I have been reading and learning a lot about latex mattresses on your site and appreciate all of the information. Over the last few days I have been testing mattresses and I’m still unsure of what to purchase. I live in Asheville, NC and have visited the following:
Colton Mattress in Asheville - Nice products but more expensive
Sleepworld - Tested a PLB - Too expensive
Denver Mattress in Charlotte - Tested the Snowmass. I liked the feel, great price $1699, great 15 yr. non-prorated warranty, 30 day comfort trial. My concern with this product is that it is not 100% latex. It has 1" of 1.8 lb. foam on the top and 2" of 1.8 lb. foam on the bottom. I understand that the price reflects the fact that it is not 100% latex.
Rocky Mountain Mattress Outlet/Warehouse in Conover - Met with Todd and he showed me several combinations of latex but not sure that any combination was the same as the RMM 9" latex mattress which is 6" of 100% natural Dunlop latex and 2" topper of Talalay Latex in your choice of firmness. After much testing I think I would prefer the medium 28 IDL 2" topper on this.
Lake Mattress in Mooresville, NC - I really liked the feel of their 10" Natural Latex Mattress.
6" 40 IDL
2" 32 IDL
2" 24 IDL
The Original Mattress Factory in Hickory - Did not really like their products.
After all this testing (I also tested some Memory Foam at various places, but ruled it out as I prefer Latex) I have narrowed my choice down to the following:
My inability to make a final decision is based on the following and any insight/input from you would be very valuable.
I have not been able to test the exact firmness of the Rocky Mountain Mattress. I believe the 2" 28 ILD topper over the 6" Natural Dunlop would be comparable to the firmness of the Lake Mattress latex described above. Do you agree?
The SnowMass has a total of 3" of 1.8 Foam, 1" on the top and 2" on the bottom. I understand that this is a higher density foam but should I be concerned about more of a body impression over time on the top 1" of this mattress? It is a good price with good warranty and felt good. Denver Mattress offers a 30-day comfort trial period.
Although I like the feel of the Lake Mattress 10" Latex the best and it is 100% latex, the price was higher than the SnowMass but the feel was very similar in my opinion. The warranty on the Lake Mattress was not as good as the SnowMass and I don’t believe they offer a comfort trial period.
In past posts you have recommended all three of these manufacturers so I don’t think I could go wrong with any of them. I just want the best value for my money as I have been so unhappy with my last 2 inner spring mattresses and to me this is a big purchase. Based on prices, warranties, comfort trail periods and material, I believe the Rocky Mountain Mattress would be the best choice, however I hesitate because I do not know how it would feel. Please confirm if you think the RMM 6" Natural Dunlop with 2" 28 ILD Talalay would feel similar to the specs for the SnowMass and Lake Mattress Latex that I did get to test. If so, based on your recommendation of RMM I may order from them.
The good news in all of this is that you have reached a point where all your choices in terms of quality and value are good ones … although of course this doesn’t speak to finding a mattress that best meets your needs and preferences.
A few comments may help …
The weak link of a mattress is almost always in the upper layers which are more subject to mechanical compression and softening. In both of these cases with the Snowmass and the Aspen … there is only an inch of polyfoam in the upper layers which is within the “maximum” that I would consider to be fine in terms of durability. Polyfoam in the deeper support layers isusually firmer and higher density which means it would not be a “weak link”. Of course more latex in the deeper layers can increase performance and the way a mattress adapts to each person but is also more costly. There is more about this in post #5 here. (and a forum search on “Aspen Snowmass” will bring up more information about how they compare although they are both comparable “value”.
Did you call Rocky Mountain to arrange an appointment to test their mattresses or did you call the factory? I suspect that the mattresses you were testing were not the ones that are sold by Rocky Mountain. If you call the factory you would need to specify that you wanted to test the rocky Mountain mattresses or you could call Rocky Mountain as well and tell them that you wanted to meet them to test their mattresses. This way you could test the ones on their website.
These are all good value choices but I would probably test the rocky Mountain products and then make your “best” decision.
Layer thickness and ILD … especially in the comfort layers … plays just as big a role as layer firmness and type of latex … all of which change how a mattress interacts and feels for each person. The Rocky mountain is a 6 + 2 construction with Dunlop in the base layer and a 2" comfort layer that can be customized. The Lake Mattress is a 6 + 2 + 2 construction with different ILD’s and all Talalay so they could be very different.
I would personally test the Rocky Mountain version to see how that particular construction compares in terms of your needs and preferences and then make my “best” choice between high quality and value choices.
Hopefully this has been answered with my previous comments and the search link. 1" of polyfoam is not an issue IMO in terms of durability but can change the surface feel and performance of the mattress (polyfoam is less resilient which some would prefer and some wouldn’t).
This similarity would likely be because the combination of the 24 ILD latex and the polyfoam (total 3" comfort layer) in the Snowmass in combination with the softer support layer (which is less firm than the support core of the Lake Mattress and would effectively "add’ more to the comfort layer) may give both mattresses a similar softness/thickness comfort layer and support levels (depending on which of the foam layers would be dominant for your body type and sleeping style). There are always different combinations that will feel similar for some people because every layer in a mattress can “modify” the ones above and below it and different combinations can lead to similar levels of support and comfort.
I personally don’t pay much attention at all to warranties and they are only a marketing tool for the most part. The only really important part of a warranty is to know the exclusions. Warranties don’t have anything to do with how long a mattress will last or be suitable for any particular person because foam softening, wear and tear, and loss of comfort or support (the main reasons a mattress needs to be replaced) are not covered. The materials in a mattress will say more about how long a mattress lasts than a warranty. Warranties only cover obvious defects in a mattress that tend to show up early in the life of a mattress. A mattress is only as good as the materials in it.
IMO … all of these would be good value and I would tend to be much more focused on which one fit my needs and preferences best than I would about value. This is a bigger part of the long term value of the mattress to you than any relatively small differences in price or the “commodity value” of each mattress. All of your choices are good ones and far better quality and value than what you would be considering if you were an “average” consumer shopping major brands or in a chain store. The real test of value at this stage is which one fits your needs (pressure relief and alignment) and your preferences (how it feels and the more subjective qualities of each mattress) and at the stage you are at this would be my main consideration.
It would be different from both of these IMO because of the differences in the layers but the performance and “feel” could also be customized to your choice. Since you are one of the few who actually have a chance to test this mattress because of your location … I would make my decision based on your own personal experience on the mattress.
One final comment is that many people are more or less sensitive to various differences in a mattress (how it feels for sleep, in different positions, with movement and other activities on a mattress, springiness, and other objective and subjective differences) so if you have tested several mattresses in all your sleeping positions and with movement and can’t feel a meaningful difference between two mattresses, and they are both durable and use high quality materials and don’t have any obvious weak links … then I would go with the lower priced mattress.