Looking for a durable Twin XL + adjustable base — Owl Medium is hammocking after 3 years

[mtolman]

I’m 5’7.5" and approximately 185 lbs. I’m primarily a stomach/side sleeper, although I’ve increasingly been sleeping on my back because sleeping on my stomach or side can aggravate my lower back.

My current mattress is a Nest Bedding Owl Medium, purchased just over 3 years ago. I initially found it very comfortable, but it now feels like it has lost some of its structure and is hammocking underneath me. I’m planning to move it to my 3-year-old’s room eventually, so I’m going to need a new mattress regardless.

Interestingly, some of the most comfortable nights of sleep I’ve had in the past have been on my in-laws’ guest bed. From what I can tell, it’s a fairly traditional innerspring mattress with a pillow top. That makes me wonder whether a strong coil system with a relatively modest but durable comfort layer might suit me better than a thick foam comfort system.

I’m also planning to purchase an adjustable base, primarily because I like to read in bed and want to be able to elevate the head. I’m not particularly interested in massage, app controls, etc. I’m looking at Twin XL, although I’d consider Full XL if the price difference is small enough. The occasional husband/kid snuggle would be nice, but it’s not worth spending a lot more.

I’m much more interested in durability and maintaining good support over time than luxury features. I’m also budget-conscious and would prefer to spend around $1,000–$1,500 for mattress + adjustable base if I can get a genuinely good setup in that range.

I’m currently looking at Trusted Members including DLX, SleepEZ, Arizona Premium Mattress, and Engineered Sleep, but I’m open to other suggestions.

My main questions are:

1. Given my experience with the Owl, what mattress construction would you recommend?
2. Does the traditional innerspring/pillow-top experience suggest anything useful about the type of comfort/support system I should look for?
3. Would you favor pocket coils + latex, traditional innersprings + a pillow top, or something else?
4. What would you recommend for the comfort layer thickness/firmness given that I switch between stomach, side, and back sleeping?
5. Are there particular Trusted Members/models you’d recommend I investigate?
6. What should I look for in an adjustable base, given that reading is my primary reason for wanting one?

[Gc123]

I just looked at the build of your nest bed and it looked good to me. Looks like it has a zippered cover and if that’s the case you could open that and possibly figure out what part of the mattress is failing. If it’s the latex that’s replaceable, if it’s the coils that’s also easy to change if you measure the height of them.

To answer your questions people have different preferences for builds here. My opinion is that hybrid with pocket coils is better than all foam or all latex, and that pocket coils outperform inner springs.

[Maverick]

Hi mtolman,

Welcome to the Mattress UnderGround. We are happy you are here and thank you for the question.

I think you are on the right track in your thought process. Let me put this out there first. I have written about hotel/vacation-stay mattresses and their effect on someone’s sleep. In offering the quick scenario there, when our mattress at home starts to fail, most anything seems better. I have often joked that you could fill a bag with dirt and someone will say they slept great if their mattress at home is giving them issues. Enough on that, but you get the point as I refer to your in-laws mattress. Now it may be a Hastens for all we know, and of course you would feel comfortable on it, but you get the point I am making. Short term comfort does not always translate to long term.

Based on what you have researched, there are several great options out there that can get you to your desired comfort and price point.

First, the adjustable base. @yawnder Yawnder.com offers their Yawnder4, which is basically a re-badged Ergomotion Rio 4, but at a better private-label price point without sacrificing anything. It has a lot of bells and whistles without going overboard. Ergomotion is a popular adjustable-base manufacturer that many major mattress companies use and rebrand as their own. The decking is solid and not the grid design, that really should be avoided.

On to the mattress. You have a lot of choices here. The first that comes to mind is @Arizona_Premium Ultimate Latex Hybrid. It mirrors the Nest in many ways, but can be made with either Talalay or Dunlop latex. You would want to speak with them and discuss the best combination for all of your Personal Preferences, Posture and Alignment, and Pressure Relief issues.

@Sleep_EZ Latex Hybrid is an interesting choice too. It offers a two-sided mattress, so with a simple flip of the mattress, you can move from a medium to a firmer feel latex hybrid. Again, discussing the options with them will be helpful in making a final decision.

Another possibility is the @SDMattressMakers Bonita. It is also in your price range and is a latex hybrid made with an edge-to-edge quad-coil system for reliable support under your comfort layer.

I could go over all the reasons these mattresses will work for you, but when you speak with the respective manufacturers they will offer their thoughts.

The adjustable base is a perfect mate for your needs. Most folks will tell you the extra bells and whistles seem great at the outset, but tend to wear off over time and you will find your favorite settings and maintain them. Although the massage feature seems a bit extravagant, I did get one for my MiLaw before she passed, and it really helped with the swelling in her legs and with the water and blood circulation. So there can be a modest health benefit to an adjustable base.

Your innerspring pillowtop interaction is one that offered a valid experience. If we are trying to make the best educated guess, knowing all the factors and your history, keep it simple and go with what you know. Latex is know to be long lasting and durable, and it is not that a polyfoam derivative mattress wont offer the same kind of comfort, durability and relief, you were already comfortable on the Owl latex hybrid. Having said that, I will confuse you more. The @DLX Classic Hybrid is a very comfortable mattress, I actually bought one for my daughter’s guest room when we visit her in Florida. It was way more economic to buy a comfortable bed to sleep on when we visit than a hotel, and the mattress is better than most hotel mattresses anyway. I would say the same about what @EngineeredSleep could craft for you. Nothing against either of these companies, but I bet if they were to chime in with all that you have mentioned, they would point you to a latex hybrid in your price range.

While I am very confident there are other Trusted Members that make excellent mattresses, given your price range, comfort level, and the combination you are looking for, these are where you might start your search for a latex hybrid in the spirit of the Nest that you have preferred.

Hopefully this places you on the right path and if you have any questions, just put them out there.

Maverick

[DLX]

Thanks for considering DLX.

To better assist, knowing the brand and model of your in-laws’ guest bed would be helpful. “Traditional innerspring” can mean a lot of things and we don’t want to point you in the wrong direction by assuming it is an open-coil mattress when it actually uses pocket coils, or vice versa. It would also be helpful to know how much padding is above the coil unit.

Knowing what is supporting the mattress underneath is helpful as well, since that can contribute to the overall feel whether it is a box spring, foundation, bed frame, adjustable base, platform bed, etc.

Any of our mattresses will work on most adjustable bases. One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the more affordable adjustable bases use metal bars or a wire grid for the decking like this one and we do not recommend that style. The challenge is that some manufacturers cover the metal grid with fabric and fiber, making it harder to identify. We want the decking to be made of plywood or a similar solid material. Obviously, there will be gaps where the base needs to bend.

Just our two cents on adjustable bases. They are great for people who need to elevate their head or feet while sleeping or need to sleep in a reclined position. For sitting and reading in bed, speaking from personal experience and everyone is different, but I haven’t found a position on an adjustable base that feels particularly natural or comfortable for reading. I’d rather have a bed with a headboard and use pillows to sit up.

We hear something similar from other people who buy an adjustable base primarily for reading. Many end up not using the feature very much and the base remains flat most of the time. So, if you are only considering it for reading, I might put that budget toward the mattress instead unless you need to elevate your head or feet while sleeping.

Without knowing the brand and model of your in-laws’ guest bed, we would probably rely more on the fact that the Nest was comfortable until it gave out.

With more information about the guest bed, we might suggest the Classic or Essential. However, those have more of an old-school feel with minimal padding between the coils and the sleeper. They are more coil-forward and don’t feel like most modern mattresses and by modern, I mean most mainstream mattresses made over the past 20 years.

The Classic Two Sided Mattress uses an 8" pocket coil, which works well for a lot of people. However, if the old guest room mattress uses an open-coil unit, the 8" pocket coil will not have quite that same firm, rigid feel.

We do have an off-the-menu option where we can use a 6" pocket coil inside the Classic instead. This gives it something closer to that more rigid open-coil feel for people who prefer that type of support. Don’t get me wrong it won’t be exactly the same as an open-coil mattress, but it brings people closer to that feel and ends up working for the vast majority of people who are specifically looking for that more traditional open-coil type of support.

If you are only going to sleep on your stomach and back, we would recommend the LatexLux Hybrid 12" in Medium based on the Nest working well for you out of the box.

If you don’t get an adjustable base, please make sure the mattress is properly supported. A lot of the bed frames and platform beds out there even ones rated for more than 1,000 pounds and with great reviews may not provide proper long-term mattress support.

The issue is that many of those reviews are written after someone has owned the bed for a week or two, so they aren’t really judging long-term durability or mattress support. When an inadequate support system eventually contributes to sagging or makes the mattress feel unsupportive, the mattress often gets blamed. People end up buying another mattress without fixing the root cause.

I also think some of the weight ratings are a little suspect. I doubt many of these frames could withstand even 200 pounds concentrated at a single point. For example, a 200-pound person standing with all of their weight in one spot on the frame without something bending or breaking.

This applies to our mattresses or any other mattress you are considering. It isn’t a DLX-specific issue. Beyond the MUG, most mattress companies don’t talk much about the support underneath the mattress.

If you decide on DLX and need help figuring out the proper support, we’re happy to help. It’s difficult to give one quick answer because there are a lot of options like platform beds, foundations, bed frames, adjustable bases, etc. and each can have slightly different requirements. Room aesthetics factor into the decision for people as well.

Even if a particular bed or frame doesn’t provide ideal support out of the box, there are often relatively simple things that can be added to bring it up to speed.