I’m going from a queen size to a king size so will be purchasing a new mattress. So excited but also guaranteed to lose my mind…
I really love my existing setup, and I love latex so one option is to simply replicate what I have. But there are a lot of interesting options on the market - maybe I’ll like something else even better. And some are at a much lower price point than what I currently have. My wife says “I like it fine but come on it’s a bit too firm”
So I’d like to run my situation by the forum and see what type of feedback I get.
Current setup:
Bottom layer: 3 inch 45 ILD foam
Middle layer: 3 inch Talalay 36 ILD
Top layer: 3 inch Talalay 36 ILD
Topper: Lanoodle
The layers are from Foam Order, and the Lanoodle is from CozyPure. I really love this setup! It’s very firm, but the Lanoodle gives it a layer of cushiness that I love. Before adding the Lanoodle, it was a little bit too firm for me. Also as I said my wife finds it a little bit too firm. I could take slightly less firm, but not much.
My options
Cozypure 10 inch with a firm custom layer and a Lanoodle. This one is pretty expensive! It’s also customizable, so I could get my half in firm and my wife’s in medium, though the split setup kind of stresses me out (how does it feel when your body spans both sides?)
Brookyln Bedding BME. Firm. I don’t know the ILD of this, or whether to get the Lanoodle with it or not. The top seems to have a lot of shape to it, so I’m not sure how the Lanoodle would work
Nest Love or Alexander in firm. Again don’t know whether to get the Lanoodle because the tops seem to have a lot of shape, and I don’t know the firmness until I sleep with it.
Dreamfoam Aloe Alexis. Haven’t heard as much about this one but it looks like a high quality mattress.
Replicate my existing setup, go with what I know and love. The problems: it’s expensive, and my wife wants something just a bit softer.
I am in New York City, and would love to visit showrooms and try things out for myself wherever possible. What I’d like to do is lie down on all of these and see how they feel, but I don’t believe that’s possible, and also I’m extremely busy
I would keep in mind that the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial)or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness as well and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
If the only change you want to make to your current mattress is to make it a little bit softer then it would make sense to choose the same layers and components as you currently have except to choose a top layer that is a little bit softer (perhaps 28 - 32 ILD) but once you have two designs that have more than a single relatively small difference between them then how the two mattresses compare for different people can be much more unpredictable and uncertain and the only way to really know how they compare for you (regardless of how they would compare for others that may have very different experiences or opinions than you) will be based on your own careful testing or personal sleeping experience.
There is more about the pros and cons of split layering in post #2 here.
This mattress has a completely different design and uses different types of materials, different types of latex, and different layer thicknesses than the mattress you currently own so there are too many differences to really know how it will compare to your current mattress outside of your actual experience. There is more about the pros and cons of a latex/polyfoam hybrid vs an all latex mattress in post #2 here but even if you did know the ILD of each layer it wouldn’t help you to predict how the mattress will compare to your current mattress or how it will feel “as a whole” partly because there are many other factors that can affect how firm or soft a mattress feels besides just ILD alone (see post #4 here) and partly because the ILD ratings of different types and blends of latex aren’t directly comparable anyway (see post #6 here).
Again these are both very different mattresses from the mattress you own and in the case of the Alexander it also includes memory foam which puts it in a different category again from a latex/polyfoam hybrid. There are some comments about the Alexander in post #2 here and in post #2 here.
The Alexis is somewhat “in between” a more typical latex/polyfoam hybrid that only has a few inches of latex over the polyfoam and an all latex mattress that doesn’t contain any polyfoam at all since it has 6" of latex in the top two layers (see post #2 here). A forum search on Alexis (you can just click the link) will bring up more comments and feedback about it as well.
This is the only one of the 5 that you would be able to predict reasonably closely how it will feel to you either in your current configuration or with a slightly softer top layer.
When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart (which would certainly include all the manufacturers or retailers you mentioned) and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here 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 better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the New York City area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked) are listed in post #2 here but as you mentioned it’s unlikely that you would find another mattress that was an exact match for any of the mattresses you mentioned in your post so while some local testing on different mattresses may give you some very general ideas about the type and combinations of materials that you tend to prefer … it wouldn’t tell you about whether any of the mattresses you are considering would be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP.
I hear ya, but this is going to be too soft for me I’m afraid - I’m an inveterate stomach sleeper…
Because they have such good return policies, my current plan is to order the Brooklyn Bedding BME or Nest Alexander (either one in firm) - but which one!?!? Sigh.
The one question I still have is can I put a Lanoodle on top of a “textured” / “shaped” top like these have? In other words, the Lanoodle goes very well on top of my current setup, which is just 3 layers of latex with a cotton cover, resulting in a very flat top surface, whereas the BME and Alexander have non-flat top surfaces - can you lay a Lanoodle on top of something like that? Does anyone do that?
My next best option is to call CozyPure and get their guidance. I really like CozyPure customer service, and I LOVE my Lanoodle, but their latex mattresses are generally a lot more expensive than these competitors.
Yes .,… you could use the CozyPure Lanoodles topper on top of any mattress.
They are more costly than the other mattresses you are considering because they are “all latex” mattresses that use more costly organic latex and organic covers and components rather than being a latex/polyfoam hybrid.
Once you are down to a list of finalists and you are confident that they would all be a good match for you in terms of PPP (or you have good options after a purchase if you aren’t) and that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in any of them in terms of durability then you would be down to finalists that are comparing “good to good”. If there are no clear winners between them at this point (which is usually a good indication that you have done some very good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely make a good quality/value choice and (post #2 here) can help you make a final choice based on your local testing or mattresses you have slept well on, your more detailed conversations with each of them, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, your preferences, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. Sometimes a final choice may even come down to very minor differences or can sometimes just be a matter of “gut feel” or “educated best judgement”.
“Medium-Firm” firmness, which means 6 inches of 36 ILD talalay support, and 3 inches of 32 ILD talalay comfort, with a (removable) compressed wool / soy foam 1 inch layer on top and a bamboo cover. Plus the Lanoodle… this is gonna be great
Thanks for letting us know what you ended up deciding … and congratulations on your new mattress
As you know I think you made a great quality/value choice and I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to try it out.
“Pure Wool” top layer (vs DreamFoam’s blend of wool and foam)
Simpler, flatter quilt construction (I like the aesthetic)
Buying mattress gives me a $200 discount on LaNoodle I’ll be buying anyway, and a 20% discount on all of their bedding for life
When I look for reviews of the DreamFoam, I get some fairly spammy looking affiliate-ish sites in my results
Question: what is the Mattress Underground discount (if any) on CozyPure mattresses?
In favor of the DreamFoam
Talalay (vs. CozyPure’s Dunlop). I like Talalay. Also it’s easier to compare feel with my current setup, and get the “slightly softer” that I’m going for
10% mattress underground discount
Much better return policy
When I look for reviews of the CozyPure, I get very few results
Plan is to call CozyPure in the morning and find out more detail about the density and feel of the layers they use in their mattress. I do think they use a softer “support layer,” which I’m not sure about (could be good, could be bad, but I have no way to try it out).
For what it’s worth, all I care about is comfort - do not care about organic, natural, etc except insofar as they make the bed comfortable
I certainly wouldn’t pay much if any attention to review sites that are mostly about building SEO rankings or referral links and I would make a choice based on the quality/value of the mattress and the materials inside it along with how it compares to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
The Cozy Pure discount for forum members is 5% of the cost of the mattress (see here).
Dreamfoam provides a “pillow bonus” to the members of this site … not a 10% discount (see the previous link to the membership here). The 10% discount for ordering from their site (compared to their Amazon prices) is part of their regular price and is available to anyone that orders from their site … not just the members here.
A forum search on CozyPure or an exact term site search on Cozy Pure will bring up much more comments and feedback about them.
When you are down to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” then the only way I know that can help you choose between them would be based on the comments I made at the end of my previous reply here.
