Latex in Nova Scotia

Hello,
Thank goodness for this site - it has been SO helpful, and I am hoping for a bit of advice. Here is some background. My husband and I live in rural Nova Scotia (about an hour outside of Halifax) and are in the market for a new mattress. I am 140lbs, and my husband is 280lbs. We are both side sleepers. We are looking for a mattress that:
a) is not a coil mattress. Motion transfer is a big consideration for us. As I understand it, this narrows it down to memory foam and latex.
b) Is at least 10" thick, as we understand that this is what is necessary for proper support for someone of my husband’s weight.
c) Is as ‘natural’ as possible. Fuzzy term, I know. It need not be 100% organic, but the smell of Tempurpedic gives me a raging headache… Plus, I’m nursing a young baby, and I feel pretty strongly about him not getting secondhand flame retardants, glues, and other nasties. So, we’re leaning heavily towards latex.
d) Is available in Canada - and specifically in Nova Scotia. Your previous post on options in Nova Scotia from 2013 is very helpful, but a lot has changed since then, and the latex options are pretty limited.
e) Is within our $3000 (CDN) budget, for a king mattress (we only need a mattress; no frame or base). We are lucky to have such a generous budget, and we are seriously overdue for a new mattress so want to get it right.

After considerable research, here is what we are thinking:

  1. Elimiated: Obasan mattresses. Too expensive for the required thickness.
  2. Essentia: Ditto
  3. Naturelle: https://www.naturellesleep.com/. But, based on your previous post it seems they are quite “sketchy”. Their storefront in Halifax is non existent, and given past reviews of them I’m not nuts about buying from them online.
  4. The Millerton mattress from Dormio. It seems like a sufficiently supportive, non-toxic, shippable-to-Canada option, and the person I spoke with on the phone seemed very transparent and knowledgeable. That bed also has the option of different firmnesses on each side, which is great.

The catch is that although we can do one free adjustment, if we decide that latex&wool is not for us, the mattress cannot be returned. So, here are the questions:

  1. Do you know of anywhere in Nova Scotia where we can try lying on a similar mattress? It seems crazy to spend this kind of money without trying it out.

  2. Have we missed something obvious in our search?

Thanks in advance!

Hi HaliAli,

While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Outside of PPP (which is the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it (see this article) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new).

There is more about motion transfer in post #18 here. Memory foam is the best at motion transfer but latex, pocket coils, microcoils, buckling column gel, and even polyfoam are generally good as well but it will depend to some degree on the specific design of the mattress, on your relative weight ranges, and your sleeping style (such as how close you sleep together). While pocket coils are good for motion transfer … innersprings that are linked with helicals (vs pocket coils) are generally poor to fair depending on the specifics of the innerspring and the foam layers above it. The most reliable way to know whether a mattress is “motion isolating enough” would be based on your own careful testing or your own personal experience with both of you on the mattress.

The thickness of a mattress or the number or thickness of any individual layers inside it is really just a side effect of the design and the design goals of a mattress and is also only one of many variables that can affect the feel and performance of a mattress relative to any particular person and by itself isn’t particularly meaningful (see post #2 here). In some cases higher weight ranges (or a higher BMI) will sometimes do better with a mattress that is thicker than lower weight ranges or a lower BMI (see post #14 here for more about the effect of thickness) but even this depends more on the specific design and combination of materials in the mattress and on how well your testing or personal experience indicates the mattress “as a whole” matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP than it does on just the thickness itself.

As you mentioned this would depend on how you define “natural” and on the reasons that you prefer natural materials. In most cases (and is sounds like you may be one of these) most consumers that are looking for “natural” materials are really looking for “safe” materials regardless of whether they are completely natural at all.

The most natural materials would be 100% natural latex (see post #18 here), natural fibers (such as wool, cotton, flax linen, silk etc), rubberized coir, and depending on how you are defining natural … perhaps steel innersprings or microcoils as well (steel isn’t natural but most people would consider it to be “natural enough” and “safe enough”).

The only reliable way to to assess the “safety” of different materials in more general terms is based on lab tests and the certifications they have for harmful substances and VOCs so that you have some assurance than the VOCs are below the testing limits for the certification (see post #2 here for more information about some of the more reliable “safety” certifications). If the materials in a mattress or the mattress itself has a reliable “safety” certification then for most people they would certainly be “safe enough” … regardless of the type of material or the name of the manufacturer on the label

While it may be more information than you are looking for … there is also a lot more information in post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and “green” mattresses and mattress materials that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer “how safe is safe enough for me” or “how natural is natural enough for me” and that can help you decide on the type of materials and components you are most comfortable having in your mattress or on the certifications that may be important to you. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.

I took another look in the area (Halifax, Dartmouth, Truro, Cape Breton, and Yarmouth) and made a few additions and revisions to the Nova Scotia list in post #3 here (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here).

I didn’t see any latex mattresses at any of the retailers on the list but I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses or their specs that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor or have available online (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking their websites (which often don’t include every mattress they carry) and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the local lists is always a good idea before you decide on which retailers or manufacturers you wish to deal with anyway. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria, are transparent about the materials in their mattresses, and that carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in that are also in the budget range you are comfortable with. Once you have checked their websites and/or talked with the ones that interest you then you will be in a much better position to decide on the ones that you are most interested in considering or visiting based on the results of your preliminary research and conversations.

Outside of any local options that are available to you … the better online options or possibilities I’m aware of that ship across Canada are listed in post #21 here.

When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.

In its simplest form choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …

  1. Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.

  2. Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

  3. Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Phoenix

Thanks Phoenix - that’s all really good to know, and I appreciate your generosity of time and knowledge! I will do some calling around on the weekend to see if any of the local businesses you mention carry latex mattresses and will go from there. Thanks!