We are in the market for a new mattress and after a lot of reading, have decided to get a latex mattress. There are very few retailers around my area where I can actually test a latex mattress, so my question is this:
Latex and memory foam are completely different materials with very different properties so there really isnât any way to make meaningful comparisons between them outside of perhaps some very general comparisons in terms of their overall firmness which would be very subjective.
There is more about the many differences between latex and memory foam and how they compare in post #2 here.
I would also keep in mind that different people can have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others and a mattress that is firm for one can feel like âmediumâ for someone else or even âsoftâ for someone else depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. This is all relative and is as much an art as a science. This is particularly true with memory foam because the firmness of a memory foam mattress can vary with temperature, humidity, and the length of time it is compressed. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they ârateâ a mattress compared to other mattresses they have tried (see post #15 here). What this all boils down to is that even people that have have tried both mattresses in person in side by side comparisons may have very different opinions about how they compare in terms of firmness.
There is also more about the different ways to choose a mattress (either locally or online) that is the most suitable âmatchâ for your specific needs and preferences (or to another mattress) and how to identify and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesnât turn out as well as you hoped for that are involved in each of them in post #2 here.
When you canât test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help âtalk you throughâ the specifics of their mattresses and the options they have available that may be the best âmatchâ for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked that they are familiar with, and the âaveragesâ of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about âmatchingâ their specific mattress designs to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or even to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
Hi Meegs, if itâs possible it might be worth while finding a mattress store where you can try latex personally. Even if itâs a bit out of the way, maybe check to see what other places are in the area and make a day of it so the trip isnât such a chore going well out of your way âjustâ to try mattresses. Latex and memory foam really are quite different. My first time trying latex was different from most anything else I had to compare to like innerspring, memory foam or a waterbed. Even softer latex, depending how the pressure/weight is applied to it it can react very differently.
Sitting on the edge of a softer mattress (latex) it seemed to give way more than I was used to. As soon as I laid down as I would sleeping with my body/weight spread out over a much larger area, it was a lot more supportive than I could have imagined. Being the most used to innersprings where there seems to be âresistanceâ to pressing down on it, I could press down with my hand and easily compress thinner layers (6" of soft latex, far softer/thinner than would be used for a mattress). I laid on it just to see and with my body spread across it, still didnât sink through it.
For as elastic as latex is, in the firmer ildâs it can be firm/supportive enough that it can feel like laying on a solid slab with very little âsink inâ. Very difficult to describe which is why testing it out would be the best option. You may really like it, you may not. Between the cost of a quality mattress and the impact it has on a good nightâs sleep, better to know if possible than go blind into it. How it feels compared to the tempurpedic youâre familiar with may change greatly from one person to another. I researched for months prior to being able to try one personally, ordered samples of latex to try and get a feel and it just wasnât the same as a full mattress. If Iâd gone with just that information alone Iâm almost certain I would have ended up with a mattress far firmer than I would have been happy with. Good luck on your mattress hunt.