Latex or Innerspring

[phoenix]

Hi mdarnell27,

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 can help you make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

My name is Mike and I bought a Cal king Tempur-pedic Rhapsody Luxe (2014 model) with the Ergo adjustable base. To review this bed I will say that sleeping hot wasn’t an issue for me number one. However, this mattress has caused me severe back (upper/ middle and lower) problems, as well as neck problems. It really messed up my quality of life, when I bought it to hopefully get better sleep and replace my 8 year old “costco special”. Maybe this mattress works for some people (like my 100lb girlfriend, but not for me (6’0" 250LBS). Unfortunately is spent 75% of my trial period working out of town sleeping soundly on every innerspring bed I slept on. (especially the pillow tops) When I finally got a good feel for the bed and decided it wasn’t going to work for me the trial was over. Ive been trying to “grin and bare it” but last night I decided to sleep on the 8 year old innerspring in the guest bedroom and just like that, the pain was all gone this morning.

I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the Tempurpedic Rhapsody. While the Rhapsody uses high quality and durable materials that would be a suitable choice for many people … even in higher weight ranges (see the foam quality guidelines here) … it certainly seems clear that it isn’t a suitable choice for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). As you have discovered … a mattress that can be “perfect” for one person may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on … even if they have a very similar body type. There is more about the most important parts of a successful mattress purchase in post #13 here.

Foam Sweet Foam felt like a nice mattress. They are not meant to be flipped, and owner says his mattresses don’t require flipping. I found that I prefer all Talalay 12" (four 3" layers), and I really liked the X-FIrm, Firm, Med, Soft configuration. However, the owner is about my size and he advises against the soft for someone my size. He says he has the X-Firm, Firm, Med, Med all Talalay and he recommends I try that.

As you probably know … Foam Sweet Foam is one of the members here which means that I think very highly of them and they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency. Based on “averages” this would make good sense because a mattress that is too soft for you could lead to back issues similar to what you were experiencing.

The good thing is they allow you to change one layer within 30 or 60 days, I don’t recall. These mattresses are one sided and require a flat foundation. If needed, the 4 layers can be flipped around to change the feel. They have a trial period where you can return the mattress for a hefty restocking fee(don’t want to have to do that). Bed requires a platform that can be bought elsewhere as long as it has the require support.

Their exchange period is 30 days and their return period is 60 days (see here). There is also more about the different types of foundations or other support systems that most suitable for suitable for different types of mattresses in the foundation post here.

I called Escondido Mattress and a nice older gentlemen by the name of Randy (owner I assume) answered. He answered a lot of my questions. Their mattresses are only 6 or 9" I believe, but they are double sided and can be flipped which he highly recommends. He also said that all Mattresses should be on a box spring to increase the life of the mattress and make it more comfortable. No returns according to Randy, if you buy it, its yours. I couldn’t get an answer on warranty except we will take care of you. He did keep telling me that I could trust him because he’s an old man, and he’s from the “old school”. I told him thats not enough for me at this point.

They are also a member here which means that they would also be a recommended choice. There is more about the pros and cons of a two sided mattress in post #3 here.

OCMattress put me on an Aireloom innerspring with a stitched in latex “comfort layer”. The bed felt nice, but I don’t think I would buy anything from there again.

I would be very cautious with Aireloom because for most people they certainly wouldn’t be the best quality/value choice. At the very least I would make sure you know the specifics of all the layers and components in any of their mattresses you are considering (see this article) so you can identify any weak links in their mattresses and make more meaningful comparisons with other similar mattresses. They may not be particularly transparent about the materials inside their mattresses (see this article).

At Custom Comfort Mattress, I laid on two fully latex beds. I believe they were 8 or 9". They were flip-able like Escondidio. One was too firm IMO and the other was too soft. There was a week long gap between trying these beds and Foam Sweet Foam, but I feel like Foam Sweet Foam felt way better. I also tried many firm innerspring beds with comfort layers. They show you the inner workings of their beds with a display. They don’t use much foam layers in the mattress from what I saw, mainly a lot of tufted cotton. I tried some firm innersprings that came with one separate (unstitched) toppers made of mostly latex and a thin layer of soy foam above the latex in a “quilt looking” stitch pattern. These can be flipped on their own and replaced without replacing the innerspring mattress. The thicknesses ranged from 1" to 4" on the toppers from what I could see. The bed that felt the best to me was an innerspring, and had a latex/ soy foam pillow top approx 1-2" thick stitched into both sides of the mattress. The bed felt a lot better to me than the latex beds they had in store and the beds with the single separate pillow top. These beds all came with a wood platform. They do not accept returns from what I understand, but they have something called a 30 or 60 day (i can’t recall) comfort guarantee. If you don’t like it they will pick it up in the morning and modify it that day so you will have it back that evening. From what I hear from other consumers, this has never gone too well for them. You do have to pay extra if you add any material to your desired comfort. Material fees would be a good thing to ask about if I pursue these beds.

They also make some very high quality mattresses and are transparent about the materials they use but I would also make some careful “value” comparisons here because they may be in higher budget ranges than other similar mattresses. You can see some thoughts about them in post #2 here and in the Los Angeles list here.

I am definitely a WORRIED about foam period, even if it is latex. Will it support me as good as an innerspring? Will it last as long?

There is more about primary support, secondary support, and pressure relief in post #4 here but any type of materials in the right design can be just as suitable or “supportive” as any other type of materials in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) if the design of the mattress is a good “match” for you. There is more about the many factors that can affect durability and the useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #4 here and as you will see latex is among the most durable materials that are used in the industry.

If I do well on innerspring in hotels should I just go with what’s proven?

You can read more about hotel mattresses in post #3 here. Most of them are just lower quality versions of typical major brand mattresses (which I would avoid … see the guidelines here) and if you do decide that you prefer innerspring/polyfoam mattresses that are typical for hotel mattresses I would make sure that they use much much higher quality and more durable materials than most hotel mattresses.

I’ve already had to go throughout the trouble of selling the memory foam bed and base and have taken a $2,000 hit in just 5 months on a bed I’ve spent little more than 2 months in. Too many choices and all I want is a good, pain free sleep. HELLLLLP!

If you follow the steps in the tutorial post one at a time and take your time with each one you will have the best possible chance of making the best possible choice in terms of suitability, durability, and value.

Phoenix