Latex mattress woes!

[phoenix]

Hi CaroMac,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

This site is a great resource! I have spent several hours reading and searching, and I have found lots of great wisdom here.

You’re welcome. I’m glad you’ve found the information here useful.

Several years ago I purchased an OMI Duo latex mattress, with (bottom to top): firm, soft, soft layers. When I tried the floor model, it was soft and wonderful, but ever since we received our mattress (at this point this is >5 years ago), I have not slept well, and I find the mattress much too firm and dense!

I’m sorry you’re not sleeping well on your OMI mattress. It is certainly unfortunate that you find the configuration you’ve chosen to be “too firm”, as overall it is a quite plush arrangement.

After we initially received it, I went back to the store several times to compare to the floor model, and the floor model was significantly softer than the one I received. At the time, I didn’t do very much digging to figure out why and accepted the retailer’s explanation that the one we purchased would “likely get softer over time” and several reassurances that “this is exactly the same one you bought”. When I purchased the mattress, OMI was still selling both Dunlop and Talalay layers. I am fairly certain mine are Dunlop, but the floor model may well have been Talalay. Or my layers may have been mislabeled and maybe I don’t really have soft Dunlop (I also ordered a King comforter at the time, and while it was labeled King, when I measured it I discovered it was actually a Double). Or perhaps it was just due to individual variation between the layers that were produced.

I’m sorry, but I can’t speak to what you may have tested in the showroom versus what you have at home, but I would imagine that you would have confirmed both of those things back when you purchased your product (and would be written upon your sales receipt), and it certainly would be easy enough for someone at the store you visited to come out and inspect to make sure you have what you ordered. But as this is now five years later, this is probably a moot point.

It is true that any new mattress, even a latex one, will lose a bit of “false firmness”, and in your case it would mostly be in the mattress encasement softening up a bit with use. You are correct that a Dunlop at a similar ILD to a Talalay latex layer will feel a bit firmer. Also, your mattress at home using a mattress pad and fitted sheet will “firm up” the overall feel a bit. Also, there could be a difference in the foundation used in the showroom versus what you use at home (active versus non-flexing). These are just a few reasons why a mattress can feel a bit firmer at home versus in the showroom, and I know some of these may not be applicable to your situation or responsible for the difference you feel at home. Just more a general FYI for someone else reading through this thread.

One other thing to mention – is the sculpted top surface facing upward on the uppermost layer? I know it’s a simple question, but that will make a difference in comfort.

[quote]The two options I am considering are:

1. Adding a soft Talalay topper (I’ve been looking at the SavvyRest Vitality) to our current bed. My question is whether just the topper is enough, or if the problem is more significant and I should switch to a different mattress altogether. I don’t want to waste money buying a topper if I should just put it towards a new mattress instead.[/quote]

This certainly will add more surface plushness to your existing sleep set. The concern would be if the additional 3" of plush Talalay will create “too deep” of a comfort cradle for you which can have the potential to negatively impact your alignment. I can’t answer if this will be “enough” for you, as only you can tell that through your own personal testing. My overall concern would be having too many plush comfort layers. As you liked having a topper on your old mattress, it may be that you would prefer a topper on any mattress you use, even if you switch to a new product. Some people do have that preference.

[quote]2. Buying an OMI Rest Rossa mattress (pocket coils + soft latex).
Wondering if all-latex just isn’t for me, I tried this mattress as well, and I found it to feel very comfortable in the store. With the soft Talalay topper on top of the Rossa, that felt heavenly. The owner of the store said that she has never sold such a soft configuration to a customer (but it is what she herself sleeps on and loves, after a similar saga of an all-latex mattress being too firm for her). If I bought the Rossa, I could get one side soft for me, and firm for my husband. If the mattress itself wasn’t soft enough, I could add the topper later.[/quote]

This again could be another option to achieve a configuration that may more closely approximate what you had previously. With everything you’ve mentioned, my concern would be that this mattress without the topper wouldn’t provide enough plushness for your expressed desire. But your personal testing would be the most appropriate indicator of this.

I am worried that I am just overcompensating from having something too firm that I am swinging too far in the other direction of soft, and I also just don’t trust that liking something in the store will help me at all, as I have been burned by that before!

It is common that people often choose products that are too plush, and as I mentioned previously, this would be a concern. And if you purchase something and it feels dramatically different from the showroom, you should always have someone inspect the product for you to make sure that you received the correct layering as what is mentioned on your sales receipt. Everything that you mentioned you are considering uses good quality and durable materials.

When we stay in hotels, the most comfortable night’s sleep I ever have is on the Marriott foam mattresses (their hotels have spring mattresses in some rooms and foam in others – I have been known to switch rooms in search of a foam one).

Some of these are all polyfoam, others contain latex, and some have “active” foundation systems, so these would all be quite different from what you’re considering here. I would focus most specifically on your comfort perception when testing mattresses out in person in a showroom.

Question: Which configuration (adding super soft latex over other latex layers, or switching to pocket coils) sounds like it would work better for somebody of my build?

Unfortunately, I’m unable to predict what might work best for you, 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 mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

The best I can offer is my earlier commentary in this post, which hopefully can assist you as you go through this process.

If you have other more specific questions as you go through your search, I’ll do my best to be assistive.

Phoenix