Down to Final Two - But would like to be sure I'm not missing things.

The original mattress I wanted was the Black Diamond Twin XL from Costco. But they won’t sell the mattress without the base, and I have a set of bases picked out. What I liked about the Black Diamond was the mix of the memory foam and latex. I even tried contacting the distributor directly trying to bypass Costco to get this mattress… But it looks like I’m not going to be able to get it.

So I kept searching and I am down to two, one of them has latex, the other does not.

Entry One - Briella by Christeli
The things I like about it is the “Better Edge” layer of foam at the edge to make it more firm, I haven’t seen this in any other mattress, but don’t know if its real or a gimmick, The other thing I like is that its 5 inches of 5.3 pound memory foam.
Briella 13.5-inch Luxury Memory Foam Mattress – Christeli

Entry Two - Posture Plush by Plushbeds
What I like about this one is that it is a combination of memory foam and latex like the Black Diamond. This is also 5 inches of total foam, 3 inches of 4 pound memory foam and 2 inches of natural latex.

I’d like it if someone (based on the black diamond or these two) had other mattresses to consider based on any of this or your own experiences…

Such as any other mattresses that might offer a combination of latex and memory foam, or any other mattress that might have the re-enforced sides like Entry 1.

Thanks so much

Hi Doggerz,

[quote]Entry One - Briella by Christeli
The things I like about it is the “Better Edge” layer of foam at the edge to make it more firm, I haven’t seen this in any other mattress, but don’t know if its real or a gimmick, The other thing I like is that its 5 inches of 5.3 pound memory foam.

Entry Two - Posture Plush by Plushbeds
What I like about this one is that it is a combination of memory foam and latex like the Black Diamond. This is also 5 inches of total foam, 3 inches of 4 pound memory foam and 2 inches of natural latex.
www.plushbeds.com/posture-plush-memory-foam-mattress.html[/quote]

Both of these mattresses use high quality materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links in either of them but the quality/durability of the materials in a mattress has very little to do with whether a mattress will be a suitable “match” for you in terms of PPP so when you can’t test a mattress in person to make sure it’s a good “match” for you then the return or exchange policies will become a much more important part of the “value” of a purchase just in case your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for. There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses.

While edge support isn’t normally necessary with a memory foam mattress (see post #33 here) … for those who sleep very close to the edge of their mattress or who sit on the edge of their mattress and prefer firmer edge support for sitting then the edge support system on the Christeli mattresses would make a noticeable difference … especially for those that are in a higher weight range.

The tutorial post includes a link to a list of the better online memory foam options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) and since the Briella is designed to be an approximation of the Cloud Luxe Breeze in terms of firmness some of the other mattresses that are also designed to approximate the Cloud Luxe Breeze (or the Cloud Luxe) would also be similar as well although none of the others have edge support that I’m aware of. Off the top of my head I know that the Foamorder Posture Sense memory foam mattresses here also offers edge support.

I don’t know how any of them would specifically compare to the Posture Plush in terms of PPP but if any of the retailers/manufacturers listed there are familiar with it then they may be able to give you some better guidance about which of their mattresses would be the closest “match”. Having said that … I would also be very cautious about using a specific mattress as you “target” or reference point (particularly if you haven’t tried it in person) because it may not be the best possible match for you in the first place compared to other mattresses that you haven’t tried and you could end up excluding many other mattresses that may be different but could be a better choice in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences).

Instead of using a specific mattress as a reference point I would rate every mattress you consider against a common set of criteria (rather than against another mattress) using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post and based on which one is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. It would be unlikely that any of the forum members have made any side by side comparisons with the Posture Plush and other mattresses since the Posture Plush is only available online.

With 3" of memory foam on top of the latex you would feel much more of the properties of the memory foam they use than the latex and I would also keep in mind that while some mattresses that use a similar combination of materials may be a good match for you in terms of PPP, others may be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on depending on the specifics of the design. In other words … mattresses that use the same combination of materials in general terms may be very different from each other in terms of their specifics and how they feel.

While I don’t keep a list of mattresses based on their specific materials … off the top of my head I know that Brooklyn Bedding’s Aloe Alexis and SleepEZ’s component latex mattresses and Flobeds component latex mattresses all have the option to replace one of the latex layers with a memory foam layer. Lake Mattress here also has some memory foam/latex combinations and Arizona Premium also has an option for slow recovery latex (which is somewhat similar to memory foam) on some of their mattresses. The Casper mattress here also uses a combination of 1.5" of synthetic latex on top of 1.5" of 4 lb memory foam.

There may also be some mattresses available locally that use both memory foam and latex in their comfort and/or transition layers and if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of that are close to you that you could check.

Phoenix

Hi, Thanks Phoenix…

Well it’s encouraging that you don’t see any flaws in the 2 I narrowed it down to. But I want to keep looking, just in case I find something else.

I’ve been to a local shop, tried the tempurpedics. I’ve been sleeping for 10 years on a memory foam mattress, the brand name is “bodipedic” and I bought it on QVC. It’s just worn out now… but was comfortable for years and am pretty sure that it is just a few inches of memory foam and then a support foam base under it. I think that no matter what I end up with, I’ll probably be happy with it.

The only thing I haven’t tried is a full latex mattress. There are many mattress shops in town, I just really hate going in there, much as I hate going to a car dealership. Last week at the one place I went to, the guy laid us down in a bed set that would have cost 9700.00 The top of the line Tempurpedic with a split king ergo platform. Then all he wanted to do was see how much I’d spend and just kept going to lesser and lesser beds, everything based on price.

If you wanted to look at anything around a 50 mile radius of 72701, I’d be happy to maybe check another place out in person before making a choice, especially if you saw something in a combination memory and latex foams.

I saw that Casper… I am just not convinced that 1.5 inches of each foam is enough. I do admit that the bed I’m on is probably only 3 inches or some substandard memory foam. Its sealed but I plan on cutting it open and investigating the insides before I get rid of it.

I’m off to explore the links you gave, thanks for all the help!

Hi Doggerz,

Unfortunately this is fairly common in much of the mainstream industry and the types of mattress stores I would tend to avoid.

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Fayetteville, AR area (subject to the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #4 here. You will need to check their websites or make a few phone calls to see if any of them carry mattresses that fit your criteria or that you would be interested in testing.

Phoenix

The only reason I’m hesitating on the PlushBed is the 4lb foam. I’m worried that I’ll regret not having the 5.3lb

The reason I’m hesitant on the 5" of 5.3lb foam is that there isn’t a latex transition layer. In one of your articles you mentioned how important the transition layer is.

I went to the Brooklyn Bedding Site… on that Aloe Alexis, I’m wondering what that “1” Chemical Free Wool & BreathCool Poly Foam" layer is for, and if its necessary. I’m asking them if they could exchange one of the two latex layers + poly foam layer for 4" of 5lb foam. It might take it out of my price range though, although I thought latex was more expensive than memory foam. But I’m going to see what they say, can’t hurt to ask.

Lake Mattress does have hybrid mattresses but their highest memory foam is 4lb. Again, I’m not sure if 4lb is acceptable,or what 4lb feels like compared to 5lb.

One other company that I found to be really interesting is Leaf and Loom. I read what you said about that transition layer. Also its only 2 1/2 inches of the 5lb foam and another 2 of convoluted gel, this is a mattress I’d love to try in person, not sure if I have the guts to buy one online. But it grabbed my attention.

I also found this Simmons - but I can’t see what the specs are on this.
http://www.beautyrest.com/products/comforpedic/
Its not a hybrid, my gut says its not up to par with the two I’m considering + the Brooklyn.

Wow this is exhausting work. :slight_smile:

Hi Doggerz,

I’m not sure where you read this but it certainly isn’t the case and you may have misunderstood something that you read. Whether a transition layer Is helpful or not (latex or otherwise) depends entirely on the specifics of the mattress and the person sleeping on it.

This is the quilting layer of the mattress. Every layer and component in a mattress is part of how it feels and performs and from that perspective is necessary yes. There is more about quilting layers in post #12 here.

I’m asking them if they could exchange one of the two latex layers + poly foam layer for 4" of 5lb foam. It might take it out of my price range though, although I thought latex was more expensive than memory foam. But I’m going to see what they say, can’t hurt to ask.

They can replace one of the 3" latex layers with a 3" layer of memory foam (not 4").

You can see the quality/density guidelines I would suggest here and for most people that aren’t in higher weight ranges 4 lb memory foam would be fine. There are dozens of different versions of memory foam in any density range so a particular density of memory foam doesn’t have a specific feel because each of the many types of memory foam that are the same density can feel and perform very differently from each other.There is more about the different properties of different types and densities of memory foam in post #9 here and post #8 here.

You can see some comments about the Loom & Leaf in post #2 here. I would avoid any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the specifics of the materials inside it to make sure there aren’t any lower quality materials or “weak links” in the mattress.

[quote]I also found this Simmons - but I can’t see what the specs are on this.
www.beautyrest.com/products/comforpedic/
Its not a hybrid, my gut says its not up to par with the two I’m considering + the Brooklyn.[/quote]

Simmons and the other major brands tend to use some low quality/density materials in their comfort layers and I would avoid them and the other major brands or any mattress where you aren’t able to confirm the quality/density of the materials in the mattress (see the guidelines here)

Phoenix

Thanks again Phoenix. I will report back on which mattress we go with and how it feels and holds up, in case anyone else is doing the research I am.

Hi Doggerz,

I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding.

You would be one of the very few that returns several years from now (hopefully 5+ years) to let us know how your mattress is holding up (less than that doesn’t really give much indication about the durability of a good quality material) but it would be great if you took the time to share your comments then :slight_smile:

Phoenix

I can tell you about a “Bodipedic” memory foam mattress that I got from QVC in 2002 and am about 3 years late in replacing.

Its a king size mattress, the cost was about $1000.00, absolutely loved it compared to an innerspring mattress up until a few years ago and its insane that I’ve taken this long to replace it.

I have absolutely no idea on what the specs of what kind of memory foam it is, or even the thickness. I plan on cutting the mattress open just to see the inside of it.

All i know is that when they sold this on QVC they were saying it was a thicker section of memory foam then Tempurpedic. And of course the price was way better.

To me it felt great. But the memory foam started giving out a few years ago, leaving indentations where we sleep. Lately its just become unbearable… but I will try to remember to report back on the mattress we get in 5 years. I probably would have given that Bodipedic rave reviews at 5 years, but maybe I’m just easy to please, or maybe it was a somewhat decent mattress… I have no idea.

Hi Doggerz,

I don’t know the density of the foams in your Bodipedic mattress but you were very fortunate that it lasted for you as long as it did and there are many others that have purchased a Bodipedic mattress that needed to replace it much more quickly than you did.

Phoenix