So I have read the sticky and in depth pages describing the different types of mattresses/materials. I’m currently sleeping on a cheap spring mattress but looking to buy a new quality mattress to go along with the move into my new apartment.
Before coming to this site I was contemplating going with a memory foam mattress, but after reading all the information I think that a latex mattress may be more to my liking. I like the initial feel of memory foam but I don’t like that it’s hard to change position on and so unlike the harder surface spring mattress that I am used to. I think the latex may be more of a compromise between the two.
That being said I am 5’6" and 200 Lbs:
I am unsure of the ILD latex foam that I should be looking at. It appears a standard recommendation is firm/med/soft for 3 layer and firm/soft for 2 layer mattresses. Any recommendations based on my body type would be helpful.
I would like to try some of the options out locally but I am unsure of what model/brands to try. My location is NJ, 07828, and NJ, 07960. I am not averse to saving money and buying online if I am able to test something out locally that is a good approximation of what I can purchase at a better value online.
One of the links in the tutorial post (mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here) links to some of the pages on the site which go into more detail about some of the theory behind matching different body types and sleeping positions but I would only read these as very generic guidelines and would use your own personal testing for PPP as the best way to choose the mattress that is the best match for you. There are too many variables, unknowns, and personal preferences involved to use “theory at a distance” as a way to choose a mattress. When you are testing mattresses locally I would ignore “comfort specs” like ILD and let your body tell you which mattress works best for you.
The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in your general area are listed in post #7 here.
From the post you linked it doesn’t appear that there are many good options locally to test all latex mattresses with the intent to order a similar offering online. Are there any name brand latex mattresses that are similar in construction, but maybe not in value, to some of your member manufacturers who sell online?
I am trying to figure out what I can test locally and then follow through with a purchase of a similar construction from one of your member manufacturers. Thanks for your quick response.
Off the top of my head I can’t think of any major brand mattresses that are all latex that would approximate any of the online all latex mattresses.
I would probably suggest taking the opposite approach though.
Pure Latex Bliss has some all Talalay latex mattresses and some of these may be “somewhat” of an approximation to some of the mattresses made by some of the members here that sell latex mattresses online but you would need to compare the specific PLB mattress you were most interested in or that was the best match for you and then ask them to help you “translate” it’s design to help you decide which of the mattresses they make (if any) may be a reasonable approximation. The PLB website has a retail store finder on their site here.
There are also a number of retailers or manufacturers on the list that sell all latex mattresses of various types and designs and I would also test these to see which one you preferred and was the best match for you in terms of PPP. Once again I would then look at the smaller online list and talk with them to see which of them made a mattress that may be a reasonably close approximation to the one you preferred and that you also thought had better value based on the criteria of your personal value equation that were most important to you.
Starting locally rather than online would be much easier than the other way around (if you plan to do both) because you would have a specific mattress you could use as a point of reference in your discussions with any of the online manufacturers you were considering.