Help with selecting a latex mattress

[phoenix]

Hi Annakatherine,

Just in case you haven’t read it … I would make sure you have read post #1 here which is the most important post on the forum and will give you all the information, steps, and guidelines you need to make the best possible choices.

Although we liked the pamper we also tried the Nature and both liked that more but price was much too high for us. We thought the pamper or perhaps the hybrid equal would satisfy and could always add a topper if we eventually found it to be too firm.

As you can see from the guidelines here (# 10 in particular) … I would choose a mattress as if you only had one chance to get it right. This will encourage you to to more objective testing (see the first post I linked for some suggestions to help with mattress testing). I would not consider a mattress that you would likely have to “fix” with a topper which could end up being as difficult as buying a mattress in the first place and focus on getting as close to your specific needs and preferences as possible. Testing more expensive mattresses can be a helpful guideline for an online purchase if you do decide to go in that direction but I wouldn’t knowingly buy a mattress that wasn’t as close as you can make it.

I have thought about purchasing online. The price to quality ratios are very alluring but i just cant seem to get past not being able to test it out first or exchange without loosing money. We have gone to a good number of stores and at many of them we seem to be having a Goldie locks issue of either too hard or too soft (most stores had the standard 3 levels of comfort) which worries me that its very possible we would have same issue with one ordered online.

the choices available will depend on where you go. If you go to some of the local manufacturers on the list they can customize a mattress to your preferences in many cases. Many of the online manufacturers also offer mattresses where you can choose the various comfort or support layers which can be “re-arranged” or in many cases they also offer layer exchanges if you need it at a very reasonable cost which allows you to customize either the comfort layers or the support layers or both.

For example we visited Boston bed company in cambridge last weekend (really enjoyed the experience there. no pressure very friendly) and tried the two “natural” latex mattresses Latex | Boston Bed Company, Boston, Framingham, Stoughton MA, mattresses, futons, platform beds, bedroom sets, bunk and loft beds, wall beds, sleep sofas the “comfort” was too hard for my weight although my bf really liked it and the “slpendor” was far too soft for either of us.

There are several ways to accommodate the different needs and preferences of a couple that you can read about in the first part of post #2 here but one of the most effective of these which is offered by many local and online manufacturers is split layering where each side of the mattress is made differently to suit the needs and preferences of each person.

Perhaps you could persuade me to still consider online. do you have any suggestions for one or two that have the best trial run/return/exchange policies that might make me feel more comfortable about ordering online?

I certainly wouldn’t want to persuade anyone to go in any direction because each person has a different set of needs and preferences or risk tolerance they are comfortable with. My role is to help you know the pros and cons of each side of a choice so you can make the choice that is most suitable for you. All the trial, return, and exchange policies are listed on their websites (I’d have to look on each site). As you can see in the steps in the initial post I linked … I would always start locally anyway and then look online or talk with some of the manufacturers on the list if there were similar choices to one of your “finalists” available and any difference in cost and all the other parts of your personal value equation justified an online purchase. There are some very good quality/value choices in the Boston area.

I would also do some initial research on the phone and talk to each retailer or manufacturer you are considering visiting about what you are looking for in general terms and then visit the ones that were most attractive to you based on the information from their sites and on your phone conversations.

Phoenix