Hi cajunreveure and first time MUGster,
Welcome to the MattressUnderGround, we are delighted to have you here. @BillyIdol makes a great suggestion to try a mattress that is made with latex, so you get the experience of feeling what latex is like.
One thing that is puzzling about the BR you looked at is the “self-response latex.” I tried looking for the material build of the mattress and could not find that it actually uses natural latex in the mattress. I may have missed it, or it is something newly added to the BR lineup. BR generally uses polyfoam and ve memory foam. There is only one instance of Latex being used in a BR which is this one Beautyrest with latex, unfortunately they do not tell you how much latex, density, ILD or thickness.
Most who would make an assessment would conclude, if they are providing you with the above specifications, there probably is not that much there that they want to talk about or have their mattress be criticized. It is similar to when folks talk about a plant-based mattresses. For example, you are led to believe, the entire mattress is made with that material, and the material itself is all or even mostly plant based. Pouring a splash of soy milk in your latte does not make it a soy latte! Most would make the same argument with a mattress. The mere presence of a material offers them a little license to say “latex” mattress, but as you might observe, in this case, it is not all latex, barely a little latex, particularly the case when it comes to the amount of foam layers in the mattress.
Unlike a manufacturer like @Arizona_Premium that uses natural latex foams throughout the mattress as the primary foam and tells you exactly the amount and specifications of what they are using. Those specifications are important. Otherwise, if a mattress is too soft or too firm, how do you modify it without knowing the density, thickness and feel of the material?
Many have commented on the decline of the legacy brands (the S’s) over the years. While some are beginning to get the message about building a quality, durable, longer lasting mattress these days, the issue becomes price. They are already charging fairly high prices for their premium lines, such as the “Black” line. Now, adding the more expensive latex to it, places their price point even higher. Which makes Trusted Members here look quite appealing since most are already using this quality natural material for sometimes half the cost of these legacy brands, since they been doing it this way for years.
Latex is certainly a different “feel” than some other materials. That makes another reason why @BillyIdol suggestion to try some latex based mattresses a good idea.
If you were wondering what is actually inside a BR Black mattress (this one without latex, but with the micocoils) you can watch this video Inside a BeautyRest.
Having said that, if you love a beautyrest mattress and it works for you, sure, then it could be the one for you, but it is important to understand what is going on inside of the mattress when trying to predict reliability, longevity and potential comfort.
Good luck with your search now that you are armed with a little more information.
If you have any questions, the MattressUnderGround and Trusted Member Experts and tutorials are always here to help guide you Shopping Tutorial.
Maverick
