Hi, I have already learned a lot from researching and lurking on this forum. Our bad experience with our last mattress has pushed me to spend more time selecting a quality mattress…
We have decided that we are willing to spend more on a 2 sided mattress as our current one is just about unusable due to the giant craters in it (single sided). We have found a reputable local retailer and wanted to hear what the forum has to say about these options;
Concerned about the 1" thick layer of wool over the latex. Will this flatten out and get lumpy and hard over time
Concerned about getting the right firmness (side sleepers)
Concerned about heat retention in these mattresses (sleeping hot)
Concerned about the longevity of option 3 as some of the foam is not latex
We have spent a fair amount of time on all of them and they all feel pretty good and provide spinal alignment.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
There is more about the pros and cons of one sided vs two sided mattresses in post #3 here. While a one sided mattress that meets the quality/durability guidelines here and that doesn’t have any lower quality materials or weak links can certainly make a durable choice … a two sided mattress would last longer than a similar mattress with a similar support system that used the same comfort layers on only one side of the mattress as long as you flip and rotate it on a regular basis (see post #2 here).
There is also more about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here 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 suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
I would keep in mind that the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or if you can’t test a mattress in person then your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
Outside of PPP … the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability and the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label. That’s one of the reasons that It’s always refreshing to see a manufacturer like Clare Bedding that is transparent about all the materials and components in their mattresses and all of these mattresses use high quality and durable materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links in any of them so if any or all of them are a good “match” for you in terms of PPP and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you then they would certainly be well worth considering.
Wool is one of the best temperature regulating materials in the industry and while it will compress by about 30% of it’s thickness over time and the initial compression will be more where you sleep most on the mattress … with only an inch of wool this won’t have any meaningful effect on the comfort or support of the mattress and it will also even out over time as you sleep in different areas of the mattress and flip the mattress over on a regular basis so it’s certainly not something that I would have any concerns about.
Your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) and personal experience will always be the most reliable way to know whether any mattress is a good “match” for you in terms of firmness, comfort, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences).
There is also 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 and PPP in post #2 here that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for once you actually sleep on your mattress in “real life”.
While it’s not 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 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.
Wool is among the best temperature regulating materials and latex in general is the most breathable and temperature neutral of all the foam materials so it would be very unlikely that someone would have any temperature regulation issues with a mattress that has a wool quilted cotton cover and latex comfort layers.
The 2.5 lb polyfoam in the third mattress you linked is a very high quality and durable material which are well above the minimum guidelines that are suggested in the quality/durability guidelines here so there wouldn’t be any cause for concern or weak links in the mattress in terms of durability.
My only other concern is that while this PLUSH mattress provided good PPP now, how much will it change in the next 6 months and will I regret not getting the medium which also felt good but slightly firm when laying on the side.
I am hoping that because of the premium construction of this mattress, the comfort layer would not "settle causing spinal misalignment as this is a relatively soft mattress.
In your experience, do many people regret going too soft or too firm with a full latex mattress?
There will be an initial break in and adjustment period with any new mattress over the course of the first 30 - 90 days or so (see post #3 here) but this will be less with higher quality and more durable materials than it will for lower quality materials. I would also keep in mind that most floor models have already been broken in to some degree so a new mattress may be a little firmer than the floor model until it breaks in as well.
I don’t know of any statistics about how many people choose a mattress that is too soft or too firm but most people would probably regret either one even though they produce different “symptoms” (too firm generally leads to pressure relief issues and too soft generally leads to alignment issues). There are some comments in post #13 here that would be relevant to your question as well because it would depend on the person.
Having said that … choosing a mattress that is too soft (or even “on the edge” of being too soft … see post #2 here) would generally be more risky than choosing a mattress that is too firm because you can always soften up a mattress that is too firm by adding a softer topper but it’s much more difficult to firm up a mattress that is too soft without removing and replacing either the comfort layers that are too thick/soft or the support core that is too soft.
Your question may be much more complex than you may realize
I don’t keep a record of the individual mattresses that the retailers and manufacturers in the hundreds of forum lists throughout the forum carry on their floor (it would be a bigger job than anyone could keep up with in a constantly changing market) so you would need to check their websites and make some phone calls to the retailers/manufacturers that are on the forum lists that are in reasonable driving distance to find out if any of them carry a similar two sided Talalay latex mattress (although two sided Talalay latex mattresses are fairly uncommon so it’s unlikely that you will find any others in your area).
There is more information in post #9 here about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one. Every layer and component in a mattress (including the cover) will affect the feel and performance of every other layer and component and the mattress “as a whole” so unless you are able to find another mattress that uses exactly the same type of materials, components, cover, layer thicknesses, layer firmnesses, and overall design (which would be very unlikely) then there really isn’t a way to match one mattress to another one in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on the specifications of the mattress.
Mattress manufacturers generally try to differentiate their mattress from the mattresses made by other manufacturers and don’t normally try to “match” another mattress that is made by a different manufacturer so while you may find similar mattresses that use “similar” materials or designs or other mattresses that contain the same amount of Talalay latex in lower budget ranges (most likely one sided) … it’s very unlikely that you will find another mattress that is specifically designed or that just “happens” to “match” or “approximate” the mattresses you mentioned in terms of PPP so the only way to know how two mattresses compare for you in terms of how it “feels” or in terms of firmness or PPP would be based on your own careful testing or actual sleeping experience on both of them.
Of course that doesn’t mean that another mattress that contains a similar amount of latex with a similar cover also won’t be a good match for you in terms of PPP … just that it would probably be different and that you won’t know how it compares until you actually test it or sleep on it in person.
There also isn’t a formula that you can use to assess value because there are so many different variables that are more or less important to different people and because the “value” of a mattress purchase is relative to how it compares to the other finalists that you are considering or to other mattresses that are available to you either locally or online but there is also more about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here 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 suitability, durability, and all the other 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).
Off the top of my head there is another online two sided Talalay latex mattress here that is made by one of the members of the site that is “somewhat similar” that you can use as a “value” reference (although it uses 100% natural Talalay and I believe that the mattresses you are looking at use blended Talalay latex) but it is in a similar price range and I think that the list prices of the mattresses you are looking at are certainly fair (although it never hurts to ask if they can provide you with an additional discount).
I know that this was a long answer to a short question but hopefully it also answered all the other questions that were “hidden” inside the ones you asked.
Just wanted to provide an update that this mattress has been great 3 years later. The ability to flip and rotate keeps it like new. Nice and cool. No back issues since (knock on wood).
Would buy another one despite the high cost.
Penny Mustard sells a unique high quality ‘Platinum Dreams’ mattress lineup and are extremely transparent regarding their construction clearly detailing the specs of each layer. The only thing that prevented me from buying a mattress from them is that they have no money back guarantee, but instead offer a one year one time replacement option which gives you 75% of your purchase price to apply towards another model. Glad that your choice is working out so well for you! :cheer:
