I’ve been in need of a new bed and visiting this site gathering info for sometime. Based on this, I definitely wanted something with safer materials and without FR / chemicals and thought an all latex (preferably talalay) in SMF would be a good option. After trying out various mattresses with latex,I am rethinking an all latex mattress choice, as for me they seem to lack the conforming fill in the gaps aspects of the mainstream mattresses that I want to avoid. Below are the mattresses I tried/considering possibly with the Serta Motion essentials 2 adjustable base by Legett and Platt. Stats 5-11" 160 lbs back with thin or no pillow and side sleeper.
Savvy Rest- various combos as a guide to a 3x3 inch layer latex. SMF top to bottom in both all talalay and all dunlop were too firm. A SSM version in talalay and surprisingly more so in dunlop which had a more buoyant floating feel was better. However, with all verions there was slight pelvic sinking and pressure points behind my head. Perhaps the cover which has a somewhat stiff denim like texture was partially the reason
Charles P Rodgers - Powercore Estate 9000 luxury plush - pocket coil springs encased in foam withcomfort layers top to bottom -1" gel infused latex, 2" medium latex and 2" firm latex. This mattress felt decent, supportive, not too firm or soft. As mentioned on this site, there seemed to be a mystery regarding the components (coil gauge,foam density). Also the mattress is 15.5 " in height and not adjustable.
Berkley Ergonomics - all latex- 6" talalay core and 2" talalay comfort layer - Soft felt better than firm but there was pelvic sinking and pressure point behind my head.
Berkley Ergonomics Oslo- alternating height pocket coils and 2" talalay comfort layer - felt the same as B.E above but slightly less pronounced.
Pure Latex Bliss- The Nature and Nutrition were too firm while the Beautiful felt just about right. The Nature with the 3 inch topper felt the most (very) comfortable. The downside is the cost and the return/exchange policy.
King Koil Perfect Contour Somnigel Performa - specs below. Listed as ultra plush but had more of a medium plush feel which was good as it was comfortable for back and side sleeping. You could feel and hear the Somnigel “squishing” beneath you. Downside is that it is a new mattress with little track record and is the only mattress in the store worth considering.
Cover - Hydrodynamic Temperture Control cover
Quilt - Antimicrobial FR Fiber
1" Supersoft Easy Flow Breathe foam
Somnigel layers - 1.75" Somnigel supreme
Comfort layers - 1" Latex Gel Fusion PCM foam
Comfort layers - 1" Easy Flow Breathe foam
Support Layer - 8" Encased Coil system - 14 Ga (Queen - 638)
1.625" Fiber Base Support
Edge Support - Air Release Foam Encasement
Box Spring - Eco friendly Titan foundation
Other - 10 year non-prorated warranty, 14 inch height, adjustable friendly
Considering but cannot try:
Arizona Premium Mattress - Ultimate Hybrid Combi-zone Pocket Coil. 3 zoned with lumbar zone and double coil edge support with a 3 inch latex comfort layer in your firmness choice in a zippered bamboo cover with wool quilt. Adjustable friendly.
Questions about this mattress: will the layers shift inside the cover causing the latex to wear especially with an adjustable base. Is a thin pad needed between the coils and the latex to prevent excessive wear. The video on APM website did not have one. Also leaning towards soft (19 ild) or med (28 ild) comfort layer choice although the slow response latex looks interesting but I’ve read here that it’s no longer available.
Does anyone have experience with this mattress because it would be an online purchase?
Just a few comments before I get to your specific questions at the end of your post.
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.
The most important part of a mattress purchase is always PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and since your own personal testing or sleeping experience is the only reliable way to know or certain whether any mattress is a good match for you so I can’t speak to this part of the “value” of each of your choices (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
If you can’t test a mattress in person then your more detailed conversations with an online manufacturer or retailer will be the most reliable way to choose a mattress that has the best chance of success and in this case the options you have after a purchase may also become a more important part of the “value” of your purchase just in case your choice doesn’t turn out to be as suitable as you hoped for in spite of the "best efforts of both you and the manufacturer. PPP is all about how well you will sleep on a mattress.
Latex is very “point elastic” material which contours very well to the shape of the body and it would be very unusual that a 3" top layer of “soft” latex wouldn’t provide someone with your weight with good secondary support and fill in the gaps in your sleeping profile so this may just be an preference issue that is connected with “feel” and whether you “feel like” you are sleeping “in” a mattress (which would be more of a memory foam feel) or “on” a mattress (which would be the feel of a more resilient material such as latex). Either way you can confirm whether a mattress is “filling in the gaps” by sliding your hand under the small of your back (if you are sleeping on your back) or under your waist (if you are sleeping on your side) and confirm that there is good resistance and that your hand doesn’t slide underneath your body too easily.
Outside of PPP … the quality and durability of the materials inside your mattress are the next most important part of its value and this is something that I can certainly help with.
Outside of the cover … this mattress uses latex from top to bottom (either Talalay or Dunlop) so there would be no weak links in this mattress in terms of the quality of the materials.
While I would want to confirm that these were all the layers in this mattress and that there were no other “missing” layers (you would need to know the thickness of all the layers so you can confirm that they add up to the thickness of the mattress or check the cutouts they have to make sure there are no other layers). If the mattress only contains latex layers and the pocket coil along with the 1" in the quilting then there would be no weak links in this mattress either and if it was a good match for you in terms of PPP it would be well worth considering. If the pocket coil was foam encased … I would also want to know the density of the foam encasement … particularly if you tend to sit on the side of your mattress on a regular basis.
Again … this mattress uses 100% natural Talalay and a wool quilted cotton cover so there would be no weak links in this mattress either.
This mattress has a pocket coil and latex as the two materials in this mattress along with the wool quilted cotton cover so there would be no weak links in this mattress either.
This mattress also contains blended Talalay latex from top to bottom along with an unquilted stretch cover. Once again … there are no weak links in this mattress either.
While the Somnigel and the latex layers are both good quality and durable materials … there are also 2" of (unknown density) foam in the top layers (the two 1" layers of supersoft Easy Flow Breathe foam). One of the layers is deeper in the mattress so it would be a little more durable but with 2" or more of possibly lower density polyoam in the top layers this could be “on the edge” of being a weak link in the mattress although it’s “not too bad” and would be a much less risky choice than many other mainstream mattresses that use thicker layers of unknown or low quality materials in the upper layers. Once again … I would also want to know the density of the foam surround around the pocket coil.
This also uses high quality materials (a pocket coil with 3" of either all natural Talalay or Dunlop) with a wool quilted cotton cover as well. The edge support in this mattress is steel (narrow diameter coils on the outside two rows) so there would be no potential durability issues in the edge support system.
You can’t test this mattress in person (unless you live in Phoenix) so you would need to call and talk with them so they can help “talk you through” the comfort choice that would have the best chance of success but it does have the option of a layer exchange option (for the cost of shipping) where you can exchange the comfort layer you chose for a firmer or softer version if your sleeping experience indicates that you need it so this would help to mitigate the risk of an online purchase that you can’t test in person.
No … with a suitable tight fitting cover there shouldn’t be any issues with the latex shifting in normal use or with an adjustable bed underneath it. If for some reason they were to shift because of moving or transporting the mattress or or any other reason then it would be a simple matter to unzip the cover and “wave” the latex back into position again but this would be unusual.
No … with a higher coil count encased coil this isn’t necessary because the encased coils provide a suitable support surface for the latex on top of them. Having said that … if you look at the video you will see a thin fabric layer above the coils.
The Talalay GL slow response made by Latex International is no longer available but other latex manufacturers also make slow response latex and in this case they are using a slow response latex made by Latexco so it is an option you can choose for your comfort layer.
I don’t have any personal experience with the mattress and it’s very new so there isn’t any forum feedback yet and there may not be any forum members that see your post that have purchased it so if you were to choose it then you would be among the first. It’s certainly a great quality/value choice in terms of the quality of the materials relative to other similar mattresses.
Hello again. It’s been a few weeks since the previous post and I have some further questions/comments. The hip sinking and the pressure points behind the head with the savvy rest and BE mattresses occurred mainly with back testing (side was better) and it was less an issue with the PLB Beautiful and Nature + 3" inch topper beds which were on an adjustable base. Could this be because of the mattress thickness, covers or blended vs 100% talalay. Would a zoned mattress help back sleeping while disturbing side sleeping.
Since mattresses are tested without sheets and protectors which tend to make them firmer, should the top layer firmness be chosen with this in mind.
Other than the 2 vs 3 inch latex layer and the alternating height coils, how do the B.E and A.P.M hybrids compare
Although pocket coil mattresses are said to be adjustable friendly and compatable, it seems logical to assume bending may affect durability.
Does an adjustable base protector (much like a mattress encasement) exist?
There seems to be conflicting claims between latex and springs manufacturers as to which is more durable. The legett and platt website claims 50,000 cycle rolator tests show springs lose 5.4% firmness compared to latex 19.4% and memory foam 16.3% although they dont mention the type of innersprings, I’m interested in the pocket coil data. Error 404: Not Found - L&P Bedding Group
Whenever a specific mattress isn’t a good match for you in terms of PPP it’s generally because of the specific combination of all the materials and components in a mattress and how they interact together … not because of any one part of the mattress design. If you are experiencing pressure points behind your head when you are lying on your back then it’s most likely a pillow issue.
Whether a specific zoned mattress is suitable for you depends on the specifics of the zoning and on how well the zoning matches your body type and sleeping positions in terms of PPP. Some people may find a specific zoning configuration to be very helpful and others may find the same zoning configuration detrimental. There is more about zoning in this article and in post #11 here but in general terms the only way to confirm that a particular zoning pattern is a good match for you is based on your own actual testing or sleeping experience.
While it’s true that the sheets can make a difference to the feel of a mattress … in most cases and for most people it wouldn’t make enough of a difference to make it a specific consideration in choosing a mattress and it would introduce a variable that would be much too complex and almost impossible to predict.
You will find these types of conflicting claims to be common throughout the industry and in most cases they don’t tell you much about the durability of a particular mattress as a whole … only about a particular component. There is more about the many variables that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress “as a whole” relative to each person in post #4 here.
They both use high quality materials and components (a pocket coil and latex comfort layers) so the difference would be more about how well each of them matched your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP and the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you rather than any meaningful difference in terms of durability.
It would have some limited effect yes but a pocket spring and latex are both very flexible so the effect would be minimal and both work very well on an adjustable bed.
Not to my knowledge no. If the reason you are considering a protector on an adjustable is to protect the adjustable platform from stains then I would consider a protector that is waterproof on 5 sides (see post #2 here) to protect the sides of the platform. It may fit on adjustable beds that have a thicker platform (something like this) but it probably wouldn’t fit well on an adjustable with a thinner platform (something like this). You would also need to cut part of the protector so it would fit around the retainer bars and I don’t know how well it would stay in place if you are raising and lowering the adjustable bed.