Looking for a mattress.

Hi.

Firstly, I would like to thank this site and it’s contributors for the massive amount of information here. I am slowly working through it but nowhere near done.

I figured I would start the process here and ask a somewhat general question. I live in Canada, in a small town with no access to any brick and mortar mattress businesses. I am 6’4 and around 275 lbs, but my wife is 5’4 and about 120 lbs. we are both hot sleepers, and both side sleepers.

Just curious if there are any online mattresses we should be looking at. I think a hybrid would serve us best, but I’m still working through reading everything here so take that with a grain of salt.

Any and all help is appreciated, and if any more information is needed please let me know. Budget isn’t a huge issue, but a few different price point suggestions would be appreciated as well.

Thank you in advance,
Cam

Hi Cam78.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum! :slight_smile: and thanks for your kind words of appreciation for the commitment and research that goes with maintaining a forum of this magnitude.

Thanks for providing your stats. This is a good starting point, but it looks like you have a bit more leg work to do. I’d add a few more data points in terms of the history of likes and dislikes with other mattresses you slept on, any previous testing, and the “feel” of top layers and materials you and your wife like. There are many online options but you have a twofold challenge… you’d have is to first take a deeper dive in material qualities and use your gut instincts to best determine the feel you like and support/comfort needs you might have, and secondly, you’d need to discriminate between vendors and ask them the right questions to help you cut through marketing stories and get to simple factual information about any mattress you are considering. I would not consider any mattress vendor/manufacturer that is not forthcoming about what it is in their mattress. I would always make sure that you find out the mattress information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the mattress durability guidelines here. Also the mattress shopping tutorial here has the basic information, steps, and guidelines including suggestions about what to focus on in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can simplify your search and help you make the best possible choices.

You are wise to take thins “with a grain of salt” Generally when you are confined to online shopping and can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart and who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (fast or slow response, resilience, firmness, etc.) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs, options, and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else. Post #2 here and this topic have more about the pros and cons of a local vs an online purchase.

[QUOTEI am 6’4 and around 275 lbs, but my wife is 5’4 and about 120 lbs. we are both hot sleepers, and both side sleepers.[/QUOTE]
It is good that you are both side sleepers as you’d need a deeper pressure relieving cradle but as you are in the higher BMI range category and your wife on the petite side so your mattress would need to accommodate two sleepers with different sleeping profiles and BMI. A split left/right configuration could prove useful to solve these types of challenges because it takes into consideration the unique needs and preferences or each sleeping partner is a “side to side split” In this approach each side of a mattress is layered differently to take different needs and preferences into account. In effect, you would have two different mattresses on each side combined into one cover (or in some cases a different topper on each side of the same mattress) and each side would feel and perform differently. The mattress can be built so that the total thickness of the mattress is the same for each side, which means that there would be no difference in elevation, and with a suitable tight fitted quilted cover, the “split” transition area between sides is usually unnoticeable for most people. You can read more about this in post #2 here

A higher BMI also presents special challenges and generally requires firmer materials (in the support layers especially). This certainly could be firmer latex. Higher BMI people, in general, will need firmer and thicker comfort layers and firmer support layers than those who are lighter and because no materials will last as long with much higher weights the quality and durability of the materials and components is even more important than normal. I wouldn’t “rule out” any type of mattress and base your choices on your own personal testing. Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about heavier weights that is worth reading.

It’s difficult to quantify with any accuracy the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person because there are too many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use. But of course, I would guess that t the main culprit is the Memory foam in the comfort layers of your mattress and how deep of a cradle this forms around your body. You can read more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range. In very general terms … the materials, layers, and components of a sleeping system that are closer to your skin will have a bigger effect on airflow, moisture transport, and temperature regulation than materials, layers, and components that are further away from your skin and softer mattresses or foam toppers will tend to be more “insulating” and for some people can sleep warmer than firmer versions of the same material.

I’m always happy to help the forum members here with “how” to choose, to act as a "fact check, but it would be difficult to help anyone with “what” to choose in terms of either a mattress or the balance between comfort/pressure relief and support/alignment that may be suitable for a specific person. This is always up to the only person who can feel what they feel on a mattress and best left to personal testing and their own experiences or more detailed discussions with the more knowledgeable people at the retailers or manufacturers that sell a mattress you are considering.

Phoenix