Hello, I have been avidly reading this website while on my quest for a new mattress. I really appreciate all the helpful mattress info here.
My hubby and I currently sleep on a 15-year old Futon Shop medium-soft futon, which as I recall is a 9-inch foam and cotton mattress. It has two inner layers of egg-crate type foam, and three layers of cotton (top to bottom is cotton-foam-cotton-foam-cotton). Before the mattress was broken in it was very soft and we left 2-inch deep impressions it in every morning, so it had to be turned often. We really have no complaints at all about the current comfort or feel of the mattress. It needs to be replaced though because we found some big spots (mold?) on the bottom. Since this mattress isn’t being made anymore, I have been looking at other options, namely latex and memory foam mattresses.
Today we visited IKEA to check out the MORGONGAVA all-latex mattress, and spent over 30 minutes on it evaluating how it felt to both of us. Neither of us particularly liked it. The comfort layer was too firm for both of us and it didn’t feel as soft or comfortable as we were used to on our current mattress. We also tried out the memory foam mattresses and they didn’t feel very comfortable either.
We checked out the other latex mattress they had, MYRBACKA latex medium-firm, and we spent a lot of time on it and found that it was comfortable and we both liked it (yay for PPP), but I left feeling that I wanted to try something softer. Since MYRBACKA is a “medium-firm” mattress I figure it is around 33-37 Dunlop. So, I’m still looking for a softer comfort layer that we can evaluate and compare it to. I’d like to try out Talalay too. I don’t know if this is doable within our budget. Maybe we won’t like a softer comfort layer?
I’ve shopped for hours at the different manufacturers online before we went out to IKEA, and there are many good options out there, but the main issue we’re running into right now is price. We have $1000 for a queen to spend and may need to settle on the MYRBACKA just because we can’t afford anything better within our budget
Your budget is certainly a significant limitation for a latex mattress unless you are looking at a thinner mattress which may not be ideal for you to sleep on or a latex / polyfoam hybrid.
I certainly wouldn’t buy a mattress that your testing indicated wasn’t suitable for you in terms of PPP.
Based on your feedback … this seems to be a better match for you in terms of PPP although I seriously doubt that the latex is in the ILD range that you are indicating. You can see a picture of the design of the Myrbacka here (thanks to sdmark). Even if it was in the ILD range you are suggesting … there are so may difficulties in comparing ILD’s between different types of latex and because there are so many other specs that can have just as big an effect on the feel and performance of a mattress as ILD … I would be very hesitant to use specs you are guessing at as a basis for comparing another mattress. If the only issue with the Myrbacka is that the comfort layer is too firm … you can certainly add some additional pressure relief with a suitable topper.
It may also be worth considering one of the online options that are linked in the tutorial post which may also be a way to stay inside your budget. Some of the lower budget online latex and latex hybrid options are mentioned in posts #3 and #4 here.
You may have already seen this but the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Folsom / Sacramento, CA area are listed in post #5 here but as you mentioned your budget is somewhat restrictive for latex.
I’m sure my guess of the MYRBACKA ILD number is wrong, as it was based on IKEA’s use of “medium-firm,” and understand that comparing subjective firmness numbers is problematic. But, can I even rely on posted ILD numbers at all? Is the ILD for Talalay the same for Dunlop? Do the ILDs for manufacturers differ? Another thing I’m concerned about is that one website calls ILD 19 “soft” and another calls ILD 22 “super soft.” So it’s confusing when the (subjective?) soft-firm words are used inconsistently.
At least now we have a better starting point than we had with just raw information. We may end up just getting the MYRBACKA and then a separate very soft topper in the end (we’re both side sleepers) but I’ll keep looking.
Thanks for the link to the Folsom/Sacramento post. I did check it out before, and I’ll revisit it again to see if there’s anything I missed.
It seems that mattresses.net has a lot of custom options, but a firm base with a soft comfort layer seems to be pretty far out of our budget when adding tax/shipping/handling
If they are accurate (which sometimes isn’t the case), if they use the same method of testing ILD, if the materials are the same (type and blend in the case of latex), and the only difference between two mattresses is the ILD of a single layer of the same thickness, then a comparison between them would be more meaningful (see post #6 here and post #4 here).
The perception of softness and firmness is very subjective and can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and person to person and different body types and sleeping positions will also have an effect on the perception of softness and firmness so this is the “norm” in the industry. What feels “way to soft” for some people can feel “way too firm” for others. There are also different “types” of softness that can make a difference depending on what each person may be more sensitive to (see post #15 here). The only thing that really matters is what you personally experience as being soft or firm.
Yes … an “all latex mattress” outside of thinner mattresses that use @ 6" or so of latex or that use mostly synthetic latex or are “latex hybrids” would be difficult to find in your budget range outside of some of the lower budget choices in the posts I linked in the last reply.
