So after months of research on here and because of the great advice I’ve received from Phoenix and others, I wanted to give back and share my experience.
First, my partner and I (she’s 115lbs, 5’7" and I’m 200lbs, 6’0") were moving from a Queen Kingsdown to a Eastern King. Size was important because we let our pooch sleep with us. After considering various materials, we were sold on latex for both it’s durability and ability to customize. We had no limit on budget (after all, a mattress is one of the few things one shouldn’t skimp on), but obviously wanted best quality for price.
We live on the East Coast and checked out one of the local members of this site in NJ as well as Casper, the very-well hyped/marketed start-up in NYC. We found that both had nice options but the local member was pricey $3k+ and it wasn’t full latex (polyurethane core) and the Casper was a bit too thin / limited in options. But visiting both places solidified our decision to go with latex.
After researching latex types (Dunlop vs. Talalay) and national online members of this site, we narrowed our choices down to Brooklyn Bedding and SleepEZ, both out in Arizona. We were looking at Brooklyn Bedding’s Aloe Alexis at first, but moved to the 10" Essence. When I checked out SleepEZ, however, I found much better options for essentially the same size mattress at a cheaper price. The 10" Essence offers 3" of Talalay over 6" of Dunlop in a 1" organic cotton cover. The SleepEZ Organic 10000, also 10", offers another layer for options, the ability to split (his/her side), and full Talalay in the exact same cover - at least ours looks like it! I called them on a Sunday night (9:00 PM ET) and was shocked that Shawn answered and was very helpful. I asked him if I should go with the more expensive 13000 (13") and he said there was no difference in the mattress - just an extra 3" in the profile - so he didn’t try to upsell me. He also answered all of my questions, threw in 2 shredded latex pillows, and provided me with instructions on how to get the Mattress Underground’s 5% discount.
So we pulled the trigger and bought the Organic 10000 10", all in Talalay (most manufacturers will charge more for Talalay versus Dunlop), my side: Soft over Medium over Firm and her side Soft over Soft over Medium (the top Soft layer is one piece, actually two glued together because my partner felt it would be odd to have a split, even though you most likely can’t feel it. We also bought a platform bed from Crate and Barrel as latex does best on these types, provided the slats are no more than 3" apart. It’s important that the bed can also accommodate 800 lbs as the mattress was around 150 lbs itself and combined with our weight, including our pooch, we wanted quality.
Verdict: SleepEZ is outstanding and we love our new mattress. It was a bit of a hassle to assemble, particularly since we split firmness, but once together, it’s great. TIP: Be sure to tuck the mattress cover’s 2" flap over the latex before you zip it up. It helps! We’ve spent 7 days with the S-M-F and S-S-M configuration and have just rotated to the S-F-M and S-M-S to try it out this week. After 2 days, I can notice a slight difference and I think I prefer the former. Next week I want to try the M-S-F and S-S-M (split top level, moving one piece to middle layer) so we have the optimal configuration and can make any layer exchange. SleepEZ will also change out layers, free of charge, within 90 days! Now all we need is the LL Bean or Feathered Friends down comforter to complete our dream bed.
So if you’re feeling like I was initially, very overwhelmed at the onset, remember that while Phoenix and others can provide advice/methodology, it’s up to you to do your homework! I would highly recommend saving some time and check out SleepEZ, however, for their great prices on high-quality mattress with (so-far) excellent customer service. Their website isn’t the fanciest, but they’re a quality company.
I’m posting this follow up for the benefit of others and have tagged to be notified of any replies, so please feel free to reply with any questions or comments. I’d be glad to help.
Finally, thanks again to Phoenix and this site, without whom/which we never would have bought our dream bed.
