Hi,
My short story…I bought a memory foam mattress from Costco last week. Slept on it for two nights. and got sick. Started researching and realized my new mattress is releasing some seriously toxic gases. So I’m back to square one, looking for a mattress. Only now I know what I don’t want: memory foam of any kind!
In my research so far I realized that we have a pretty limited choice in Canada when it comes to non toxic mattresses. I’m mostly interested in natural/organic latex.
I’ve narrowed my choices down to these three models:
Dormio “Fresh” 6" medium + 2" Soft 100% natural Dunlop latex, organic cotton cover and wool layer, $2159.43 CAD, tax and shipping included
Nature’s Embrace “Unison” GOLS Certified Organic Latex (2" medium Dunlop + 6" firm Dunlop) + organic cotton cover and
a wool layer, $1995 CAD, tax and shipping included.
Green Sleep “Pure Support”, 6" North Malaysia 600 natural rubber + organic cotton cover and a wool layer, $2644 CAD, tax and shipping included.
So far I’m leaning towards Unison, the price is really good and apparently they use organic latex while the other two use natural? I find it a little odd that Unison is the cheapest of the three. Can anyone offer some insight/advice?
I’m sorry to hear about your reaction to our memory foam mattress. Many people are sensitive to polyfoam and specifically memory foam (I once had a similar reaction to a memory foam topper, even though I don’t have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)). If you are very sensitive to odors, as some people are with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), an odor, even one that isn’t harmful, can be unpleasant.
“Toxic” is a term for poisonous substances produced within living cells or organisms, although the term is often used in the mattress industry (and often part of some “fear-mongering” campaigns). Most people that are looking for “non or less-toxic” (toxicity is dose-dependent) materials are usually concerned most with “safety”.
There is quite a bit of confusing information available online about toxicity, safety and organic, and there is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications such as Oeko-tex, Eco-Institut, Greenguard Gold, C2C, and CertiPUR-US in post #2 here, and more about some of the differences between organic and safety certifications in post #2 here and there are also some comments in post #42 here that can help you decide whether an organic certification is important to you for environmental, social, or personal reasons, or whether a “safety” certification is enough, and what those certifications can mean to determine whether the contents of any particular mattress are “safe enough” for you.
[quote]I’ve narrowed my choices down to these three models:
Dormio “Fresh” 6" medium + 2" Soft 100% natural Dunlop latex, organic cotton cover and wool layer, $2159.43 CAD, tax and shipping included
Nature’s Embrace “Unison” GOLS Certified Organic Latex (2" medium Dunlop + 6" firm Dunlop) + organic cotton cover and
a wool layer, $1995 CAD, tax and shipping included.
Green Sleep “Pure Support” , 6" North Malaysia 600 natural rubber + organic cotton cover and a wool layer, $2644 CAD, tax and shipping included.
So far I’m leaning towards Unison, the price is really good and apparently they use organic latex while the other two use natural? I find it a little odd that Unison is the cheapest of the three. Can anyone offer some insight/advice?
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All three of the items you’ve listed use good quality and durable materials. The Dormio and the MFC mattresses would be a bit more comparable to each other than the Green Sleep. There is some difference in the cover and the organic certified wool in the Dormio which can account for a bit of the price difference, but overall there are many factors involved in pricing a mattress. While price is certainly important of course, the “value” of a mattress purchase is what is most important and price is just one of many factors that can affect the “value” of a mattress purchase. There isn’t a “formula” that can be used to assess or “calculate” the value of a mattress because there are so many different variables and criteria involved that can affect the price of a mattress that can each be more or less important to some people and not to others who may have completely different criteria or definitions of “value”. The value of a mattress purchase is also relative to how a mattress compares to the other finalists you are considering or to other mattresses that are available to you in your area (or online if you are also considering online options). There are many reasons that a mattress that may be “good value” for one person or in one area of the country may not be good value for someone else that has very different needs and preferences or that lives in a different area.
You can also read in the links I provided above the difference between “natural” Dunlop and GOLS certified Dunlop, which in many cases can be the exact same or an extremely similar product (both being 100% NR Dunlop). I would consider both of these types of latex to be quality materials and the choice between on that had a GOLS certifications versus one that didn’t more of a personal versus quality preference.
Before making any final decision, I would have a detailed phone conversation with any manufacturer you’re considering to avail yourself of their assistance in not only learning about their products but also for assistance in selecting a configuration that they think would best suit your needs. Both Dormio and MFC are members of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. They are extremely knowledgeable about latex and different configurations.
Hi! New to the forum here and have been soaking up the information – thanks!
Coming from a Sears branded “Broadway mattress” – pocket coil with some latex/memory foam. Getting the hammock like shape to the bed.
I am 41, 5’2" ~130 lbs. – curvyish, scolosis, hip/back pains. Side sleep/back sleep (pillow under knees). I need some softness with support – don’t like the hammock feel. Hubby is 40, 6’, 165 lbs – lean, no aches/pains (just a tad envious of that…). He can sleep ok on a camp mat – likes firm, some support. Back/side sleeper as well.
I am in Saskatoon and recently ordered and trialled a Magniflex Dual 12 mattress from Costco.ca. I loved:
minimal/no chemical smell
wasn’t a super “sinky” (not a typo) quicksand memory foam feel
concept – dual core/flippable – seems like a good idea for couples who disagree on bed type
-Okeo-Tex standard 100 (they tell me it’s level 1 certification) – there is a certification number/tag on the bed.
slept pretty cool
What I didn’t love:
it was very firm (even though advertised as medium soft and medium firm depending on side of core sleeping on)
even hubby found it too firm
manufacturer said it doesn’t really change – don’t expect it to soften much
This was before I found this website – so I returned the mattress and began shopping again (was able to squish the entire queen after I disassembled into 2 parts in my Mazda 5 – split core is AWESOME for that reason alone!). Went to local store and tried the Unison 8 – only latex bed they had out. From what I understand this is:
2" Medium Dunlop
2" Firm Dunlop
4" Firm Dunlop
I liked the supportive feel, but felt like I was bottoming out and not getting enough hip cushioning/shoulder pressure point relief.
I checked out memoryfoamcomfort.ca and saw the Presto – this seems like the perfect fit (from an ideological standpoint) – but without trying it, I don’t know if it will solve the bottoming out issue of the Unison 8. After chatting with them, they indicated they could also split the queen layers into halves for a small fee (though it would not be nice looking like a factory cut) and suggested keeping the soft layer whole to cover the split up the middle.
I think I would order the 10". I assume this would be the logical order of the layers (For me):
2" 20 ILD soft
2" 30 ILD medium
2" 40 ILD firm
4" 40 ILD firm
Will this be “cushioning” enough to deal with my should/hip issues? Or would I need 4" of 20 ILD soft?
Also, is putting a 2" 30 ILD medium layer at the base going to be a bad idea (thinking if my husband wanted it firmer on top, he could move his medium to the bottom).
Without being able to return/exchange, I want to be fairly certain of what I would order. Thanks for any suggestions/advice.
The 4" of 20 ILD will give you a bit more softness on 4" than your combination, which is great for shoulders as they tend to push down hard into the mattress. However what you chose may be just right for you. In any case, you have up to 6 months to exchange a layer at cost (less shipping) so that you can fine-tune the mattress to your liking.
No, it’s not a bad idea, that is what is suggested, that you shuffle the layer around until you find what you like. Here is an animated GIF of how you would rotate the layers to get a firmer feel.
Thanks for the reply. Still working things out here – I need my hubby to test out the latex bed available near us to see if it’s something he might like (or hate…that’s useful, too).
I think it’s a great idea to get your husband to try organic dunlop latex as it’s the most supportive bedding material available and has quite a unique feel. If he likes the feel of dunlop latex, then the customizable Presto will be a good choice for both of you.
Turns out the model I tried was the Modesto not the Unison (I think salesperson had it mixed up). Hubby didn’t mind the feel of latex, so that’s encouraging. After retrying the Modesto – it’s quite comfortable. I feel as though the cushioning layer could be a smidge thicker for me. Reading up on it, it’s configuration is:
Modesto
2" cushioning Layer (dunlop)
6" support core (dunlop) -solid high response core.
So…I am a bit torn about what would be a good fit. We want a 10" for height reasons.
Hubby doesn’t like to sink into mattress too deep. He’s a bit concerned about shearing/movement of layers in the Presto. I am not too worried about this…perhaps someone who has one/experience with the Presto might chime in.
Without knowing how the Unison/Modesto mattresses are configured, I can’t judge what would be a good alternative. While Nature’s Embrace indicates the Unison is 10" and Multi-zone (I assume this is more support in mid section) proprietary information on MFC the Unison 10" is listed as:
2" Soft
2" Medium
2" Firm
4" Firm
Is the Unison on MFC (I don’t see information about it being Multi-zone) identical to the Unison on Nature’s Embrace? Or are they different?
While it seems Nature’s Embrace makes good products – I’m conflicted as one of the “suggestions” given to us shoppers here is to know the components of the mattresses we are interested in purchasing. Much of the information provided is limited and considered “proprietary” with Nature’s embrace. It makes it difficult to compare – which it seems to me is the issue with the status quo mattress industry.
MFC has at least made their products very clear – but the problem I’m having is comparing the Nature’s Embrace Modesto (that I tried) with something I can’t try out…
IF the UNISON on Nature’s Embrace and MFC are the same:
Unison is 1 step softer than the Modesto on the firmness guide of the Nature’s Embrace. I am not sure if the Mulitzone would be appreciated or not. Having not tried it, I’m not sure how I’d like it. Right now, my existing bed does not offer enough shoulder cradling and sags in the hip area. In theory, I like this idea, but I don’t want too much hip support either.
How does the 10" Presto (in the 2" soft, 2" medium, 2" firm, 4" firm) configuration differ from the Unison 10" other than being configurable?
If you husband places the 2" 30 ILD comfort layer on top, and then the 40 ILD core below it, he will not sink much into the mattress.
I personally sleep on the Presto and the layers do not move around. The top zip cover is made tight enough to hold all the layers in place securely. Plus the bare latex placed on top of each other restricts movement of individual layers since rubber over rubber is quite adherent.
The 10" Unison is made with glued layers
4" core 40 ILD
2" 40 ILD layer
2" 30 ILD medium layer
2" 20 ILD soft top layer
The 10" Presto is customizable and made with loose layers
4" core 40 ILD
2" 30 ILD medium layer
2" 20 ILD soft layer
2" 20 ILD soft top layer
My question for you is why would you settle for one mattress (Unison), when the Presto gives you the same organic components with 9 different support and comfort options in the same mattress for almost the same price?
If the Unison were Multi-Zoned (on Nature’s Embrace it says it is, on MFC it doesn’t specify if it’s multizoned) – as a consumer, I don’t know if the Unison is the same on both sites – I might consider it over the Presto for the hip support – otherwise, I think it makes more sense to go with the Presto.
Is the Unison multi-zoned? What does that mean, exactly?
*My apologies, I thought the Presto 10" had 1 soft, 1 med, 2 firm layers. So I suppose to get the exact feel of the Unison wouldn’t be possible (not that I know what that is like )
Yes, the 6" Unison core is multizoned (Vertical zoning. Essentially using many layers vs a solid core) for increase comfort in the hip and shoulder area, however the 2" layers are not.
Did I answer all your question?
Please let me know if you need any further information.
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