General recommendation for Firm Latex?

[sonoflee]

Hello! Thanks to all for such a helpful forum, it’s been a great tool for narrowing down possibilities. My wife and I are looking for a firm, latex King mattress for use on our bed, which has a solid plywood base. Our stats:

me: 5’ 10", 150 lb, back sleeper
she: 5’ 4", 125 lb, back/stomach sleeper

We both prefer really firm surfaces - prior to our marriage, she used a futon mattress for 7 years, and we recently went to Japan and really enjoyed the firm mattresses in our hotels there. Definitely more interested in latex than memory foam - we like to sleep on top, not sink into, a surface.

Our current mattress is an Ikea Sultan Fjordgard (2" of mostly synthetic latex over 6" of 2.2 cu ft polyfoam), the firmest mattress from Ikea at the time. It was great at first, but has developed horrible impressions in the past couple of years… we currently have folded up towels underneath in order to get an even sort-of comfortable surface.

We recently went to one of the only stores in the area with latex mattresses on display, and the bed we liked the best was a Savvy Rest with natural dunlop latex. Three 3" layers of firm/firm/firm were pretty good, but then we tried the bed with only two layers (firm/firm) - it was a much more solid feel, and we both thought it was about perfect! We also tried a “firm” model that used Talalay (they weren’t sure of the configuration or layers), but thought the Dunlop was much better in every way.

A couple of questions: The Savvy Rest website notes that their model that would replicate this (6" tranquility?) is ONLY appropriate for sleepers under 160lb - as I’m pretty close to that weight, I’m wondering if this would lead to less durability over time? Would it be better, for longevity/preventing impressions to go with a 9" for any reason?

It looks like a lot of recommended retailers offer a 6 or 7" natural dunlop in firm configuration. Do you have any idea what the Savvy Rest “firm” designation translates to for retailers like Flexus or Sleepez?

Any other words of wisdom would be great - again, we’re looking for a firm latex King mattress, and something that will hold it’s shape for a long time. I’d definitely pay more for something I believed could stay solid, with no impressions, for a long time.

Thanks!

[phoenix]

Hi sonoflee,

A couple of questions: The Savvy Rest website notes that their model that would replicate this (6" tranquility?) is ONLY appropriate for sleepers under 160lb - as I’m pretty close to that weight, I’m wondering if this would lead to less durability over time? Would it be better, for longevity/preventing impressions to go with a 9" for any reason?

The issue with the thickness and weight recommendation would be more about the suitability of the mattress for most people than about the durability of the mattress. For most people in higher weight ranges a slightly thicker mattress would generally be a better match for their needs and preferences but since you are outside of the “averages” in terms of the feel and performance of a mattress that works best for you and prefer a much firmer mattress, a 6" latex mattress may work well for you. There is more about the effect of thickness in post #14 here but in very general terms a thinner mattress will be firmer than a thicker mattress (it becomes firmer faster as you compress it) so for you it may be well worth considering regardless of what may work best for others because what would be a negative for others may be a positive for you.

It looks like a lot of recommended retailers offer a 6 or 7" natural dunlop in firm configuration. Do you have any idea what the Savvy Rest “firm” designation translates to for retailers like Flexus or Sleepez?

Savvy Rest doesn’t disclose the ILD’s of their layers except as a very broad range and the ILD of Dunlop in a similar firmness rating can vary (see post #6 here about ILD) but a 3" layer that had a similar rating from Flexus or SleepEZ and was the same type and blend of latex would generally be a close approximation of Savvy Rest so outside of any smaller ILD variations or the effect of different covers, a mattress that used two 3" layers with a similar firmness rating and layer thicknesses would be a very reasonable approximation.

Any other words of wisdom would be great - again, we’re looking for a firm latex King mattress, and something that will hold it’s shape for a long time. I’d definitely pay more for something I believed could stay solid, with no impressions, for a long time.

Latex is the most durable of all the foam materials and regardless of the thickness … an all latex mattress would be among the most durable types of mattress in the industry and certainly wouldn’t have any weak links in its design. Regardless of durability though … the most important part of your choice would be to use your own careful and objective personal testing and/or more detailed conversations with a knowledgeable and experienced manufacturer/retailer to choose the specific combination of layers that is the most likely to be the best match for you in terms of PPP (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

The advantage of a component mattress is that you still have good options available after a purchase to make changes to the mattress at a very reasonable cost if your experience indicates that it’s necessary.

Phoenix