Yesterday I visited 3 different mattress stores, two of them for the second time, to try to experience the different sensations on each mattress in a single day so I could more easily compare them. 1) I tried the Pure Lates Bliss “pamper” mattress (1 inch Tallalay, 2 inches “active” fusion, and 6 inches Tallalay core as well as the very expensive Savvy Rest (1 layer of Tallalay and two of Dunlop, all organic 2) I tried European Sleep Design, which uses German and Swedish individually wrapped innerspring coils, with a 2 inch latex topper – all elements OekoTex certified. 3) Then I finished with a Sleep Number airbed with latex topper.
Until yesterday, I had been focused on an entirely latex mattress, but I found the latex plus pocketed coils the most comfortable of all. What is your opinion of that combination and do any of your recommended regional manufacturers make them? How do they compare in quality to all latex?
The choice of different components in the support layers and comfort layers is really a matter of personal preference and not so much “better or worse”. There are many people who prefer a pocket coil/latex mattress over an all latex mattress because of the differences in how they each perform and for some the pocket coil better fits their needs and preferences. The good news is that an innerspring is generally a little less than a high quality latex core although there is a wide range of different innersprings available as well which have a wide range of costs and performance characteristics. The Berkeley Ergonomics are among the best of these IMO and are good quality and value … and can also be customized with different innersprings and comfort layers for each person. They even have a model which uses a special pocket coil innerspring in the comfort layer and then a thinner layer of latex over that.
Several of the members here and many other smaller local manufacturers make mattresses with this basic design but most of them are only sold locally. One of our members that does sell online has a “choose you own layer” mattress like this where you can choose the innerspring and also the latex layers that go over it for those who are looking at or comfortable with an online purchase for this type of mattress. They are BayBed in Santa Cruz, CA and Dan the owner there is very good to talk with and will give you good information and guidance over the phone.
For those that have a retailer for Berkeley Ergonomics close to them … they use very high quality pocket coils and are good quality and value overall although they are more than some other similar mattresses which may not use the same quality components. The small group of retailers that sell them also tend to be very knowledgeable and helpful. The only exception to this would be in Dallas where the retailer that sells them there charges much higher prices than the retailers in all the other areas of the country.
If you let me know the city you live in I’d be happy to look to see if there are any other outlets I know of that may sell similar mattresses in your area although you would be hard pressed to find a better combination of quality/value than the Berkeley Ergonomics in most places. I don’t keep a list of all the different mattress types listed by manufacturer which would be far to big a job for me to take on and would go out of date very quickly anyway so unfortunately I can’t give you a list of manufacturers that may make them (although there are many).
Thanks so much for the information, Joaquin. I live in Sacramento, CA, and the retailer where I tried the latex-over-innerspring mattress says their products are made in Salt Lake City. I will follow up re the sources you suggest and would appreciate any other sources you can recommend in my general area.
There are not a lot of great choices right in Sacramento that I’m aware of but there are some within reasonable driving distance. they are listed in post #5 here.
There are several on this list that carry latex/innerspring hybrids (besides Berkeley Ergonomics) and a few calls asking “do you carry or make any innerspring mattresses with latex comfort layers” should give you a good sense of where to go. Patrick at Community mattress also makes a basic two sided solid innerspring mattress which only has about 1/2" of polyfoam on each side which he specifically designs to add a topper of your choosing as a comfort layer which may also be a good option.
Diamond mattress also makes several models like this (such as their Ethos Hybrid line for example that some of the retailers near you may carry).