Hi, thank you for your informative website. My husband is about 6’1" and 250 lbs. we are in our late 50’s. His biggest concern is prevention of mattress sagging. Our 10 yr old bed is some sort of englander memory foam. We are ready to move away from memory foam. He seems sold on the idea of the adjustability of the air beds. I have shown him your article on air beds, and others that refer to them as gimmicky and not really comparable to latex. But he has also found some consumer review websites that report people being pleased with them and that they rank high in the area of pain reduction. (He has some knee, hip, and occasional back pain.)
We made a visit to Fox mattress and tried some latex and air beds. They had one air bed with a latex top, called the Ocean Breeze. Since I prefer a latex bed, it seemed like a reasonable compromise, but the price of this bed in the king size is $3599. They were super nice and helpful. He did like the feel of this bed, as well as the latex I think. I called them back this week for a spec sheet on this bed, which they did not have, but made one up for me. This is what they sent:
Ocean Breeze IV Air Bed System
Foam encased system rapid air
Chambers are 100% urethane 15 mil thick and a 6" height
Tri zone adjustable (head, mid-section, feet) 0-75 comfort level
2" high density soy based foam over the air bladder system
2" 100% Talalay latex inside pillow top (from Latex International)
10yr full warranty, 10 yr pro-rated warranty
Top quality heavy duty zipper cover pillow top quilting
I have shown him the SleepEz info and the adjustability of their latex beds. Is latex definitely a good option for avoiding sagging over time? If there are any articles you can point me to about that, I’d appreciate it. If I can’t get him off the air bed idea, are there any other companies that you recommend for good value? As nice as they are at Fox, I’m concerned this is not the best value.
There really isn’t much I can add to the article with my thoughts about airbeds. While any type of mattress can work for some people … I don’t think they are the best choice for most people for the reasons I outlined in the article.
There are many types of mattresses that can be adjusted or customized to be a good match for someone in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and where the materials can automatically adapt better when people change their sleeping positions (instead of needing to change a setting).
I would also be aware that there is no such thing as a mattress that works for back pain in general for any specific person and a mattress that helps for one person can make things worse for the next. The key with any mattress purchase is to buy a mattress that keeps your spine and joints in good alignment in all your sleeping positions over the course of the night and one person’s experience on any mattress can be very different from someone else.
You can read more of my thoughts about mattress reviews in post #13 here and post #4 here. There are also many so called “expert sites” around the internet that are more about marketing than about providing reliable information (see post #12 here) and even Consumer Reports doesn’t provide any meaningful information in their mattress report (see post #2 here and this topic).
While most airbeds have layers that can be replaced … I would still want to know the density of the 2" polyfoam layer (soy based foam is just polyfoam). The information you need to identify any weak links in a mattress is in this article.
Yes … latex is the most durable of all the foam materials (polyfoam, memory foam, latex foam). There is more about latex in this article and this article and this article.
There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here and the posts it links to that can help you assess the value of any mattress you are considering.
The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Orlando area are listed in post #2 here but Fox Mattress is one of the members of this site which means I believe they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency (although airbeds in general may not be the best “value” choice compared to other types of mattresses). If you are also considering an online purchase then the tutorial post includes a link to a list of the members here that sell online that would also be well worth considering.
If you are committed to an airbed then post #3 here includes a list of many of the manufacturers that make them. At the very least I would make sure that any airbed you consider has a center zone that can be adjusted separately to help alleviate the tendency of all airbeds to sag under the heavier parts of the body and I would make sure you know the type and quality of all the layers above the air bladder.
Thanks so much for your detailed response. I checked out all your links, and after further discussion with my husband, he is willing to go with a latex bed in an adjustable base. I have already read on your site about adjustable beds and think I can shop appropriately for that based on what I’ve read. If I wanted to go with an all latex mattress, I am thinking the ability to switch out the layers in the SleepEz beds is appealing. In order to simplify my shopping, are there other companies that do this as well?
Although it appears it would be simplified to get the mattress and the adjustable base from the same company, it isn’t necessary is it? I was thinking as long as I get reassurance that the mattress is ok for an adjustable base, then I could shop for the best quality and price separately if it’s worth it.
As you probably know SleepEZ is also one of the members here and they would also make a great choice. There are also other companies that do this and the tutorial post also includes this link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online and many of them also make component mattresses with zip covers that have one or more exchangeable layers in a range of different designs, options, types of latex, and price ranges for those who like the feel and performance of latex.
No … it’s not necessary to buy them together at all and I would treat them as separate purchases (although you may choose to do so if the retailer or manufacturer where you buy your mattress also has good value for their adjustables).