Similar questions have been asked for different areas of the country it seems. We live in eastern Texas the closest sizable city is Tyler, TX, and the closest major cities are Dallas (3 hours) and Houston (3.5 Hours), we also have Shreveport about 2 hours away. We have already went mattress shopping in Tyler, and tried a couple of places which advertised latex mattresses, but were obviously fakes with just a small amount of latex in a typical innerspring bed.
I’m 6’4 240 lbs side and stomach sleeper and my wife is 5’3 140 lbs mostly side sleeper. Our current bed has a thick 3" eurotop which has a light foam that has badly compressed so that there are 2 pretty deep holes we now must sleep in 8 years later. It has become hard on me especially when stomach sleeping as it feel like my spine is a big U shape. We theoretically like the idea of the latex mattress due to durability, support, and breathability compared to memory foam. However, we’ve been frustrated by not being able to lay on one in person. So our questions are…
Is there a place in the Tyler area to lay on some actual latex mattresses?
Is it worth making a 6-7 hour round trip plus time in store to just sample one? (It’s not an easy trip to put together)
Or is it possible giving personal info, sleep positions, and preferences to make a strong purchase from an online dealer like SleepEZ?
Separate possibly stupid frame question. We don’t want to change out our whole bedroom set at this time and currently have a bed with a headboard and footboard, and 2 wooden runners with a small lip that run between them. Then there are 3 horizontal metal bars that screw in for the box springs and mattress to sit on. I know this doesn’t work for a heavier latex mattress, but can a new support frame be placed inside my current setup or must I get a completely new bed when I get the new mattress?
Thanks for the help, I wanted to do this about a year ago, but lack of ability to try out a similar mattress and information overload caused me to put it off.
The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Tyler area are listed in post #2 here.
I know that Denver Mattress makes the iChoice which is mostly latex (and the comfort layers are latex) and some of the others may also carry mattresses that use meaningful layers of latex in the comfort layers as well (without too much other material on top of it to mask the feel of the latex).
I don’t think you will need to because there are some local options closer to you. If you talk with one of the more distant manufacturers on the phone and they appear to have specific mattresses that you are very interested in testing and possibly buying then I would certainly consider it but of course that would really be up to you. While testing latex locally may not give you a good approximation of another latex mattress with a different design … it would at least give you a sense of the “feel” of latex and if you did decide to order online then it would be a matter of choosing your initial layering and firmness options based on a more detailed conversation with an online manufacturer you are considering (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). If you choose a design that offers layer exchanges then you can use your actual experience on the mattress to decide if you need to make an exchange to make it firmer or softer if your initial choice isn’t ideal for you.
I’m not sure of the dimensions of your current bedframe but one of the 14" wire grid type steel bedframes in the foundation post here may fit inside it. You may also be able to attach your current headboard and footboard to a heavy duty metal frame (see post #10 here for some manufacturer sites) that can be used under a suitable foundation and a heavy latex mattress.
It would be important that your bedframe regardless of what type you use has good center support to the floor that won’t sag over time. You may be able to use something like one of these or even stronger something like this to beef up your current bedframe so it would support a suitable foundation and a heavy latex mattress.
Thank you for the quick response. The water bed supports you suggested look perfect and would give good piece of mind that the bed was well supported. We’ve actually laid on latex beds before, we were more trying to find them to determine firmness and feel and that’s what we couldn’t find locally. I feel fairly confident in moving forward with a purchase, if I am confident of the firmness. A couple of follow-up questions before we make a purchase…
Is there any issue with the Sleep EZ foundation that we would want to look elsewhere? I noticed there are a lot of suggestions made here, but since Sleep EZ was a recommended merchant I was hoping for simplicity’s sake their foundation would work.
On a call they suggested the 13000 bed for our height preferences and maximum comfort changes we could make based on preference when the bed is in the house. I am 6’4 240 side/stomach sleeper who prefers softer beds, and my wife is 5’3 130 side sleeper who prefers firmer beds. The recommendation they gave was for all 4 latex pieces to be side specific for maximum customization and to start with X-Firm/Firm/Medium/Soft. Based on the preferences I gave would this be the best way to go?
They also suggested the Talalay blended for the mattress material as the top choice. I know they have 2 other more all natural types, but for durability and comfort the Blended Talalay was suggested. Are there any reasons I should look at the other types?
Besides the foundation which I spoke about above, what other potential purchases do I need to look at? I see in several posts people changed out the mattress cover or added a protector and I wanted to know the pros and cons of those options and ensure I didn’t miss anything.
Thanks again for your help it really helps us feel like we are on firmer ground before making the decision.
No … their foundation is specially made to be suitable for a latex mattress and would work very well.
Yes … I would agree with this but even if I didn’t I would follow the advice of a knowledgeable and experienced manufacturer over anyone else’s (incuding mine) because they are much more familiar with their specific mattresses and combinations of materials and matching them to individuals based on more detailed conversations than anyone else.
The choice between Dunlop and Talalay is a personal preference so it would depend on whether you have tested both of them and have a preference between them. You can read a little more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here but blended Talalay is typically a little more durable … especially in softer ILD’s … than 100% natural Talalay. Blended Talalay is a good “default” choice and there are many people who prefer it’s “feel” in comfort layers but again this is anything but universal and there are many who would tell you otherwise so it really is a matter of preference.
You will need a mattress protector to keep your mattress in a more hygienic condition and protect it from from the moisture and fluids you release each night as well as from skin cells (that feed the dust mites) and any accidents that can invalidate a warranty. Post #89 here talks more about the different types and the pros and cons of each.
You are certainly looking at a great choice with many options to make further customizations after a purchase.
I’m glad the site could help and assuming you go ahead with your purchase I hope you have the chance to share your feedback when you receive it.
I tried contacting the seller, but they were closed. I didn’t know if anyone has experience and might know the answer. On the STL Beds center supports it lists one as for beds 5-8" and another for beds 8-11" and of course my luck our bed is exactly 8" from the inside of the wooden lip to the ground. Therefore, I was unsure which one would be the best choice.
The shorter ones are probably meant to be used with low profile bedframes and couldn’t be used if they were too short so I would probably choose the regular ones which are taller (and could be used if they were a little too tall with a shim although it’s not likely you will need to do this) but I think it would be a good idea to check with them to make sure.