My Wife and I are in the market for a new mattress and came across the underground. We have had two of the “S” mattresses that have been less than satisfactory. What we don’t want is motion transfer or a “hump” in the middle (due to poor materials used). We only have 2 furniture stores that sell the “S” as well as tempur mattresses. We are getting a brand new sleep specific store that may bring in Sleeptek products (may be out of our price range). Unfortunately due to distance (Saskatchewan Canada) issues, we are unable to go to any stores that carry latex mattresses.
Online, we have found 2 mattresses sold that we are considering:
Dormio – online exclusive “refresh” mattress - 6" Dunlop Core + 2" medium Latex + $50 charge for wool of indeterminate weight. Shop | Dormio Organic Beds
We spoke directly to Dormio and the talked about a base of 80 or 90 (unsure of what this number represents?). We prefer a medium firm to firm mattress (we think….).
We have several questions in regards to the above mattresses:
1). Are the above usable on both sides?
2). Since we are not able to actually test out these mattresses, how are we to know what the above feel like?
3).Is there any reference point with “S” or tempur that we would assist us in our decision?
4). If the local store brings in Sleeptek, is there a similar model they carry to understand the feel of the two online models we are deciding between?
5).Why is the foundation so important? If we go to a latex mattress, why do we need a “special” foundation?
6). Is one of the above mattresses softer/harder/more durable than the other? If so, why?
Thank you for your post. I’ll do my best to provide some good information to your questions.
The Unison mattress is all latex. The top two layers are each 2" of latex, and the 5 lbs. refers to the density of the latex.
You are certainly looking at a good quality/value mattress and as you know latex is also a very durable material so there are no lower quality materials or weak links that would compromise the durability or useful life of the mattress. Memory Foam Comfort and Dormio are also members of this site which means that i believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.
These are both one-sided mattresses.
All of these questions refer to similar concepts in selecting a mattress, so I’ve grouped them together.
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 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.
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 (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) 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.
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article).
I would also avoid making a “rush” decision without doing “enough” initial research and testing to make a suitable choice in terms of suitability, durability, and your own personal preferences because the risk of making a choice that will leave you in a worse position than you are now would be much too high … particularly if you make a poor choice and don’t have any good options available to return or exchange the mattress for another one that would be a more suitable choice.
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.
It is important that the foundation be strong enough to support the considerable weight of a latex mattress and not deflect as to cause undue sagging in the mattress. A more detailed explanation of foundations and their importance is found here.
Thanks Phoenix for the reply. That information was very helpful.
SInce we first posted, we were able to try a Sleeptek bed at a local shop. We are still considering the 2 mattresses in our original post as the Sleeptek is too much $$$ (out of our budget range).
The sleeptek we tried was the Euro4. They told my wife that she liked firm/medium/soft (the top layer being soft). They told me I liked Medium/medium/soft.
With the above information about sleeptek, We have a few questions:
Is the core available in different firmness? Or does it refer to the layers above the core?
Would the unison with its 4" Dulop core, 2" medium latex and 5lbs soft wool top closer to my wife or my preference (From above)?
Or would the Dormio Refresh with a 6" Dunlop core and a 2" medium latex and a wool layer on top be closer to one of our preferences?
The core is available in “medium” or “firm”. Here is the link to the Sleeptek web site explaining this about the Euro 4 mattress.
Both of these choices would be very different in configuration to what you tested, so I wouldn’t have an ability to surmise which one would be preferred or close to what you liked at the Sleeptek store.
The uppermost layers (closest to your body) will have the greatest impact upon your comfort. Wool has a very different feel from latex, so drawing comparisons would be difficult, and as a practical matter, futile. I would really call these three different products with different resultant comforts. The Dormio Refresh you mentioned has an overall amount of latex closer to the Sleeptek you mentioned, so it would be the closest in the overall amount of similar “material”, but even if you were using the exact same two bottom layers, the addition of the wool would certainly change the feel. There’s a bit more about wool as a top layer in post #8 here.
There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover and any quilting materials) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover and quilting, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be fairly unlikely) then there really isn’t a reliable way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) based on the specifications of the mattresses (even assuming that you can find out all the specifications you would need for both mattresses you are comparing in the first place).
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 (your opinion is paramount) 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” or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or if you can’t test a mattress in person then your own personal sleeping experience (see 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 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 to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else. A phone call with Unison and Dormio would be helpful. Tell them exactly what you tried and liked, and they’ll use the knowledge of their products to do their best to approximate something that is a close match, or at least as close as they are able to provide.
