Lost in the Mattress Jungle - Need an adult!

Me and my partner are on the hunt for a new mattress and have fallen victim for severe information overload and decision fatigue.

We’ve tried dozens of mattresses and talked to to multiple sales people who all seem to just trash talk each other while praising their own products. Every article I find recommends different mattresses that they’re conveniently happens to be affiliates for.

The Sleep Number people claims Tempur Pedic is lumpy trash that wont last for more than a few years, while the Tempur Pedic people says that Sleep Number is a glorified air mattress.

We tried all the purple mattresses from top to bottom but they all seem to feel the same…

Sleep Number is nice in theory but my partner felt no difference between 30 50 and 85, and frankly I’m not entirely sure I felt much of a difference between 100, 85, 70 or 50 either.

The one bed that we both seemed to like was the Tempur Pedic AdaptPro firm mattress but that also cost a fortune and everyone have conflicting opinions.

How do we navigate this wasteland of missinformation and hidden agendas to find good geniune advice on how to find what works best for us without getting robbed on the way?

I’m 5’9 weighing about 190 pounds and my partner is 5’1 weighing 120 pounds. I get lower back pain from our current mattress which is a Luna mattress in a box and so does my partner.

Help and guidance is desperately wanted

Hi eRyden and welcome to the forums! You might want to check out Sleep EZ. The organic and natural mattresses (the Select Sleep mattresses), are our flagship products - https://sleepez.com/product/organic-latex-mattress/. They’re fully customizable, meaning you can order the mattress to be as soft or as firm as you’d like. They’re also fully adjustable, meaning you can change the softness, firmness, back support, pressure relief, etc. AFTER you get the mattress in your home. To be more specific, the 10” is our most popular, and these mattresses normally go out with three 3" layers of different firmnesses - normally the softest layer (or the cushion & contour layer) is on top and the supportive layers are on the bottom. This helps ensure our customers get the right balance of contour for their hips and shoulders but also support for their lower back. If you start with a certain setup and find that it’s too soft, you can unzip the cover and rearrange the layers to get a firmer feel out of the mattress, or you can exchange a layer to make it softer. Additionally, latex mattresses typically last 20 years. If, in 5 or 10 or 15 years you decide you want a softer or firmer mattress you would only have to buy a new layer instead of an entirely new mattress. Lastly, if the mattress starts to break down in 15 – 20 years, it’s normally the top layer that breaks down first, and at that point you can likely just buy a new top layer of latex instead of a whole new mattress and get an additional 8-10 years out of the mattress.

Furthermore, queen, king, and cal king mattresses are available with what we call “split layers,” which means you can have us cut the layers down the middle (from head to foot) so that you can have a different feel / firmness on your side versus your partner’s side, and you can adjust each side independently over the 20 year lifetime of the mattress. About 95% of our mattresses go out with all split layers from top to bottom, and we get zero complaints on being able to feel the split and we get zero complaints about the layers shifting or anything like that, even if you sleep right on the middle of the mattress.

If you’re wondering how to pick the layers for this mattress, you can go to the natural or organic mattress page, click the green button that says “Build Your Mattress Now,” then click the gray oval that says “Personalized,” and you’ll be able to enter your information. The website will then make a personalized recommendation based on your information (the layers in the mattress diagram will reflect the recommendation after you click the “Apply” button. Please note that our initial recommendations have a 90% success rate (we only have a 10% layer exchange rate) so there’s a 90% chance that the recommendation turns out to be your perfect setup!

Based on the information you’ve provided, I would normally recommend the 10" organic latex mattress with soft Talalay over medium Dunlop over firm Dunlop for your partner’s side and medium Talalay over medium Dunlop over firm Dunlop for your side. The top Talalay layer should provide all the contour and pressure relief needed to avoid any pressure point issues and will add secondary support to the mattress. Secondary support is needed to fill in the gaps between your body and the mattress – back sleepers normally need secondary support to fill in the gaps between the small of their back and the mattress; side sleepers normally need secondary support to fill in the gaps between their mid-section and the mattress. If these parts of a person’s body aren’t supported by the mattress, their muscles will work throughout the night to hold these parts of the body up, and by the time they wake up they’ve got back pain. So the top 3” of Talalay latex will provide contour, pressure relief, and secondary support. The remaining Dunlop layers should provide all the support needed to maintain proper spinal alignment and avoid back pain.

Although it’s not likely that you’ll need to rearrange layers or exchange layers, you certainly have the option to adjust the mattress according to you and your partner’s specific needs and preferences, both in the short-term and long-term. We have a 90 day exchange and return period, so you can exchange a layer within the first 90 days for a flat-rate $30 fee for the first exchange and the full cost of shipping for any subsequent exchanges. We will ship your layers first, and we will ship them with extra plastic that you can use to package your current layers, and we will ship it with a pre-paid Fed Ex return label. Also, if you will please call us when you are ready to ship your layers back we will schedule a free Fed Ex pick up for you. You will have 30 days after its arrival to return a layer of your choosing, so you’ll have plenty of time to try a few different combinations with the layers you have and the layer we will be sending you so that you can get your comfort and support levels just right.

Aside from all of that, latex is generally an outstanding product with no harmful chemicals, no formaldehyde, no fiber glass, no chemical flame retardants, etc. so I definitely think it’s worth considering.

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@eRyden

That’s a great question! The best answer I have for you is this: Work hand in hand with a mattress manufacturer instead of a sales force at a mattress retailer.
A manufacturer has an in depth understanding of mattress components and how to build those components to suit the needs of every individual customer. You’re in good hands with @Sleep_EZ .

Hi eryden,
Welcome to the Mattress Underground!
I agree with Sleep EZ about latex - it is an outstanding product which is durable, comfortable, and customizable. No worries about chemicals if you buy a mattress with natural or organic latex.

There are many options out there now - innerspring, latex, hybrid, air bed - definitely can be confusing. You are definitely on the right track as you have been trying out your mattresses in person.

As you know, support and comfort are two of the most important aspects of mattresses. If you are experiencing back pain, it can often (but not always) be due to a lack on the support end of things. So you want good support, but also durability. If a mattress is made of inferior materials, it will feel great starting out, but then deteriorate, and you are right back where you started.

Also, referring to support, play close attention to the type of support you give your mattress. Slats that are too far apart can allow sagging, which can also cause pain.

I want to invite you to call the number at the top left of our website. Our staff has over 100 years of combined experience in the business, and whoever answers the phone should be able to guide you well. You can also scan the Google Local reviews for any of our locations.

We seek to educate, not pressure, and our customers are overwhelmingly happy with their experience. We have several types of mattresses (latex, innerspring, hybrid) at a variety of prices. We would love to help you in your search, and at the very least, our blog/healthy living articles has several articles explaining different types of mattresses, like this one about latex mattresses.
Best of luck to you in your search!

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