I’m interested in purchasing a latex mattress. I live in Kingston, NY. Some places around here carry the Eastman House Brand. Is this one you could recommend? I’m also considered ordering from Spindle in MA and having it shipped but I would like to be able to test it before purchasing, hence my search in my own area.
Thanks for your help.
Hi IMCA22,
I would be very cautious about brand shopping in general because you are buying a specific mattress not the brand and all manufacturers have access to the same or similar components and materials. Many manufacturers make a wide range of mattresses that can vary from lower quality and less durable materials to higher quality and more durable materials in a wide range of prices. The name of the manufacturer on the label or the price of the mattress won’t tell you anything about whether a specific mattress is suitable for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) or whether there are any lower quality materials or weak links in the design that would affect the durability and useful life of the mattress (which are the two most important parts of a mattress purchase). There is more about the risks of brand shopping in post #5 here and post #12 here.
When it comes to the quality and durability of a specific mattress I would focus much more on the type and quality/durability of the materials inside a mattress (which are important to know anyway) than I would on the name of the manufacturer on the label.
I’m assuming that you’ve read 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 most 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” and PPP 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).
While I can’t speak to how a mattress will feel or how different mattresses will compare in terms of comfort and PPP for someone else … outside of “comfort” and PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress always depends on knowing the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new) so I would always make sure that you can find out the information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to confirm that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
As you can see here … Eastman House tends to be more open and transparent about disclosing the type and quality of the materials in their mattresses but they are a wholesale manufacturer that only sells through stores so your ability to find out the specifics of the materials and components in any of their mattresses will also depend on the willingness of the retailer you are dealing with to find out all the information you need to make an informed choice and to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses.
As you probably know Spindle is one of the members of this site which means I think very highly of them (and Neal the owner) and I believe they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge and transparency.
They are a component mattress with a zip cover which means you have good options after a purchase to fine tune the support or comfort of their mattress by rearranging the layers in the mattress or by replacing one of the layers with a softer or firmer version but they are only sold online and as you mentioned they only have a showroom in Acton, MA and they aren’t available locally to you so you wouldn’t be able to test their mattress before a purchase unless you are in reasonable driving distance of their location.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Kingston, NY area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked earlier in this reply) are listed in post #4 here and the lists it also links to.
Phoenix
Thank you Phoenix for your prompt and detailed response. Great information!