After reading many of the articles and tutorials on this site, I convinced my wife that we should focus our mattress search on local manufacturers of latex mattresses. Our first stop was Gardner Mattress where we tried the all latex options and neither of us liked the feel. We then tried the options with latex on top of pocketed coils–one was 3 inches of a less dense latex and one was 2 inches of more dense (the firmer options). We both liked the second choice better.
I couldn’t find many other places that had coil/latex hybrids, so we went to Jordan’s to try theirs. Our favorite was their firmest (although the sales person said she recommended that only for front or back sleepers):
Here are the stats they provide on the first:
Quilt
Forever Flex Stretch Knit Cover
2" OptiCool Gel Smart Latex
with Graphite and Outlast 5LB
Comfort Layers
2" Prestressed foam 1.35LB
BOTTOM UPHOLSTERY (Below innerspring)
Core Support layer
1/2" Prestressed foam 1.10LB
1" Flex support poly foam base 1.7LB
Support System
Single Sided Sleep Surface
Individual encased Apex Titanium coil
Twice Tempered Steel
T/496 F/682 Q/825 K/1056 (Pre-edge)
T/406 F/580 Q/713 K/930 (Actual)
14.875 gauge steel
Full perimeter Solid Edge HD System
Adjustable Compatible
Prices for the firmer options at Gardner and Jordan’s were similar (although there was an animatronic New Orleans show at Jordan’s, so there’s that).
The 2" of 1.35 lb foam doesn’t seem to comply with this site’s minimal recommendations. My question is, what is our risk with this mattress? What happens if the foam under the latex doesn’t hold up? Is there anything else I should ask about for the Jordan’s mattresses? Also, are there any other latex/pocket coil hybrid options you could recommend especially at stores around Boston?
A couple things to consider. I’m large (6’2" 260) and my wife is small (5’2" 105). We have two young kids, so we can’t spend a lot of time traveling to places or at the stores themselves (although the folks at Gardner were great about our kids running around the place…makes me want to buy from them just for that). Any help you could give me would be great.
As you probably know … Gardner uses all high quality materials and there are no weak links or lower quality less durable materials in any of their mattresses.
The 2" of 1.35 lb polyfoam would certainly be a weak link in this mattress … especially with only 2" of latex above it and with a higher body weight sleeping on the mattress that would compress and break down the foam much more quickly. Lower quality/density materials will soften and break down under the heavier parts of the body much more quickly than higher quality/density materials and when this happens you can lose the comfort and support/alignment that was the reason that you purchased the mattress in the first place and you may no longer be able to sleep well on the mattress. While how long this would take will depend on individual circumstances (see post #2 here) … it can happen as quickly as a few months or if you are more tolerant to foam softening then perhaps a few years. There is also more information about all the variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to different people in post #4 here and the posts it links to but the short version is I would characterize the risk of this mattress developing soft spots or sagging as “significant” (for you especially). The worst part is that it’s quite likely that there won’t be deep enough impressions to trigger a warranty claim and foam softening or “virtual impressions” that have “visible impressions” that are less than the warranty exclusion isn’t considered to be a defect so when this happens you would likely have no recourse other than to buy a new mattress much sooner than you expected. I would avoid it.
The Cover Hill is even worse with only an inch of latex in the comfort layers (I wouldn’t even call this a “latex hybrid”) and 2" of even lower quality/density polyfoam below it.
No … if it was me this would already be enough information to avoid both of them.
The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Boston area are listed in post #2 here. While I don’t keep records of individual mattresses at each retailer or manufacturer in the hundreds of lists throughout the forum (the mattresses that each retailer or manufacturer has on their floor change too often for any one person to keep up with) … if you call them they will be able to tell you whether they carry any latex hybrids on their floor. I would also be aware that the “feel” of only one latex mattress out of hundreds of different designs that are available in the “all latex” category wouldn’t represent the feel of other latex mattresses that use different types of latex in different firmness levels or with different designs.
There are also some sources for other latex/innerspring mattresses in post #2 here and the post it links to and while many of these aren’t available in the Boston area or can only be purchased online … some may have Boston dealers that carry some of their mattresses that I didn’t see when I was last researching the Boston area.
Hi Phoenix,
Thanks so much for your detailed response (and the whole site!). I’m certainly convinced to steer away from the options at Jordan’s. At least the kids had fun watching the music and light show.
As you suggest, I want to try out some more of the latex options available and hope to make it up to Spindle to try theirs. One reason I was leaning toward a hybrid was that Spindle doesn’t recommend their mattresses for someone as big as me, and they recommend an organic innerspring mattress: http://www.spindlemattress.com/pages/selecting-the-correct-firmness
Considering the solid reputation of Spindle on this site, I figured if they didn’t make a latex that was right for someone my size it would be very difficult to find one. And that if I did it might be too firm for my wife.
What do you think? Would a latex mattress be feasible for us? If not, does it make sense for us to be considering the inner spring/latex hybrid?
Thanks again! This is certainly a fantastic resource that I will share with everyone I know who’s looking for a new mattress.
[quote]Considering the solid reputation of Spindle on this site, I figured if they didn’t make a latex that was right for someone my size it would be very difficult to find one. And that if I did it might be too firm for my wife.
What do you think? Would a latex mattress be feasible for us? If not, does it make sense for us to be considering the inner spring/latex hybrid?[/quote]
This would be more about the specific mattresses they have available than about latex in general. There are many people well over 300 or 400 lbs that sleep very well on latex mattresses and will benefit from the durability of latex as well … although they would usually be thicker and/or firmer mattresses. There is more information about choosing a mattress for higher weights in post #3 here which also includes links to more information about the effects of mattress thickness and about choosing a mattress for couples that have a large weight difference or have very different needs and preferences.
Thanks for the insights and all the resources. We headed back to Gardner and bought a hybrid with their denser latex option over pocketed coils. Very happy with our decision and with the entire experience at Gardner (relaxed but helpful). Only downside was that they are a bit behind on delivery and we have to wait about a month for delivery. I’ll check back in once we’ve had some time with it and post my experience.
For people who are interested, there is a coupon you can buy on Yelp to give you $150 off a Gardner purchase. But when I mentioned this to him, he just offered to take 10% off the price (which was a bigger savings). Like I said, just a good experience all around.
As you know I think highly of Gardner Mattress and the quality of their mattresses and I think you made a good choice!
I know that the hardest part of the whole process can sometimes be the wait between making a decision and actually getting to sleep on it and I hope you have the chance to share your feedback once you receive it.
