I have been doing some search, including on this great site, and I am still at a loss, just as I had been warned before embarking on the apparently universally frustrating quest of finding a high quality mattress at a price that won’t leave you poor.
I’ve even been told the great news is that I will only need psychiatric help after I am 70% through the process.
If budget was not an issue, I would simply go to the store I visited today (naturalsleepandhome.com) and would order a 100% natural fibers, organic mattress in medium firmness, split king and just be done with it all as they all felt wonderful and the make looked very much superior in everything they had in this niche/select store.
Trouble is budget is an issue and the thought of spending around 4000 dollars on a mattress, possibly more, particularly when we also need to get our son one (looking for two) …is quite disconcerting.
The main trait I am looking for in a mattress besides actual comfort - which they all seem to be ready to provide when you try them out at the store - is the exclusive use of natural fibers. Synthetics have always given me a stifling, hot feeling in just about anything , including clothes…so in a word, I can’t stand them. I know that if I sleep on a mattress with synthetics in it, I will feel hot and stifled. Bad luck because apparently, the vast majority of mattresses on the market today include synthetics.
I also remember my best sleep from the time I used to live with my grandmother in Europe, whose mattresses had been made by hand by master mattress makers and were exclusively made with coils, wool and cotton. Sleeping on her mattresses was heaven…and I know the reason was great make by hand and use of all natural fibers, especially a mountain of wool.
Trouble is that just about everything on the market today seems to have some kind of foam in it.
I thought that going with all natural latex would solve this problem but some people seem to argue that even all natural latex will sleep hot compared to just wool and cotton. Great.
The store we visited today did have one mattress with coils, wool and cotton made by OMI (Organicpedic) but I think it may have had some natural latex in it too. This should be fine as many seem to hold all natural latex in high regard. Iif the price was not so destructive (about 5000$ for a split king), it would be an option.
Following the advice on this site, I looked at recommendations of small, independent manufacturers in the Atlanta area, but most seem to use synthetic foam anyway.
There is one manufacturer in tucker, GA who seems to also offer latex beds in addition to those made with synthetic foam, and I plan on asking them more details about how natural these mattresses are, wether they use wool, how they meet the fire retardant federal requirements, etc. These guys seem to promise more humane prices than the fancy store we visited today, but I am not sure how the quality would compare.
If anyone could suggest a mattress with all natural fibers that can be tested and bought in the Atlanta area at a more decent price than what I mentioned above, I would appreciate it.
If not, I am willing to start looking at some online options nation wide and order even without trying - as long as the quality of materials and make is there.
I am yet to get on a mattress that felt truly uncomfortable when tried at the store, even those at mattress firm, so for me the test is long term, not immediate. My own sister had two horror experiences with two mattresses bought at Mattress Firm over the past two years so chain stores and big name brands like those with S are out of the question. Otherwise, even the crappiest mattresses seem to test fine at the store, except the really low end ones.
Any suggestions would be immensely appreciated.