Narrowing Down The Finalists

[cmyoung19]

I’m narrowing down my list of final candidates for my next mattress purchase, and I’m hoping that the wise minds here can help me finalize the decision.

First, the basics. I’m 51M, 5’10", 220 lbs, roughly 50/50 side and back sleeper. My wife is 50F, 5’3", 180, almost exclusively side sleeper. Our current bed is a DIY queen hybrid consisting of the following:

• Coils rescued from prior bed (not pocket coils - older coil system, continuous maybe?)
• 2" medium dunlop latex
• 2" Serene foam
• 10" Cover from TPS

We both love this bed, but we’re moving and want to upgrade to a king size. This mattress will be moved to a guest room. I’ve swapped the Serene and latex layers with each other a couple of times. My wife prefers the slight sinking in and softer feel of the Serene layer on top, while I prefer the more resilient and supportive feel of the latex on top, but we’ve both been happy with either arrangement. I highly recommend these two layers in combo for DIY if anybody is thinking about it!

The plan for the new bed is to upgrade to a split king with adjustable bases. Based on our preferences, much in-store testing, and experimenting, I’ve narrowed the search down to the choices below. Each of these are hybrids and will be one Twin XL with the latex comfort layer option (for me) and one with the polyfoam option for my wife.

Bowles Mattress Latex Hybrid / Serene Hybrid - Bowles is a local regional manufacturer, and I really like a few of their mattress options. I’ve been in their showrooms a few times, and the last time I lay on the latex hybrid for at least 30 minutes - it was a slow day and I talked to the lady working there quite a bit. I think these two mattresses would be good choices, but I have a few concerns:

• No in-home sleep trial - the only return or exchange option would be for a warranty claim. We both definitely liked these beds in the store, but we all know there’s no substitute for really sleeping on the mattress for a while to really know if it works for you.
• Requirement to buy their ($100 x 2) mattress protector at the same time to activate the warranty. I understand their reasoning and plan to use a protector anyway, but I’d probably choose a wool or cotton option for breathability over their synthetic one.
• At $1500 for each TwinXL ($3000 total) plus $200 for protectors and $100 for delivery, these are pricey. Bowles doesn’t do sales, so the price is the price.

DLX LatexLux Hybrid / Premier Hybrid - I’m intrigued by these mattresses. By all accounts on here, they are high quality and can be expected to last. I love the ability to swap out firmnesses or even types of the comfort layer that the zipper top provides. I’m a tinkerer, so this would allow me to scratch my DIY itch a bit without a full DIY build.

• @DLX How would one describe the “FusionBalance” foam in the Premier Hybrid? I’ve slept on Serene and latex, and have also tried Energex and memory foam in various beds I’ve tested. Where would FusionBalance fall on the spectrum between the sleep-on-top/pushback feel of latex and the full sink-in feeling of memory foam?

Nest Bedding Owl / Sparrow - These seem to have similar construction and prices to the DLX options mentioned above, and they also have the zipper top to swap comfort layers. For me, I like that the Owl uses wool and cotton rather than synthetics in the quilted top, and also that it uses Talalay latex. For my wife, even if there’s nothing magical about the Sparrow’s cooling claims, she has liked the initial cool-to-the-touch feel that the phase change cover material provides on other beds we’ve tried.

Does anyone have other thoughts or things to consider that would help differentiate between these choices? I’ve enjoyed the research and have found the topic of mattress construction way more fascinating than I ever expected. The move is coming soon, though, so it’s time to bring this decision to a close!

[DLX]

Thanks for the breakdown. It’s very helpful and sounds like you’ve done your homework and know what you’re looking for.

To answer your question about our FusionBalance foam: it’s a 2.4 lb high-performance polyfoam with a traditional foam feel. Definitely not memory foam and not slow-recovery like Serene either. To us, it feels like a high-quality foam. It is a “neutral” feeling in our mind. Maybe @maverick can chime in with some real-world experience?

Since you love your current setup, have you considered recreating that build in a king size? It’s a proven success and why risk something that might not work?

Our top choice would be Bowles. Please note that we’re not affiliated with them and can’t speak to their quality or service firsthand, but we always love seeing folks support local independent manufacturers like Bowles. There are fewer and fewer of us out there. We always recommend supporting your local independent mattress maker when possible. That said, we understand your concerns about the warranty and trial policies. It’s a tough call when there’s no safety net. Some local makers do offer comfort adjustments for an additional fee where they come out and pick up the mattress and make the necessary adjustments and bring it back though you might be without the mattress for a few nights. If you haven’t already, it’s worth asking Bowles if they offer that option.

Let us know if we can help answer any other questions about DLX. Sounds like whichever way you go, you’re on the right track.

[cmyoung19]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I appreciate your insight on this.

@DLX

Since you love your current setup, have you considered recreating that build in a king size? It’s a proven success and why risk something that might not work?

So… This was definitely my first choice. However, the boss lady has declared that even though she loves our current mattress, we’ll be buying a “real” mattress for the new house.

Our top choice would be Bowles. Please note that we’re not affiliated with them and can’t speak to their quality or service firsthand, but we always love seeing folks support local independent manufacturers like Bowles. There are fewer and fewer of us out there. We always recommend supporting your local independent mattress maker when possible.

I truly appreciate this sentiment. Supporting local business is important to me, and Bowles has a reputation in the community as a quality company who makes a quality product.

That said, we understand your concerns about the warranty and trial policies. It’s a tough call when there’s no safety net. Some local makers do offer comfort adjustments for an additional fee where they come out and pick up the mattress and make the necessary adjustments and bring it back though you might be without the mattress for a few nights. If you haven’t already, it’s worth asking Bowles if they offer that option.

I’ll check into this; I’ve never considered that something like this may be an option!

In the same vein, another concern that I had was in the build of the latex hybrid mattress. They use 2” of soft latex, but I think medium would likely be better given my weight. Since their mattresses are built to order, I’ll ask if it would be possible to build it with medium instead.

Thanks again for sharing your perspective and giving me some additional things to think about.