I was ready to shell out $5K for a high end latex mattress and Euro-Slat foundation when I stumbled on this great site. I have been sleeping on a latex mattress for 13 years by Nature’s Rest (went out of business). I have deep gullies where I sleep on both ends and need a new new latex mattress. I had gone to a well respected store that has Sleep Techs. They steered me to a line of latex mattresses made by Prana. This company sells through several chains throughout USA and will sell direct at full list. I thought their specs and materials were good until I did detailed research. Other than their top comfort layer of Talalay, the rest of the layers are polyfoam. Now I realize this brand is certainly not worth the high cost, plus they require purchase of one of their foundations in order to honor their warranty.
After reviewing all your great articles I am strongly leaning towards the Foam Sweet Foam or Plush Beds. My big issue is that the online companies won’t set up the bed, only delivering to my door. As a single 68 year old woman, there is no waybig can lift and remove my old heavy latex queen mattress and box spring and then handle a new queen latex mattress and possible foundation, I like the idea of being able to changet the internal layers to customize the support and comfort but even that task seems daunting by myself.
Do you have any suggestions for set up by others other than buying from a local store for crap not worth the cost. Now that I am a relatively educated informed consumer, I am unwilling to waste my hard-earned money on anything other than a good quality latex mattress. I am 5’1", 130 lbs., side and back sleeper with lots of orthopedic issues.
If you have any suggestions or guidance I would welcome your assistance.
Nature’s Rest is made by Spring Air and it may be Spring Air’s bankruptcy you are referring to. Consolidated Bedding who owned Spring Air (and Nature’s Rest) went bankrupt in 2009 but it was quickly purchased by one of the original owners of Spring Air and re-launched soon after . Nature’s Rest was relaunched in 2010 .
You can read more about Pranasleep by doing a forum search on Prana. The good news is that they changed the design in their newer version 5 and the top layers of polyfoam are now higher quality/density and are no longer what I would consider to be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability. Having said that they are still in a significantly higher budget range (as you mentioned) than other similar mattresses. There is more about the new version 5 in post #19 here but I would certainly make some very careful “value” comparisons with other latex mattresses that use similar materials and are in a much lower budget range before considering one of their mattresses to be the “best value” choice available to you.
Foam Sweet Foam is a member here, which means that I think highly of them, their products and their knowledge.
You can see some of my comments about Plushbeds in post #2 here. They generally use good quality and durable materials in their mattresses and they would certainly be a much “better than average” choice compared to most of the mainstream mattresses that most people end up buying. However, they do a lot of internet advertising so they do attract a lot of online attention with large “discounts”, so I would make some careful “value comparisons” with some of the other options that are available to you because they may not be in the “best value” range for many of the members here that are aware of the many other similar options that are available to them.
Another great online option would be the members of this site listed in post #21 here who are all very experienced and knowledgeable and specialize in providing the type of help and guidance on the phone that can help you make good choices. Many of these manufacturers offer latex component systems like what you are desiring, and I believe that all of them compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency.
If you provide me your zip code, I can see if I am aware of any better brick and mortar retailers in your area.
I understand if you might find assembling a component system difficult or awkward, regardless of your age or ability. While it certainly can be accomplished by one person, I always recommend two people to make the task easier to perform. And ordering a product in a “split” configuration, even if you desire the same feel on each side of the mattress, can also make it easier when assembling a component system mattress.
It sounds like you are looking specifically for what is called “White Glove” delivery by the industry, where your mattress will be delivered and set up for you. Post #3 here, while not totally inclusive, includes a list of some online latex mattresses that have it available as of the last time I checked. I would also note that many manufacturers do have a White Glove option, but don’t list it on their web site, so you’d have to give them a phone call to see if it is available and how much extra it might cost.
Thanks for your fast response. This is an amazing site. I never knew there were so many different materials and mattress variations. It’s a wonder anyone ever makes the “right” choice. You asked for my zip code- it’s 01749, about 25 miles west of Boston, MA… I noticed several Mass. members listed- Spindle, Gardner Mattress, Yankee Mattress Factory and Addable . Also Comfort Sleep Systems is in CT, not all that far. Not all of these may have natural foam latex mattresses but I will go to their websites to check out which do. I know you recommend starting locally to test mattresses and calling the companies for help so I plan to get started on that as quickly as possible. If that doesn’t pan out, I’ll go to Comfort Sleep Systems in CT, and then compare my results to a couple of the online sites such as Foam Sweet Foam (love that name) or Flo Beds. The Comfort Sleep Systems website says they have white glove service for delivery and setup, and others may as well, as you said… They also list so many different latex mattresses, I’ll need a spreadsheet to keep them straight for comparison. If my current Nature’s Rest mattress didn’t have two large gullies, I’d take the easy route and buy a good latex mattress topper but the gullies would still be there.
One of the interesting facts about the Prana Sleep 5th edition mattresses, is they claim you don’t have to rotate it, ever. Not sure if that’s really true or good for the,mattress but last year I had a reverse shoulder replacement and when I last rotated my heavy queen mattress, it took several days by myself. What is your recommendation about rotating a latex mattress? If you use an adjustable frame do you still have to rotate the mattress? Thanks again!
It sounds like you actually have a good list already prepared for visiting, but if you go through that list and are looking for other options, let me know and I will do my best to be of assistance. Your thoughts of testing locally to get some ideas of what you prefer, and then potentially looking online makes very good sense. And you are correct that adding a topper to a mattress that already has two large gullies would only result in softer gullies!
I always recommend to rotate a mattress, latex or otherwise. All foam softens over time and is subject to mechanical forces that ultimately shorten the comfort life. I’m aware of many retailers who advocate rotating a mattress at the first of every month, and on the other extreme you have manufacturers who state that you never have to rotate a mattress. I think with a latex mattress (of course depending upon use) a rotation of every 2-4 months would generally be more than adequate. And this applies whether the item is on a platform bed, foundation or adjustable bed base.
I’ll be interested to learn of your research progress.
We bought a super vayu in 2015 ($8,000!) and love it so much we purchased another one for our 2nd home when it was on sale 10% off. That one was completely different than the one we currently owned - the new one had zero support, we both ended up with back pain. City mattress rather reluctantly exchanged it for another one and this one is even worse. I had just returned home from hospital after having suffered a heart attack. 2 days later the replacement mattress was delivered and after sleeping on it for 1 afternoon I knew it was not good. Still no support and even mushier than the replaced one. After spending 1 week in it, I developed excruciating sciatica pain. I refuse to even sit on this mattress. We are currently sleeping on a 12 year old mattress in a guest room. It is truly tragic that I can’t sleep in my own bedroom on a decent bed to recuperate after a heart attack. City mattress wants to charge us a thousand dollars to ship it back to Fl. Obviously there will be no moneys refunded, but hopefully store credit issued . As far as a replacement, I want nothing to do with pranasleep. I would rather spend $300 on a mattress and replace it every 2 years. BTW I still love our ORIGINAL super vayu, however after reading reviews, I’m fearful the support will break down in a few years as well. I should note that when they delivered my original mattress, it was not folded. The other 2 were folded in half and bungee- corded to get it up an open stairway. City mattress insists that’s how they advise transport, but that was the only difference in delivery of these 3 mattresses. maybe folding it compromised the support.
I am sorry to hear that the new Pranasleep is not supportive enough for you. (Sorry about your recent hospitalization I hope to you feel better.)
While the cost of Pranasleep is certainly in a significantly higher budget range that other similar mattresses, they use higher quality/density foams and there are no what I would consider to be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability. “Zero support” of course is more about your perception than factual as there is no mattress that would have “zero support”, but I understand what you mean.
While there is always the slim possibility of a manufacturing defect, folding it for shipping wouldn’t be a problem. The first thing I would check is to make sure that your support system is still perfectly flat and that there are no parts that are sagging or that are bending under the weight of the mattress and the people sleeping on it. It should provide similar support to having your mattress on the floor and you can test this by putting your mattress on the floor to see if it makes any difference. If it does then it’s possible that your support system could be part of the problem as well.
I want to clarify about the ‘zero support’ issue. What I should have said is that the support in the 2 beds they sent to our 2nd home DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME SUPPORT as the showroom model (from which we made the decision to buy the bed) or our original purchase in our 1st home. That is the problem. And that is what the matrress inspector said who came to do his tests. That bed should not be on their showroom floor becasue it does not represent what the buyer may receive
Are you comparing the new mattress you received to the mattress you bought in 2015, or to a floor model you sampled recently when you purchased your new mattress? Comparing to a three year old mattress would have no bearing on what a mattress company might currently be producing, even if they are using the same name, as there are always running changes in lineups, and often even changes in component suppliers.
However, if you sampled a floor model in a showroom and you feel that the mattress that was delivered is drastically different from what you sampled, you’d want to then pay a visit to the showroom where you made your purchase and speak with a knowledgeable salesperson there. Take a look at the law tags on the mattress you sampled and see that the information presented there matches the information on the law tag for the mattress at your home (model number, name, burn prototype #). Check the production date. If a mattress store is showing a three-year old floor model, that generally wouldn’t be considered representative of the current lineup and models that would be delivered.
There will always be variations between floor models and a new mattress (not only because of use but also because of the variations in IFD and ILD of various foam batches), but if you feel it is quite drastic it’s always worth a bit of investigation just to make sure you received the correct product and what you ordered is indeed representative of the floor model you tested in person.
