Earthsake Rhapsody queen soft - - cheaper comparable option?

We are in Berkeley, CA. It will be a big stretch, but we want to invest in a great mattress. Have found that we tend to like encased coils with soft latex layer on top. We are both side-and-back sleepers, each around 140-150 lbs.

Of the mattresses we tried, we liked the Earthsake Rhapsody. 12" encased coil and 3" ultra-soft latex top, with latex-reinforced edges. But it’s so expensive. . . $3395 for a queen. They use local wool and are also located on the fanciest shopping street in Berkeley so it’s clearly a premium price point. It’s a great bed, but is there a cheaper option you might direct us to?

And also, I think that mattress has a 25 year warranty. Should it be our expectation that if we rotate and care for it appropriately, it will be a good bed for us for 25 years?

Thanks Phoenix!

Hi nmCA94703,

There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting materials) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover and quilting, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be fairly unlikely) then there really isn’t a reliable way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) based on the specifications of the mattresses (even assuming that you can find out all the specifications you would need for both mattresses you are comparing in the first place).

Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so unless a manufacturer specifically says in their description of a mattress that one of their mattresses in the same general category is specifically designed to “match” or “approximate” another one in terms of firmness or “feel” and PPP and/or they are very familiar with both mattresses and can provide reliable guidance about how they compare based on the “averages” of a larger group of people that have compared them (different people may have very different opinions about how two mattresses compare) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP (regardless of anyone else’s opinions of how they compare which may be different from your own) would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.

There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.

In other words … if two mattresses have different designs and/or materials then your own careful testing or personal experience is the only reliable way to compare two mattresses in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP.

Comparing two mattresses in terms of durability is much more simple and more objective once you know the specifications of all the materials and layers in two mattresses you are comparing (see this article) because making durability comparisons is just a matter of comparing the quality and durability of the materials and components inside it and making sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress that would be a reason for concern (see the quality/durability guidelines here). Again though I would always keep in mind that the quality and durability of the materials has little to nothing to do with how a mattress will feel or compare to any other mattress in terms of comfort, firmness, or PPP.

There is also more 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 if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).

There are many people who also prefer latex/innerspring hybrids (see post #13 here) and some of the better innerspring/latex options I’m aware of are listed in post #2 here and the post it links to but if you wish to test any of them in person you would need to check their websites or call them to see if any of them have a dealer close to you.

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the San Francisco/San Rafael/Oakland/Berkeley areas (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets your criteria and the quality/value guidelines I linked earlier in this reply are listed in post #2 here. There are certainly a number of innerspring/latex options in the general area.

The warranty of a mattress has very little to do with the useful life of a mattress or how long it may be before you need to replace it. Warranties only cover defects in a mattress and not the gradual (or more rapid in the case of lower quality materials) loss of comfort and support that is the main reason people will need to replace their mattress. There is more about mattress warranties in post #174 here.

While there is no way to quantify how long any mattress will last for a specific person or predict exactly when you will decide to replace it because it is no longer suitable or comfortable for you (because this is the only real measure of durability or the useful life of a mattress that really matters) because there are too many unknowns and variables involved that are unique to each person … if a mattress is well inside a suitable comfort/support range and isn’t close to the edge of being too soft when it is new (see post #2 here) and you have confirmed that it meets the minimum quality/durability specs that are suggested in the guidelines then it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of the range or even longer and the chances that you would have additional “bonus time” or even “extended bonus time” with the most durable materials like latex would be higher as well.

Phoenix