Hi dimethylman,
Welcome … and I’m glad you found us.
[quote]But I am curious if there is a recommended overall thickness for latex mattresses. I couldn’t find this info on this website.
SleepEZ offers 7" 9" and 10". What are the advantages of the different thicknesses (I’l likely do S-M-F)? I’m a 29 year old male, 5’11", 190lbs, and my wife is 5’5" and about 130lbs.[/quote]
The thickness of a mattress or the number of layers or the thickness of any individual layers inside it is really just a side effect of the design and the design goals of a mattress and is also only one of many variables that can affect the feel and performance of a mattress relative to any particular person and by itself isn’t particularly meaningful (see post #2 here). In some cases higher weight ranges (or a higher BMI) will sometimes do better with a mattress that is thicker than lower weight ranges or a lower BMI (see post #14 here for more about the effect of thickness) but even this depends more on the specific design and combination of materials in the mattress and on how well your testing or personal experience indicates the mattress “as a whole” matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP than it does on just the thickness itself.
If you are testing a mattress locally (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) then the most important factors to consider are whether the mattress is a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own personal preferences) regardless of the thickness of the mattress.
If you are considering online options and you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
[quote]Also does anyone have any experience with SleepEZ’s “Added Bonus” upgrade? From their website under mattress toppers: [quote]“ADDED BONUS”
Save if you upgrade to a complete mattress
When you upgrade to one of our “Select Sleep” latex mattresses, we will increase the size of your cover to accommodate the next higher model FREE-OF-CHARGE. To upgrade, buy a less expensive model, and then get the cover upgraded to the next higher model. You just use your existing topper as one of the layers in the new mattress. Each layer in our models is approximately 3" thick. You just have to select the remaining layers.
Starting with the purchase of a latex topper is a great way to experience the ultimate comfort of latex without purchasing a new mattress.[/quote]
Does it just mean that if I purchase the 7" mattress with 3" Medium and 3" Firm layers and then purchase a 3" Soft “topper,” it’s cheaper than if I purchased the 10" (3x3") mattress of the same layers? For a queen that about $200 in savings, but basically at the cost of losing some interchangability and the full mattress cover…[/quote]
This would apply to their customers that purchase a topper for use on an existing mattress and then decide to purchase a complete mattress at a later date.
As an example if you initially purchased a soft 3" topper and then decided later on to buy a 10" mattress (that includes 9" of latex) with S/M/F layers you could just purchase their 7" mattress (that includes 6" of latex) with firm and medium layers and let them know that you have already purchased a topper and they would ship you the two latex layers along with a thicker cover that will accommodate all 3 layers (the two they ship you and the topper you already own) instead of the cover that only fits two layers.
You’ve probably already seen this but just in case … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of (including Magic Sleeper) in and around the Philadelphia/Wilmington/Trenton areas (subject to making sure than any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #4 here.
Phoenix