Heavy Couple looking for a latex bed.

[cypherdog]

Hi Guys,

I’ve been lurking here for about a week or so, and I have to say this place has been a fantastic resource. I’ve definitely settled on buying a latex mattress.

My wife and I have stopped by Denver Mattress Company in Huntsville, AL and tried their two latex mattresses. My wife liked the Aspen and I like the Snowmass. She liked the firmness of the aspen, and I liked the softer feel of the Snowmass (though I’ve read that its suppose to feel the opposite - the snowmass has a quilted top, so that may be what I’m feeling)

I am a larger person (330lbs, 6’ tall) my wife is larger as well at (250+, 5’5’'). So I’m trying to find a durable/comfortable mattress for both of us, but obviously at these prices I’d need to be pretty sure I was getting a mattress that was going to last me enough years to show real value. My current mattress was rather short lived at 6 years, but only costed me 600 dollars. (Queen Serta Pillow top)

So, looking for a durable mattress is one of my concerns. Does a mattress need to be 100% latex to be truly durable? I’m asking because obviously it seems rather popular to have 2-5 inches of latex on top of a foam base/core. It makes the mattress significantly cheaper (in some cases), but does it sacrifice it’s durability, especially for heavier people?

Also, being as large as we are, I want to make sure I get a mattress that is thick enough to support us and at the same time comfortable. I assume I sink in more than a few inches, so I want to make sure that it stays comfortable.

I’m considering going with sleepez.com for the price, layering, free shipping, no taxes (comes out about the same as buying an Aspen or Snowmass before taxes). I like the idea of being able to swap out the layers that need it instead of replacing the whole mattress down the road as well. However, I’m not sure which one would be the best for me yet. I like the price point of the 8’’ Dunlop deal, but I’m afraid that if it’s too firm that the 2’’ of Talalay won’t be thick enough for us.

Also another issue for me personally, having destroyed a few slatted beds in my day, is that I don’t trust slatted beds, especially since the mattress itself would be rather heavy. So I’m trying figure out what to do in that regard as well. Currently I use a box spring and metal frame, but since I’m looking to move up to a King size, I’ll have to buy something to put the new mattress on as well, so any suggestions there would be great.

Looking forward to your responses.

[phoenix]

Hi cypherdog,

Your sense of the firmness of each is a good example of how a mattress feels to each individual person can be very subjective. While the polyfoam in the Snowmass quilting is firmer … it is also on the top while with the Aspen the supersoft polyfoam is under the latex so the surface feel would be different.

You would also likely be “going through” the upper layers in both mattresses more than most and “coming to rest” more on the deeper layers of the mattress as well and the Aspen has a thinner layer of latex in the support layers and the polyfoam is likely firmer than the latex so with the Snowmass you may be feeling more of the deeper and thicker layer of latex which feels softer while with the Aspen the thinner layer of latex and the firmer polyfoam would probably be contributing more to what you are feeling. Lighter people would probably feel more of the upper layers which are softer overall in the Aspen.

So, looking for a durable mattress is one of my concerns. Does a mattress need to be 100% latex to be truly durable? I’m asking because obviously it seems rather popular to have 2-5 inches of latex on top of a foam base/core. It makes the mattress significantly cheaper (in some cases), but does it sacrifice it’s durability, especially for heavier people?

The most important layers of a mattress in terms of durability are the ones closest to the top so a latex/polyfoam hybrid can also be quite durable if the polyfoam support layers are good quality/density (at least 1.8 lbs and preferably more). Of course it won’t last as long as latex so there would be some difference in durability but in the deeper layers that don’t compress as much the difference would not be as great as using the different materials in the upper layers. There would be a difference in performance however in terms of the ability of the support layers to “help” the comfort layers as needed for pressure relief in different sleeping positions and to adapt to the support needs of different sleeping positions as well. Latex has a much higher support factor than polyurethane which means it can be softer with surface compression but gets firmer more quickly which can be very helpful in a support layer … particularly if you are heavier. The more a layer compresses then the faster it will soften and degrade which is a big reason why surface layers will soften faster than deeper layers.

Also, being as large as we are, I want to make sure I get a mattress that is thick enough to support us and at the same time comfortable. I assume I sink in more than a few inches, so I want to make sure that it stays comfortable.

This also makes sense and you may do well to consider a slightly thicker mattress (up to 12") because the extra thickness will again make the mattress more adaptable to different weights and movement as well. It will compress to a lower percentage of it’s overall thickness and this can make the mattress more comfortable (especially with movement) with less risk of being too firm in some positions or situations.

I’m considering going with sleepez.com for the price, layering, free shipping, no taxes (comes out about the same as buying an Aspen or Snowmass before taxes). I like the idea of being able to swap out the layers that need it instead of replacing the whole mattress down the road as well. However, I’m not sure which one would be the best for me yet. I like the price point of the 8’’ Dunlop deal, but I’m afraid that if it’s too firm that the 2’’ of Talalay won’t be thick enough for us.

Shawn has good experience with heavier customers and the best thickness would also depend on your sleeping positions and other factors. I would suggest a conversation with him would be very helpful. Depending on your sleeping positions … I would also think that a 6" + 2" construction may be a little on the thin side although your personal experience on similar mattresses may say differently.

Also another issue for me personally, having destroyed a few slatted beds in my day, is that I don’t trust slatted beds, especially since the mattress itself would be rather heavy. So I’m trying figure out what to do in that regard as well. Currently I use a box spring and metal frame, but since I’m looking to move up to a King size, I’ll have to buy something to put the new mattress on as well, so any suggestions there would be great.

Both King Koil (comfort Solutions) and Therapedic make a very heavy duty slatted foundation that is built very strong. A local outlet may carry one of these or something similar (with the two center supports) and be willing to sell it to you.

There are also some very strong and good value wire grid foundations available that are rated up to 2500 lbs. they come with various different amounts of longitudinal wires but the ones with 11 wires have the smallest “gaps” in the grid. Examples are here and here.

Even better but a little more expensive are the Leggett and Platt Power Stack Foundations (Note added later: this is a discontinued product) from My Green Mattress Products

Flobeds carries some good foundations as well and Natura also makes a good foundation that is available on Amazon.

Hopefully, these will give you some reasonable choices and some good reference points for further research.

The key is evenly spaced support along the entire surface of the mattress with as little flex as possible.

Phoenix