Hybrid Latex Advice Sought -- Green Sleep Niu vs. Other Options

[phoenix]

Hi AnalogJ,

Another question, Phoenix, if I may. What importance do you put on having a 2-sided mattress? The Gardner latex mattresses (including the hybrid) are not 2-sided or flippable.

You can read about the pros and cons of a two sided mattress in post #2 and #3 here and the posts it links to. Latex is a very durable material even in a one sided mattress but a two sided mattress will certainly last longer than the equivalent one sided version.

Kirk there thinks that mostly what wears out in a mattress are the comfort layers.

I think most people that are knowledgeable about mattresses would agree with this. Mattresses will soften and break down from the top down and the weak link of most mattresses is in the comfort layers not the support cores.

So what, in your opinion, is gained by having a flippable mattress? What is getting the more even wear – the comfort layers, the support layers, or both? And how much importance do you place on this in the equation?

The comfort layers are the weak link and the most subject to wear and tear from constant compression so the comfort layers will be the biggest beneficiary of a two sided mattress that can be flipped. With more durable materials such as latex a two sided mattress may be less important for some people than the ability to use more complex designs that may be a better match for them in terms of PPP but this is a matter of each person’s preference between the tradeoffs involved. With less durable materials in a comfort layer then a two sided mattress would be more important. You can see some of the foam quality/density guidelines I suggest in post #4 here and as you can see a lower density less durable foam would be suitable in a two sided mattress but not as suitable or durable in a one sided mattress.

Phoenix