This site is full of wonderful information!
We are looking to replace our old queen size Tempurpedic mattress (don’t remember what kind) with a king size mattress. The Tempurpedic is 8-9 years old, and even when it was young, my wife likened sleeping on it to sleeping on a board.
She likes a plusher feel, I would prefer something a little firmer than that. This means we probably want somewhat different configurations on our own sides of the bed. We both have BMIs north of 30 and are both primarily back sleepers, though I sometimes sleep on my side.
We have done our best to check out mattresses locally. We know we don’t want another memory foam mattress, and, in the in-person testing we were able to do, we preferred all-latex mattresses to hybrid latex/pocket coil mattresses (and we don’t want to go back to innerspring, and we are not enthusiastic about polyurethane foam.) In the stores we visited, their all latex mattresses seemed expensive for what was being offered. So, we’re looking online for a high-quality latex mattress.
We also need some kind of foundation since we are moving from a queen to a king and can’t use the existing one, and would like to preserve the approximate height of our current frame + foundation + mattress, which is currently 22". A couple of inches either way would be ok, though.
One particular challenge for us and online vendors is that due to medical and age issues we really need white glove service to haul the old mattress and foundation away and install the new one. This eliminates at least half of the online latex mattress vendors I’ve talked to. (That said, I doubt we would have trouble swapping latex layers once the bed is in place.)
Currently, two good companies we have found that we believe we could work with and that are TMU members are Sleep EZ and Luma.
I spoke with Shawn at Sleep EZ, and he recommended their 10" mattress, which allows both the support and the comfort layers to be configured in a variety of ways, and could very likely match both my preferences and my wife’s. They offer a reasonable foundation, and they even offer white-glove service. However, they do not offer a frame/legs, without which we would be at 18" or so. Shawn pointed me to Universal Bed Legs, but it looks complicated to screw them in when the foundation is covered with fabric. I am not sure if their white glove service covers this, either.
A different thing we might consider that does not have this problem, especially since we might need the adjustability, is a 13" mattress from Sleep EZ–that would give us 3 more inches and another layer to configure if needed, and an 8’ foundation and a 13" mattress would bring us to 21", which would be fine.
The Luma All-Latex Slumber System is an 11" mattress. I understand the 6" + 2" core is the same for all mattresses, and the configuration seems to vary by the ILD of the 3" topper. They offer both white-glove service and a foundation with legs that would get us to 13 + 11 = 24", which would be acceptable.
The Luma All Latex mattress seems less configurable than the Sleep EZ mattresses, though. It seems that the only possible adjustment is to swap out the topper for a topper of a different ILD. I suspect we could persuade them to send two twin XL toppers instead of a king topper, which could accommodate our different preferences.
I believe the mattresses from either of these will be in our price range. I have not discussed price with either company yet but we believe that, within reason, it is more important to get the right mattress than to get the best bargain.
We also thought about the Zenhaven mattress but there are only two firmness choices, and to accommodate our different preferences, we would probably have to get two twin XL mattresses. It appears there is no other adjustment possible. So, this isn’t as high on our list as the others.
In any event, thank you in advance for your advice about any of these approaches.
Check out Latexmattressfactory.com - they’re an approved vendor here (5% off if you call?) and you can literally build your own bed for less. It won’t be cheap! But less… lol.
It seems most of the replies will more or less come down to “read the ‘how to select a mattress’” boilerplate and be followed up with “since they’re an approved vendor, they can compete with anyone and are quality products and open about their manufacture.” BUT - and understandably - you will not get any specific recommendations from the site owner.
You (both) and I have similar BMI’s, so I have been looking for a more durable mattress than the ten years or less we have gotten from other “foam” options in the past, so like you I have been checking out latex options. Few people will admit it, but I expect that the typical foam components (polyfoam or “memory” foam) will not last more than 5-8 years with us heavier guys (ie without resulting in significant depressions).
I’d suggest thinking outside the box on this one:
Think about how you’d configure your ideal latex mattress, and then order the components from Latexmattressfactory.com (they have the best prices I’ve found so far). You want to do a dual zone mattress layer? How about a firm base, two twin XL medium/soft middle layers (equal to a king) and a soft topper? Done!
As far as moving out the old mattress, call up any local junk removal company -
or better yet, “hire” a neighborhood or nearby church-going teenager or two to move the mattress out to the curb, and to assemble your new mattress while you watch and instruct!
The possibilities are endless - as long as you’re okay with a 12" deep mattress or less (they offer a cotton cover in 1" increments up to 12"). You can even source 5lb memory foam off amazon for another topper option, depending on how you decide to go. And the best part? If you wind up regretting the feel of your bed, it’s relatively easy and cost-effective to ask that same kid from church to stop by and swap out layers for you.
At this point, I am “building my own” and am going to wing it. I personally am thinking a firm base, medium middle layer and soft top layer - possibly adding a layer of memory foam to placate “the Warden…” 
No one can tell you what a great mattress is for you or I specifically, so I personally feel like the next best thing is to take the mattress I was going to buy - and build it myself with known, high quality components. Easy enough to change layers, or add a memory foam topper, etc to suite one’s tastes. And should one component - such as a foam layer - wear out prematurely, then it’s again very cost effective to replace or change piecemeal.
IMHO, naturally!
Thank you for the advice, Random84. We hadn’t considered a DIY approach, but we’ll definitely think about it.
Hi MrCortex,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
Considering an all-latex sleep system certainly could be a good choice for both creating a different comfort on each side of a mattress, as well as something that can be appropriate for someone in a higher BMI range. Latex can also be a good choice for side and back sleeping with a higher BMI, due to the higher compression modulus (ability to firm up as weight is applied) of some latex.
As I think you’re already aware, you’d need to call and speak with any manufacturer to see if they have a white glove service available. Some will list it as an option on their web site, while others might have it available upon special request.
As you’re already aware, I think highly of both SleepEZ and Luma Sleep and believe they compete well with the best in the industry in product knowledge and latex componentry.
I know you have a specific height request, but I do advise caution regarding choosing a mattress based more upon thickness, as any addition/subtraction of layers will change the overall comfort of a mattress. In the situation you describe, one advantage that people in a higher BMI can benefit from more/thicker layers to achieve comfort and durability. Additionally, a four layer system will allow for more configurability options versus a three layer system, which some people find attractive, and others find more confusing. Unless you are attracted to the idea of a DIY mattress design and choosing layers on your own (which can be a quite complicated process), my best recommendation would be to seek the advice of a qualified consultant (like Shawn) for layer recommendations in a system like the 13" one you are considering.
The Luma All-Latex could be another choice using all latex that would use durable materials and could be configured for both side and back sleepers. They do allow you to request two twin extra toppers for the upper 3" comfort layer (same price as the single king 3" topper), thus allowing you to achieve a different feel on each side of the mattress. The most noticeable changes in comfort will be noticed through changes made in the uppermost layer, but you are correct that there is more ability to customize in the SleepEZ system, with all of the layers being configurable.
While price is certainly important of course, the “value” of a mattress purchase is what is most important and price is just one of many factors that can affect the “value” of a mattress purchase. Both of the items you’re considering use good quality and durable materials, and in the end, you’d be choosing between “good and good” products.
You’re correct. The mattress is offered in one style, and flipping it over allows for a different comfort on each side. So your ability to customize each side would be to order the two twin extra long items and flip one over for a different comfort on the opposite side.
Phoenix
Hi Random84,
Thanks for taking the time to offer up a suggestion to MrCortex!
I also have a few additional comments:
As people will often come to the forum with little knowledge about how to choose a mattress (often asking to have a mattress picked for them based upon dimensions, or subjective personal preferences), or they make obvious erroneous comments upon mattress componentry, referencing them to learn about mattress construction and how to shop for a mattress is imperative, and that process is of course recommended. The goal of this forum is to educate, allowing people to make their own informed decisions. But it would be evidenced by anyone perusing the forum for even a short amount of time that what you stated is clearly not the response for “most of the replies”.
I hope that you have success in your DIY mattress adventure! You may wish to read option 3 in post #15 here and the posts it links to (and option #1 and #2 as well) about pursuing a DIY mattress.
Creating a DIY mattress can be a rewarding project, but it’s not for everyone (very few people in fact). People need to be realistic in their expectations that they may end up spending more money and not creating something that has a comfort they desire, so looking at things in the “spirit of adventure” and obtaining a reward from the process itself is definitely advised, and it’s not something I generally recommend unless someone specifically inquiries about such a direction. Hopefully things will work out quite well for you.
Phoenix
I didn’t mean that as a negative, I only point it out that because almost all of us wind up here during a search for finding the “right” mattress, our posts here are often inherently subjective and full of terms like “comfort, firm, plush, soft” or “best, value, durability” - all of which are open to interpretation. And this site focuses mostly on understanding the specific products, their components, and how these components work, but not on offering up answers…
Perhaps another way of saying it would be, “we can’t tell you the destination, but only help show you the way!”
As an aside, I visited a local mattress dealer in Cincinnati: Mattress Solutions - I really liked the owner and had a nice chat on latex mattresses; this was the only place on the East side of town that carried a latex mattress offering. They had three different variants of the Pure Talalay Bliss line, an 8" (Pamper?), the 10"(Nature) and the 12" (Beautiful) on display.
I tried all three (described as firm, medium and soft by the salesman), in addition to one of the higher end hybrid innersprings and a few higher end foam options.
I was struck with how much more comortable the 12" Beautiful was. I bounced back and forth between that and the medium (Nature) and it was relatively obvious how one was too firm and the other just right when laying on my side.
A quick google search brought me back here to another thread on the ILD’s of - what I believe is the same mattress - which listed the latex ILDs as 19/24/36 talalay in a ~3"/3"/6" design.
Coincidentally (!) that matches up pretty well to what I was planning via the DIY website, using dunlop foam their ILDs were 19/28/38 in the same thicknesses. So… from what I understand my DIY will probably be slightly firmer, but at less than half the cost of the retail option I will have plenty of reserve capital to switch out layers if necessary. Certainly a chance worth taking given all I have to do is stack a few layers of latex on the box springs and wrap them in a cover.
Interestingly, I talked to the experts at LatexMattressFactory (highly recommended, BTW) and they felt that using the soft upper layer would be a mistake and far too soft for my BMI, even though my preferences with the Pure Talalay Bliss seem to contradict that. Ultimately the proof will be in the DIY pudding when I order everything next week.
Hi Random84,
Thanks for the clarification, and that’s a good quote! :lol:
The last specifications I have for the Beautiful are (blended Talalay) top to bottom: 3" 15 ILD, 3" 24 ILD, 6" 36 ILD core.
You are certainly correct. As you’re already aware from your research (good job!), Dunlop at a similar ILD to Talalay will tend to “firm up faster” (has the higher compression modulus), and especially with your higher BMI for the upper comfort layers this could be a better choice for plushness.
I’m glad that you liked speaking with the people at Latex Mattress Factory. Yes, that would be a pretty common recommendation for a higher BMI, but as you stated you’ll find out when you put everything together in a week and see what happens over time. Hopefully you’ll be reporting back that you are enjoying your new DIY mattress!
Phoenix
We also loved the feel of the PTB Beautiful. And it confirmed that we wanted to go with (Natural) Talalay. We just ordered a 13" Radium Talalay mattress from SleepEZ. I went with S-M-F-F to approximate the PTB. I realize that it will feel different with the cotton and wool cover. And if it is too firm after two weeks or so, I will call them to discuss a layer exchange. They have been fabulous to work with and we can hardly wait to get our new mattress! We also got our 5% discount and free sheets and pillows
Thank you, Phoenix, and everyone who has shared their experiences to help us choose!
Hi buttercupbetty,
Congratulations on your new SleepEZ latex mattress purchase! :cheer: You chose something using good quality (natural Talalay) materials. I’ll be interested in learning how the mattress is performing for you once you’ve received it and have had a chance to sleep upon it for a while.
(And just to confirm for anyone else reading through this thread, the Pure Talalay Bliss uses blended Talalay from Talalay Global.)
Hopefully once the covering breaks in a bit you’ll be right where you want to be with comfort.
I’m happy that you remembered to ask for your TMU discount as well.
Phoenix
Hello Phoenix and TMU,
It’s been a month and I think “my side” is just a little bit too firm for me. I am finding myself turning onto my back. It’s S-M-F-F. I will call SleepEZ for guidance.
In the meantime, do you have any advice or hunch on the best first step?
Thank you!
Hello, members!
It’s been ~3-4 weeks now since I received my order from the Latex Factory. They actually shipped me the wrong product initially and were very good about correcting the issue, although it took about a week of playing phone tag before I got in touch with them just to confirm they could ship the missing piece out. Aside from that delay I’ve been pretty happy with the product.
First off: I ordered four layers of 3" latex “toppers” with their cotton mattress cover to create a 12" deep, KING size bed. It was ~$1750ish shipped - which is quite competitive compared to other fully latex mattresses in king size.
The layers are probably ~40+ pounds each, which isn’t horrible - but imaging trying to move a king-size topper of that weight around without tearing it and the average person will need a buddy to avoid damaging the latex while positioning in the bed.
The Latex Mattress Factory cotton mattress cover was quite the deal, and has a nice feel to it. However like the latex, care must be used when moving a complete mattress as the edge stitching is relatively fragile and there is no grip handle sewn in - again a buddy is needed to avoid tearing it apart while moving. However, it’s inexpensive and honestly feels quite nice once in place. Just show caution when putting everything together.
As for my situation:
I’m 6’ 2", 240 pounds and in decent shape (ie I sort of resemble an hour glass). I have had chronic lower back issues most of my life and combined with broad shoulders and heavy hips/legs, I prefer firm mattresses for side and back sleeping.
My wife is 5’ 7", 120 pounds and in excellent physical condition. She is a side sleeper that prefers softer mattresses and absolutely LOVED the Sealy memory foam mattress we just replaced due to large body depressions on my side of the bed.
Recall that we have a KING size bed. Dimensionally this is equivalent to (2) twin XL mattresses side-by-side, so I created a “dual zone” mattress for us.
For the bottom two 3" layers, I used FIRM (~38 ILD) natural dunlop on both sides, with one of the layers split into two “twin XL” sizes side-by-side for future adjustment if necessary.
For the third layer I used a single 3" MEDIUM (~28ILD) natural dunlop layer.
For the fourth, top layer I again split it into two “twin XL” sides: a MEDIUM for me and a SOFT (~19 ILD) natural dunlop topper for my wife’s side of the bed.
My impressions of the mattress, directly after switching from the older, 12" memory foam we replaced:
First impression: We were shorted one of the layers on accident, so I started by sleeping on 9" of hard/hard/medium layers. This was very springy, and surprisingly firm from what I was expecting - when you sit on it it feels almost solid… but sleeping on it was quite nice. There IS give to it, just not as much as I was expecting when you see a porous layer of latex spread out!
We finally got the missing layer and my impression on the full 12" bed (firm/firm/medium/medium): firm, but very comfortable. I really like having my torso and hip area supported again - it’s quite nice from a lower-back perspective. I can side sleep comfortably as well but there’s not as much compression there as I’d like for having broad shoulders. Thankfully, a new latex pillow helped give me improved head support which also improved things.
Now, I slept on my wife’s side intermittently (firm/firm/medium/soft) - and it’s appreciably softer due to the top layer; and didn’t have enough lower back support for me. It feels nicer and more plush to the touch, but when actually laying down I prefer my more firm side.
The mattress is pretty much what I was hoping form but on the firm side - however I plan on keeping it the same as I have and I can replace the softer layers as needed if they start caving in.
As far as my wife is concerned… she’s tolerant! lol She’s half my weight and really loves the memory foam feel of sinking in -I suspect she would be happy with a 3" memory foam topper in place of either the soft or medium layer; perhaps we’ll adjust that in the future but she’s gotten used to the latex feel and seems comfortable.
Interestingly, I don’t notice the “seam” between the two twin XL top layers unless I use my hand to try to find it. I just lined them up side by side and being wrapped in the cover, with a protector and a sheet on top that pretty well keeps them in place and masks the seam.
Overall, I’ve been satisfied with my purchase and enjoyed dealing with the Latex Mattress Factory. I still mull over the cost-effectiveness of getting a decent foam mattress and replacing it every 8-10 years versus paying double for a latex mattress and expecting it to last longer; but the good news is that it’s comfortable and hopefully the last mattress I’ll ever have to buy!
Hey Random84,
I was reading through your post (glad you’ve found something you like), and I wanted to touch upon a few of the things you mentioned which I think were good points.
That’s a top tip about moving latex layers to not pull on them. Latex is quite flexible and grippy, and even in a firm version if you pull on it you’ll risk the chance of tearing the piece, so use two people or put a wave through it when repositioning it. With my component systems, I recommend rolling the layers into a tube and placing the layer in position, then roll it out and placing waves through the product to reposition it.
Splitting the king into two separate sides for different comforts is a great idea, and where the pieces meet in the middle is normally quite unobtrusive due to the point elastic nature of the latex. This would also allow your wife to replace the upper latex layer with a memory foam piece should she desire eventually to do so. (BTW, each side is equivalent to a twin XL, not a full XL.)
Also, getting a new pillow to help with your alignment is a good tip not only for cervical/thoracic issues, but also for shoulder support.
Those are all good things that you mentioned, and I wanted to bring attention to a few of the more important ones for others considering a latex component-style mattress.
Jeff Scheuer, The Beducator
Beducation / Mattress To Go