I bought a SleepWorld brand mattress and Ergomotion adjustable foundation at Mancini’s Sleepworld in Berkeley, CA in late January. Even though I wasn’t particularly pleased with the salespeople, I went with this store because they had the size foundation I wanted, Full XL, at a very fair price. It is difficult to find Full XL beds!
The foundation is working out very well, and I actually like the feel of the mattress somewhat, but it already seems to be developing problem areas where the bed bends (despite the claim that it is adjustable base compatible). I spend a fair amount of time with the head and foot of the bed raised, so this puts a lot of weight on the mattress where your rear end is. I am finding that I am getting mild discomfort in the tailbone. I don’t think this occurred the first few weeks, which makes me think the mattress is now failing, though I’m not 100% sure this is the case.
According to the sticker, my current mattress, a SleepWorld Sapphire Plush, is vaguely composed of the following:
800 Series 8" 15 guage Tri-zone Coil
Latex Core Band
1 ¼" Convoluted Foam
½" Plush Poly Foam
¾" High Density Foam
High Loft Fire Barrier
High Res Densified Fiber Pad
360 degree Foam Encased Edge Support
Built with Environmentally Friendly Foams
The only other Full XL mattress Mancicni’s offers that feels comfortable to me (for a possible exchange) is their Beautyrest Recharge Ultra Cecilia Luxury Firm. But I’m afraid it may end up having similar iissues at the bend points, though it too is supposed to be adjustable base compatible.
I have been reading about natural latex mattresses and am wondering if that might work better on the adjustable base, or a natural latex/innerspring combination. Some of my preferences: I do not care about motion transfer (it’s just me most the time). I prefer natural fiber such as wool for fire protection and would not want a product with heavy off-gassing. I do care about heat (don’t want it). I do not like the “turtle on it’s back” feel of most memory foam because I have mobility issues. I need a medium firmness – I sleep both on my side and back. Finally, I strongly prefer a bed with excellent edge support because I have to spend a half hour nightly sitting on the bed doing an injection regimen.
Do you think that natural latex is a good choice for me or should I be looking at something else?
Also, can you suggest retailers in my area? I live in El Cerrito, which is close to the towns of Berkeley, Albany, Richmond, Emeryville and Pinole, California.
Thank you so much for the site. Wish I’d seen it a couple months ago.
Welcome … and I wish that you had found us before you purchased your mattress as well.
Your mattress has pocket coils so it should be compatible with an adjustable bed and I would suspect that the issue is with low quality/density polyfoam above the pocket coils.
[quote]1 ¼" Convoluted Foam
½" Plush Poly Foam
¾" High Density Foam[/quote]
While they don’t mention the density of these foam layers … they are almost certainly low quality/density materials which are much more likely to soften or break down fairly quickly. I would suggest avoiding any mattress that has more than “about an inch or so” of low quality/density or “unknown density” materials in the upper layers of the mattress and your mattress has 2.5" of what is likely to be lower quality/density polyfoam.
I would agree that your odds of having similar issues would be much too high. All the major brands (such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta) tend to use lower quality materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (and the major retailers that focus on them as well) along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
[quote]I have been reading about natural latex mattresses and am wondering if that might work better on the adjustable base, or a natural latex/innerspring combination. Some of my preferences: I do not care about motion transfer (it’s just me most the time). I prefer natural fiber such as wool for fire protection and would not want a product with heavy off-gassing. I do care about heat (don’t want it). I do not like the “turtle on it’s back” feel of most memory foam because I have mobility issues. I need a medium firmness – I sleep both on my side and back. Finally, I strongly prefer a bed with excellent edge support because I have to spend a half hour nightly sitting on the bed doing an injection regimen.
Do you think that natural latex is a good choice for me or should I be looking at something else?[/quote]
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … I don’t make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components 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” or PPP 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).
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article).
Latex is certainly a very high quality and durable material and it’s also very flexible to as long as it’s not too thick (say more than 12" or so) then it will conform very well to an adjustable bed but the best way to know which types of materials or mattresses you tend to prefer will be based on your own careful testing or your own personal experience. Not everyone likes the feel of latex just like not everyone likes memory foam or any other type of mattress or material.
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found our site but the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and perhaps more 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 (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) 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.
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the San Francisco/San Rafael/Oakland/Berkeley areas (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked in the last paragraph) are listed in post #2 here. You certainly have some good options in the general area.
