So after a long research we almost know what we should order from SleppEZ, and I will appreciate any thoughts here.
Both my wife (5’4", 124lb, side sleeper) and I (5’11", 170lb, Side and back) went twice to The clean Bedroom to try several mattresses. BTW, we both have some lower back pain.
Here is what we thought:
Oyasumi mattress 2" soft on 6" firm. We both thought it was very supportive, but not really “good”
Oyasumi 2" soft over 6" med: Too soft for both of us (which is strange because my wife likes it softer…).
Savvyrest 3" soft over 3" Med- was my wife’s favorite in terms of “feel”, However the salesperson and I saw that it did not support her well enough.
Savvyrest 3" Med over 3" Firm was apperanly the best support for me (best alignment etc), but was to firm even for me, where I will usually prefer a firmer mattress.
3" soft over 3" firm- wasn’t very good for me as wll as I immiditly felt dull pain in my back.
a comment here- we gave each mattress and position enough time.
Savvyrest 3 3" layers (S/M/F) was a bit to soft for me, but my wife felt pretty comfortable with much better support.
We thought we had found the one, i.e. SleepEZ 10000! But, not so fast…
We then found about the 9000 mattress and are logic was that if I need a better support, and prefer a firmer mattress I will enjoy this one because of the top layer is only 2". My wife said that she think she will also be fine because of the experience with the Oyasumi: the S/M was too soft and the S/F was to firm. We both wanted something in the middle.
Does this thinking make sense?
We spoke with Shawn at SleepEZ and tried to explain what we are trying to achieve. He said that he will not try to push us to any side, but only mentioned that the 10" will be much more cushioned and the 9" much more “supportive”.
Our main problem is that we are relocating abroad in several weeks and we will not have the privilege to enjoy either the warranty or the layer exchange. Thus we have to nail in on the first time. We know we might end up not as happy as we could, but this is okay. Anything will be good after our current mattress.
Our concern is just if the 9000 might be just to firm vs the 10000 “too” soft.
Also, what will happen with time? Will the 10000 will feel like a new 9000 and the 9000 will just be much firmer for both of us?
Any thoughts/guidance will be very much appreciate. We are both anxious to place an order and try our new mattress as soon as possible!
I learned long ago to never try to predict exactly what someone will feel on any specific mattress because of the many variables and different subjective factors involved but I can tell you that your thinking and “logic” is along the same lines as mine.
Not surprisingly … since they are “experts” both in terms of knowledge and experience … their description is also a very apt description of the differences between them.
The only real variables between your testing and the SleepEz would be whether the latex you are choosing is the same type and the same firmness. Based on feedback … the Savvy Rest is quite comparable but I’m not sure of the specifics of the Oyasumi and what they rate as soft, medium, and firm.
These things aside … I think your “theory” is good
If I had the choice between choices that seemed equally attractive … I would tend towards the firmer and more supportive because its much easier to “fine tune” a mattress to make it softer but it’s much more difficult to make a mattress that is too soft in the support layers or too thick and soft in the comfort layers firmer without either changing the deeper layers or changing the firmness or thickness of the comfort layers. Latex will certainly soften just like any other material over time but it is much less and much slower than other materials so this isn’t something that I would make a major consideration other than knowing that in the initial 90 days or so … the cover will stretch a bit, the layers will settle a bit, and they will soften slightly but not to the degree that I would try and “predict” it in my initial choice.
Even without a layer exchange … you still have the option of re-arranging the layers (putting the firm above the medium for example) if you need it to be “more supportive”. No matter where you are … it’s also quite probable that you would still have access to some type of softer mattress pad or topper (latex, wool, or other materials) should you need it so this in combination with layer re-arranging will still provide you with “fine tuning” choices if you need them.
I am glad that you reaffirmed our thoughts and we will go with the 9000 tomorrow!
BTW- what do you (and others) think about splitting the layers? The idea is just in order to have more flexibility.
Against that is the fact that I think that we might over think it and try too much to move layers around (from what I read here I think that most people go back to the original arrangement eventually). Also is the fact that we are buying a king size also in order to use it to sleep diagonally as well …
I think it can be a very good choice and even if the layers are the same on each side it does provide some layering flexibility should you need it. If each side is different then you would have more options yet or of course just the benefit of customizing each side for each person. Most people wouldn’t feel the split because of the cover and this would be even more true if you had a solid 2" layer on the surface. There is more about the pros and cons of split layering in post #2 here but I think most people who choose it are glad they did.
Even if you end up back where you started … it can be interesting to experiment with slightly different 'feels".