Looking to replace a sagging mattress, seems like all mattress eventually sag just a matter of time. I really prefer pillowtop mattress, but my quick search shows they tend to sag even more. I’ve always purchased interspring mattress since I’ve tried foam mattress and they we so hot I couldn’t sleep. Went to try some mattress yesterday and fell in love with a Sealy shore drive plush from Macys. I don’t want to spend another $2000 on a mattress that will sag in a year or two. Quick search last night led me to consider latex mattress since they dont have heating issue. Is that true, i tend to sweat a lot.
Should i consider latex over traditonal interspring? If so, which one are better?
Hi rnot02,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
It is an unfortunate fact that many modern mattresses are using lower quality materials, lower density foams and more fibers and convoluted foams that are resulting in a shorter comfort life. That was one of the reasons for the founding of this site – to help educate consumers about quality materials and then assist them in finding better quality manufacturers or retailers. Regarding pillowtops, that is just a construction process and not a level of plushness, or indicator of quality/durability. A mattress constructed as a pillowtop using high quality foams where the pillowtop is affixed properly can have a long comfort life. One that uses lower quality foams or is affixed loosely correspondingly will have a short comfort life.
All foams are insulators to an extent, and the more you’re “in” a mattress versus “on” it (softer surface comfort versus firm) will also tend to influence sleeping temperature. Latex overall generally tends to be the most breathable foam, followed by polyfoam and then memory foam. A mattress using innersprings as a support core, as opposed to an “all foam” mattress, can also move more air.
Unfortunately, the major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors. These foams will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay, which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom, along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
The best suggestion I can offer would be for you to begin by reading the mattress shopping tutorial here. Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
Outside of PPP (which is the most important part of “value”), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new so I would always make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
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Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
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Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight/BMI range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
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Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
In very general terms … the materials, layers, and components of a sleeping system that are closer to your skin will have a bigger effect on airflow, moisture transport, and temperature regulation than materials, layers, and components that are further away from your skin and softer mattresses or foam toppers will tend to be more “insulating” and for some people can sleep warmer than firmer versions of the same material.
It’s not really possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
Both innersprings and a firmer latex core can be used as a support layer and each has very “different” characteristics but besides the more obvious ones the most important differences are the ones you can feel and that you personally prefer, as both can be very durable and supportive. Both of them come in softer or firmer versions and in many different designs so an innerspring could be firmer than a latex core or the other way around depending on the specifics of the components you are comparing. There is more about the 4 main types of innersprings in this article and in post #10 here and more detailed information about innersprings vs latex support cores in post #2 here and more about the different types and blends of latex in this article and in post #6 here.
Some of the more technical differences include …
Innersprings have a more “flat line” response curve than latex (see the graph here) but because there are many types of innersprings with different response curves this doesn’t always hold true and there are also different types of latex which would also have different response curves.
Innersprings absorb less energy than latex which means they are more resilient. They “push back” more strongly than latex in other words but this is not the same as softness … only about how much of the energy that is used to compress them is lost (or how high a ball will bounce when it’s dropped on them).
Latex has a similar or higher compression modulus than most innerspring spring rates and either gets firmer with deeper compression at a similar rate as an innerspring (Talalay) or at a faster rate than an innerspring (Dunlop) which means it can be more “supportive”.
Different innersprings have widely different abilities to take on the shape of the body (depending on the number of coils and how independently they function) while latex is much more “point elastic” than any of them because it can flex in each part of the core with less effect on the area around it than an innerspring.
In general latex will be more motion isolating than an innerspring.
Firmer latex will be more durable than an innerspring but neither of them would tend to be the weak link of a mattress.
Innersprings have more “air” in them so they would be more breathable than latex even though latex is the most breathable of the foam materials but the deeper layers of a mattress also have less effect on the ventilation and temperature of a mattress than the comfort layers.
Most latex is more expensive than most innersprings.
They “feel” very different with innersprings being more “bouncy” or “springy” than latex (although latex has more “spring” than other foam types).
There are many other more technical differences but the most important differences are the ones you can feel. Either of them can make a good choice for a support layer and in the end it really boils down to which one you tend to prefer. Both of them can provide good/support alignment. There are so many varieties of both that it’s not really possible to make more specific comparisons outside of some of the more obvious and more “generic” differences that I’ve mentioned.
Making more generalized assessments of a mattress only based on one component doesn’t take into account that all the layers in a mattress work together and will affect its feel and performance so either one could be part of a mattress that provides you with your pressure relief and alignment/support needs. Assuming that all the materials in a mattress are high quality … everything boils down to which mattress design works best for the two basic functions of a mattress.
If you provide your zip code, I can see if I am aware of any better mattress shopping options in your area.
Phoenix