ā¦ it certainly wouldnāt be unusual for the deeper and firmer layers in a component latex mattress to last that long.
Iām looking forward to your feedback after your visit.
Well - I have good news to report! My fiancee and I visited with Henry (and his associate - sorry, forgot your name) the other day and it went extremely well. We tested out all the mattresses and it was a no-pressure situation. We think that we identified the reason that my fiancee disliked the mattresses at Foam Sweet Foam. They use a mattress cover that is a bit different (tighter) and Henry speculated that it caused the ātrampolineā type sensation that rubbed her the wrong way.
It was great to hear that they offered a split mattress setup so that both me and the future Mrs. can be happy together. I decided on the extra firm/extra firm/soft setup (Henry says he has this setup at his home) and she is going with the firm/medium/soft setup. She always preferred a bit of a softer setup because she occasionally complains of numbing sensations in certain parts of her body like the shoulders or arms.
We take delivery of this new mattress on Saturday and are both super excited. We both woke up this morning in some pretty significant back pain and canāt wait to return the memory foam mattress. I will NEVER go back to memory foam.
Once we get a couple of weeks of good sleep, we can determine if we want to exchange one of the layersā¦but iām hopeful that this will work out for both of us.
You make a good point about the longevity of the mattress - itās good to know that there is some flexibility for us if something goes awry or we want to make an adjustment.
One last thing - we ended up buying a couple of latex pillows also. She wasnāt happy with her pillow so I thought for the price of a set, it was worth it.
For any of you in the Los Angeles area who are interested in shopping for a new mattress, I can highly recommend Flexus to you as a potential suitor. Their prices are about as good as iāve found and their product is excellent. I will report back to all of you once we have had the pleasure of getting our first nightās rest. Iām hopeful that after awhile I will start to see our back issues disappear.
Phoenix - thanks again for mentioning this place in your post. You saved us time, money and youāre a heck of a nice guy to boot.
Well - we got out first nightās sleep in the new mattress and I wanted to provide an update. The bed felt much firmer than what we had tested in the showroom. Iām not sure why, but it was significant. Neither of us really got a good nightās sleep. Not sure if this is common w/ latex, but we are definitely going to have to figure it out. Actually, her side felt exactly like what I tested in the showroom, and my side was stiff as a board. Any ideas?
This is normal and all new mattresses will be firmer when they are new and go through an initial break in period and you will also go through an initial adjustment period as well with any new sleeping surface. There is more about this in post #2 here. Itās normally a good idea to wait a few weeks whenever possible before considering any changes in your mattress.
Thanks - I hope thatās all it is. Night #2 and I woke up with some pretty bad back pain. Not sure if it was the mattress as I was already in some discomfort before bed, but definitely not in a good place this morning.
Iām not sure iām even going to be able to convince my fiancee to give it another shot. She slept in the spare room last night.
Just a thought ā¦ I would make sure that you have the layers in the right order on each side of the mattress just in case you put the mattress together with a firmer layer on top or in the wrong order.
Thanks - we did that. Henry from Flexus came out today and they are going to swap out layers. He mentioned that Dunlop Latex can vary in firmness. Once the new layers are in we will give it another shot and see how it goes.
Itās certainly the case that the firmness of Dunlop can vary depending on several factors including whether the layer came from the top half or the bottom half of the original core.
Iām always amazed at the service they provide when they actually go and visit people in their homes. Thatās about as rare as doctors who do house calls these days
Iām looking forward to your feedback after you make some changes.
Yeah - for any of you who are considering latexā¦Henry is world class as far as customer service and will go the extra mile.
The layers were swapped out yesterday and are now medium/medium/soft and firm/medium/soft. Itās weird because the medium/medium/soft side still feels hard as a rock. The firm/medium/soft side actually feels softer. Itās significantly firmer than what we tested in the showroom - maybe due to the inconsistencies in the firmness of the dunlop. Henry is going to try to get something softer in there for us to test.
Hopefully we can right the ship - otherwise iām going to be sleeping alone for awhile :X
Mattress design and ātheoryā can sometimes be counter intuitive and some layer changes can have surprising results.
Part of the reason for this is the partly subjective nature of peopleās experiences on a mattress, part could be from differences in the firmness of Dunlop latex layers, part of it could be the different types of āsoftnessā that some people are more sensitive to (see post #15 here), and part could be for other reasons that arenāt as obvious.
In some cases and for some people for example ā¦ using firmer layers on the bottom of a mattress can āforceā more of the compression to the top of the mattress which some people will perceive as softer.
The good news is that you had the foresight to purchase a component mattress which gives you some good fine tuning options after a purchase (instead of making an āall or nothingā purchase) and to deal with a manufacturer who goes out of their way to help their customers and has a history of doing everything possible (within reason and what is possible of course) to make sure their customers are happy.
For the minority of people who need to make changes to their layering with a component mattress it can sometimes be a little frustrating but itās worth it in the end to find the combination that you will do best with.
Again ā¦ Iām looking forward to any further updates you have the chance to share.
