Hi there,
First of all, I just want to say this site has been immensely helpful. What a wonderful resource Phoenix et all have created here. Thanks for all of your efforts to help people get a decent night’s sleep.
I am hoping to be one of those people!
The first time around, about a year and a half ago, I very much did not do my research adequately, walked into a Sleepy’s and walked out with a mattress that felt like a cloud in the showroom and for a month or 2…and then realized it has the back support of a cloud too. And my lower back has been pretty much a mess as I’ve been bowed like a hammock for a a long time now.
I’m finally getting around to buying a new bed despite the bad taste in my mouth of paying so much for a new bed so relatively close to the last one. But is what it is.
So my main concerns in this order are:
- getting some back support
- as there are a lot of health concerns in my family, avoiding any potential harmful materials
- price
From the research I’ve done, I’d like to steer away from foam if possible (though mayyyybe as a base) even if Certi-pur certified and it seems latex is as good as it gets for both pressure relief/support and in avoiding toxins (even in its blended/SBR forms) despite the higher cost. I’ve laid on latex locally and it’s a strange new bouncy sensations to me, but my back felt great and I feel like I could get accustomed to that.
Now, I was thinking at first latex was going to be out of my price range probably, but one of your recommended sites (mattresses.net) is having a clearance right now of a ton of extra latex they got from Latex International (Save Big with DIY Latex Mattress Components, Latex Mattresses-Talalay and Dunlop, All Products,). They are selling blended “extra extra firm 6” (46-50 ILD) talalay latex bases" for $450 which very much puts latex back in play as financially possible…
…if I can find the right topper/support layer for such a hard base.
Honestly, I’ve seen virtually nothing in my research here or elsewhere about dealing with latex of that high an ILD so wanted to ask for some opinions. How thick and what ILD would I need on that to have a supportive, comfortable bed do you think?
mattresses.net is saying “For a side sleeper you will need at least 4” of “soft” #19 to #22 over these cores. I recommend two 2" #22 toppers. For what I consider to be a “medium” feel I would just add a 3" #19 topper or a 3" #28 topper for a firm feel."
I’d probably need a medium-firm feel for my back. That’s what’s felt best in stores trying things out. I’m 6’0" and 160-170lbs. I realize there’s plenty of subjectivity involved but any idea on what the “least risky”, as Phoenix says, options might be? (I think I’ve liked talalay better, but haven’t ruled out dunlop necessarily.)
I might buy a topper from them mattresses.net, or perhaps a topper from Dixiefoam in New York where I live locally since that would probably be easier to exchange if it ended up being too hard/too soft.
Thanks so much everybody. Looking forward to getting some pain free sleep soon-ish!