Are there any latex (comfort layer) + innerspring (support core) hybrid mattresses that you recommend, that has no polyfoam?
For local recommendations : I live in southern california (orange county)
Thanks in advance!
Hi matwhich,
I don’t have any specific suggestions because 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 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 would be the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) and personal experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 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 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 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 to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences or even to other mattresses that they are familiar with than anyone else (including me).
There are some sources for innerspring/latex hybrids in post #2 here and the post it links to. Some of these may have some dealers in your area and some of them are also available online as well.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the greater Los Angeles area (subject to the quality/value guidelines here) are also listed in post #2 here.
I don’t keep a record of the specific mattresses that each retailer/manufacturer carries on their floor (keeping up with the specifics of all the mattresses on the showroom floors of all the retailers or manufacturers that are listed throughout the hundreds of forum lists would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) but checking the websites and making some preliminary phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the list is always a good idea before you visit any store. This will tell you which of them carry mattresses that would meet your specific criteria, are transparent about their materials (ask them if they will provide you with the information listed here about some or all of their mattresses and then only test the ones where they can provide this information), and carry the type of mattresses that you are interested in testing in the budget range you are comfortable with. These initial calls will also give you a good indication of the type of knowledge and service you are likely to encounter at the stores you plan to visit as well and can save you a significant amount of time and frustration compared with waiting to find out whether to provide you with the information you need to make an informed choice until you actually visit them only to find out that they either can’t or won’t provide it.
Phoenix
If I may, id like to add that I have discovered these days a lot of manufacturers use pocket could that aren’t very strong - then “firm them up” with polyurethane foam. It works if you want poly foam.
But if you want to use latex instead, what I wish I had done is look for a low gauge (strong) coil like an offset coil, then put the latex over it.
Trying to firm up a bed with latex is not easy because it is an entirely different material than PU foams or memory foam. If you use a firmer latex to try and do it, you can experience painful latex pushback.
Having a strong coil with the right, comfortable ILD of latex is key. In other words, I know I like around a low-mid 20s ILD (at the highest!) so I must stick with that, then find a quality coil that won’t sag at all to out under it.
At least as a stomach/side sleeper that’s what I need. Same may be true for back sleeping…something to at least take into consideration.
There are quality pocket coils too, I believe, that are stronger - but don’t let people tell you “Oh, yes! This is a quality, firm pocket coil!” Be sure if you go with pocket sprung.
Hi LookingNow,
I would be very cautious about assessing the feel or the durability of a mattress or the strength or firmness of an innerspring based on just the gauge of the coils (or any other single spec) because there are many other spring specs that can also affect the firmness/softness, performance, and the strength of the springs as well. In most cases the weakest link of a mattress is also in the comfort materials above the innerspring rather than the innerspring itself.
Different types of springs can also have very different properties and for example there are people that prefer the motion isolation or contouring of pocket coils vs offset coils. There is more about the different types of innersprings in this article and in post #10 here.
There are an almost infinite number of different types of materials and components in a mattress that can be combined together in many different ways that can result in a very wide range of different mattresses that would be suitable for some people and not for others and broad generalizations that may apply to some specific designs may not apply to other designs that “seem” to be similar.
Unless someone has a great deal of knowledge and experience with different types of mattress materials and components and their specs and with different layering combinations and mattress designs and how they combine together and can translate them into their own “real life” experience (that can be unique to each person) … I would tend to avoid using “simplified” specs that may be much more complex than they appear to try and predict how a mattress will feel or perform for any particular person and focus more on careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) and/or personal experience.
For most consumers … trying to choose a mattress based on combinations of specs that are incomplete and aren’t easily understood or which are only based on one or two specs (such as coil gauge) without regard to the others that can also make a significant difference may not be as relevant or meaningful as someone may believe it is and the most common outcome of trying to analyze a mattress based on specs alone is often “information overload” or “paralysis by analysis”.
The only reliable way to know for certain whether any mattress or combination of materials and components is a good “match” for someone in terms of PPP will be based on their own personal experience.
Phoenix