help building a mattress

So found 3 mattress i like in store but they are expensive as heck…and 1 have heard bad things about life span …Lotus Asana 6.2 Plush, Pranasleep Vinyasa 5 plush and Tempurpedic temper-cloud supreme. With in store test they all seem to fit my comfort level.
So im looking at
https://sleeponlatex.com/products/natural-6-latex-mattress-core?variant=292051271 6" dunlop 34ild base
Pure Green Natural Latex Mattress Topper | SleepOnLatex.com 2" dunlop 20ild support
TALALAY LATEX MATTRESS TOPPERS & CORES – SleepLikeABear.com 2" talay 14ild
SleepLikeABear Natural Wool Quilted Knit Bamboo Zipper Cover – SleepLikeABear.com bamboo/wool cover

will this approximate the feel of what i am looking at. Obviously prana is very mysterious about specs for layers
Trying to save a few dollars in the process as i do not really want to spend $5,000 on a mattress lol.
Any other suggestions you have would be much appreciated.

Hi 98mustangguy,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

Two of these mattresses use latex in the comfort layers and one is a memory foam mattress. Latex and memory foam are completely different materials with very different properties but the choice between them is a more of a preference and budget choice rather than a “better/worse” choice. Some people prefer the “feel” and performance of latex and some people prefer memory foam. There is more about some of the general differences between them in post #2 here but as you mentioned the most reliable way to know which types of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer will be based on your own testing or personal experience.

If you are attracted to the idea of designing and building your own DIY mattress out of separate components and a separate cover then the first place I would start is by reading option 3 in post #15 here and the posts it links to (and option #1 and #2 as well) so that you have more realistic expectations and that you are comfortable with the learning curve, uncertainty, trial and error, or in some cases the higher costs that may be involved in the DIY process. While it can certainly be a rewarding project … the best approach to a DIY mattress is a “spirit of adventure” where what you learn and the satisfaction that comes from the process itself is more important than any cost savings you may realize (which may or may not happen).

There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel” that may be useful as well.

For those who decide to take on the challenge then I would either use the specs (if they are available) of a mattress that you have tested and confirmed is a good match for you in terms of PPP as a reference point or blueprint and try and “match” every layer and component in your reference mattress as closely as possible or use a “bottom up” approach (see post #2 here).

There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting materials) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find (or build) another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be very unlikely) then there really isn’t a reliable way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP based on the specifications of the mattresses (even assuming that you can find out all the specifications you would need for both mattresses you are comparing in the first place).

If you don’t know the specifics of all the layers and components in a mattress then unless a manufacturer or supplier is very familiar with a mattress you are using as a blueprint and can provide reliable guidance about how specific combinations of materials and components compare to it based on the “averages” of a larger group of people that have compared them (different people may have very different opinions about how two mattresses compare) … the only reliable way to know for certain how two mattresses or combinations of materials and components would compare for you in terms of how they “feel” or in terms of firmness or PPP (regardless of anyone else’s opinions of how they compare which may be different from your own) would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.

You can read more about Pranasleep in general and the previous versions (up to version 4) of Pranasleep mattresses in post #3 here and in post #2 here and in post #3 here and in posts #1 and #2 here and a forum search on Prana (you can just click this) will also bring up more information and feedback about them as well.

The good news is that they changed the design in version 5 and the top layers of polyfoam are now higher quality/density and are no longer what I would consider to be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability. Having said that they are still in a significantly higher budget range than other similar mattresses and the top layers are still polyfoam so you would still be feeling and sleeping on polyfoam as much as latex but this could also be a “feel” that you prefer compared to sleeping more directly on latex . There is more about the new version 5 in post #19 here but I would certainly make some very careful “value” comparisons with other latex mattresses that use similar materials and are in a lower budget range before considering one of their mattresses to be the “best value” choice available to you.

Some of the Lotus mattresses still contain more than “about an inch or so” of lower quality/density polyfoam in the quilting which I would consider to be a potential weak link in the mattress.

There are some very general guidelines about what to expect in different budget ranges in this article. Depending to some degree on the size you are looking for … unless you have very specialized needs and preferences I can’t think of a reason that you would need to spend $5000 to purchase a very high quality/value latex mattress which are available in budget ranges that are half of that or even less.

I don’t know what you’ve read and what you haven’t but since your question is very broad the best “general” advice is in the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

The mattress shopping tutorial also includes several links to lists of many of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include many different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of budgets, firmness levels, and with different return/exchange policies that may also be worth considering.

One of the links is to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online and many of them sell latex and latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex that have a wide range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices that are in much lower budget ranges than the Prana mattresses you were looking at that would also be well worth considering.

If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area that may be worth considering as well.

Phoenix