We have hade a top of the line Pranasleep Latex from City Mattress for the past 10 years, queen size, and intend to buy a new king size latex mattress. It has been fabulous, but was very expensive then, more so now. We are in South Florida.
I understand that you also prefer latex mattresses, and while I understand that everyone has their own preferences, could you direct us to what you believe to be the best latex mattresses? Also, I would be interested in preferred sources to purchase them.
You can read more about the Pranasleep mattresses in post #3 here and in post #2 here and in post #3 here and a forum search on Prana (you can just click this) will also bring up more information and feedback about them as well.
Hopefully you’ve also had the chance to read the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
There is no such thing as the “best” latex mattress … only a latex mattress that is “best for you”. There is more about the most important parts of the value of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses and can help you decide which latex mattress would be “best for you”.
The tutorial post also includes a link to a list of the members of this site that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) and many of these sell latex mattresses that use different types of latex with a wide range of designs, options, features, price ranges, and return and exchange policies which would all be well worth considering depending on the criteria that are most important to you and if you are comfortable with including online options in your research.
The better local options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale areas of south Florida (subject to the value guidelines I linked) are listed in post #2 here.
Phoenix, I understand different strokes for different folks, particularly when it comes to mattresses, but if I were to ask you what your favorite firm natural latex mattress might be, would you be able to respond to that, or at least provide a few names of your favorite manufacturers? Or would you go custom if ti were for yourself?
Also, I cannot imagine buying a mattress without having the opportunity to try it out for at least 10 or 15 minutes. I assume from your comments that you agree, thereby eliminating the Internet only sellers in spite of solid feedback?
Each person can have very different needs and preferences and can have very different criteria for what is important to them when they purchase a mattress so one person’s favorite materials or mattress design may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on. There are far too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to choose a mattress for someone else with any degree of certainty based on “specs” or “theory at a distance” (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here)
Outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) … the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase is knowing the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer or the brand which is relatively unimportant (see post #5 here). If two mattresses have a similar design and the type and quality of the materials inside it are also similar then the name of the manufacturer on the label wouldn’t affect the mattress and all manufacturers have access to the same or similar materials as others. Of course dealing with one manufacturer or retailer vs another one may have other benefits outside of the specifics of the mattress itself (such as return or exchange options as one example) that may be an important part of each person’s personal value equation but here again each person may have very different criteria about what is important to them when they purchase a mattress.
These are some of the reasons that I don’t have a list of favorites or a top 5 or top 10 or even a top 100 (see post #2 here and the other posts it links to).
There is a growing list of manufacturers and retailers that have been invited and have chosen to become members of the site (it started with 8 when the site first started) that I believe compete well with the best in the industry that I specifically recommend as a group but there are many others in many parts of the country that I also think highly of that would also make great quality/value choices and many of these may also become members here over the course of time.
You can also see a list of the largest 15/16 manufacturers here and my “rating” about their transparency and the odds that you will be able to find out the type and quality of the materials inside their mattresses (although this would also depend on the specific mattress and the retailer that is selling them). If a manufacturer or retailer is transparent about the type and quality of the materials in their mattresses (see this article) then you can identify any weak links in the mattress and make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses regardless of the name of the manufacture which in combination with your own personal testing can help you decide which one is the “best value for you”.
I’m always happy to help with “how” to choose and of course act as a “fact check” or answer any specific questions you may have along the way to the best of my ability but I don’t recommend specific mattresses or specific manufacturers because which mattress or manufacturer is “best for you” always depends on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you … regardless of whether anyone else (including me) would have the same criteria or preferences.
This again would depend entirely on your risk tolerance and on whether you were comfortable with the options you have after a purchase such as the return or exchange policies of an online retailer or manufacturer that can lower the risk of using your actual sleeping experience to test a mattress instead of testing the mattress in person before a purchase. While online purchases are still a smaller minority of the industry compared to local purchases … they are growing very quickly and this would also be a preference choice that also depends on each person’s personal value equation. There are many people that are very happy with the online purchase they made … especially in areas where there aren’t as many good quality/value options available locally.
There is more about the pros and cons of a online choice vs a local choice in post #2 here and in this topic.
There is also more about the different ways to choose a mattress and how to “manage” the risks involved with each of them (online or local) in post #2 here.