Know Exactly What I Want - Need Help Finding It

First off, gosh-dangit, I love The Mattress Underground; it is chock-full of helpful info! Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU. I’ve read & learned & “test-driven” & compared all of that to my previous mattress experience, and I now know precisely what I want - what my body needs - in a new mattress. Springs for support, foam (as organic as possible) for comfort, (organic) cotton over wool for the top layer. I want my bed to be as natural/organic as I can manage (as in, afford). Finding a mattress with the right combination of what I want (and without mortgaging my home) is the challenge I’m currently facing, which is why I need some more, specific guidance from The Mattress Underground.

I have MS, which comes along with severe joint & muscle pain (especially my hips and shoulders) which is a significant factor when you’re mostly a side sleeper, so I require a more plush comfort layer with good pressure-point relief. I’ve found that both the “bio” (quasi-organic) memory foam and the Talalay latex feel the best to me. I prefer the more organic latex, but it’s proving difficult to find (especially for actual showroom testing purposes).

I understand the correlation of the number and quality of the springs/coils in the support layer of the mattress. What I have found works best for me are those support layers which have a combination of larger coils on the bottom with micro-coils on top of/nested in those. Obviously this combo is usually in more expensive mattresses. I’ve tested them out in name brands such as the top of the line Sterns & Foster, Aireloom & Ethan Allen (to name a few) - but the problem is that these manufacturers use comfort layers that are not of the natural/organic quality I’m looking for and/or (if I’m not mistaken) do not use non-toxic flame-retardants. Of those three, the Aireloom feels like my dream bed (pun intended), save for the fact that I cannot verify how potentially toxic their flame retardants are. And, ya know, that price tag that’s bigger than the state I live in.

Also related to having MS, I need as cool of a sleeping surface as possible, which is why I’m looking for a mattress topped with organic cotton & a generous amount of organic wool. Our current bed is a YuMe from Mattress Firm (the most plush version) which we nabbed for only $700 as it was a return (for being too soft). What I love about our bed is the comfort; what I hate about our bed is the heat-retention & the (what I didn’t know then but do now) chemical-ladenness of both the memory foam and the flame retardant process.

Because of my health/body issues, I’m hesitant to buy any mattress I cannot try out first. That being said, if I knew of a mattress that had this construction (coils & micro-coils / natural Talalay latex / organic cotton & organic wool) I would be willing to take the risk as long as the price weren’t astronomical and the company had a customer-friendly exchange/return policy. I actually love the idea of giving my business to a mattress company who is striving toward eco/organic, transparency in every piece of their products, and an organizational ethos of ethics from production to customer service. So, please, will you help advise me? I live in Houston, TX if you know of some local places to find what I’m looking for, and where I could actually test mattresses. But, as I’ve said, online/direct is fine as long as trust is deserved. Also, what is reasonable to expect to pay for this mattress “recipe” that I need.

Mucho thanks,

Denise

Hi WonkyBent,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! … and I’m glad that the information here has been helpful for you :slight_smile:

I would be aware that there is no such thing as “quasi-organic” or even “natural” memory foam and if you come across these types of descriptions that they are “misleading marketing” more than anything else. Memory foam is a synthetic material that is made mostly from petrochemicals although some manufacturers do use a plant oil based chemical derivative to replace a relatively small percentage of one of the two main chemicals that are used to make polyfoam or any of its derivatives such as memory foam. There is more about so called “bio based” foam materials in post #2 here.

The number of coils in an innerspring are only one of many specs that can affect how an innerspring affects the mattress and by itself it will tell you very little about the mattress. Your own personal testing or experience on a mattress is the only reliable way to know the effect of a specific innerspring in combination with all the other layers and components in a mattress. There is more about innersprings in this article and post #10 here. There is also more about some of the differences between latex support cores and innersprings in post #28 here.

There are some sources for innerspring (or pocket coils)/latex hybrids in post #2 here and some of these (such as Berkeley Ergonomics and Naturepedic) also make mattresses that use microcoils in their comfort layers as well. There may also be some local manufacturers that make mattresses that meet your criteria and if you let me know the city or zip code you live in I’d be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.

That’s too broad a question to be able to answer specifically because the “value” of a mattress purchase depends on many things including the specifics of the mattress and the specific materials and components inside it not just on the general “category” of materials. It would also be relative to each person’s criteria and the parts of their personal value equation that are most important to them along with how a mattress compares to the other “finalists” that they are considering or that are available to them. I would consider all of the mattresses in the previous link to be in a reasonable value range but as you can see there is a big difference in their prices. There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful “value” comparisons based on the criteria that are most important to you.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,

I live in Houston, TX. Local options would be great, thanks.

Given the prices I’m seeing for the mattress I want/need, I’m beginning to wonder if I’d be better off “assembling” my own version by purchasing a quality inner spring mattress, a 1 - 3" inch Talalay latex topper, and a 1 - 3" wool topper. When I price the pieces separately, they’re a lot more affordable. I do worry about the layers shifting, but the plus side of this arrangement would seem to be that I could add or take away layers of latex and/or wool as needed. Thoughts?

Denise

Hi WonkyBent,

You can see my thoughts about a DIY approach in option #3 of post #15 here.

The uncertainty of a DIY approach would be especially true for this type of more complex design because using a mattress instead of just an innerspring as the “base” of your sleeping system would introduce many variables and uncertainties where it would be impossible to predict the outcome because the mattress would include additional layers besides just the innerspring that would have an effect on your final sleeping system. You can also see my thoughts about mattress/topper combinations where you can’t test the specific combination in person in post #2 here.

It would be an interesting approach if you have a “spirit of adventure” as long as your expectations of initial success are realistic and you are comfortable with the learning curve and trial and error that would be involved … and the very real possibility of additional costs that you may incur compared to a finished mattress before your design is complete.

I would also keep in mind that you are working with a “category” of mattresses (an innerspring support core with latex or even latex and microcoil comfort layers) not a specific design that you are using as a “blueprint” and there are hundreds of variations in every mattress category … some of which may work very well for you and some of which may be completely unsuitable for you to sleep on.

Phoenix

If you could give me suggestions for local sources for innerspring/latex (and or generally organic) mattresses as you mentioned above, that would still be much appreciated. (Houston, TX 77098)

Hi WonkyBent,

Sorry … I “skipped over” that question in your last post :).

The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Houston area (subject to the guidelines here) are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix

I am feeling so overwhelmed with trying to find the right mattress, as well as desperate to find something soon. (Has sleep-deprivation ever been listed as the cause of death in an autopsy report?) f you could help inform my narrowed-down choices I would be eternally grateful. I’m looking at the following:

Everlast Pocketed Coil Mattress from My Green Mattress. Pocket coils, 3" of Talalay latex (the soft 24 ild would be my choice), organic cotton and Joma wool (though it doesn’t say how thick or even many ounces) the wool topper, is. King size is $2389 (including foundation) (free shipping).

The Euro Pillow Top from Sleep EZ Factory, innerspring, with 3" of Talalay topper. Cannot really tell from website how much cotton/wool is used, or if it is organic. $1290

Saatva Plush, Innersprings, foam (“bio” memory foam, not latex). I know this mattress uses more natural ingredients and fewer toxic ones than the average, but I’m still not sure if it’s worth the risk. Plus, it’s not using latex, which I know will sleep cooler than memory foam). $1299

Design Sleep Design Sleep looks very promising and has a whopping FOUR choices of innerspring + Talalay latex + organic cotton/wool topper. I love that there are options in what I want need; I hate that there are options in what I want need! Because the options confuse the bejesus outta me. Basically, it would seem thicker, softer latex would give me what I want: cushion on those pressure points. Where I get confused is the choices in coils. Yes, yes, I read all the helpful innerspring/coil info, and I’m still confused - because knowledge is not the same as being able to actually feel the differences, to be able to sleep on them long enough to know how my body will respond to them. $1800 - 2200. Given the kind and combo of coils lends to the more cushy feeling experience?

As I mentioned before, the bed I have now is a YuMe (Mattress Firm’s proprietary memory foam), the thickest and softest version. I hate that I was uneducated (my fault) and ill-informed by the salesman (his bad) and bought a chemical-laden mattress. I absolutely love the comfort of the YuMe. My complaints are its toxicity, how gosh-dang HOT it sleeps, and that it can be a mite too soft/conforming when I sleep on my stomach - but that being said, it is an absolute heaven-sent dream to my hips when side-sleeping (which is how I sleep most of the time).

My mattress quest is to get as natural/organic as I can afford, as close as I can to the pressure-point relief (that my current memory foam gives) for my hips, a mite more support for when I end up sleeping on my stomach, and to please, please, sleep cooler. I believe innersprings will give me more of these last two, and when I test drive mattresses in stores tI end up loving - like the top of the line Sterns & Foster and Aireloom - they are the mattresses with two layers of coils, topped with cushy foam layers. But obviously I don’t want the chemicals or (hot) memory foams (or bad reputations) of those mattresses.

Lastly, I’ve seen some Nature’s Rest mattresses for around 2k on Overstock, but I cannot seem to find any good info on the thickness or source or quality of their layers, which seems to be a bad sign (but then again, maybe I’m not looking in the right places).

Can you offer any more guidance? The more I think I know what I want, the less able I feel to find it without actually trying it. And the only natural mattresses I found locally cost over 5k. They felt dreamy, of course - but, alas, I cannot afford that much dreaminess.

Signed,

Sleepless in Texas

Hi WonkyBent,

Post #13 here has more information about the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.

The most important question you will need to answer is “which mattress am I most likely to sleep best on?” This will either be based on your own personal testing or if you can’t test a mattress in person then a more detailed conversation on the phone (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). If you aren’t confident about which one would be most suitable for you then the return or exchange policies would likely become a more important part of your purchase decision so you can use your actual sleeping experience to decide whether a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP and lower the risk of making a choice that is “less than ideal” for you. Nothing else matters if you don’t sleep well on a mattress.

The next most important part of your choice will be “how long will I sleep well before I cross the threshold from sleeping well to sleeping OK to “tolerating” a mattress to finally deciding to replace it?” … either because the materials in the mattress have softened or broken down or because your needs and preferences have changed over time.

The Everlast uses Talalay latex and a pocket coil so there are no weak links in the mattress and being two sided it would be more durable than a similar mattress with a one sided construction (see post #3 here) even though latex is already among the most durable of all the foam materials.

The Euro Pillowtop isn’t available outside of the Phoenix area as a local purchase so since you live somewhere else then this wouldn’t be an option that is available to you.

You can see my thoughts about Saatva in post #1 here. It uses a little over 2" of 1.5 lb polyfoam in the layers above the Bonnell coil which is a less durable material than latex so while it would be a “better than average” choice compared to most mainstream mattresses … it would be a little over the edge in terms of the amount of lower quality materials that it uses than your other choices so in terms of durability I would rank it a little lower than your other latex/innerspring choices.

This would be similar to the Everlast in that it uses similar materials (a pocket coil, Talalay latex, and a cotton/wool quilted cover). The advantage here would be that if your initial purchase wasn’t the best choice for you then you would have more ways to fine tune the mattress by exchanging components or layers without having to replace the entire mattress. There are no weak links in this mattress either.

After suitability and durability then you can compare your choices based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. Since natural materials appear to be an important criteria … this may also eliminate the Saatva which uses both polyfoam and memory foam in the mattress which are synthetic foam materials.

Once you are down to your finalists that you have taken into account the suitability of the mattress and the durability of the mattress … and you are making a choice between “good and good” … then your final choice (see post #2 here) will really be a matter of “best judgement” based on any personal testing you have done on any of them, your conversations with each one on the phone (if you haven’t tested them in person), your budget, the options you have before and after a purchase, and on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

It may also be worthwhile including some of the local options that are available to you as part of your research since there is also “value” in being able to test a mattress in person before you buy it so that there is less uncertainty about what a mattress will “feel like” to you.

Phoenix

Wonky/Denise,

I have very little to add, but I can commiserate! I also have MS, so I just finished up the 3 month marathon mattress/bed/bedding research and shopping extravaganza. I opted for an adjustable bed base with a tempurpedic knockoff mattress. Then I am piling on some cooling layers of bedding to counteract the heat retention of memory foam. Luckily, I am in a northern climate, so I can keep my bedroom at around 62-64 year round.My mattress is actually coming today, so woohoo!!

My best advice is to take your time! I rushed into my last mattress decision and ended up with 7 years of hell on a poorly constructed over-priced latex nightmare. I am not totally anti-latex, but it may be a while before I brave that path again! :blink:

Now, I must go exchange a set of pillowcases, and find a couple more king size pillow covers before my delivery arrives!

Cheers!

Sharon

Hi sharon73,

Which latex mattress did you purchase?

Phoenix