Hey! Josh here. Found this site yesterday and have been absolutely floored by the information that has been freely, clearly, and definitively shared in the articles and forums.
So first off, Phoenix, thank you.
A little about my wife and I…
I’m 31 and 5’10, and she is 48 and 5’7. We’re both about 180. I’m a side sleeper with little to no chronic pain. She does her best to sleep on her back as suggested by her chiropractor given her severe back/shoulder/neck pain.
We currently are sleeping on a memory foam mattress purchased at Sam’s Club about 5 years ago for $500. It was supposed to be a temp fix until we got married and combined living situations at no more than 2 years. However, 5 years later we’re still using it and constantly complaining about it.
Saturday, I decided we were going to go looking to see what we could find out. Our first stop was The Original Mattress Factory. She’d had a OMF innerspring for years (replaced by the current foam deal) and suggested we start there. We tested every mattress on the floor. We were “ok” with one of their upper end spring mattress sets but both of us had some serious issues returning to a spring set up as we have grown accustomed to the foam feel.
Enter the latex… I was amazed by the feel of the Serenity Latex. I was not happy about the almost $2k out the door price. I’d been thinking more inline with half that.
Next stop… Sleep Number. Neither of us had been. We did the whole demo where you start on the P5 then the M7 and finally i8. We were loving the comfort of the i8 but almost $4k? “What does the C2 feel like?” We left with quotes for the C4, P6 and i8. Really “helpful” salesman, but I wasn’t sold on the air bed idea, no matter how comfortable in my opinion.
Sunday morning was the “I’d rather spend a lot of money on a bed” convo from the wife. I went to back at reading reviews before I’d pull the trigger on 4K.
I found reviews from Sleep Like The Dead on latex mattresses and air beds and then trying to do “research” on suggested options. FFW to 6 PM and I find The Underground.
I finally closed my iPad at 1 this morning. So again, thank you! It was like learning to read and finishing the Britannica in a few hours. Definitely going Latex.
Locally, we have minimal options near Ft. Bragg NC. We went back to OMF today so we could try the latex again and see the specs ($1775 with tax for mattress only). Armed with my new knowledge, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and the flip ability. Layers in order:
~1.5" Talalay, 16-22 ILD, 3.0 lb/ft density
~2" Talalay, 21-27 ILD, 3.25 lb/lb density
~3" HD Poly, 26-34 ILD, 2.5 lb/ft density
~2" Talalay, 21-27 ILD, 3.25 lb/lb density
~1.5" Talalay, 16-22 ILD, 3.0 lb/ft density
The sales guy said he would not go with an all latex bed because of price and the poly core being more durable than a full latex as latex gets brittle and deteriotes quicker. (I haven’t heard “brittle” anywhere else - your opinion on his comment?)
We also tested the Pamper, Nature, and Beatiful in the Pure Talalay line at Good Nights Sleep store. The Pamper was a little too firm, and the Beautiful a little too soft, but the Nature was just about right…maybe (@ $2099 plus tax). The sales girl looked at me as if I had suddenly started talking Swahili when I asked what the ILD was for each layer. After trying to explain myself, albeit unsuccessfully, she said she could try to find out? She’d never heard the term in her 11 years experience selling mattresses. But she knew they were firm, medium, and soft mattresses. I asked if they were all natural, or blended or synthetic latex. She stated it was all natural, but 60 seconds later contradicted herself saying it was a 70/30 split with man-made materials since the blend was more durable than all natural. I’m not putting much stock in any comments she now makes but thanks for the 3 stories about the beds. I feel “informed”…lol. (I have since attempted to locate said specs but haven’t found anything online or in this forum as you have mentioned yourself).
We are making the 3+ hour trek to Sleeping Organic in Charleston SC tomorrow for further T&E and education. I found them in this forum. Another thanks! I’m hoping after that trip we will be more understanding of what we actually want in terms of layers. Currently, I’d probably go with the OMF Serenity Latex from what we’ve seen but hoping for better options tomorrow.
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated, but regardless we owe you a huge thank you for all the knowledge we do have. And I have no doubt we will end up with something much more suitable than our original shot in the dark process we were going with.