Latex Mattress Retailers near Downsview (Toronto)

[phoenix]

Hi ivy2013,

I switched your post to a new topic so your posts will be easier to keep track of and won’t get mixed up with another members posts.

Just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choices … and perhaps most importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

One of the big chain stores here in Canada (Sleep Country) was our first stop in our search for a new mattress just to see what is available. They pointed us to their Sealy Optimum collection and after trying a few of them we settled on the Radiance model (www.sealy.com/mattresses/optimum/radiance.html#youmightliketab). As usual, their normal price was marked as $2200 but after some bargaining they brought it down to $1300 (I can’t believe the mark up at the major stores!). Luckily we didn’t buy the mattress but the deal is still available if we want it so I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the Radiance mattress layers. It shows the top 2 comfort layers as 2" OptiCool Gel Memory Foam, 2" Optisense Gel Memory Foam and the support layer is 7" High Density Gel Foam. They mention Gel in all the layers but from reading your posts I doubt that as Gel seems like the most expensive type of material that can be used to make a mattress. It would seem to be that they are just using Memory Foam for the first 2 layers and Poly for the bottom support layer. They call it High Density but there is no detailed information on any of the layers. Just wanted to know what you thought, or if you had any info. Even though we liked the feel of the mattress, we are probably going to stay away unless you can tell us otherwise.

As you can see in the guidelines here … I would avoid chain stores and the major brands (such as Sealy, Simmons, and Serta) or any mattress where you won’t be able to find out the type and quality of all the materials inside the mattress. There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here. If you are still considering a major brand mattress like the Optimum and your careful testing has confirmed that it’s a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) then if you can find out the type and quality of all the layers in the mattress (see this article) and list them on the forum then I’d be happy to make some comments about the quality of the materials or help you identify any lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress. If you aren’t able to find out this information I would pass the mattress by.

My wife is a very “green” oriented person and after looking at new mattresses she did some research online about how many bad substances are used in many mattresses out there and decided that we should probably get an organic mattress.

If you are considering organic, natural, safe, or “green” mattresses then I would also read post #2 here and the posts it links to which can help differentiate between all the “marketing” terminology you will find (which all have different meanings) and help you decide on the types of materials that you are most comfortable including in your mattress.

My first search came up with a local warehouse dealer (probably clearance stuff) that carried 2 “organic” latex brands, Dream Star and Galaxy. Each company has a website but there aren’t many reviews out there for either mattress manufacturer. I wanted to know if you had any recommendations on either of these brands/mattresses.

Outside of PPP … a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer. Both Dream Star and Galaxy are local wholesale manufacturers that are sold through retail stores in the area and both of them may have some better quality/value mattresses than most of the mattresses you will encounter in the mainstream stores. Post #1 here includes the list of better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Toronto area and includes both of them as a possibility that would be worth considering if any retail stores near you carry them but once again … outside of PPP a mattress is only as good as the quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer.

- First is the Dream Star Natural Escape (dreamstarbedding.com/NATURAL_ESCAPE.html) which is 4" Latex on Top and 6" HD foam on bottom. The latex is in 7 zones which worries me as I read in one of your posts that usually more than 3 zones is unenecessary and can be problematic. There also isn’t any layer specific information I could find. This is not a pure latex mattress but the price is very reasonable.

I would want to know the type and blend of the latex in this mattress and the density of the polyfoam in the support core but the latex would be a high quality material and if the support core is also a suitable density (see the guidelines here) and the mattress is 10" thick (so you can make sure that all the layers are included in the description) then there would be no weak links in this mattress.

[quote]- Second is the Galaxy Pur Latex (galaxybedding.ca/mattresses/latex-mattresses-16/purlatex-57). This mattress is 3" Blue Tec Natural Latex in the top layer and 7" Natural Latex Core on the support layer.
Again, just wondering if you have heard anything about either manufacturer and if you have any recommendations.We did try the Dream Star and liked the feel of it. haven’t tried the Galaxy yet.[/quote]

Again … I would want to know the type and blend of the latex in this mattress as well but if the mattress is also 10" thick a there are no other layers and components in the mattress then the materials would also be high quality and there would be no weak links in this mattress either.

There is more about some of the differences between a latex/polyfoam hybrid and an all latex mattress in post #2 here and there is also more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here.

- Essentia (the reviews seem fantastic, but the price is really up there) - Best Organic Mattress - Beyond LatexTM Foam | Essentia Mattress

You can read some of my thoughts about Essentia and some of the misleading claims they make and some forum discussions with them in this thread and this thread and posts #3 and #4 here). Needless to say I would be very cautious here.

- Natura - Natura Mattresses - Natura USA

You can see some comments about Natura in post #7 here. They make some high quality mattresses but I would make some careful value comparisons because they may also be in more premium budget ranges than other similar mattresses.

Phoenix