Hi brannen,
I started a new thread for your post since I realized that I didn’t have a separate “Los Angeles” thread and this will make it easier for others to find.
There are more mattress manufacturers in California than any other state … and there are still several dozen “mom and pop” shops with no websites that I haven’t had a chance to talk with. There are some very good choices within about 50 miles of you however with some great quality and value …
Nest Beding Studio City, Santa Monica CA. (and others outside the area) They are a member of this site and are knowledgeable, experienced, and transparent and carry a range of mattresses including latex, memory foam, and latex and memory foam/pocket coil hybrids. They have also put a great deal of time and effort into carrying mattresses that are good quality and value. I have also talked with Joe the owner on many occasions and he is passionate about what he is doing and left a larger manufacturer that had a somewhat exaggerated focus on “green” mattresses to form his own company because he wanted to “do it right”.
http://www.gmmattress.com/ (not active the last time I checked) G & M Mattress 1943 N White Ave, La Verne, CA 91750 - superpages.com Commerce. Local wholesale manufacturer and has no showroom but will build a single mattress to your specs with any materials if you know the layering that you want and can pick it up.
http://airdreamsmattress.com/ Local factory direct manufacturer in El Monte. Makes mostly polyfoam or memory foam (incl 5 lb) over innersprings. Can order other materials if necessary.
http://paramountmatt.com/ Los Angeles. Local factory direct manufacturer who makes a range of mattresses (but they no longer make the latex hybrids that they have listed on their site)
http://www.samsmattress.com/ Commerce. Local factory direct manufacturer. Sells mostly wholesale but will sell retail as well. Will also custom build for a customer who is willing to wait. Good value.
http://www.melvincustomattress.com/ Northridge. Local factory direct manufacturer who will custom build using any type of material (latex, memory foam, polyfoam, innersprings) and also reupholsters mattresses. Good value here as well.
https://www.brentwoodhome.com/ Los Angeles. Factory direct manufacturer that makes a range of memory foam, innerspring, and latex hybrid mattresses. They also have some good quality/value choices.
http://www.manta.com/c/mmnn10w/isaac-mattress Bell. Factory direct manufacturer who makes mainly traditional and lower budget innerspring/polyfoam mattresses using 1.2, 1.5, and 1.8 lb polyfoams depending on the price.
FrontPage - ComfortPedicMattress.com Local factory direct manufacturer with stores in Rancho Cucamonga and San Dimas. They too didn’t seem as open and transparent about the materials in their mattresses and kept telling me stories about other people who loved their mattresses. Seemed somewhat higher priced compared to other local factory directs.
http://goodbedguys.com/ Costa Mesa. Local factory direct manufacturers. Making a range of innerspring and latex mattresses using high quality materials and a lot of cotton in the layering. Was impressed with what they told me and the quality of their mattresses. they have good value but are on the higher end of the range because of the cost of the materials they use.
http://www.newportbedding.com/home Local factory direct manufacturer in Costa Mesa. They have a wide range of one and two sided mattresses including latex, memory foam, innerspring, and hybrid mattresses that use good quality materials that they make themselves or in some cases are made by other independent manufacturers. Some of their higher quality mattresses are also in a more premium price range so I would make some careful value comparisons.
http://electropedicbeds.com/ or http://www.latexpedic.com/ Burbank, Garden Grove. Specializes in adjustable beds but also makes several good quality 2 sided Talalay latex mattresses and a two sided latex pocket coil mattress that would also be worth considering.
http://bedsetc.com/ Los Angeles, Studio City, Torrance, Gardena, Tarzana. Owned by members of the same family as Electropedic Beds and carries the Electropedic mattresses and OrganicaSleep and other brands.
http://www.selectabed.com/ Westlake village. Local factory direct manufacturer. Carries a range of good quality memory foam mattresses and latex layered mattresses. Mattresses are designed by Dr. Rick Swartzburg who I have talked with at some length and I like some of his design concepts and ideas and think highly of his knowledge and experience (see post #9 here)
http://www.customcomfortmattress.com Brea, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Orange, Pasadena, Westminster, West Hollywood. They are a larger regional factory direct outlet which makes some high quality mattress and use good materials and some hand building construction methods, and have a good reputation for quality. They also carry higher prices than similar mattresses made by other independent manufacturers though and I would make some careful “value” comparisons here.
http://www.berkeleyergo.com/ Ontario, CA. They manufacture a range of mattresses that use high quality materials including 100% natural Talalay latex, microcoils, and high quality pocket springs that can be customized before and after a purchase and are usually in a good “value” range. They are normally sold through a network of carefully selected and knowledgeable retailers in various parts of the country but the factory now has a showroom where customers with an appointment can test their entire lineup as well.
https://bannermattressonline.com/mattresses Larger factory direct manufacturer (Banner and Scorzielli) who carries other major brands as well. They didn’t seem as eager to talk about their mattresses as most independent manufacturers are but perhaps they do better in person. I would avoid the major brands they also carry and make careful value comparisons.
https://casper.com/la Los Angeles, CA. They make a single mattress that uses 1.5" 3.5 lb ventilated polyfoam, 1.5" 4 lb 10 ILD Memory foam, 1.5" 2.5 lb polyfoam with a 1.5 lb polyfoam core. They are usually sold online but they have a small showroom in Los Angeles so those that are local can test their mattresses in person.
http://www.pjssleep.com/. Los Angeles, CA. Factory direct manufacturer that makes their own line of high quality organic Dunlop latex mattresses. Also carries OMI, Savvy Rest, Natura, and Anatomic Global.
http://www.ergocomfort.com/ Retailer in Laguna Niguel and Newport Beach that carries Berkeley Ergonomics (which are good quality and have some good value) and a range of other premium mattresses that are also good quality but carry more premium prices as well including OMI, Savvy Rest, Naturepedic, Technogel and some ultra premium brands such as Carpe Diem and VI Springs.
http://www.snoozzzmattress.com/ Retailer in Thousand Oaks, CA. They carry Organicpedic, Naturepedic, Vivetique, and Diamond mattresses. Some good quality mattresses but make sure you make some good value comparisons since some of them may be in higher budget ranges.
http://goodnightbeds.com/ San Pedro and Redondo Beach. They carry Berkeley Ergonomics, Pure Latex Bliss, Stress-O-Pedic, and some Spinal Care mattresses all of which are fully transparent about their materials and may be worth considering.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sleep-n-aire-mattress-factory-santa-monica or http://americanfurniturexchange.com/ . I talked with them very briefly (they had customers in the store) and they are a local mom and pop manufacturer that makes latex mattresses (mostly dunlop cores but will use talalay as well) and traditional innerspring/polyfoam mattresses. They are working on a website but rely on Yelp for now. They also carry some memory foam mattresses (which they don’t make themselves but which use good quality memory foam) and some Simmons mattresses (which I would ignore).
Dreamland Mattress | Mattress Man's Dreamland Blog Retailer in Covina, CA. They carry Spinal Care Bedding mattresses (made in Gardena) along with Stress-O-Pedic, Spring Air, and Spring Comfort. I have talked with Bruce the owner here and he is knowledgeable and experienced with mattresses and mattress materials and understands the importance of providing the specs of his mattresses. Well worth a visit.
http://cantoni.com/ Retailer in Los Angeles and Orange County. Carries a private label version of Berkeley Ergonomics (see this topic) along with Savvy Rest component latex mattresses and Vi Spring (ultra premium mattresses).
www.orthomattress.com/ Santa barbara, Ventura, and other CA locations. They make their own mattresses but they also carry some major brands which have poor value which is somewhat of a warning sign to me that their own mattresses may also be overpriced. They have not been the most forthcoming or knowledgeable about what is in their mattresses or the other brands that they sell and there is no meaningful information on their website about their mattresses. I’m including them for reference only not because I believe they would make a particularly good choice.
http://www.1stopmattress.com/ Retailer in Orange, CA. Carries Pure Latex Bliss latex mattresses and Stress-O-Pedic.
http://www.thefutonshop.com/ Los Angeles, Encino, CA. Carries a huge range of futons of all kinds including innersprings, latex, memory foam, polyfoam, and organic wool and cotton.
Some wholesale manufacturers that sell through retailers in the area that may also also be worth including in your research include …
http://maximmattress.com/ Local wholesale manufacturer in Commerce, CA. They are making some good quality mattresses including microcoils, latex, and memory foam and have a retailer locator on their site.
http://spinalcarebedding.net/ Local manufacturer based in Gardena, CA that also makes some good quality/value mattresses that includes latex, memory foam, and some very high quality pocket coils.
http://www.stressopedic.com/ Regional west coast manufacturer based in Ontario, CA that makes a wide range of a mattresses and is committed to being completely transparent about all the materials in their mattresses.
http://www.diamondmattress.com/ Local Wholesale manufacturer in Rancho Dominguez who is making some good quality and value mattresses but make sure you are able to find out the specs of the materials in their mattresses (see post #2 here). Has a store locator on the site so you can find out if they are available near you.
http://puretalalaybliss.com/retailers/ Wholesale manufacturer that makes several lines of latex and latex hybrid mattresses that are available at many retail locations across the country. Also has a retail locator on their site to check for any retail locations that are near you.
www.anatomicglobal.com/ Wholesale manufacturer of some good quality memory foam mattresses owned by FXI/Foamex. Has a store locator on their site to find out if there are retailers near you. It is sometimes difficult to find out the specifics of the memory foam in their mattresses so make sure you find out the specs of any of their mattresses you are considering so you can make more meaningful comparisons.
All of these manufacturers can provide you with a list of any local retailers that sell their mattresses close to you either with the retail store finder on their site or with an email or phone call.
The price of a polyfoam core and pocket spring core will depend on how the rest of the mattress is made and on the quality of the pocket coils (there are some very cheap poor quality ones) and the polyfoam (again there is a wide range of quality and price). Usually though … a pocket spring core costs slightly more than polyfoam because they require a more complex construction. Both are less than a latex core. Bear in mind too that a foam core usually does best with a solid foundation while a pocket spring will usually do best with a box spring (which can be more expensive).
Pocket springs work “independently” of each other and usually have more coils of a higher gauge (thinner) to conform better. While a quality pocket coil is fine for most people and often preferred for their feel and movement isolation … for those who are heavier they may not last as long (depending on the gauge and construction). Even here though … the weak link in the mattress is usually in the comfort layers not the innerspring and you are not in the weight range where this would be an issue.
If you are looking at a good quality independent manufacturer … usually the relative value between their mattresses will be similar … although value will vary between different manufacturers.
Usually … and assuming that like most men your shoulders are significantly wider and lighter than your hips … your biggest “issue” would be to make sure that there is enough softer foam in the comfort layer so that your shoulders can sink in far enough when you are on your side. This would normally be in the 3" range depending on the layers under it. The thinnest comfort layer that provides good pressure relief is usually best for alignment.
Phoenix
