Latex questions

[phoenix]

Hi tamracks,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! … and I’m glad you found us :).

Outside of the tutorial post which it looks like you’ve read … post #3 here also has more information that may be helpful for those that are in higher weight ranges.

Based on what I read on the card that accompanied the mattress, it is the “Natural Splendour II” model on this page of Therapedic’s site: www.therapedic.com/mattresses/puretouch/puretouch-ii/ Is there anything you can tell us about the quality of that mattress based on the specs given there? What are the pros and cons of a latex over foam mattress versus an all-latex mattress?

The Natural Splendour II mattress uses good quality materials (Talalay latex and 1.8 lb polyfoam in the base layer) and there are no obvious weak links but I would be a little cautious because the comfort layers may be a little on the thick/soft side for your weight and could be a little risky in terms of alignment so I would make sure that you do some careful testing on this mattress for PPP. There is more about the pros and cons of a latex/polyfoam hybrid vs an all latex mattress in post #2 here.

One thing I wasn’t quite sure about at Boston Bed was the sales guy. He wasn’t pushy, and he was friendly. He was a bit overly chatty, rambling on about various mattress-related things that was sometimes more wordy than helpful, and there were a few things he said that made me wonder. I asked what pros/cons there were to having poly foam as the base versus an all latex mattress like the Savvy Rest, and he seemed to doubt that anyone made an all latex mattress. He seemed to be a fan of latex in general, though. It struck me as odd. Am I overreacting?

It would seem odd to me if they weren’t aware that there are many all latex mattresses in the market (especially in the greater Boston area where there are many) but they may just not be aware of some of their competition. As long as they are knowledgeable about their own mattresses and the materials inside it I wouldn’t be particularly concerned about how knowledgeable they were about other mattresses that they don’t carry. You may also have just encountered a salesperson that was less knowledgeable about other mattresses.

I do tend to lack patience, a tendency I’m really trying to fight in this process, so I’d like to check out a few more places. I am interested in looking into latex more. One of the other places on the list close-ish to us would be Spindle, but I was looking at their site, and they apparently don’t recommend their latex mattress to anyone with a BMI over 31, which puts me way outside that range (I’m 5’10", 270 lbs), and even my husband is barely in it (he’s 5’8", 205 lbs). On the other hand, I think that I have read that latex is considered a good material for heavier people, so I’m not sure what to believe. I still want to try more latex, but if Spindle doesn’t think that my body is a good fit for their mattresses, then would going there only be wasting my time and theirs?

It would certainly be worth talking to them on the phone about your circumstances to see if the information you read would still be relevant to what they currently have available but as far as I know they don’t make mattresses that are thicker than 9" or that use the firmest latex so they may still advise you to consider other manufacturers.

I am thinking of going to one of the organic places in the area to give something like the Savvy Rest a try, even though it will be way outside what I want to spend. I think I’d really prefer to stay under $2k for a queen set, but I could maybe go a bit higher for the right mattress.

Some of the members here that sell latex mattresses online (that are listed in the optional online step in the tutorial post) make mattresses that are quite similar to Savvy Rest (component mattresses that use multiple 3" layers in a choice of firmness levels with Talalay or Dunlop latex and that have a zip cotton cover quilted with wool) so if your testing indicates that a particular Savvy Rest configuration is a good match for you in terms of PPP it would certainly be worthwhile talking with them because most of them are familiar with how their own mattresses and the options they have available compare to Savvy Rest and they are in lower budget ranges and will usually have better exchange and return options as well. There are also other component latex mattresses that use different designs (different layer thicknesses or different combinations of latex) that may also be worth considering that are in your budget range.

Since I liked the stretchy knit cover at Boston Bed, do you know of any other latex mattresses that I might be able to find for local testing with a similar cover? Do any of the online latex mattresses have a similar cover?

I don’t know off the top of my head no. Unfortunately it’s not possible for one person to keep up with all the specifics of all the mattresses that each retailer or manufacturer has on their floor in all the hundreds of lists around the forum in a constantly changing market so you would need to check the websites and/or make some phone calls to some of the manufacturers or retailers on the list to ask them. Having said that … I do know that the Pure Latex Bliss mattresses (that use blended Talalay latex) also use non quilted stretch covers.

With a few exceptions … most of the component latex mattresses that are sold online also use quilted covers that are often quilted with wool (wool is a great temperature regulator and can also be used as a fire barrier) but there are few exceptions and some of them may also have the option to replace the wool quilted cover with a stretch knit cover as well so it would certainly be worth asking them if they can do this if this is your preference and you do decide to consider purchasing online. There is more about different types of quilted covers vs stretch knit covers in post #12 here and the posts it links to.

Phoenix