Help needed with selecting retailers in my area

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi,

First off, I would like to thank you for all the information in this site. I got to learn a lot regarding mattress construction and material quality. I am now trying to find some good retailers in my area that I could call / visit for testing and I would appreciate any help you can give me here.
I live in Farmington Hills, Michigan (48335) and I wouldn’t mind driving a little if I can get to a good store.

Also, after going through the website, I am kind of torn between latex and memory foam for the top layer. I like the “cradling” behaviour of memory foam but am concerned about it getting hot in summer / hard in winter (given Michigan’s weather). I don’t like my bed being very bouncy.As for the core, my two top choices are latex and pocket springs. I like it best when the mattress is soft yet firm.

A little about myself… I am 6’2" tall and weigh about 165 lb. My wife is 5’4" tall and she weighs about 145 lb. I usually sleep on my sides and stomach. I am looking to get either a queen / king size mattress.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Sri

2

Hi Sri,

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Detroit region (subject to the guidelines here) are listed in post #2 here.

There is more about the pros and cons of memory foam vs latex in post #6 here but in the end this will come down to a preference choice based on which types of material (or combinations of material) and mattresses your testing indicates you tend to prefer.

Phoenix

3

Hi Phoenix,

Thanks a lot for the list of retailers. You are awesome!
I managed to speak to and visit 3 of them.

First was the Michigan Discount mattress. There I liked the feel of one memory foam mattress. This was Bed Boss “Heavenly” Specs are:

2" gel memory foam 4.5 lbs
2" rewound visco memory foam 3.5 lbs
5" support foam 1.8 lbs

The pro was that there was literally no motion transfer and it also had a nice, soft comfort layer. The con is that I am not sure how memory foams would handle constant changing of positions while sleeping. I am also apprehensive of the indentation staying put after a while.

The second place I went to was the “Down to Earth Home” mattress place. This was owned by husband and wife, who operated out of their home (Not something I expected). They deal with organic, latex mattresses. They basically have 4 types of latex foams: firm, medium-firm, medium-soft and soft. We get to choose what kind of layers we want in the mattress. The foams are apparently shipped in from Sri Lanka, but I couldn’t get information on what kind of certification they had. I also couldn’t get information on what the density of foam in each layer was, the lady didn’t know it herself. She said she would get back to me but hasn’t yet.

This is the layout I liked there: Firm - Firm - Medium Soft - Soft
Each layer is 3" thick, so it comes to 12" mattress.

However, I don’t have any other information regarding what is the quality of the latex, other than it being organic.

The 3rd place I went to was “Mattress-To-Go”. Jeff was by far the best mattress salesman I spoke to. Here there were two mattresses I liked, I gave the specs for both below:

  1. Pure Latex Bliss “Pamper” - 6" Talalay latex firm core(ILD ~ 40), 2" medium plush talalay latex(ILD ~ 21), 3" latex topper (ILD ~ 15)

  2. King Koil Extended Life XL200 Cushion Firm

I liked the feel of both these mattresses best with the 3" topper on top.

Can you please give me an objective view on these mattresses?
The Pure Latex Bliss mattress costs ~$2045 with the topper while the King Koil mattress costs ~ $1450 with the topper.
Also, what is your view on using a topper such as this instead of having all layers inside of the mattress.

I have come to respect the knowledge you have, so I am sure your views would help me in making a decision.
If you have any other suggestions for similar constructions, they are most welcome.

–Sri

4

Hi Sri,

The top layer of memory foam is a suitable density (it meets the guidelines here that I would normally suggest) but the middle layer is a little on the low side of the 4 lb density minimum I would normally suggest. Having said that … it’s underneath the top layer which would make it more durable than if it was the top layer (the layer above it will absorb some of the compression forces from sleeping on the mattress) so while it doesn’t have a significant weak link … overall it’s somewhat “on the edge” in terms of the quality of the materials.

I would also want to know what they mean by “rewound memory foam” because this isn’t a term I’m familiar with and I don’t know what it means or what it indicates. It could be “rebond” memory foam which are “chunks” of scrap memory foam that are bonded together in a resin and are commonly used in carpet underlay. It would be a lower cost and less consistent material that wouldn’t feel or perform the same as regular memory foam and 3.5 lb rebond memory foam would be a lower quality material as well. I would also be a little bit cautious with mattresses that are made in China because longer term compression during shipping and storage can reduce the durability of foam materials so there is always a little more uncertainty when you are buying a Chinese manufactured mattress (see post #6 here). This would be a mattress where a lower price was the main attraction but the tradeoff would be higher risk in terms of durability than the other mattresses you are considering.

There are three companies that you will see in North America that manufacture Dunlop latex in Sri Lanka. They are Latex Green, Arpico, and Eco-Latex. All of them make both 100% natural latex and GOLS certified organic latex as well and they would all be high quality materials. If they are saying that the latex is organic then I would want to see the certification because some retailers will call their 100% natural latex “organic” when it’s not certified and 100% natural latex that is certified is more costly than the same material that doesn’t have an organic certification. Either way though … an organic certification doesn’t provide any meaningful performance benefit relative to the quality or durability of the material and is virtually the same as 100% natural latex that doesn’t have an organic certification in terms of quality and performance so choosing organic latex is really a personal choice. There is more about organic latex in post #6 here. These are all high quality materials and there are no weak links in the mattress. It is also similar to some of the other component latex mattresses that are sold by companies such as Savvy Rest (usually at higher prices) and by some of the online manufacturers that are members here that are listed here that sell similar component latex mattresses with a zip cover that also use 2 or 3 or 4 (or sometimes more) 3" layers of latex inside a zip cover in their mattress.

The density of latex isn’t important to know because with latex density is a “comfort spec” with lower densities being softer and higher densities being firmer and what you feel when you test a mattress is much more important than knowing the ILD or density of latex. This is different from polyfoam or memory foam where the density of the material is an important number to know because it indicates the quality and durability of the material. Some Dunlop latex manufacturers rate the firmness of their latex by density and some rate it by ILD. You can see some examples for Latex Green ILD and density ratings in post #2 here but again, when you are testing a mattress in person, your body will tell you everything you need to know about how soft or firm a mattress feels to you and how suitable the combinations of layers are for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences), so you don’t need to know the actual firmness/softness numbers.

As you probably know Matt-To-Go is one of the members here which means I think very highly of them and Jeff is one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. You can see the specs of the PLB Pamper here. It is the firmest of the PLB mattresses and uses blended Talalay latex for all the layers so it also uses high quality materials and there are no weak links in the mattress. There is a little more about the differences between Talalay latex and Dunlop latex (that is used in the Down To Earth Home mattress) in post #7 here but the choice between them is really a matter of preference not a “better/worse” choice.

You can see the specs of the King Koil Exteded Life XL 200 on their site here and it uses 2 lb or higher polyfoam along with a thin layer of latex and these are also high quality materials and there are no weak links in this mattress either. 2 lb polyfoam would be a little less durable than latex and has a different “feel” as well but it’s still a high quality and durable material.

There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here and outside of the Bed Boss Harmony (which is “OK” but not great in terms of the quality of the layers)… all of the mattresses you are considering would be suitable choices in terms of the quality and durability of the materials. They are also very different from each other so your final choice (see here) will really come down to which types of materials and mattresses you tend to prefer and which of your finalists are the best “match” for you in terms of PPP along with all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including your budget of course). There aren’t any “bad” choices in your list.

I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses that each retailer has on their floor (which would be more than anyone could keep up with for the hundreds of local lists in the forum in a constantly changing market) and outside of the latex mattresses in the online list that would be somewhat similar to the component Dunlop latex mattress at Down To Earth Home or to some degree the PLB Pamper … the only way to know whether there is a mattress available to you that would have a similar “feel” or performance to any of the ones you are considering would be based on your own personal testing and to compare the quality/durability of the materials in another mattress to the ones you are considering you would need to know the specifics of the materials and components inside it.

Phoenix

5

Hi Phoenix,

I think I’ll decide between the Pure Latex Bliss “Pamper” and King Koil Extended Life XL200.
Trying to decide between these two is hard as I like the feel of both.
With either mattress, I plan to use the 3" topper that Jeff offers. What are your views on this?

I am also thinking of using a platform bed instead of a box springs - metal frame combination for my mattress.
Is one better than the other for a particular type of mattress?
Do you have any suggestions for platform beds? I don’t think I’ll be going the DIY way.

– Sri

6

Hi Sri,

[quote]I think I’ll decide between the Pure Latex Bliss “Pamper” and King Koil Extended Life XL200.
Trying to decide between these two is hard as I like the feel of both.
With either mattress, I plan to use the 3" topper that Jeff offers. What are your views on this?[/quote]

Both of these are good quality choices and neither one has any weak links so your final choice (see post #2 here about final choices) will really be a matter of preference and “best judgement” based on which mattress/topper combination is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP, the type of materials you tend to prefer, and of course on the difference in price. I would also make sure that you have tested both of them with the topper you are considering to make sure that the combination works well for you.

[quote]I am also thinking of using a platform bed instead of a box springs - metal frame combination for my mattress.
Is one better than the other for a particular type of mattress?
Do you have any suggestions for platform beds? I don’t think I’ll be going the DIY way.[/quote]

Both mattresses will do best with a rigid foundation (not a box spring that has springs inside it that flex) or a platform bed that provides non flexing and even support under the mattress. There is more information about the type of support systems that generally work best with different types of mattresses in post #1 here but outside of the few platform beds that are listed there (which would be a tiny fraction of what is available) most of my research is focused on mattresses not beds so that’s not an area that I would be the best source of guidance. Jeff may be able to provide some suggestions for a good platform bed as well.

Phoenix