Greetings Phoenix, and thank you so much for this informative site. Your integrity shines through and is greatly appreciated. After finding Mattress Underground I stopped wasting time in showrooms and began making myself an informed consumer. It did not take me long to decide on a latex replacement.
We live in the San Diego area where a change to king size had us seeking a new mattress. We spent the past 15 years comfortably on a firm innerspring Simmons mattress, and wanted a firm replacement.
We started our local search at Escondido Mattress Factory . The 8-10 mattresses on display seemed well made, and though my wife found the ambiance lacking, I was impressed with fair pricing, knowledgeable owners, and quality beds which could be custom made. Also the combination of quality spring foundation topped with Talalay latex felt great. They had a side-by-side comparison set-up with identical latex layers atop spring and non-spring foundations making it easy to feel the difference. Those who want to rotate their mattress, would likely appreciate the simplicity of a single latex layer over a spring foundation. However, their returns/exchanges policy and inability to re-layer or customize the mattress after purchase sent us elsewhere.
Next was MattressMakers. Pablo was very knowledgeable and helpful. The showroom was clean and bright and with about 20 different mattresses set up, it offered an excellent variety of quality latex and hybrid mattresses. However, none were 100% Talalay which was something I really wanted to try. I couldn’t get past the “dead” feeling of the denser Dunlop cores. The inner springs in the hybrids were tempting and did add bounce and resiliency. Pablo’s pricing seemed fair, quality excellent, and he was doing a nice business making custom mattresses for RVs and boats as well.
Next was the Healthy Back Store in Encinitas. Beds seemed good, mass-production, quality, but high prices and limited variety left me disappointed. The salesperson was friendly but not very knowledgeable.
Last local store was Scripps Natural Mattress in Carlsbad. The owner was friendly, and knowledgeable. The beds came in a variety of configurations, were very comfortable and very well-made, but with a price about 50% higher than competitors, seemed targeted to an upscale market. The showroom was small, clean and comfortable with about 6-7 offerings on display.
After handling and laying on latex materials at local retailers, and preferring feel of 100% Talalay latex for its combination of firm, soft, support and springy resiliency. We contacted online retailers Arizona Premium Mattress Company (APMC) and SleepEz to try a custom build. Both were very competitively priced, and knowledgeable – in line with reviews on your site. Main differences between the two seemed to be that APMC was a bit cheaper, but SleepEz offered faster delivery (by several weeks). Also, APMC used fewer layers (a single 6" core as opposed to SleepEz who uses only 2" and 3" layers), thereby sacrificing post-purchase layering flexibility for a claimed better performing mattress. Though I didn’t compare the two, I’m not convinced there is much difference as once the layers are zipped into a snug-fitting, quilted mattress cover there isn’t any noticeable movement of layers.
We ended up buying a 100% “organic” Talalay set from SleepEz. Shawn was very helpful. When I told him our weights (110-160 lb range), habits (one back sleeper and one side sleeper), and preference for a firm bed, he suggested the Latex 9000 with soft topper only 2" thick rather than 3". Happy to report that after sleeping on the bed for over one month we are both very pleased with result. The bed is a dream and we’ve both settled on identical layering of: F-3", M-3", S-2" (from the bottom up).
More take-aways:
- The boxes are large and heavy. Be prepared to handle them.
- Assembly of the two twin-size SleepEz wood foundations was a breeze. Little effort required and we completed both in only 15-20 minutes.
- Constructing the mattress went amazingly quickly. In less than 45 minutes I unpacked and assembled the mattress. I’ve re-arranged the foam layers multiple times since by myself. An able-bodied adult should be able to manage it in about 15 minutes.
- My apprehension about a split top layer separating down the middle appears unfounded. We used the quilted cover, and once zipped-up, the layers are held pretty tightly together and a high friction factor keeps layers from sliding against each other.
- What you feel in a showroom may not be replicated at home. A thick quilted cover, plus mattress protector, etc. can change the feel significantly, adding stiffness and isolating you from the plushness of the soft, top, “comfort layer”. Trying to contain and protect the mattress, while preserving the wonderful, comforting, feel of a soft Talalay latex top layer can be a challenge.
- While I did not try it, I suspect using a thinner, non-quilted, jersey-type mattress cover, could improve feel, but might allow “split” layers to drift apart creating a gap.
- SleepEz added two “free” pillows in either solid or shredded latex. We chose shredded, which was a mistake. We found them to heavy, thick, lumpy, and uncomfortable (at least in king size). Attempts to improve them by removing some of the shredded fill simply made a mess, and created pillows which looked and handled like loose sacks of potatoes.
- The bed is so comfortable as first configured, we’ve kept it that way and love it, but I did experiment with F-3", F-3", S-2" for her (back sleeper), and M-3", M-3", S-2" for me (side sleeper). She found little difference - happy with either. I found the M-M-S provided insufficient support, leaving me “sinking” into the mattress.
- I was curious to see if exchanging the 2" topper for a 3" would be even more comfortable, but didn’t try it since SleepEz says the extra inch in thickness needs their larger mattress cover.
- For larger beds with split layers the SleepEz Latex 10000 seems to offer the most possible layering combinations since all layers are the same thickness.
Bottom line: We love our latex mattress! B)
P.S. Anyone want some latex pillows? :lol:
