Latex Mattress Questions - Brick and Mortar vs Online

Hi all,

I’m new to latex mattresses, but having read up a bit, am pretty convinced that they’re the way for me to go. Here’s my background: I’m a side sleeper, 5’7 and 130 lbs. I’ve been in a lose-lose sleep situation where my right shoulder doesn’t want to be slept on but my right hip does (funny how having a baby 1.5 years ago brought back old injuries and created new ones!). My husband is about the same measurements, and claims to not care what we sleep on as long as it is “a bed.” He usually sleeps on his stomach though he moves around a lot. We currently have an ancient innerspring with a memory foam topper. The memory foam helps a bit with motion isolation, but the overall sensation is just not quite right. I hope latex will put a bit of bounce back in the bed, but also be an ideal cradle for my tender right side.

Anyhow, after reading up on latex, I went out to test drive a few mattresses in brick and mortar stores today. In general, I ended up liking the hybrids more than the all latex mattresses. Here are my favorites;

The Natural Mattress Store:

Meditation

  • in extra-soft top layer
  • $2500
  • description: alpaca/wool/cotton cover (didn’t note inches), 3" Talalay layer, 1" firm Dunlop layer over medium pocket coil springs (didn’t note inches)
  • felt so deluxe–like what I imagine a mattress twice this price would cost

Awareness

  • I tried in extra-soft and soft top layers
  • $2800
  • description: (I didn’t note what 1" of cover was made of), 3" all natural Talalay latex on top, 3" medium organic Dunlop as middle, 3" extra firm Dunlop as base
  • This was certainly better than our current mattress and felt very “even.” In terms of feel, I suspect it may be my husband’s top pick (in terms of price, it isn’t).

Nest Bedding

Latex Hybrid

  • in soft top layer
  • $1599
  • description: 2" wool top layer, 3" Dunlop, 7" of “5 zone” pocked coils
  • for the top layer, they could do medium for one sleeper and soft for the other sleeper if my husband wanted something slightly firmer
  • I was surprised at how much I liked this, though it helped that it was about $1K less than the others!

Unfortunately, money is a factor in all this, which brings me to the following questions:

  1. Can the extra 1" of latex in the Meditation justify it being $900 more than the Nest Latex Hybrid?
  2. I believe that the Nest Hybrid is made by Brentwood. Is it the same as the Brentwood Palmetto (listed at $1150 online)?
  3. If we went all-latex, would a 10" SleepEZ ($1650) with the following specs feel like the Awareness? SleepEZ: 1" cover of quilted wool, 3" soft Talalay blended top layer, 3" medium Dunlop for second layer, 3" extra firm Dunlop for third layer.

I appreciate any feedback. Also, if you have any experience on buying from The Natural Mattress Store (San Francisco), Nest (San Francisco), Brentwood (online), or SleepEZ (online), I welcome that too.

Thank you!

Hi snoozyinsf,

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” for 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 mattress firmness/comfort levels in 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 … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

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”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and 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 he will sleep), durability (how long he 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 (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).

Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the durability guidelines here … 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). The best way to know which types of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer in general terms will be based on your own local testing or your own personal experience.

[quote]The Natural Mattress Store:

Meditation

  • in extra-soft top layer
  • $2500
  • description: alpaca/wool/cotton cover (didn’t note inches), 3" Talalay layer, 1" firm Dunlop layer over medium pocket coil springs (didn’t note inches)
  • felt so deluxe–like what I imagine a mattress twice this price would cost

Awareness

  • I tried in extra-soft and soft top layers
  • $2800
  • description: (I didn’t note what 1" of cover was made of), 3" all natural Talalay latex on top, 3" medium organic Dunlop as middle, 3" extra firm Dunlop as base
  • This was certainly better than our current mattress and felt very “even.” In terms of feel, I suspect it may be my husband’s top pick (in terms of price, it isn’t).

Nest Bedding

Latex Hybrid

  • in soft top layer
  • $1599
  • description: 2" wool top layer, 3" Dunlop, 7" of “5 zone” pocked coils
  • for the top layer, they could do medium for one sleeper and soft for the other sleeper if my husband wanted something slightly firmer
  • I was surprised at how much I liked this, though it helped that it was about $1K less than the others![/quote]

All of these mattresses use high quality materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links that would be a reason for concern in terms of the durability or useful life of any of them.

There is more about some of the differences between latex/innerspring hybrids and an all latex mattress in post #13 here and the posts it links to but once again this would be a preference and budget choice rather than a “better/worse” choice.

This would probably be only be one of many differences between them and the price of a mattress isn’t only dependent on the thickness of any latex layers in the mattress but since both of them use good quality and durable materials it would depend on whether one of them was a better “match” for you in terms of “comfort” firmness,and PPP and any of the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Nest Bedding has a few different manufacturers that supply their mattresses but I don’t know if this one is made by Brentwood.

The Brentwood Palmetto is a latex/polyfoam hybrid and doesn’t have a pocket coil so it would be a completely different type or category of mattress than the Nest Bedding latex/pocket coil hybrid.

All the layers and components of a mattress (including the cover and any quilting material) will have some effect on all the other layers and components in the mattress both above and below it and on the mattress “as a whole”.

If you have two mattresses that are close to identical that both use the same type and blend of latex in all the layers and each layer is the same thickness and the same firmness and both mattresses have a very similar cover and quilting materials then overall they would likely feel very similar to each other but the more differences there are between them in terms of the type or blend of the latex in each layer, the thickness of each layer, the firmness of each layer, and the specifics of the cover then the more likely it would be that they would feel different from each other in side by side testing.

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, 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 and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.

Once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” (which you have) and you have confirmed that none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design (which they don’t) and if at this point there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your more detailed conversations with each of them, your personal preferences, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers and any costs involved, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

Phoenix