hello. thanks for all the useful information. before knowing about this forum, we did buy the Plushbeds botanical bliss, 9 inch latex mattress. the top latex layer was in Medium firmness.
the mattress felt too soft and we tend to sink in it. we are in process of returning it.
we have also gone to the foamsweetfoam showroom and did like the 9 inch natural plus model with x-firm/firm/medium.
we are both side sleepers.
our dilemma is between choosing the foam sweet foam model versus the sleepEZ online ordering.
what configuration at Sleepez would be comparable to the natural plus talalay we tested at foamsweet foam?
thank you for your help
Hi Rayla,
Each person has a different body type, sleeping style, perceptions, and preferences and sometimes these can be outside of “averages”. This is why personal testing can be so valuable. This could be personal testing in local manufacturers showrooms or outlets or it can be personal testing from buying a mattress from an online outlet where the selection was based on “averages” or “best estimates” that you come to discover may not apply to you.
Plushbeds for example is a high quality mattress and while it is a little more than some other manufacturers that are members here for an equivalent mattress … they are certainly better than the “average” online outlet. This is also the “value” of different exchange policies that many online outlets offer because when you buy online … while some local testing can give you guidelines that can “adjust” the averages in one direction or another … the specifics of each mattress and the seemingly smaller details can affect certain people more than others and with an online outlet the real “testing” comes after you have made your purchase instead of before.
So one of the options you have would include using the comfort exchange policy of Plushbeds now that you have tested one of their models so that you can switch to another that may be more suitable for you. Judging by their ILD ratings … their “medium” is in between some other outlets “soft” and “medium” and their medium firm is closer to other outlets “medium” so it may be a simple matter of exchanging for a firmer comfort layer that is closer to the “medium” that you liked at Foam Sweet Foam (although the base layers may also be different from what you tested at FSF and may affect how the mattress feels for you as well). This option would be your least expensive because the exchange doesn’t incur the larger shipping costs that you would pay with a refund.
Another option would be to start all over again using different materials such as what you tested at Foam Sweet Foam. They are a high quality and value outlet and use 100% natural talalay or organic Dunlop in their layers so the top layer would be the same as Plushbeds (if you chose all natural Talalay) but the firmness levels may be different and their medium is likely a little firmer than the Plushbeds medium. They also offer a choice between organic Dunlop or 100% natural Talalay in their mattress (Plushbeds appears to be natural dunlop and not organic) so your x-firm/firm/medium would feel and perform differently in Dunlop layers than it would in 100% Natural Talalay layers even though the firmness ratings are the same and I’m not sure which you tested that you liked. The advantage of this is that you can personally test the mattress which is always more accurate than an online purchase with layers that may be different yet again in either material or in firmness rating. Local testing has real value and as a guideline I normally suggest that if there is only a small difference in total price (I generally use about 20% or so but this depends on each person), then buying a mattress locally that you have tested would be worth a premium IMO.
In the case of the SleepEz … the closest equivalent to the Foam Sweet Foam mattress you tested would be the 10000 organic which offers a choice between 100% natural Dunlop (not organic) and 100% natural Talalay in each layer except you can mix and match them (which doesn’t seem to be the case at FSF where their online selector asks for a choice of material for the whole mattress before you choose your layers). In this case with FSF’s current “special” pricing … these similar mattresses are actually a little less locally (or at least close to the same with any taxes) and there would be no premium involved in a local purchase at all.
SleepEz also has a “natural” 10000 line which uses different types of latex than either FSF offers or their own organic line where you have a choice between 100% natural Dunlop (not organic) and blended Talalay (not 100% natural). This would be similar in performance but lower in cost so this would be another option that wasn’t quite an “apples to apples” comparison between the FSF and their Organic line (the “organic” to “organic” comparison would be “apples to apples”) but would be similar in performance, feel, and durability (blended Talalay in lower ILD’s is probably a little more durable than all natural).
So you have several good choices IMO and the difference between them would be any differences in the types of latex used and in the ILD’s that were “assigned” to each version of soft, medium, firm, and X-firm between the different manufacturers and any differences in the zip covers. Which is “best” would depend on the parts of your “value equation” that are most important to you.
Your lowest cost option may well be the layer exchange option at Plushbeds. If you did decide to start over again … then between the two “organic” choices the FSF “organic” would seem to have better value for your circumstances (because you can actually test it and because of the lower price). If cost and similar performance was more important than 100% natural or organic materials then the SleepEz natural could lower the cost a bit more.
All of these three options would be good ones IMO. I would always consider local testing as a “value added” part of a mattress purchase though but if you did want to compare the natural at SleepEz with the Organic at FSF then you would need the actual ILD’s rather than firmness “words” which are often used differently between different manufacturers.
Phoenix
thank you for your reply and help.
i can give you more information with plushbeds. one of the reasons we decided to return the whole mattress was that the top layer of latex had stainings (black and yellow) on it.’
also we discovered many ripped areas on the surface of the latex material. i did send photos to plushbeds and latex international.
so to me it looked liked a USED /damaged top layer. plushbeds has good customer service and is taking the whole thing back with complete refund.
so we are starting over and getting more information from your website.
one question that i had was :
what is a double sided latex mattress?
is there any advantages to this type of construction?
are there any other local manufacturers in los angeles area that you could recommend?
thank you
hi rayla,
There are some “defects” or imperfections that are “normal” with latex and some that aren’t. You can get an idea of the type of imperfections that are considered normal here as a reference point.
Hopefully they are not re-selling comfort exchanges but that would surprise me.
A double sided mattress (of any material) is a mattress that has a support core (innerspring, latex polyfoam etc) and then the comfort layer (usually the same) is added to both sides and the mattress is then finished with a quilting and cover that is also identical on both sides. In other words each side would be suitable for sleeping on rather than just one side of the mattress which is more common.
Yes … a two sided construction allows a mattress to be flipped instead of just rotated so that each side has a chance to rest and recover and is only used half as much. While latex is the longest lasting of the foam materials … having a two sided mattress can help even a very durable mattress to last longer. The only “disadvantage” to this type of construction is that the comfort layers on each side are a little more restricted in terms of the thickness and layering that can be used because if they are too thick then the comfort layers on the bottom of the mattress can affect the support qualities of the mattress. Done well … a two sided mattress can be a “value added” feature. The extra materials used on each side and in finishing a mattress on both sides adds to the cost of manufacturing and of course the price of a mattress compared to the same mattress that is one sided.
Los Angeles has more manufacturers than almost any other area of the country and there are some very good choices there including one of our manufacturing members called Flexus which like all the members here I consider to be among the best of the best in the country in terms of quality and value. The Los Angeles list is in post #2 here.
Phoenix
Rayla,
I have been to the Foam Sweet Foam showroom, as well, and tried their beds a couple weeks prior to ordering our SleepEZ Natural 13000, which we have had for about a month now.
Now that I have actually experienced both products, I can tell you that the main differences are the mattress cover, the service, and the price. I believe FSF actually makes a nicer cover - their knit cotton outer layer is really nice, if you like that kind of material - it’s very stretchy and soft. The SleepEZ cover with wool is not stretchy knit cotton on the outer later, and is not as soft and luxurious as the FSF cover, but it is still very nice.
We decided to go with SleepEZ because of price (no CA sales tax + The Mattress Underground 5% discount), it seemed to me that SleepEZ had more ways to customize our setup and more latex options, as well as they have a more customer-friendly exchange and return policy.
With FSF, you have to make a layer exchange WITHIN 30 days. With SleepEZ you have to make your layer exchange AFTER 30 days, but within 90 days. I think it makes sense to give yourself some time to adjust to your new mattress before exchanging any layers…
We bought the SleepEZ sight unseen and have been very happy with our decision.
Hi LAsleeper,
Thanks for the great first hand experience and comparison. There is nothing like a real life comparison from someone who has experienced both.
Just as a further comment as well … just to give you an idea of the type of research that can go into the selection of different components … I talked with SleepEz and they are currently testing various different 4 way stretch knit covers with thicker wool quilting (with various different quilting patterns which each have a different feel). Their current covers use a stretch knit on the bottom and woven on top with the wool in between the two fabrics on each side. The reason for the testing is that a “full” 4 way stretch knit with thicker wool can increase the chance of the wool shifting and also a split layer on top being more noticeable (depending on the difference between the split) in which case they would have to use a single top layer without a split and they want to make sure that both of these concerns are tested before offering them to the public. If it “passes” the test then they would have a cover which was more stretchy to allow more of the feel of the latex to come through as well as having more wool which many people like without any of the “negatives” that could be connected with it.
Thanks again for your feedback and review 
Phoenix
sleeperla,
thanks for the information. i am probably in the same boat with foam sweet foam.
iam also trying to avoid the ca sales tax/ and also the FSF has 18% re-stocking fee
what kind of layering did you get with SLEEP EZ?
We chose from the bottom up: X-Firm Natural Dunlop, Firm Natural Dunlop, Medium Natural Dunlop, Medium Blended Talalay for both sides, but with a split setup. We like our beds on the firm side. Even though we have both sides the same, we believe the benefits of a split mattress outweigh the risks.
Come to think of it, I don’t think you can get a split setup with FSF, so you would both have to agree on how to set up the bed if you chose to go with them. I totally forgot about this!