thanks to this site I hope we have pick a great mattress from The Mattress Factory in Fort Worth, but if not then Peter will adjust it for us. We hope to be sleeping on it by Wednesday. We went with the 24/28/24. We debated between the 28/28/28 and the one we chose. We stayed for a good hour testing these two mattresses out. The softer just hugged the curves a bit better. My husband nearly thought I was crazy as we pulled up and saw the place, but by the time we left he was thanking Peter and I for feeling like he just left from a massage. We were both so relaxed, who would have ever thought that after a major purchase. When we arrived Peter had just returned from an errand and so the showroom was a bit stuffy as he has turned off the AC units but it was ok even though it was 104 outside. We also picked up a couple of his cervical pillows that he gave us a deal on. With discounts we ended getting buy one get one on the pillows and the online discount and the mattress underground discount. Will update after some night sleep. Thanks Phoenix for all you do on here.
Hi Dagal,
Thanks for the feedback and for letting us know what you ended up deciding.
As you know I think highly of Peter and the quality and value of his mattresses and I think you made a great choice. Best of all if for some reason your actual sleeping experience indicates that you need some fine tuning then then they will adjust it to your preferences.
I’m also looking forward to any updates you have the chance to share when you receive it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Most importantly … congratulations on your new mattress
Phoenix
Also a new member that has been following this site for a the last two weeks. I have found the information on this site to be very useful in my search for a new mattress Like a lot of folks on the site I have also decided on a Latex mattress. I recently viewed the Restonic Latex mattresses at Stacy’s Furniture (Preston Road location) and found them to be very nice and the salesman to be very knowledgeable. I was looking at the King size models. He informed me that the mattresses were composed of one-piece (not 2 twin XL pieces glued together) Talalay Latex pieces and that the Latex was from Belgium. While he did not know the ILD values, yet he did have a cutaway model of the mattress showing a core of about 6-inches that was firm and 3 1-inch layers above and below the core layer. The mattress was about 12 inches thick when measured. The warranty is 15 years non-pro rated. I am planning on visiting the Mattress Factory in the near future to compare. I was wondering if it matters if the toppers are layered (e.g., several 1-inch layers) or is it better for the topper to be one solid piece (e.g., 3-inches thick)?
Thanks
Hi MandC,
Welcome … and I’m glad you found us
There are only two Talalay latex manufacturers which are Latex International (in the US) and Radium (in Holland) and neither of them have king size molds so the latex was either Dunlop (if it didn’t have a glue seam) or if it was Talalay it would have a glue seam in king size. It wouldn’t make any difference if you liked the “feel” of the latex though because both are high quality materials and the choice between them is a personal preference and you wouldn’t feel the glue seams in Talalay latex anyway.
In “theory” … three loose 1" layers of the same ILD in the upper layers would “act” and feel a little softer for some people that were more sensitive than a single 3" layer of the same ILD but if there were three 1" layers they would probably be glued anyway and it really wouldn’t make any practical difference either way as long as the mattress was a good match for you in terms of PPP.
I’m looking forward to your feedback after your visit to The Mattress Factory and of course finding out what you end up deciding.
Phoenix
Phoenix,
So I went to the two recommended mattress shops in DFW (Sleepcraft and Mattress Factory in Fort worth)
To begin, excellent customer service. Both places had owners who knew what they were talking about/ helped me out alot.
The sleep craft featured all talalay @ 28 ILD (N3) and 34-36ILD (N4). I liked the 28, but my girlfriend liked the 36, so we went to the Mattress Factory because they did custom layers.
Of the options at Mattress Factory, both myself and my girlfriend liked the 28/36/28 and the 28/28/28. We decided to go on the firm side with the 28/36/28. 2 inches talalay/6 inches dunlop/2 inches talalay, all natural.
I will admit, at first I had a huge problem sleeping on my new mattress. Previously I had been sleeping on a several year old Sultan Engenes mattress. The thing had an incredible body dent in it, and I woke up every morning with my whole back sore liked I had just worked out. I took your advice and gave my mattress a month. I liked it much better now, and I wake up with absolutely no back pain. Additionally, my posture while I’m awake is markedly improved.
However… I am still have problems with my arm falling asleep (I am a side sleeper), and subjective feeling of the mattress being too firm. I am not sure what to do at this point.
- change the core firmness (I’m guessing this would be risky)
- Buy a topper (leaning toward this)
I feel like I am very close to my perfect mattress, what do you recommend?
Hi axl099020,
[quote]However… I am still have problems with my arm falling asleep (I am a side sleeper), and subjective feeling of the mattress being too firm. I am not sure what to do at this point.
- change the core firmness (I’m guessing this would be risky)
- Buy a topper (leaning toward this)[/quote]
There are really three directions you could go to improve pressure relief and soften your sleeping surface.
The first would be to use softer latex in the 2" comfort layer but with only 2" above a firmer core it’s likely that you would still feel the firmness of the core below it and with a two sided mattress it would also put a softer layer under your mattress which may affect alignment.
The second would be to use a softer sore (the layer in the middle) but you would still have a medium layer on top (which may still not be as soft as you would prefer) and this would also have a greater risk of compromising support/alignment and I would always prioritize alignment over pressure relief.
The third option would be to add a topper which would give you a little thicker and softer comfort layer without compromising the design or the support/alignment of the mattress itself. If you added a topper into the design of the mattress on both sides then it would result in a layer on the bottom that was probably too thick and soft and could compromise support in a two sided mattress but having the additional thickness and softness in the form of a topper means you still have a great base mattress with all the benefits of a two sided mattress that you can flip and also have the benefits that would normally only be possible in a one sided design that can use thicker and softer comfort layers.
While choosing a topper that works best for you in combination with a specific mattress can be a bit of a challenge … post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to can help you choose a topper that has the best chance of success. It also includes a link to a list of the better topper sources I’m aware of and if you choose a supplier that allows for exchanges or a refund then the risk of making a less than ideal choice is much lower.
As you can see … I think that overall your best approach would be adding a topper.
Phoenix
Thanks for ll the helpful info. Had bought our last latex mattress from City Mattress and were very pleased but it’s time for a new one and wanted to make sure that we checked out all the recommended factories.
Hi Beekman,
Welcome … and I’m glad you found us
You certainly have some great options in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding.
Phoenix
Thanks for the information. I will be visiting the Mattress Factory
in the near future.
Hi wade machen,
I’m glad you found us as well … and I’m also looking forward to your feedback after your visit
Phoenix
I Bought mattress yesterday from Mattress Factory. We got premium latex queen 10" 24/28/24. Thank you leading us to this outlet, Peter Duncan’s expertise was very helpful. We will let you know how it works for us. Thank you
Hi wade machen,
Thanks for letting us know what you ended up deciding … and I think you certainly made a good quality/value choice.
Congratulations on your new mattress
I’m looking forward to your feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
Phoenix
Thanks to your site here I’ve narrowed my shopping choices down to 1) The Mattress Factory in Ft. Worth or 2) a retailer that carries the Noah’s Manfufacturing mattress (I’m not near Houston where they are based). I called and they easily shared local retail outlets and that he recommends the 5300 or 5100 Night series, just fyi if you have any comments. Anyway, do you have a preference for one of these companies over the other? The reviews about Noah’s mattresses seem overwhelmingly positive but that’s why I’m asking.
We are currently sleeping on an approximately 15 yr. old Kingsdown Beauty Rest Elite which is still very, very comfortable, however, it is a queen size that I’ve just temporarily put on our king size bed frame after throwing out the king mattress due to eventual back pains from it after so many years. Anyway, with the hubby and two dogs I need my king size back so everyone has room! I’m ultimately looking for a great value under $900 which I didn’t think was possible originally when I just started out shopping at the big name brand stores.
Thanks and I’ll wait for your response before setting out!
Hi mojoman,
Unfortunately I can’t feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for me (or anyone) to make specific suggestions for someone else for either a specific company or a mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or "theory at a distance (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
“Brand shopping” is never the most effective approach to choosing a mattress because the specifics of a mattress are always more important than the name of the company that makes it (see post #5 here) and I would also be very cautious about using reviews (either positive or negative) as a meaningful source of guidance about which mattress is “best for you” (see post #13 here).
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 comparisons between mattresses regardless of the name of the company but deciding on which mattress is “best for you” will always come down to …
- Testing for suitability and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences)
- Checking for the type and durability of the materials to make sure there are no weak links inside the mattress.
- Comparing for value based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
In most cases I would consider more than one option (or store) anyway so that you have more than one “finalist” to compare and choose between and as long as you can find out the specifics of the materials and components that are inside any of their mattresses you are considering then both of them would be well worth including in your testing and research.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
Please Help!
My husband did a lot of research on latex mattresses and felt that was the best choice for us. My husband tosses and turns a lot and I have always struggled with lower back pain. Stumbling upon this website (thank you) we were able to go out on the hunt in the D/FW area. We visited City Mattress Factory, The Mattress Factory, Sovn, and Urban Mattress. We stayed an hour at each place testing out mattresses. Trying to stay within a budget, as well as buy local, and have the bed made in-house we went with City Mattress Factory.
We settled on the Covington Ultima-Latex/Gel in the Medium. They only had Firm of this model on the showroom floor and felt it was too hard, so had them order us the Medium. We also thought the Gel topper would make it more plush. We tested it out for a month, and I found my lower back pain diminished. However, I was now getting intense upper back pain (between the shoulder blades).
We visited the showroom again. Spent 2 hours there. We exchanged the above bed for the Royal Touch Latex. Not sure on the firmness, but softer than the Medium we had before. The bed is softer to the touch which I like. Has more of a pillowy effect. However, I’m still having upper back pain. It’s seemed to have moved. Where it was between the shoulder blades, now it’s my lats. I’m also experiencing hip pain.
What gives? I’m not sure in what direction we need to go. They don’t have very many options at City Mattress Factory or The Mattress Factory. And when I tried to voice my aches and pains and to help me please to Norm at City Mattress, he wasn’t much help.
I really just want to have a good night’s sleep with no pain. As well as not waste all this money.
Any advice would be most helpful and grateful.
Thanks in advance,
Jeanie
P.S. I’m a small/petite female and a side/back sleeper
Hi justjeannie,
Unfortunately I can’t feel what you feel or see you on the mattress and I don’t have enough information about you or either mattress you tried to be able to guess what may be happening or the reasons behind your experience. Trying to “diagnose” the reasons for any particular person’s back pain or discomfort on a forum would be much like a doctor trying to diagnose any health issue with very limited information and without being able to see you or assess you in person and in most cases with these types of situations I am mostly dependent on the information that you provide about whether you think your mattress is too soft or too firm or “how” it is too soft or too firm (in the comfort layers or in the support layers).
It would also be helpful to have a reference point of a mattress that you have slept well on in the past (with as much specific details as possible) and since I’m not familiar with either mattress and I don’t know the specifics of the materials and components in each of them it would also be helpful if you could provide more specific information about each of them as well (see this article) which may also provide some additional insights into the reasons for your “symptoms” and experience.
Having said that … I can link you to more information that may help with some of the detective work that may be necessary to try and figure out the reasons for the symptoms you are experiencing.
Each person can have different reasons for very similar symptoms so the first step would be to decide on whether you believe your mattress is too soft or too firm. Post #2 here may be helpful if you believe your mattress is too firm and post #4 here may be helpful if you believe your mattress is too soft. If you aren’t sure then post #2 here and the posts it links has more information about the most common symptoms on a mattress that may help with the detective work that may be necessary to identify the underlying cause or causes behind what you are experiencing.
I also don’t know how long you slept on either mattress but if it’s less than a few weeks then the best idea may be to “do nothing” at first so that your mattress has a chance to break in and you have a chance to adjust to a new sleeping surface. The posts I linked include some “non mattress” suggestions and one of the most common reasons for upper body symptoms are a pillow issue so it may be worth experimenting with a different pillow to see how it affects your symptoms as well.
The first step though outside of the non mattress suggestions would be to provide as much detail as you can about your mattresses and any additional details that you can about your experience on each of them which may help me to make some “educated guesses” about the types of changes that may be helpful and whether your symptoms are pressure related or alignment related (which is probably more likely).
Phoenix
Going to check out the mattress factory today!
Hi Jra3,
You’re certainly heading in a good direction and I’m looking forward to your feedback after your visit :).
Phoenix
Great experience so far at the mattress factory. I also checked out the big boxes. I recently tried the Beauty Rest Black Hybrid Gladney Firm (http://www.mattressfirm.com/simmons-beautyrest-black-hybrid-gladney-14-luxury-firm-mattress.aspx). Liked it. Seeing if Peter can duplicate. Could you comment on your thoughts concerning this mattress? Looks like 3 layers of memory foam on top of pocketed coils.
Hi Jra3,
Unfortunately they don’t include enough information about the mattress to make any meaningful comments about it but as you can see in the guidelines here and some of the other information that is included in the mattress shopping tutorial … I would avoid the major brands completely or any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the quality/density of the materials inside it (see this article).
There is more about the different ways that one mattress can “match” another one in post #9 here but I certainly wouldn’t want to “match” the quality or durability of the materials in a Beautyrest (they are generally too low to be a suitable “target” to try and match) and other than the quality and durability of the materials the only reliable way to know whether a mattress is a reasonable approximation of another mattress in terms of comfort and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) would be based on your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) or your personal experience.
I would also suggest avoiding using using a specific mattress as your “target” or reference point because it may not be the best possible match for you in the first place (and you could end up excluding another mattress that may be different but could be a better choice in terms of quality or PPP) and because human memory for softness, firmness, and “feel” is very unreliable and a mattress that may feel similar to what you “remember” another mattress feels like may end up being very different. Instead 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.
Phoenix