As many others have already done, I would like to start off by thanking you for creating a forum with so much good information. My wife and I are searching for a new bed because our current bed is a cheap king size mattress that is making us miserable. We have been looking at mattresses at the large furniture stores, which I now know is a mistake, and found an Aireloom latex (Waterford with comfort pillow pad) that we love. Unfortunately the mattress is 8k. We have a decent budget of 2-5k. Thanks to your mattress forum we are looking at a local manufacture named Rocky Mountain Mattress–the Rendevous is out top choice… Can you offer some advice to a couple of complete rookies? I’m 6’3" 200lbs and am a side or back sleeper. My wife is 5’5" 118 lbs and is a side sleeper and is 4 months pregnant. No back or joint issues, but I am a light sleeper who favors plush mattresses.
You’ve probably read this already but just in case … post #1 here and the information it links to should be very helpful. It includes links for how to test for pressure relief and alignment/support (which are the two main functions of every mattress) to make sure a mattress is suitable for you and also links to information about some of the many preferences that may be part of your own personal “value equation” which are all the things to consider that may be important to you in any mattress purchase.
As you probably also know … I think very highly of Rocky Mountain Mattress (who are members here) and the quality/value of their mattresses are among the best in the country IMO. I have confidence that they will also give you some good guidance and help about which mattress may be most suitable for you … particularly if you are local to their factory and have a chance to meet with them and test their mattresses in person … although they are also very helpful on the phone if you are dealing with them long distance.
Once you’ve read some of the basic information … if you have any questions along the way that weren’t answered there … feel free to post them on the forum
Thanks for your advice. Even though their office wasn’t open, Dave, from Rocky Mountain Mattress, met with me to discuss possible mattress options. I showed him the mattress that we liked and he helped me create one to match. Although I can’t recite the exact details, I believe that the mattress is basically latex/foam hybrid mattress. It has two layers of progressively denser talalay latex for the comfort layer, with a reflex hybrid 6" layer on the bottom. I believe the layers between these two are memory foam, though I can’t remember the exact details. The mattress will be 14" overall and will have a wool and bamboo cover.
I am a little nervous because it is a custom mattress design, but I am confident that Dave sent us in the right direction. I will post an update when we get the mattress in a couple of weeks.
I like custom builds and it’s great to work with a manufacturer that will build to the specs that we want or to match something that we like. There’s also something that is somehow satisfying (to me at least) in knowing that the mattress was designed for me. I guess this is similar to buying a custom suit or pair of shoes.
Of course you should also give the mattress a name because it’s your own design and unique to you
It sounds like a very interesting layering with a latex surface feel and response but modified a little by the memory foam middle or transition layers. It would be interesting to see how this felt and I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback when you’ve had the chance to sleep on it.
Thanks. I will wait to name it until I sleep on it :unsure: as for the interesting construction, I’m not sure that I’ve explained it that well. Now that I think about it, I think the mattress is several layers of latex on a reflex base. After having read a few more discussions on the blog I am wondering if the 14" overall thickness might be a problem given your advice in this post:
While we are dealing with a little bit different situation, with 9" or so of latex top over a 5" reflex base, I am worried about over sagging. Since we just placed the order now is the time to make any changes before they start to assemble it. The mattress we are trying to replicate is the following:
We don’t really want springs, and with Rocky Mountain Mattress they aren’t an option. Like I said before, The rep was great and I’m not trying to second guess him, but I hope that i gave him enough information. I want to get this right the first time. I don’t sleep we’ll and hope a good mattress can help.
The post you linked was about a completely different issue … I think. The answer was referring to whether they needed more than about 8 or 9" of latex and my reply was that unless they were very heavy that they probably wouldn’t. that doesn’t mean that more would be a problem … only that they probably wouldn’t need it.
I’m not quite clear on what you’re concerned about. I don’t see any issues or weak links or potential sagging issues with 9" of latex in various layers over a 5" polyfoam base underneath it and I’m not sure where I may have suggested that an overall mattress height of 14" could cause a problem. The weak link of a mattress is usually in the upper layers and from your description it appears that the top 9" is latex which is a high quality and durable material. Is this correct?
Without knowing the layering of both the Airloom Waterford and the mattress you are having made I’m not really able to make any specific comments about either of them or how they may compare but I don’t see an issue with the basic construction of your mattress. Is that what you mean?
Perhaps I’m misunderstanding what you’re asking?
Yes, I was asking if you saw any problem with that basic construction (i.e., potential to sag). I am positive that the material is of the highest quality. You did not suggest that 14" was an issue, I was just asking whether the discussion I linked to about the thickness and potential to sag was something I should worry about in this case. Based on your response, it’s not.
Thanks again for your advice. I will update once we have the mattress.
Sometimes the “devil is in the details” and it’s easy to misunderstand the specifics of what someone is asking (or at least it’s easy for me to get confused :)).
I’m glad we’re on the same page and just to confirm my answer … I don’t see any inherent issue with sagging with a mattress that has 9" of good quality latex in the top layers and good quality firm polyfoam in the bottom few inches.
After almost two months of sleeping on our new mattress, I need to update this post: the mattress is everything we had hoped it would be. At first it seemed far too firm, but based on your advice in other posts I decided to give it a few weeks before I made a final judgment. Turns out the mattress is perfect for us. We are both still amazed that nothing hurts in the morning anymore. Unlike some of the foam mattresses/mattress pads I’ve tried, the latex doesn’t resist my side-to-side movement. But the mattress doesn’t transfer movement from one person to the other - I rarely notice when my wife gets up in the middle of the night.
That’s great news (there’s nothing quite like sleeping well) and since you are past any adjustment period or break in period it seems to me that you made a great choice in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment and Personal preferences) and with the durability of latex you should enjoy your mattress for many years to come.
