Hi Pheonix,
I’ve been lurking around this site for a few weeks and I’m about to pull the trigger on a latex/polyfoam hybrid from Arizona Premium Mattress. I talked with a guy from APM on the phone who suggested one of their RV mattresses with 3" of Talalay latex on top of a 6" support core of 2.1lb polyfoam. It is right around my price range ($695 plus shipping for a Queen) and although he didn’t recommend it for a hybrid (the layers could shift during use) he said they could ship the layers un-laminated with a zippered cover (I really want this for future flexibility and eco-friendliness). While I’ve laid on mattresses with similar compositions that I liked, I haven’t been able to lay on a comparison with the exact layering as the mattress I plan to buy from APM.
I recently relocated to Salt Lake City, UT and think I’ve exhausted my local mattress testing options. This is mainly due to the fact that most local sellers have been unable and/or unwilling to tell me what I’m laying on (including many of the vendors you listed here).
R&S mattress in Murray had latex mattresses (total latex and latex/innerspring) I could lay on but all were covered in plastic which compromised my testing and they didn’t have any latex/polyfoam hybrids I could try out. Diamond Mattress makes a mattress called the Nature Wonder Preserve that consists of 3" of 24ILD Talalay latex on top of 6" of 2.5lb HR polyfoam for $899. Unfortunately they don’t accept credit cards, have no return/exchange policy and currently can’t deliver. The owner said he could lay down the layers for me to test out in their factory but their limited hours and my busy schedule haven’t made that possible. Bountiful Rest never answered the phone and although Crown Elite Bedrooms advertised their mattresses on its website, Crown Elite no longer stocks Bountiful Rest mattresses. The guy at Crown Elite told me they no longer carry latex mattresses because they are “less durable” than the name brand memory foam/polyfoam mattresses they carry. He then tried to sell me a memory foam mattress that was out of the already inflated price range I gave him. No thank you, sir.
Actionwood carried four Pure Latex Bliss models (2 latex/polyfoam hybrids and 2 total latex). While every other mattress in the store was labelled with at least a model name (several had basic layering diagrams), the PLB mattresses had no information whatsoever outside of the brand. The guys at Actionwood were super nice, but when I asked the owner for the model names of each mattress and/or the specs of the layering he became very defensive and unhelpful. Instead of answering my questions he told me that I shouldn’t comparison shop for mattresses, I should just pick one based on what “feels best” in the store. After a lot of coaxing he finally revealed which two had a polyfoam support core and which two were all latex. Before leaving the store I overheard him mention the name “Vitality” to another salesman when talking about one of the hybrids. Based on my deduction I believe the other hybrid I laid on was the “Balance”.
Of all the mattress types I tested for comfort, pressure relief and spinal alignment these two models were my favorite. The Vitality was the most comfortable and felt like it was a bit on the softer side of what I would consider my ideal firmness while the Balance was equally acceptable on the firmer side. Given that the mattresses have 4" and 2" of Talalay latex respectively, a 3" comfort layer seems to be the acceptable compromise. Would this be an accurate conclusion?
I’m 5’9" 160lbs and sleep in all three positions (mostly stomach/side). My notes from our conversation are a bit of a mess, but I’m pretty sure the guy from APM told me I could choose between 28ILD or 19ILD Talalay latex. Comfort-wise I prefer a softer mattress but based on the fact that I sleep on my stomach a lot I think it may be a better idea to go with a medium-firm mattress for support (24ILD or 28ILD, not sure how the quilting/ticking in the zippered mattress cover would affect this compared to the PLB models). Do you have any suggestions based on my observations above?
When I began my mattress search I felt completely in the dark and likely to be taken advantage of. Thanks for the wealth of information and providing me the confidence that I am making an informed purchase.