I’m in search of a new mattress for me and my wife and visited a couple stores today. I read through all the topics on the site to educate myself and a whole new world opened up for me. We’re currently sleeping on a couple cheap Twin XL memory foam mattresses (we’re both light sleepers and found the only way to truly isolate motion was to have two separate mattresses on separate foundations). Overall don’t like the memory foam, it gets too hot and just not that comfortable. My research on the site here has me leaning towards mattresses with a latex foam comfort layer, and either a pocketed coil core or latex core.
We’re both side and back sleepers, both primarily leaning towards side sleeping. We seem to have similar comfort preferences as we typically liked the same mattresses. I’m a male, 6’1", 170lbs and my wife is 5’7", 145lbs. My wife sleeps very hot so definitely looking for mattresses that don’t run hot.
I found another post on this site that recommended a few independent retailers / local manufacturers in our area, so that’s where I focused my visits: Urban Mattress and Denver Mattress Company.
At the Urban Mattress store there was one model that stood out:
All of the mattresses we tried were described by the sales people as medium firmness.
The Dahlia might have been my overall favorite followed by the Aireloom. They’re both out of our budget, so hoping with the help of this site to find something similar that’s closer to the ~$1K per Twin XL mattress range (give or take $200). And if not possible to find something similar, get a mattress on the firmer side and soften it with toppers.
The Dahlia felt comfortable and supportive. My spine was aligned when side sleeping and I felt no pressure points. Of course this was only after a few minutes of testing, wouldn’t know for sure until sleeping on it for a whole night at least. This mattress has a:
6" pocketed coil core/support layer
2" Talalay Latex comfort layer rated at 19 ILD
1.5" 3lb HR Cold Foam + 0.4" Talalay Natural Latex outer layer
Would this be a progressive construction? Sounds like it. It costs $2.1K for a Twin XL size, so about twice as much as we’re willing to pay.
We always thought we liked firmer mattresses, but after trying a few of these mattresses seems like medium felt a bit better. Definitely wouldn’t want it too soft, but for example the Dahlia felt like it sunk in nicely without any part of my body sinking down too much.
So, with all this said, what other mattresses should we consider that might have a similar overall comfort and support profile but are more affordable? Would appreciate the help!
And does it really matter if it’s Dunlop or Talalay? I’m looking at a few of the recommended manufacturer options here such as SleepEZ, Flexus and Arizona Premium Mattresses.
Also debating if we should go for pocketed spring core + latex foam comfort layer, or do all latex such as the 3 layer options provided by SleepEZ or Flexus (which would then likely be a Firm + Medium + Soft).
Thanks for providing your stats and all the additional details - very helpful in choosing a mattress that will be a good match for you and your wife in meeting your PPP(Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). Good to see that you found a good solution with using two XL side by side to help with reducing motion. I understand why you may have chosen memory foam in the past as this material is good for your motion isolation criteria but as you’ve learned over the years, it’s also sleeping hotter than all the other foam materials available so I am glad you are looking into non-memory foam mattresses.
Testing different mattresses, as you did, is the best way to get a better understanding of what you like and what you can do well with. None of these mattresses raise any red flags in terms of quality but as you say you’d pay premium prices when instead you could find something of similar quality and construction at a much lower price point. I do tend to personally avoid any mattress with a lot of proprietary names for their components - as these can obfuscate the most important factor which is the durability of the foam used as this is the best indicator of how long you’ll sleep well on any particular mattress.
The Dahlia felt comfortable and supportive. My spine was aligned when side sleeping and I felt no pressure points. Of course this was only after a few minutes of testing, wouldn’t know for sure until sleeping on it for a whole night at least. This mattress has a:
6" pocketed coil core/support layer
2" Talalay Latex comfort layer rated at 19 ILD
1.5" 3lb HR Cold Foam + 0.4" Talalay Natural Latex outer layer
Would this be a progressive construction? Sounds like it. It costs $2.1K for a Twin XL size, so about twice as much as we’re willing to pay.
Talalay is more lively and it allows for a deeper cradle than Dunlop in the same ILD, like the difference between angel food and pound cake. I give more details on Talalay vs Dunlop in Post #7 here. If possible I’d go back to a bit more testing so you can decide which is more feels better to each of you. Depending on their senisttivity threshlold some people like one vs the other and some don’t feel much difference at all, but as you are both mostly side sleepers you may find Talalay a bit more comfortable.
And yes, Dahlia would be a progressive construction for you both. You are both side sleepers and the average side sleeper needs around 3" cradle. Progressive construction uses a comfort layer that is thinner than the cradle depth you need and this mattress uses 2" of Talalay. Even though they don’t mention the IFD, I suspect that the HR layer is much firmer. You can read this site article on progressive mattress construction,
So, with all this said, what other mattresses should we consider that might have a similar overall comfort and support profile but are more affordable? Would appreciate the help!
And does it really matter if it’s Dunlop or Talalay? I’m looking at a few of the recommended manufacturer options here such as SleepEZ, Flexus and Arizona Premium Mattresses.
Also debating if we should go for pocketed spring core + latex foam comfort layer, or do all latex such as the 3 layer options provided by SleepEZ or Flexus (which would then likely be a Firm + Medium + Soft).
You have quite a few good contenders and you’d be hard-pressed to find better quality/value than getting your mattresses directly from manufacturers or smaller retailer-owner shops like Mattress to Go, that have knowledge, experience, and are completely transparent about their products. The good thing about reaching out to them is that you can be confident that you’ll get what you pay for and get good advice instead of marketing stories or pressure sales. You do not necessarily “need” a coil support layer, but it looks like you both enjoy the feel. Pocket coils also have the advantage of being the most breathable solution. While the upper layers of a mattress are the most significant part of temperature and moisture regulation as it relates to the sleeper, the airflow and ventilation will occur from all sides of the mattress including the deeper support components. A hybrid latex mattress that is using a pocket coil core which is one of the most breathable types of cores… followed by latex which is also the most breathable and “temperature neutral” of all the different types of foam materials. Latex allows for more airflow than any other foams and when changing positions on the mattress the air will be moved in and out like within an accordion. As this is an issue for your wife, I’d definitely make sure that all the materials closer to the skin (mattress cover, bedding, clothing) are also good temperature-regulating materials. Wool, cotton, silk, and natural fibers seem to be the best choices for this. Pocket coils are also generally good for motion transfer and less expensive than latex too.
As you both enjoy a firmer feel and as you are also partially back sleepers a medium-firm comfort might be a good direction to go into especially as it looks like you like a thicker mattress. The thicker the mattress the more firmness you’d need as thicker mattresses act softer for most people.
As you observed many of the Trusted Members of the site have foam and latex hybrid mattresses. To add a few more to your list to peruse … Luma Sleep, Foam Sweet Foam, Nest Bedding, BioSleep. If you can provide them with your stats, PPP, and your mattress testing history, they will be able to not only get closer to your price point, but generally, they’ll offer the best and most accurate recommendations as they are much more familiar with their materials and own mattress designs than anyone else (including me) and they can use the information you provide them about your body type and sleeping positions, your preferences, your history on different mattresses, and the results of your local testing to make suggestions based on the “averages” of other customers that may be similar to you. As you mention, Flexus Comfort and Arizona Sleep EZ have all latex options if you decide to go for an all latex mattress.
All in all, you are going in a good direction so rather than opening more vistas I’d start to make a few phone calls to some of the manufacturers/retailers on your list to narrow things down to a couple of finalists. Let us know if you have additional questions
Phoenix
