Mattress Dilemma NYC - Innerspring/memory/latex

[phoenix]

Hi Manny,

The first place I would start your research is post #1 here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best choices and “reset” the way you look for mattresses. It will also help you avoid most of the worst choices including the major brands and any mainstream or chain stores you have been looking at.

Lying there on a mattress in a showroom for 5-10 minutes I feel is inadequate to judge durability, comfort down the line and quality, specially when those sales clowns are breathing down your neck.

I completely agree that 5 - 10 minutes of testing for “subjective” comfort is one of the worst ways to buy a mattress and the odds of success are less than random chance alone (see this study). More accurate and objective testing though following the guidelines in the post I linked can increase your odds of making a good choice in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) significantly.

You also can’t “feel” the quality or durability of the materials in a mattress because low quality and high quality materials can feel the same in a showroom … but of course low quality materials don’t last as long and soften or break down much more quickly. Without knowing the quality of all the layers and components inside a mattress there is no way to assess the durability of a mattress. There is more about the factors that can affect the useful life of a mattress for any particular person in post #4 here.

We are against innerspring as the ultimate nightmare for us would be to deal with depressions. sagging, and springiness.

While the “feel” of an innerspring and its 'springiness" is a personal preference … most innersprings are not the weak link of a mattress and most innerspring mattresses that 'fail" are because of the quality of the foam above the innerspring. In most cases the innersprings themselves are still fine.

Latex seems popular here and sounds like a good option but afraid it might be too firm, might sleep hot, and is expensive, plus latex is so much more confusing to understand with the synthetic vs. natural, talalay vs. dunlop, foam over latex or latex over foam or pure latex.

Latex comes in a wide range of firmness levels from ultra soft to ultra firm so the “firmness” of a latex mattress would depend entirely on its design. There are some latex mattresses that are so soft that they would be “risky” in terms of alignment for most people. You can read a little more about the different types of latex in this article and in post #6 here and post #6 here.

You can also read more about the combination of factors that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress (including memory foam and gel memory foam) in post #2 here.

What would be helpful is specific stores in the NYC area and/or recommended internet retailers…

The first post I linked has links to a list of the members here that sell online and have some of the best value in the country and there is also a link to some of the better online memory foam sources I’m aware of as well.

Post #2 here includes some of the better options and possibilities in the New York City area and post #7 here has a more categorized list with more detailed descriptions of many of them as well.

Phoenix