Mattresses for kids - lifespan?

Hi CeruleanBlue,

You really won’t need more than 6" (or even less) for a younger child and the only reason to add an additional 2" of latex would be to add more softness which they won’t really need until they are older (and perhaps not even then). If you wanted thicker layers of wool I would also consider adding it as a separate topper rather than as part of the mattress because wool will compress over time and become firmer and if it’s part of the mattress and you want to replace it you would need to replace the whole mattress or at least the whole cover but with a topper you could just replace the topper. Thinner layers of wool in a quilted cover (or no wool) would be more practical.

I think that the Obason 1.0 6" latex mattress from SleepTek is one of their better values. It’s less than at $1200 (double) and it’s less than half the cost of their 8" 2.0 mattress which is $2999. Of course the 2.0 also has customizable layers and a much more flexible design but this wouldn’t be necessary for what you were looking for. Your best value is likely to be either a single 6" layer or two 3" layers of 100% natural Dunlop in medium firm or the same in blended Talalay in the range of 32 ILD (top layer if there are two) with a wool cover (or without the wool and you can add your own if you wish in the form of a topper).

I would talk with …

both of which ship to Canada and would make a good value reference to compare others against along with the Ikea mattress (although it may be a little on the soft side).

Phoenix

My reasons for wanting thicker were selfish…I am getting beds with headboards and the headboards tend to look better with taller mattresses. You sometimes get a gap at the head with a shorter mattress. I think I may be lucky with the beds I have chosen though, and can put the headboard at a height I want. And sheets are so big and bunchy at the corners because they are all designed for 10-12" mattresses nowadays!

Adding the wool as a separate topper would work fine for us. That was one of the things I liked about the Evo Haven, that if she wore out the top, I could just replace the topper; although at more of an expense since it has some latex in it as well. We didn’t buy hers for her until she was 13 t hough so my guess is we won’t need to replace it before she moves out.

Awesome. Thanks so much. I will look into that Obasan and I’ll find some time in the next few weeks to call the two places you mentioned.

Hi Cerulean Blue,

I thought that’s the one you were referring to when you mentioned …

which is the reason I wanted to make some comments about it. It’s better value relative to their other mattresses … not necessarily to other options you may have (which would depend on making apples to apples comparisons with other 6" dunlop latex mattresses to determine the best value available to you).

Phoenix

[quote=“Phoenix” post=22336]
I thought that’s the one you were referring to when you mentioned …

which is the reason I wanted to make some comments about it. It’s better value relative to their other mattresses … not necessarily to other options you may have (which would depend on making apples to apples comparisons with other 6" dunlop latex mattresses to determine the best value available to you).

Phoenix[/quote]

The one I was quoted on was the Sleeptek Kids line, this one http://sleeptek.ca/products/kids-natural-rubber-mattress

So Sleeptek makes Obasan? If so, maybe the two mattresses are the same?

Hey CeruleanBlue, I’m in the same boat, looking to buy a twin mattress for my 3 year old. I’m basically moving him from the baby/toddler convertible bed straight into a twin. I was almost 100% sure I’m going to buy the latex mattress from Ikea for $509, but yesterday I changed my mind. Until now he’s been sleeping on an organic latex mattress from Obasan, so Ikea would be a bit of a downgrade. I think in the long term considering how many years it will be used it’s worth getting something a little nicer, so I decided to get the Naturalux mattress from here: https://www.mattresses.net/twin-naturalux-latex-mattress-only.html

Phoenix do you agree that the Naturalux is a better quality mattress than Edsele from Ikea? Also, I was going to get the firm model, considering it’s for a child. Does this make sense? Is there anything else you would recommend at that price point ($695) with similar components? I think the shipping is going to be ~$150, so another idea is to find something locally at under $850, but I’ve looked around and I don’t think that is possible anywhere in Calgary. Everywhere I looked it’s over $1000 for a latex twin, if anyone else knows better, please post here.

Hi ciuvak,

They are both similar materials but I would give a slight edge to 100% natural Dunlop yes (see post #2 here).

For a child I would also ask Ken about a 6" 100% natural Dunlop mattress and then wait till they were older to add any softer latex on top as a topper (or you could purchase a thicker cover and use the core and the topper inside the new cover).

Kids won’t need the extra 2" of soft latex.

I don’t recommend specific mattresses (just help the members here identify weak links, eliminate their worst options, and help connect them to better retailers and manufacturers) so they can make final choices based on their own personal value equation but post #2 here includes links to most of the better forum threads about mattresses and children which includes links to many options that would be good choices for children. If you have already decided on a latex mattress then post #21 here has a list of the members of the site that sell latex mattresses online in a wide range of designs and styles.

There is also a list of online sources that ship either from or to Canada in post #21 here.

Arizona Premium is certainly one of the “value leaders”.

Phoenix

ciuvak, did you decide on anything yet? I ordered the IKEA Edsele today as I have been away on vacation without much for cell service so couldn’t make any calls and didn’t want to miss the sale. I’m going to see if I can call a couple other places tomorrow and cancel my IKEA order if I find something that I think is a better value and still in budget.

Are you worried about the extra UPS charges ordering from the US? The mattresses are made in USA so no duty, but depending on which UPS service they use to ship, UPS may still charge brokerage fees (for brokering it into Canada for you and collecting GST/PST, etc.). UPS fees are the worst in the business!

Have you talked to the store about shipping at all?

Another thought…if a mattress is just straight latex with no wool, won’t it need flame retardants? I was under the impression that wool met the standards for flame retardancy in the USA so you could avoid chemical flame retardants. I seem to recall that Canada has different regulations, but am not 100% certain…I do know that wool meet our standards. I definitely would like to avoid any chemical flame retardants.

So I guess I have 2 questions:

  1. if I buy a straight latex, no wool mattress from the USA, will it have flame retardants?
  2. if I buy a straight latex, no wool mattress in Canada, will it have flame retardants?

Phoenix, first of all thanks for taking time to reply. I went through and read all the links that you posted. I totally agree with you in regards to not needing the extra 2". Basically what I should’ve wanted from the beginning is what my son has now (obasan crib mattress: 6" dunlop with some wool on top), but in larger twin size.
CeruleanBlue, here is what I’ve found so far at under $1000 (my budget):
USA (have to add additional shipping costs and customs/brokerage/whatever…maybe $150, maybe more, I’m not sure?), but there is an additional 5% off, so that’s also something to consider:
$595 6" special, 3"+3" natural Dunlop, cotton stretch cover.
$595 “Twin Solid Core Latex Mattress Only” the latex is a 60/40 blend, it’s not I’m looking for, I need 100% natural
$658: 6" Dunlop core ($529) + organic cotton cover with wool ($129). Buy both and make a mattress?
$695 Naturalux: 6" nat. Dunlop + 2" nat. Talalay + organic cotton cover I could get this one and take out the 2" layer or put it on the bottom?
$750 7000 model, 3"+3" natural Dunlop, cotton + wool, bonus 2 free pillows
Canada:
Edit: deleted the product from naturessleep, because of fraud concerns.

WARNING ADDED BY ADMIN: See post #39 here and the rest of the thread before making any purchase from NaturesSleep.ca !

$999+gst Sleeptek: 6" Dunlop + organic cotton cover, free shipping, or I could just drive to the store and pick it up.

There is also halstead.ca, but Martin is on vacation. I’ve already bought a queen mattress from him last year, so maybe he can get me a good price on a twin. I’ll have to contact him again next week.

Hi CeruleanBlue,

Without wool it would have to use another method to pass the regulations. IMO … the best option in this case would be a viscose/silica inherent material which is also non toxic (see post #2 here). With a prescription from a health practitioner … you can also have a mattress made without any fire retardant barrier at all.

The regulations in Canada are different and not as stringent as the US but there are still regulations and Canadian mattresses are often made the same as their US counterparts so it would have some form of fire retardant as well. Each manufacturer can provide more specific details about their mattress.

Phoenix

The beds and Edsele mattresses arrived yesterday for the kids. We built the older one’s bed, put the mattress on and slept on it ourselves with the youngest while the bed owner was at a grandparent’s sleepover. :wink:

IMO, the mattress is firm. It’s about the same firmness as the foam mattress it is replacing. But, it has more flex to it when you roll so is much more comfortable. I think for me, it is likely to be a little too firm so if it was mine, I’d add a nice wool topper or a softer latex topper. That being said, that was only one night of sleep so I’d give it more of a chance before purchasing any toppers (since it’s not mine though it doesn’t matter, the firmess is perfect for the kids).

The mattress was packaged well, had zero smell (I’m sensitive to smells), and looks to be constructed nicely. I am very happy with the height, as a 6" mattress would sit lower into the bed frame. The frame does allow for the rails to be at a higher setting, but then the mattress would be too high for the kids, especially for the under 2 year old. So this height works well for us now. Once the older one is a teen, we can add a topper for her and it will sit higher and she’ll have some more cushion when she needs it. Hopefully the baby’s lasts until then too. :slight_smile:

My first impression is that we will keep them. I really see no reason not to. The sale price was a good value for what we got and it was zero hassle for me to order them for that price. It saved me a ton of time and extra shipping costs over ordering elsewhere (since we were ordering beds from IKEA already). So for us, at this point in life, I think and hope it was the right decision.

If anyone has any questions they’d like answered, feel free to ask.

Thought to post a follow up message, and share my experience, which I hope will be helpful specially for those located in Canada.
Will start by saying that I decided not to get the Edsele mattress because it wasn’t 100% natural and more importantly it was zoned, which is pointless for a toddler, and not always works even for an adult.
Having that out of the way, I looked into getting something else first locally and then in the USA (I described all the alternatives in my previous post). Everything I found in Canada was around the $900 CAD mark, so I decided to order from the US.
Got a quote for the very basic 6" natural dunlop core mattress from Ken at mattresses.net, but for some reason it was only $50-$60 cheaper than their Naturalux (6"+2") mattress. What a disappointment! Not sure how they make their prices, but I was expecting a more significant discount, considering that the 2" layer was out of the equation…So anyway, even though, like Phoenix said before, the extra 2" is not really necessary for a child, and also considering that the shipping cost were same for either a 6" or 6"+2", I decided to order the Naturalux.
I though it will be a better value in the long run. My final cost was US $757.08 which was charged as CAD $800.31 on my credit card (paid with amazon visa and avoided extra currency fees). I haven’t received it yet, but my guess there will be tax on top of that which is 5% ($40?). So, to summarize, for ~$850 I will get a natural dunlop with an extra 2" natural talalay layer, vs $900 for 6" dunlop mattress bought in Canada.

The zones are overkill just as the extra 2" topper is? LOL I don’t really care whether it has zones since the cost was still less than any unzoned mattress I could get. Unfortunately, budget was our main concern at this time so I had to pick the best I could get in that price range. If your kids don’t need the extra topper for now (maybe because it’s too soft right now?) maybe you could store it and bring it out when the child is older? Would be awesome to have that extra softness when the child is older!

I would have purchased what you did as well given the options you were considering. Please come back with feedback on the mattress once it arrives. The exchange rate seems high though? Double check to make sure you were charged the correct US$. I’ve got an Amazon visa too and rates haven’t been that high on the things I’ve ordered lately.

Be prepared for the tax, GST only I guess because you’re in Alberta right? And there is likely to be a brokerage/collection fee for that. Depending on the courier it could be as little as $10 (DHL Express for example) but if it’s UPS, it could be much, much more. Did they say who they were shipping with and what service they were using?

I definitely understand the budget angle.
For August 24, when the transaction was posted the official visa rate was: $1 = 1.057094 CAD. (http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_services/consumer_ex_rates.jsp)
Amazon rate shown in my account for that transaction was $1 USD = 1.057100967 CAD, so virtually the same rate as official visa.
xe.com shows the historical data for Aug. 24 as $1 = 1.0496 CAD, so not too far off.
I guess the difference looks big right away because of the amount of money, the little currency difference adds up at so many hundreds.
GST only because I’m in Alberta. The courier they use is UPS, but I was assured the are no brokerage fees, only sales tax I would have to pay. I’m double checking that again today, just to make sure.

Hi CerulieanBlue and cirvak,

Congratulations to both of you on your new mattresses … I think that you both ended up making good choices :slight_smile:

@ ciuvak

I’d also be interested to know if there are any brokerage charges from UPS when it comes across the border. Of course the GST is unavoidable but at least you live in Alberta where they don’t have provincial taxes.

This would also work out well because you could use the firm side of the mattress while they are younger (with the soft latex on the bottom) and then turn it around when they are old enough to need a softer surface.

Phoenix

I’m going to start researching a replacement for us now that the kids have mattresses. We’re in need of one as our foam topper seems to be going the way of the dinosaur and is no longer comfortable…I think the base is still good so am likely to start with a latex topper then buy a latex base down the road. Anyway, starting the research now so that when budget allows I’ll already know what we want!

Oh geez, I was thinking it was a 2" topper, but it’s built in. Your idea of one way when they are younger then flipping it as they are older is awesome!

Well, I was positive there will not be any brokerage fees, but I got a very surprising email from Ken this evening after I emailed him just to confirm. He says there will an additional 8% brokerage fee from UPS. This was never mentioned before I placed the order so I am flabbergasted by the update. As always I prefer to work on all issues directly with the seller first before making any radical decisions, so will post here if I manage to sort out this problem. There are ways to sort it out, but Ken has to be willing to help.

Regarding the soft layer that was exactly what I was thinking - to place the soft layer on the bottom.

The mattress consists of a 6" core layer and a 2" soft layer, all wrapped in a zippered cotton cover. It’s delivered in boxes and one has to assemble the mattress. The layers can be organized and flipped as you wish inside the cover. Here is the exact model I ordered: https://www.mattresses.net/twin-naturalux-latex-mattress-only.html

ciuvak, how did your conversation go about the fees? You don’t know how many US senders I’ve dealt with that don’t understand what brokerage fees are, so claim there aren’t any. I hope you got it worked out to your satisfaction.

Alright, just wanted to post a follow up and share the final numbers:
All prices after currency conversion, and what was actually charged from the credit card in $CAD:
$800.31 (mattress + shipping)

  • $107.78 (UPS fees total: brokerage, GST, etc)
  • $76.20 (Refund from Ken for brokerage fees)
    = $831.89 TOTAL REAL COST, so ~$790 + 5% GST in AB.
    Even with all extra charges, is still by far better price than anything local found in Canada (for a 6"+2" config.). Mattress is very high quality and my toddler loves it, sleeps like an angel and I’m happy he is not sleeping on a soup of chemicals.