Well, first of, a sincere thanks to Phoenix and the Montreal folks for their comments and observation.
I usually am an avid shopper with a well assumed geekiness to my sometimes obsessive research. I had never thought shopping for a mattress would such a painful and frustrating experience.
Like many, I went around the usual suspects, tried tons and tons of mattresses, read up reviews that were conflicting online and heard some of the stupidest comments imaginable from various salesman.
Based on a few posts here we decided to give Literie Provinciale a try (in person after having viewed a LOT of websites from different local manufacturers).
Not a very impressive place from the outside but a very nice and cozy place from the inside with laid back music and subdued lighting (duhā¦ testing mattresses in brightly lite rooms isnāt exactly a fun time). We were greeted by Jean who gave us the full tour and some very valuable info that did make sense as opposed to what I had heard so far.
We ended up choosing a single block latex queen mattress with a very thin box-spring. I was almost disappointed at the simplicity of our purchase (1400$ for a slab of latex isnāt really exciting as opposed to those 6 layers fancy marketing mattresses) but it was extremely comfortable, firm and according to Jean, supported us the best (straight back, no slump). So no comfort layer so to speak which again, seemed a bit odd but both my wife and I preferred the feel and Jean was pretty clear that it seemed like our best option even though it was their cheapest latex based mattress. We also picked up 2 of their memory foam pillows at a rather steep 100$ā¦they were wonderful. At that price (really 1400$ ship and tax in), it is almost a bargain when compared even to other āartisanalā local manufacturer. I have not doubt Matelas Personnel and Matelas Selection are outstanding options, after all they scored high on our list but their exact same - identical - offering was almost twice as much!
I will definitely keep everyone posted once we receive it on how we enjoy our purchase and how well itās holding up. So far, the purchase experience has been great.
Edit: A detail that bugged me a bit, when I asked about the thickness, 7 inches vs 10 vsā¦ Jean was clear in telling me that it was purely a marketing gimmick. His opinion was the same when it came to āreversibleā mattresses, totally useless for a latex monoblock ā¦ which makes you wonder why they make such a big fuss about it elsewhereā¦
Thanks for taking the time to share your Montreal experiences ā¦ I appreciate it
Sometimes the simplest choice can also turn out to be the best choice ā¦ and a single core of latex on a box spring (that has some give and can add more of a ābottomless feelā to a thinner latex mattress vs a solid non flexing foundation) is certainly a combination that works well for many people.
Most importantly ā¦ congratulations on your new mattress
Itās not unusual at all that different manufacturers have different opinions about things based on their experiences and that are sometimes influenced by the mattresses they sell as well. I would agree with them though āto a pointā that thickness by itself is just a side effect of the design and internal layering of a mattress and is only one of many factors and specs that will affect how a mattress feels and performs so using thickness by itself as a guideline isnāt particularly practical or meaningful (see post #2 here). If your testing or personal sleeping experience indicates that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP then itās āthick enoughā although if you have a box spring (with springs) under your mattress vs a foundation (that has no flex at all) then the box spring would be a more active part of your sleeping system that would add some give and softness and depth of support under your mattress and can result in a combination that doesnāt need a separate comfort layer for many people.
I would also agree that a two sided mattress will have āless benefitā with a single monoblock layer of latex that is all the same firmness vs a mattress that has softer comfort layers on each side of a firmer support core although I wouldnāt agree that it would have no benefit at all.
Iām looking forward to your comments and feedback once youāve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
